Coming Soon: Flowers Under My Pillow

Cornflower, dandelion, forget-me-not, buttercup, daisy, cow parsley, and red clover: the seven different kinds of flowers that Frode picks every Midsummer.

Midsummer is a big deal in Sweden. It’s our second most popular holiday, after Christmas, and we have a lot of traditions surrounding it: maypoles and dancing, herring and boiled new potatoes, snaps (a small shot of spiced alcohol taken with a meal) and strawberry cream cake. (If you’re curious about hos Swedes celebrate Midsummer, check out the Swedish Midsummer for Dummies video here, it’s fun and accurate 😁) It’s the day of parties (in non-pandemic times) and weddings (me and the hubby got married on Midsummer) and worrying about the weather, because we want to celebrate it outside, but the June weather in Sweden is notoriously unreliable.

There’s also an old folklore belief saying that unmarried women who pick seven kinds of flowers and put them underneath their pillows, will dream of the man they’re going to marry.

And that folklore belief is what inspired my upcoming book, Flowers Under My Pillow.

I’ve tried to imbue the story with the magic of Midsummer while still keeping it contemporary. I wanted to capture the spirit of the holiday without including every little tradition. But most of all, I just wanted to tell a romantic story about two men meeting in an unusual way and throwing caution to the wind because they want to believe in True Love. I hope I’ve been successful in my endeavors.

Release day is June 26th, and today I’m sharing the blurb, the cover, and a pre-order link with you.

Smiling brown eyes. A dark beard. Dandelions. Sunny, happy dandelions.

For thirty years, Frode’s had the same dream. Every Midsummer’s Eve since he was a kid accompanying his sister to pick flowers to put under his pillow, he’s dreamed of the same man. A dream he never shares with anyone, that makes him wish for impossible things…like true love.

“It’s you.”

Then one Midsummer’s Eve, the man of Frode’s dreams stands before him in the flesh. Both men recognize each other despite never having met in real life. Both men are instantly drawn to each other and want to know more.

“Who are you, Viljar? Are you even real?”

Their questions are many but do the whys and the hows matter? Or should they allow the Midsummer magic that brought them together to lead the way into each other’s arms? Into each other’s hearts?

Traditional Swedish folklore tells you that if you pick seven kinds of flowers in silence and put them under your pillow on Midsummer’s Eve, you’ll dream of the man you’ll marry.

pre-order @ JMS books