My
writing
I love to tell stories. I always have. It started out when I was really young and my parents read night time stories to me and my brothers and sister. (I have four siblings, and yes, it was a bit chaotic. In a good way, though.) Pretty soon, I started reading books on my own, and it didn’t take long until I wrote my own stories as well. (Not that I would actually let anyone read those early works...) Still, in no way did I ever imagine that I would one day become a published author. Many years later, though, when I was taking a break from university to take care of my husband's and my first child, a Swedish publisher called to tell me they had read the manuscript I had sent them and wanted to publish it. And that was the beginning of my journey as an author. A lot has happened since then—such as 24 published books in Swedish—and now, my first English editions are finally here!
THE TRANSFER SERIES
The Transfer Series are the first of my books to be translated into English. The Transfer was first published in 2017 in Sweden and was actually a new genre for me. Until then, I had written contemporary fiction only, but in 2016 I had the worst writer’s block ever. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t start another novel.
Then, this thought struck me: “What kind of book would I write if nobody but me were to read it?” And once I let go of the pressure of people’s expectations, the dystopian story of The Transfer came to me, and I absolutely loved writing it. I remember taking long walks in the forest outside our house, dreaming up the story while listening to music in my headphones. (I specifically recall listening to the song Radioactive, since it felt appropriate for the story.)
Before I knew it, I had written a trilogy and enjoyed every minute of it.
I’m not gonna bore you with all the details of what happened next, but let’s just say it involved my publisher trusting me to write in a new genre, a nomination for a literary award (yay!), and the highest score possible from the Swedish Library Service. I’m truly happy that so many people enjoyed the book I didn’t even plan to have published!