When I was about eight years old, I started to write my first story. It was about a cat. I gave it up because I couldn’t spell to the words that I wanted to express. Then I tried to draw the story, but I couldn´t get the pictures in my head on to the paper.
A couple of years went by, and my sister got in third grade a new teacher. Her name was Asta, and she could tell stories. In all their classes she told stories. I was jealous. I thought it was so unfair that I had to learn to spell, inflect words, and punctuation while they were told stories.
Asta also made her students make up stories themselves. She had a huge teddy bear, that moved into the classroom. He was called Bamse (means Teddy). Later another Teddy bear, the same size moved in. They called her Lulu. The two teddy bears went on adventures. This concept inspired me. I made my own folder where I came up with my own stories about the two teddy bears. In one of my stories, they went up to the school´s attic where they found a flying carpet and flew out into the world. I also made drawings to the stories. Unfortunately, when I became a teenager, I thought my stories were lame, and I tossed them away.
Right before my 13th birthday, I found a diary with a little lock and a key in a kiosk. My mom bought it for me. Then I started to keep a journal. I did that on and off for a couple of years.
Though a high school, I was on a student trip to Polen. I meet an artist there. He was very interested and deeply fascinated by Vikings. I remember thinking Why? (Back then there wasn´t the huge interest there is today). In my opinion, Vikings were people that robbed and raided people in odder countries. When I got home, I started to think about this and found books and tv programs on Vikings. They were so much more than thugs.
In 2005 I was in Rome, and I was mesmerized by the buildings there. I thought it was so fantastic some of the buildings that are still standing is almost 2000 years old.
Our guide told us that when some Romans have their seller dugout, they often find historical artifacts. They don’t mention that because it takes to long if they have to have archeologists to do an excavation. I was speechless. Imagine what historical artifacts and knowledge that goes lost…
When I got home, I just had to know more about Ancient Rome. I still have that fascination. My novel takes place in Ancient Rome. It is the period I am deeply fascinated by.
I try to make my novel as historically correct as possible. However, there will be things where I have to evoke as artistic rights. It has taken a long time to perfect my idea and to research my novel, but it is also fascinating. It´s a bit like a puzzle. There are certain historical events that I fit into my book. And then the one thing there is left is “just” to imagine life for a person in this period of time.
