Author Interview: Frida Nilsson

Today I am delighted to welcome Frida Nilsson on to the blog with a quick interview! Her book sounds absolutely wonderful and I should have a review of it on my blog before the month is over.

Q&A

What is your favourite thing about writing books?
I use the writing as a way of solving problems and questions that take up a lot of space in my mind. If something bothers me or worries me for a long time I finally have to get it out of my mind by writing. As an example, my latest book in Swedish, The Thin Sword, I wrote because I had been struggling for a long time with a fear of death.

Who is your favourite character in your book and why?
I suppose I must say Siri because she is the main character in The Ice Sea Pirates and is the one I am closest to.

What is your favourite drink to consume while writing?
Coffee

Do you have any bad habits while you’re writing?
Too much coffee

How do you research your books?
It depends on how much I have to. When I wrote the Hedvig series about my childhood I didn’t have to do any research at all since it was all in my head already. But for The Ice Sea Pirates I spent hundreds of hours studying boat terms, old ship construction, flora and fauna in the arctic etc. I also had to learn a lot about sailing.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I plan my work very well. The most important question you must ask yourself when you start writing is: What do I want to say? After that come up with the characters, the beginning and the end. Then I can start writing and the time consuming part is to find the road between beginning and end.

If you could live in any fictional world, which would you choose and why?
Moomin world probably, where most of the characters have reasonably small problems. They just walk around being philosophical, minding their own business and don’t plan their lives too much.

The Ice Sea Pirates by Frida Nilsson is out now in paperback (£6.99, Gecko Press)

About the Book

Ten-year-old Siri sets out to rescue her little sister from a notorious pirate rumored to enslave children in a diamond mine. This is a classic children’s adventure and a story of sisterhood, friendship, and courage.

Goodreads. Amazon UK.

About the Author

Frida Nilsson is a leading Swedish author who has been an August Prize nominee three-times and won the Astrid Lindgren Prize in 2014. In 2017, she was selected as one of Europe’s best emerging writers for young people through the Hay Festival’s Aarhus 39. Her books have been translated throughout Europe and nominated for the prestigious Youth Literature Prize in Germany and several literary awards in France.

Nilsson’s writing is characterised by humour and sincerity. She writes about the big questions in life—friendship, death and love—and has been compared to Roald Dahl and Astrid Lindgren.