ABOUT ME

Diversity is a good thing.

Hence, I try to create diverse stories. But everyone has their own backpack, and sometimes we become so afraid to offend people, we say nothing. Bland books, without any messages, are boring.When I write, I want to include different perspectives. My stories are littered with mutants, psychics and androids, as well as people from fictitious countries and real ones. My characters never represent anyone but themselves, and they all have both good and bad traits. Though I might be a mixture of European cultures myself - Swedish, Finnish, Estonian and a hint of Russian -  I don't think that disqualifies me from writing about someone who has grown up under a different set of circumstances. We are all human, with universal human emotions, and two of the most important things in the world are imagination and empathy. The more people who can see something from someone else's perspective, the better. 

In Wish upon no star, for instance, Astrid is the child of Asian immigrants. To me, Astrid is a Swede. Being born a second and third generation immigrant myself, with roots in previously mentioned countries, I have never considered myself being anything else but Swedish. However, my ambiguous way of handling Astrid's background is also intentional. The story is meant to be interpreted by the reader. If you are Korean, and wish Astrid to be Korean as well, then she is Korean. If you, like me, think that Miss Michelle Yeoh (or Miss Ming-Na Wen, for that matter) is one of the most stunning women in the world, and want to imagine that Astrid has a Malaysian nationality like Miss Yeoh, please do. From my point of view: the more ways a story can appeal to you, the better!