I love watching, reading, and writing sci-fi. Becoming a sci-fi writer has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. Now I am closer to that dream than ever and determined to put my book in your hands. But why science fiction?

Perhaps it was because I grew up in the 80:s, when many of the classics had just been released in theaters? Blade Runner, Alien, Star Wars, and Star Trek were on TV and ignited my imagination. But back then, I never thought about becoming a writer, even though I had already written a nice little tale in 3rd grade: “Droppis – an adventure of a water drop.”

If I were smart, I would probably focus on a popular genre as a writer: crime novels, romance, or thrillers. Something that can be sold to the masses. But my debut novel, “Red Twin“, is written out of my love for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and steampunk because that’s what I know best.

It mixes steampunk elements like flying vehicles with a power struggle similar to R.R. Martin’s “Game of Thrones” (A Song of Ice and Fire) and a nearly supernatural artifact known as the “Red Twin”.

They say you should write what you know, and if there’s one thing I know well, it’s sci-fi. Star Wars captured my boyish curiosity with its adventures, fantastic places, and cool gadgets. It also blends in magic and knights to make the story timeless.

In adult age, I can understand how George Lucas comments on the Vietnam War, and that’s where sci-fi lands for me: a fantastic backdrop to comment on difficult social issues.

And that’s maybe why I keep watching sci-fi (everything from Blade Runner to The Expanse), reading or listening to sci-fi books like The Themis Files (Neuvel), Ready Player One / Two (Cline), and Project Hail Mary (Weir).

They explore the extraordinary, taking me on a journey while I learn something about what it means to be human. And that is what I aim to do with my writing.

When I started with Red Twin, it was intended to be a “Swedish Star Wars”. But as The Colony took shape – which is a planet and not a star system – it became clear that I might be writing “Game of Thrones meets Star Wars”.

The above image – generated in Midjourney – could just as easily be a medieval city as a city inhabited by aliens (although it is actually Tuya who is the alien). It is so helpful for a science-fiction writer like me to be able to use generative A.I. to visualize what I imagine, when each chapter contains something no one has ever seen before.

Fantasy is also close at hand – The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings were some of the first books I read as a teenager. Once I dipped my toes in the water, there was so much more to discover, like David Eddings’ books, everything by George R.R. Martin, and Andrzej Sapkowski’s books about The Witcher.

If you’re here, it means you also enjoy being swept away to foreign worlds, whether it’s the post-apocalypse in The Walking Dead or the world of The Hunger Games.

Now I have designed a world where my characters can live, and all I want to do is continue telling stories in that world. And isn’t that the most fun part about fictional worlds (like Oz and Narnia) – that you can visit them over and over again? I hope you want to visit my sci-fi world, filled with amazing places, characters, and gadgets. See you in the Colony!