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In Stina Jackson’s prose, the sweet scent of marijuana mixes with the sour stench of melted water. She grew up in Skellefteå but has lived in Denver, USA. USA For almost fifteen years. In the new novel “Ödesmark”, the two worlds meet.
“Because marijuana is legal here, I often smell that smell,” she says. Otherwise, Denver is best known for Peter Forsberg playing here during his heyday. As a northern Nordic, I am very happy that the city has a good hockey team.
But their stories it takes place in the northernmost parts of Sweden. Distance means that she is forced to “evoke” images from children’s environments.
– In a way, the distance is positive. If I had lived in the areas I write about, I probably would have been distracted by what was really happening there. Now, nothing can break my imagination. But I am glad when people say they recognize themselves or long for the north while reading my books, “she says.
Conifers, deserted houses, and winding country roads rank prominently in his books.
– I was a Ronja child when I was a child. He often went alone into the forest in search of wild whites and weeping wolves. It was my playground and a source of inspiration. I still have some secret places on a mountain in Skellefteå, where I go in the summers. They look just like when I was 11, 12 years old.
Stina jackson
Photo: Stefan Tell / editor of Albert Bonnier
At work desk at home in Denver there is a cone that he picked up there on the mountain. It is reminiscent of its origins.
– It is as if I had a secret world here, with my language and my stories. Only the closest ones know that I am a writer and even my husband cannot read Swedish. So I can sit in cafes and write without worrying about someone reading over their shoulders. I am a good chameleon and probably melted too well when I moved here. When I tell you that I am from Sweden, most people think I am a Swedish kitten. That’s probably why I felt the need to rewrite the areas of my house.
The debut “Silvervägen” was released in 2018 and received several awards, among other things, the Swedish Academy Deckar named it the best crime novel of the year. The new “Ödesmark” has been hailed by, among others, Lotta Olsson on DN. She writes that Stina Jackson is a master at creating threatening moods in everyday situations and representing lonely people in dispersed areas. The setting is inspired by the village where the author’s grandmother lived, on the outskirts of Arvidsjaur.
– The desert land is a place that many people have abandoned and those who live there feel that it is no longer what it was. At Grandmother’s Village, the school and gas station remain as memories of another era.
Liv lives in Ödesmark in his childhood home with his teenage son and his overprotective father and elderly Vidar. Rumor has it that he is the father of Liv’s children, he has murdered his own wife and they steal a fortune built from the money he earned by attracting land that he sold dearly.
– He is very dear. Vidar is a little difficult to understand. It is very tragic because you cannot enjoy your money. At the same time, he, like the other characters, has suffered trauma. I can feel sorry and disgust for him. Because he is so controlling, Liv has not been allowed to develop her independence, they have lived in a kind of symbiosis. Therefore, she spends a lot to escape reality and escapism, says Stina Jackson.
Brothers Liam and Gabriel, who feed on a marijuana crop located on an abandoned farm, receive advice on how to easily rob the old man. But Liam dreams of a decent life for herself and her daughter. Like Liv, who lives in her parents’ home, the move-in class didn’t get beyond the attic over the stinky tractor garage on site.
Stina jackson
Photo: Stefan Tell / editor of Albert Bonnier
– I know Liam a lot. I have met many like him during my education. I like to be where it rubs a little. To create both light and darkness in a man.
She says all the characters he certainly has the traits of the people he has known throughout his life, but that no one has a clear model. They often surprise her.
– Suddenly I can hear their dialogues when I go running, or suddenly they do something unexpected and then I let them guide me through the story. That’s the most magical thing about writing!
Writing started in earnest around 2013, when he dropped out of law school in the United States.
– I had a kind of life crisis, but it made me dare to invest in this.
When he introduced “Silvervägen” to the editors, he had everything to gain. This time, he has felt pressure not to disappoint anyone.
– It was not more difficult to write, but it was more difficult to show the result. I couldn’t tell if it was good. But I think I have matured as a writer. “Desert Land” has more layers than “Silvervägen”, I have delved into both the story and the design. It can be read as an exciting novel, but it is also appealing to those who mainly read traditional novels.
She says that Many lonely years have passed before debut. Now you have editor and agent. And fellow authors. At a seminar at the Gothenburg Book Fair, he met Niklas Natt och Dag (author of “1793” and “1794”), to whom he sometimes sends emails to discuss texts. During a writer’s visit to Norrbotten, he also met Mikael Niemi.
– He was very generous and welcoming. I think there are many fine and caring veterans in this industry.
Photo: Stefan Tell
Stina Jackson’s work days begin at seven in the morning. Then write for three, four hours. At noon, he runs by and in the afternoon he edits his texts or reads. Preferably novels in Swedish, either in original or in translation.
– Mom sends me a lot of books. The ones I can’t wait to download. I also listen to a lot of Swedish radio and Swedish podds.
The last download It is the brick of Lydia Sandgren “Complete Works”. She has just finished “Backwater” by Maria Broberg and is looking forward to “Sen for I Home” by Karin Smirnoff, two writers who write about environments similar to her. But Stina Jackson is not afraid to drown in the spring flood of Norrland dealerships.
– No, I am proud to come from such a strong storytelling community with pioneers like Sara Lidman and Torgny Lindgren. It’s fun that he’s still alive!
