Stop 5 of the Embers Blog Tour is hosted by historical fiction blogger Linnea Tanner
FEATURED AUTHOR: JOSEPHINE GREENLAND
It is my pleasure to feature Josephine Greenland as part of The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held from March 18 – May 20, 2021. Josephine Greenland is the author of the Young Adult / Crime / Mystery novel, Embers, which was released by Unbound Publisher on 4 March 2021 (336 pages).
GUEST POST: THE INSPIRATION BEHIND YOUR BOOK
Sami National Flag
There are two main points of inspiration that first triggered me to write Embers back in 2017, during an Arvon writing retreat in Devon, England. The first is the true crime that took place not far from the mining town where my brother and I stayed in northern Sweden during our interrailing holiday the same year. Two teenaged girls discovered a circle of reindeer bodies (decapitated and with their legs chopped off) laid out almost in a ritualistic fashion, in the forest. The culprit was never found. I was shocked and horrified by the gruesomeness of the crime and that anyone in their right mind could commit such an act. This opened my eyes to the hate crime committed against the Sami – the indigenous population of northern Scandinavia and Russia who traditionally made a living out of reindeer herding. I watched two documentaries on Youtube; one by the investigative journalism programme Cold Facts (Kalla Fakta) which discussed the various crimes that reindeer herders have to put up with on a daily basis, and one about the general life of the forest Sami who keep their reindeer in the woods all year round (rather than going up into the mountains during summer), and how their lifestyle is being affected by the forest, infrastructure and iron ore industries.
Traditional Pattern of a Sami Shaman Drum
The other point of inspiration, which gives the novel its mystic character, is Sami folklore. Intrigued by the ritual circle the reindeer bodies had been laid out in the crime, I researched ritual sites and came across the concept of a seit – a holy place – and the shaman drum (which is featured on the book’s front cover, etched into the forest landscape). The drum was traditionally used to predict the future, and featured a map of the cosmos, with the sun in its centre. As is uncovered later in the novel, the sun and its role in Sami religion become of key significance. The symbol, a form of a cross, is also featured in the title on the book cover. The mystical aspect to the crime also impacts the relationship between the siblings. As Ellen and Simon investigate the reindeer killing, they uncover a link to their own Sami heritage from their grandfather, and between the crime scene and Sami folklore. While Ellen is keen to pursue this lead, Simon dismisses it as a distraction from the main investigation.
As well as these two features, the general landscape of northern Sweden with the mountains and the forest was also a key inspiration, as it inspired the depictions of the setting in my novel, and also the dark, brooding, mystic atmosphere.
Blog Tour #4 – ZoesArtCraftandLife by Zoe Young Kirkby
Welcoming Josephine Greenland and her book – Embers – to my blog.
Today I’m welcoming Josephine Greenland and her book – Embers – to my blog as part of the blog tour hosted by The Coffee Pot Book Club (founded by Mary Anne Yarde). I’m delighted to share this excerpt with you all.
‘Just a bit further, please!’
Ellen wanted to yank her brother off his bike. They’d been cycling around Svartjokk all day, criss-crossing through the town centre, darting along the river and through the park. Now, on Simon’s insistence, they were rushing along the country road out of the town, the dense pine forest surrounding them on both sides. Her top was plastered against her skin, her yellow hair sticky and damp with sweat under the helmet, and her legs ached from the exercise. The day was so bright it hurt her eyes merely looking straight ahead.
‘Ten minutes,’ she called. ‘Then we must go back.’
Simon nodded and swerved off the main road, heading down the forest track. Ellen lingered by the turn-off, taking the chance to catch her breath. The path, a two-furrow track probably used by tractors, forged dead straight through the pines. She’d be able to keep an eye on her brother from here.
Exactly what it was about this place that excited him so much she struggled to see. The town was like the palm of one’s hand, after ten minutes you could navigate it with your eyes closed. It was a transit point, a place you passed through on the way to somewhere else.
There will be plenty to see there, Ellen! Mum had told her. The mining museum, the local history, the Sami…
So far, the mining museum was closed. The history museum showed the same kind of How-did-people-live-in-the-past exhibitions with model villages, hunters and stuffed animals that you could see in any town. The Sami, well they’d be with the reindeer in the forest and on the moors. Or did Mum really think they would stand by the station in their traditional clothes, waving at the tourists getting off the train?
She’d booked the siblings in at the Hostel Polaris beside the train station for five nights. Five nights of counting
trees and iron ore mines. Perhaps Simon was excited now, on day one, but once the novelty of this place wore off…
Ellen stopped her thoughts. Simon had got off his bike and was kneeling on the ground at the edge of the track.
Had he seen something? An animal, an insect?
‘Simon, your ten minutes are up!’
That wasn’t true. Looking at her watch, she guessed five or six minutes had gone, and if Simon had heard her, he would tell her so. But what she needed now was his attention and she did not care if her inaccuracy irked him.
‘Come on, we need to get back in time for the tour!’ She biked over to him and said his name again, louder. Still, he didn’t react. In the sun, auburn tones flashed in his straight, sandy hair. She walked up and peered over his back.
There was a dark spot on the ground.
‘What is that?’ She bent down beside him. Up close, she saw the mark was reddish brown. When she sniffed it, it smelled metallic, like copper.
‘Blood?’ The word left her lips before she could rein it in. She looked around her. Did an animal get injured on the road? There were no other spots on the ground. The pine trees formed a thick wall on either side of the path and peering through them she saw only darkness.
‘A car has been here,’ Simon said, his voice flat. ‘The grass lining the track is flattened. The car must have reversed and headed back to the road.’
He pointed past her, further down the track. There was a puddle of shiny liquid beneath an overhanging spruce branch, rainbow colours dancing on its surface. Oil.
‘Why would anyone drive a car down here?’ Ellen said. ‘There’s loads of roots and stones and stuff.’
‘It must be a very old car to drip oil like that,’ Simon said. ‘And look here.’ He pointed at the blueberry bushes in front of them. ‘There’s blood drops on the leaves.’
There was a dark mark, like a squished berry, staining one of the leaves. Another one further along. And there, a strip of plastic.
‘Someone’s carried something into the forest, and the plastic bag ripped. Some of the sprigs are broken.’ Simon squinted. ‘I think I can see a clearing over there.’
‘Simon, this isn’t the time for playing detective…’
Simon didn’t listen. His narrow, fox-like face, already red from all the hours in the sun, was fixed on a distant point beyond the trees. He stepped off the track into the underbrush.
‘Wait!’
Her brother stopped. He folded his arms.
Ellen licked her lips. A strange feeling grew inside her, a pulse within her neck, as if she had been stung. She brought a hand to the spot. ‘What if…’
What if what? her brother’s grey eyes said. Hadn’t she been complaining about how dull Svartjokk was?
She looked back from where they’d come. The road was a silver line between the trees.
It wasn’t more than twenty minutes back to the town.
‘OK, then,’ she said. ‘But just a quick look, all right?’
Simon nodded and continued. Ellen prodded her neck carefully. The skin was smooth. No tenderness, no swellings from a sting. Yet the pulse was still there, a heartbeat in her spinal cord.
She shook her head. Perhaps it was just the heat. She stepped off the track and followed her brother, blueberry sprigs snapping under her feet.
It wasn’t long before the stench reached her nostrils. Rot. Decay.
She covered her nose and mouth. A fly buzzed by her ear and she hit at it with her free hand. The clearing was close. Light filtered through the trees, painting yellow tracks in the moss.
Simon was stepping into the opening. Didn’t he smell it?
She quickened her pace. When she reached the light, she froze.
Animal heads were lying in a circle in the glade. Reindeer heads.
They were larger than she’d imagined, maybe twice the size of her own head. They stared at Ellen with their glassy eyes. A fly wandered across a pink tongue hanging from a gaping mouth. She saw teeth, flat and broad, like grey stones protruding from the pale pink gum. Grinning at her.
The animals’ antlers had been cut off and laid in a cross. At the centre of the cross was a large, arrow-shaped rock.
Simon had stepped past the heads into the circle. He turned around, taking in the scene, muttering to himself.
Ellen blinked and rubbed her eyes. Scanned the trees and the shadows circling the glade.
Who would do this?
She stumbled forward, failed to spot a root lurking in the undergrowth and fell face forward. Pine needles and dirt in her mouth. She spat them out, wiped her lips, stood up.
Simon was still pacing inside the circle. He’d covered his nose and mouth with his shirt, but he showed no other sign of being affected by the smell. As she watched, he bent down and ran a hand along one of the antlers, fingers curling over the tip. He continued along the line, until he disappeared behind the stone.
‘Simon!’ Ellen called through her fingers. ‘Don’t touch them! We have to call the police.’ She took a few steps forward, and then it hit her: the death, the stench, the heads. Her stomach heaved dangerously. ‘Simon!’ She fumbled for her phone.
Her brother appeared around the corner of the rock. He bent down by one of the heads, then picked something from the neck wound and crossed the glade towards her.
‘Look, Ellen,’ he said, holding out his hand.
In his palm was a fly.
‘Simon!’ She reeled back. ‘The bacteria!’
‘It’s strange,’ he said, voice level. ‘All of the flies inside the neck wounds are dead.’
She took a step back. ‘We need to call the police,’ she said again. ‘I’m not doing it here.’
‘But I need to investigate.’
‘You can investigate when the police come. Please, Simon. We have to get out of here.’
She grabbed his hand, ignoring his protests, tugging harder when he struggled against her grip. He wasn’t getting out of her sight this time. Their strides broke into a jog, the jog into a run. When they reached the track, she collapsed by the bikes and her stomach emptied itself. She rolled over onto her back, the taste of bile in her mouth, legs limp as if they’d never be able to walk again, and stared at the distant strip of sky, a blue bridge through the sea of pines.
There was no birdsong, no chirping or tapping. No wind.
Author: Harrison Alexander Webster @h.webster_books
Two siblings, Ellen and Simon, travel to Northern Sweden with rather dull expectations for their holiday. However, after their discovery of a circle of twelve reindeer heads in a glade in the forest, they are led down a path of discovery they could never have expected.
I was super excited to read this novel, so as soon as I was able, I bought a copy from Amazon and dived straight in.
When I read the blurb of the book I thought why would anyone want to kill a reindeer. I have read many books where people get killed – and in particularly unpleasant ways too – but it is so shocking and intriguing to read of animals killed merely for killing’s sake. It’s odd, we eat animals often and think very little of how that piece of meat ended up on our plates. But I think it is universally felt throughout society that the killing of animals merely for the sake of killing them is incredibly unsettling.
Greenland has done a phenomenal job of creating a a book that is well balanced, the characters are incredibly well developed, including the supporting roles and minor characters. They all feel so real, the setting is described with such beautiful detail that you can imagine yourself transported to this little mining town in the northernmost part of Sweden; and the pacing is great, the climax of the novel went at such a great speed, I couldn’t put the book down. So often you read crime or mystery novels that are heavily weighted in favour of the plot ad spend little effort in developing characters or creating an evocative and beautiful setting. Greenland does not make the mistake of putting all of her eggs in one basket.
The character that stands out to me the most is Simon. Simon has Aspergers and so immediately becomes fixated on solving the case. He is smart, funny, intuitive and courageous; a really fun character who is written so thoughtfully; he is brilliant!
I am so excited to see what Josephine writes next. If this is the quality of her debut, thenI’m expecting huge things to come!
Book Blog Tour Stop #3 – Candlelight Reading by Beatrice Rivers
Have you ever wondered how an author comes up with the setting and characters in their books? Join, Josephine Greenland as she talks about that very subject!
The main setting of Embers, the mining town of Svartjokk, is based on a real town in northern Sweden called Gällivare. All the descriptions of the main features of the town, including the museum, the train station, the town square, Mount Dundret where the siblings see the midnight sun, the hostel the siblings stay at, and the neighbourhood across the river, are all accurate descriptions of the real landmarks of Gällivare that my brother and I visited. I spent five days here with my brother on our own holiday in northern Sweden in 2017, and got to know the town pretty well through our many walks and excursions.
Just as Ellen and Simon do in the novel, my brother and I travelled to Gällivare by the Indlandsbana, an inland railway that stretches across two thirds of the country, from Gällivare in the north above the arctic circle, to Kristinehamn down in the south. The full journey, without stops, takes twenty four hours, and most people stop somewhere along the way for the night and some sightseeing to break the trip up. Ellen and Simon, just like my brother and I did, stopped in the small town of Vilhelmina and did kayaking on the big lake there (this is only mentioned in passing in the book towards the end).
I based all of the siblings’ experiences on my own, not only to create a realistic setting, but also as a way to get closer to them as characters. By having this shared experience, I could tap into their thoughts and feelings in more depth and understand their situation a lot more. This is especially true with their trip up Mount Dundret to see the midnight sun, which follows me and my brother’s excursion almost to the letter (with the exception of questioning the tour leader about massacred reindeer).
The other aspect of Gällivare I wanted to capture in my book and transfer onto Svartjokk was the atmosphere and character of the town itself. A mysterious sense of displacement and “otherness” harbours over the place, due partly to the mining industry, which has made the ground unstable and caused Malmberget, a small town to the north that is adjoined to Gällivare, to evacuate. Buildings are pulled down, and houses are transported on lorries to a safer site ten or so kilometres to the east. By about 2030, it is reckoned the whole town will have been moved. It’s strangely surreal to watch this process, and it feels very much like a ghost town to walk past the empty squares in the ground where houses used to be.
Just as the setting of the novel is based on a real place and the real experiences my brother and I shared, so too are the characters of Ellen and Simon to a certain extent based on us. Ellen, in many ways, reflects the anxieties and seriousness I harboured in my late teens. She feels a great sense of responsibility for her brother, always looking out for him, and wary of never letting him out of her sight. In the first half of the novel she comes across as up-tight, having a lot of pent-up frustration towards her parents, but also as quite emotional. She is anxious for things to run smoothly and always wants to come across as polite and kind to others, and almost acts as pacifier to prevent her brother from getting into conflict with the locals. In contrast, Simon is logical and analytical right out to his fingertips. He does not care for other people’s opinions, but does what he deems to be right. In this sense, he has a tunnel-vision view of the world. Below the surface though, is an insecure young boy who struggles making sense of his feelings and who relies upon his sister as a source of security and stability a lot more than he is willing acknowledge.
As the novel progresses, both siblings mature. When Ellen becomes more involved in the investigation, she loosens up a bit and becomes bolder, daring to take risks and speak her opinions. She starts to respect her brother and recognise his strengths, rather than seeing his taciturn nature and Asperger traits as liabilities. Simon, finally, starts to open up about his feelings and admit to mistakes. At the end of the novel, their bond is a lot tighter.
Embers Blog Tour #2 – Author Interview by Mary Ann Bernal
Please tell us a little about yourself.
I am Swedish-British writer born and raised in a small town west of Stockholm called Eskilstuna. I moved to the UK for university, studying English at the University of Exeter and then an MA in Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham. After this, I went to Thailand to teach English as a foreign language and lived there for six months, and then to Austria to teach at a summer camp. I currently live in Edinburgh where I got my teacher qualification in Secondary English and am reaching the end of my probationary year here. Have currently no idea where I will be whisked off to after that! I am a globe trotter and love living in different countries, so hope to be able to do this once things settle down a bit and travel possibilities return. I also play music (violin and piano) and love hiking with my family.
When did you start writing?
I started writing at about age nine. I wrote one short story and then one novel about horses, before delving into fantasy and beginning a high fantasy novel which I worked on back and forth for seven years (!), from 12-19. I didn’t start writing seriously in English, though, with the aim to get published, until I started university.
What projects have been published?
I was a finalist in the Literary Taxidermy 2020 competition by Regulus Press, winner of the Bumble Bee Flash 2019 Competition by Pulp Literature, Runner-up in the Summer Solstice 2018 Competition by Hard Time Moon and winner of the Fantastic Female Fables Competition 2017 by Fantastic Books Publishing (those stories were all then published in the anthologies). Other journals and online magazines that feature my work include: Toasted Cheese, Aloka Magazine, The Conceptualist, AHF Magazine, Litro, Plum Tree Tavern, Porridge Magazine, Literary Yard, Soft Cartel Mag, and Dream Catcher.
Tell us about Embers
Embers is a YA Mystery and crime novel set in the fictional mining town of Svartjokk in northern Sweden. It tells the story of 17-year-old Ellen Blind, who travels to Svartjokk with her brother Simon, a 14-year-old with Aspergers. They’re on a holiday arranged by their parents, who claim that the siblings should bond, visit the birthplace of their late grandfather, Lars-Erik, and discover their Sami roots. Ellen, though, knows that her parents also want them out of the way so they can sort out their marital problems. The holiday turns upside down when the siblings discover reindeer heads in the forest. Simon’s findings at the scene suggest the reindeer have been poisoned, and he suspects people in the town. Frustrated with the police’s lack of interest, he is determined to solve the case himself. The siblings’ investigation takes them to the local Sami village and the owner of the dead reindeer, Per-Anders Thomasson. It turns out that Per-Anders knows far more about Lars-Erik’s past than the siblings did. The more they learn, the more Ellen suspects that the reindeer killing is somehow connected to their grandfather and the reason he left his home-town and the Sami community behind. As Ellen and Simon are to discover, embers of the past rarely burn out.
How did you select the title of your novel?
It came to me when I started the third draft during my MA (the opening of the novel was my dissertation project). I realized that the key concept/motif in my novel was that no matter how hard we try to repress the secrets of our past, they will always come back to haunt us unless we confront them and acknowledge them in the open. Like embers, glowing in the background in the hearth, hard to spot at first, but still there nevertheless.
What was your inspiration?
My travels with my brother to northern Sweden. Some of the activities we did are all featured in the book, the mining town we stayed in became Svartjokk in my novel, and the relationship between siblings Ellen and Simon is also loosely based on us. The crime in the novel is based on a true crime that happened not far from the town where we stayed: two teenaged girls discovered reindeer bodies laid out in a circle in the forest, but the perpetrator was never found. I felt compelled to write a book in which the guilty party was found.
What are you currently working on?
I am currently finishing the third draft of my second novel, a literary thriller for adults. Like Embers, it is set in Sweden, but closer to home, describing the hunting community and small-town life close to where I grew up, and the secrets and conspiracies that can take place within a family. It is also loosely based on a real incident that happened in the area, about wolf hybrids roaming the countryside and passing through towns, which had to be tracked down and shot.
What are you reading at the moment?
Comeback by Chris Limb, a fellow Unbound author.
What do you like to do in your free time when you’re not reading or writing?
Hiking and travelling. I think it’s very important to broaden your horizons and learn about different cultures – especially for writers! I also enjoy playing in orchestras and dancing.
Do you have any advice for other authors?
It is never too early to share your work with other writers/readers. Perfection does not exist and striving for it before you’re willing to share your story can kill the heart of the work. Throw yourself into whatever opportunities come your way, and actively seek out opportunities, in equal amounts.
And finally, can you tell us some fun facts about yourself, such as crossed skydiving off my bucket list.
I play five instruments (or used to, when I wasn’t writing as much). I have a black cat who often watches me write when I’m at home. I’ve done bamboo rafting in Thailand which was probably the hardest and scariest balancing act I’ve ever pulled off!
Josephine Greenland is the author of Embers, which was published by Unbound on 18 March 2021.
Josephine kindly answered a few of my questions.
1. Tell us a little about Embers.
Embers is a YA Mystery and crime novel set in the fictional mining town of Svartjokk in northern Sweden. It can be described as a Scandi Noir version of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. It tells the story of 17-year-old Ellen Blind, who travels to Svartjokk with her brother Simon, a 14-year-old with Asperger’s. They’re on a holiday arranged by their parents, who claim that the siblings should bond, visit the birthplace of their late grandfather, Lars-Erik, and discover their Sami roots. Ellen, though, knows that her parents also want them out of the way so they can sort out their marital problems. The holiday turns upside down when the siblings discover reindeer heads in the forest. Simon’s findings at the scene suggest the reindeer have been poisoned, and he suspects people in the town. Frustrated with the police’s lack of interest, he is determined to solve the case himself. The siblings’ investigation takes them to the local Sami village and the owner of the dead reindeer, Per-Anders Thomasson. It turns out that Per-Anders knows far more about Lars-Erik’s past than the siblings did. The more they learn, the more Ellen suspects that the reindeer killing is somehow connected to their grandfather and the reason he left his home-town and the Sami community behind. As Ellen and Simon are to discover, embers of the past rarely burn out.
2. What inspired the book?
Three things. Firstly, the true crime that took place not far from the mining town where my brother and I stayed in northern Sweden during our interrailing holiday the same year. Two teenaged girls discovered a circle of reindeer bodies (decapitated and with their legs chopped off) laid out almost in a ritualistic fashion, in the forest. The culprit was never found. I was shocked and horrified by the gruesomeness of the crime and that anyone in their right mind could commit such an act. This opened my eyes to the hate crime committed against the Sami – the indigenous population of northern Scandinavia and Russia who traditionally made a living out of reindeer herding – and I was compelled to write a book where the culprit was found and put to justice.
Secondly, my own travels with my brother on the Inlandsbana up to Gällivare, the town on which Svartjokk is based. All the activities that Ellen and Simon do before the investigation takes over, the hostel they stayed at the description of the town, are all directly taken from our holiday. Ellen’s and Simon’s relationship is also based on ours, and my brother was the main source of inspiration for Simon’s character.
The third inspiration is Sami folkore. Intrigued by the ritual circle the reindeer bodies had been laid out in in the original crime, I researched ritual sites and came across the concept of a seit – a holy place – and the shaman drum (which is featured on the book’s front cover, etched into the forest landscape). The drum was traditionally used to predict the future, and featured a map of the cosmos, with the sun in its centre. As is uncovered later in the novel, the sun and its role in Sami religion, becomes of key significance. The symbol, a form of cross, is also featured in the title on the book cover, woven into the letter ‘B’.
3. Are you a plan, plan, plan writer or do you sit down and see where the words take you?
I do a bit of both! I normally plan out the skeleton of the plot and basic character profiles, and also make a lot of notes on chapters and scenes as I go along, but often find I learn new things about my characters as I write, and figure out the next points of action as I write. The story kind of unfolds itself during the writing process, and it’s very difficult to predict how it will unfold before you start. So yes, once I’ve properly got into a new project, I let the planner in me take a back seat and see where the words take me.
4. Is there anything about the process of publishing a book that surprised you?
How drawn out it is! I remember, when I sent in the final version of the manuscript to the editors, I thought the process from editing to published would be about 6 months. It turned out to be three times that length, the pandemic and regulations that came with Brexit not helping. I know now that one needs to have a lot of patience with the publishing industry, and that one spends most of the production time waiting for the next person (editor, copy editor, cover designer etc) to do their bit on the book.
5. What do you do when you aren’t writing? What do you do to relax and get away from it all?
I play a lot of music. Mainly violin, but also piano and some singing at times. I find jogging a great way to mull plot lines and characters through my mind and often come up with new ideas while running. I also love hiking, mountains overlooking lakes is my favourite place to be, really!
6. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life which book would it be?
Oh that’s a tough question! Probably The Old Man and The Sea, for the profound truths it conveys, and for the language. Hemingway is a master stylist and I’ve always aspired to be able to write like him.
7. I like to end my Q&As with the same question so here we go. During all the Q&As and interviews you’ve done what question have you not been asked that you wish had been asked – and what’s the answer?
Now that’s a great question. I think a question I would like to be asked is: Can writing novels be a form of activism?
Answer: Absolutely. At its core, this is ultimately what Embers is. A written protest against the hate crime and violation committed against the Sami and other first nations people around the world. I wrote this book to act as a mouthpiece, as a way to spread the truth about the every day prejudice they suffer through to a wider audience, outside Scandinavia. Before I travelled to Gällivare, I had no idea about these atrocities – indeed, the south of Sweden-Stockholm is pretty ignorant about what goes on in the far north of the country, and up until now, it’s had little representation in the media. I also felt it important to give an outsider’s perspective on these issues, to show that it’s not only the Sami themselves who care and protest, and that everyone, no matter how far away, can raise their voice and have an impact.
Oh, that cover, isn’t it beautiful?! I am once again on tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club and today I am welcoming Young Adult author, Josephine Greenland, onto my blog. Scroll down to read an excerpt of Josephine’s fabulous book.
Two siblings, one crime. One long-buried secret.
17-year-old Ellen never wanted a holiday. What is there to do in a mining town in the northernmost corner of the country, with no one but her brother Simon – a boy with Asperger’s and obsessed with detective stories – for company?
Nothing, until they stumble upon a horrifying crime scene that brings them into a generations-long conflict between the townspeople and the native Sami. When the police dismiss Simon’s findings, he decides to track down the perpetrator himself. Ellen reluctantly helps, drawn in by a link between the crime and the siblings’ own past. What started off as a tedious holiday soon escalates into a dangerous journey through hatred, lies and self-discovery that makes Ellen question not only the relationship to her parents, but also her own identity.
‘Just a bit further, please!’
Ellen wanted to yank her brother off his bike. They’d been cycling around Svartjokk all day, criss-crossing through the town centre, darting along the river and through the park. Now, on Simon’s insistence, they were rushing along the country road out of the town, the dense pine forest surrounding them on both sides. Her top was plastered against her skin, her yellow hair sticky and damp with sweat under the helmet, and her legs ached from the exercise. The day was so bright it hurt her eyes merely looking straight ahead.
‘Ten minutes,’ she called. ‘Then we must go back.’
Simon nodded and swerved off the main road, heading down the forest track. Ellen lingered by the turn-off, taking the chance to catch her breath. The path, a two-furrow track probably used by tractors, forged dead straight through the pines. She’d be able to keep an eye on her brother from here.
Exactly what it was about this place that excited him so much she struggled to see. The town was like the palm of one’s hand, after ten minutes you could navigate it with your eyes closed. It was a transit point, a place you passed through on the way to somewhere else.
There will be plenty to see there, Ellen! Mum had told her. The mining museum, the local history, the Sami…
So far, the mining museum was closed. The history museum showed the same kind of How-did-people-live-in-the-past exhibitions with model villages, hunters and stuffed animals that you could see in any town. The Sami, well they’d be with the reindeer in the forest and on the moors. Or did Mum really think they would stand by the station in their traditional clothes, waving at the tourists getting off the train?
She’d booked the siblings in at the Hostel Polaris beside the train station for five nights. Five nights of counting trees and iron ore mines. Perhaps Simon was excited now, on day one, but once the novelty of this place wore off…
Ellen stopped her thoughts. Simon had got off his bike and was kneeling on the ground at the edge of the track.
Had he seen something? An animal, an insect?
‘Simon, your ten minutes are up!’
That wasn’t true. Looking at her watch, she guessed five or six minutes had gone, and if Simon had heard her, he would tell her so. But what she needed now was his attention and she did not care if her inaccuracy irked him.
‘Come on, we need to get back in time for the tour!’ She biked over to him and said his name again, louder. Still, he didn’t react. In the sun, auburn tones flashed in his straight, sandy hair. She walked up and peered over his back.
There was a dark spot on the ground.
‘What is that?’ She bent down beside him. Up close, she saw the mark was reddish brown. When she sniffed it, it smelled metallic, like copper.
‘Blood?’ The word left her lips before she could rein it in. She looked around her. Did an animal get injured on the road? There were no other spots on the ground. The pine trees formed a thick wall on either side of the path and peering through them she saw only darkness.
‘A car has been here,’ Simon said, his voice flat. ‘The grass lining the track is flattened. The car must have reversed and headed back to the road.’
He pointed past her, further down the track. There was a puddle of shiny liquid beneath an overhanging spruce branch, rainbow colours dancing on its surface. Oil.
‘Why would anyone drive a car down here?’ Ellen said. ‘There’s loads of roots and stones and stuff.’
‘It must be a very old car to drip oil like that,’ Simon said. ‘And look here.’ He pointed at the blueberry bushes in front of them. ‘There’s blood drops on the leaves.’
There was a dark mark, like a squished berry, staining one of the leaves. Another one further along. And there, a strip of plastic.
‘Someone’s carried something into the forest, and the plastic bag ripped. Some of the sprigs are broken.’ Simon squinted. ‘I think I can see a clearing over there.’
‘Simon, this isn’t the time for playing detective…’
Simon didn’t listen. His narrow, fox-like face, already red from all the hours in the sun, was fixed on a distant point beyond the trees. He stepped off the track into the underbrush.
‘Wait!’
Her brother stopped. He folded his arms.
Ellen licked her lips. A strange feeling grew inside her, a pulse within her neck, as if she had been stung. She brought a hand to the spot. ‘What if…’
What if what? her brother’s grey eyes said. Hadn’t she been complaining about how dull Svartjokk was?
She looked back from where they’d come. The road was a silver line between the trees.
It wasn’t more than twenty minutes back to the town.
‘OK, then,’ she said. ‘But just a quick look, all right?’
Simon nodded and continued. Ellen prodded her neck carefully. The skin was smooth. No tenderness, no swellings from a sting. Yet the pulse was still there, a heartbeat in her spinal cord.
She shook her head. Perhaps it was just the heat. She stepped off the track and followed her brother, blueberry sprigs snapping under her feet.
It wasn’t long before the stench reached her nostrils. Rot. Decay.
She covered her nose and mouth. A fly buzzed by her ear and she hit at it with her free hand. The clearing was close. Light filtered through the trees, painting yellow tracks in the moss.
Simon was stepping into the opening. Didn’t he smell it?
She quickened her pace. When she reached the light, she froze.
Animal heads were lying in a circle in the glade. Reindeer heads.
They were larger than she’d imagined, maybe twice the size of her own head. They stared at Ellen with their glassy eyes. A fly wandered across a pink tongue hanging from a gaping mouth. She saw teeth, flat and broad, like grey stones protruding from the pale pink gum. Grinning at her.
The animals’ antlers had been cut off and laid in a cross. At the centre of the cross was a large, arrow-shaped rock.
Simon had stepped past the heads into the circle. He turned around, taking in the scene, muttering to himself.
Ellen blinked and rubbed her eyes. Scanned the trees and the shadows circling the glade.
Who would do this?
She stumbled forward, failed to spot a root lurking in the undergrowth and fell face forward. Pine needles and dirt in her mouth. She spat them out, wiped her lips, stood up.
Simon was still pacing inside the circle. He’d covered his nose and mouth with his shirt, but he showed no other sign of being affected by the smell. As she watched, he bent down and ran a hand along one of the antlers, fingers curling over the tip. He continued along the line, until he disappeared behind the stone.
‘Simon!’ Ellen called through her fingers. ‘Don’t touch them! We have to call the police.’ She took a few steps forward, and then it hit her: the death, the stench, the heads. Her stomach heaved dangerously. ‘Simon!’ She fumbled for her phone.
Her brother appeared around the corner of the rock. He bent down by one of the heads, then picked somethingfrom the neck wound and crossed the glade towards her.
‘Look, Ellen,’ he said, holding out his hand.
In his palm was a fly.
‘Simon!’ She reeled back. ‘The bacteria!’
‘It’s strange,’ he said, voice level. ‘All of the flies inside the neck wounds are dead.’
She took a step back. ‘We need to call the police,’ she said again. ‘I’m not doing it here.’
‘But I need to investigate.’
‘You can investigate when the police come. Please, Simon. We have to get out of here.’
She grabbed his hand, ignoring his protests, tugging harder when he struggled against her grip. He wasn’t getting out of her sight this time. Their strides broke into a jog, the jog into a run. When they reached the track, she collapsed by the bikes and her stomach emptied itself. She rolled over onto her back, the taste of bile in her mouth, legs limp as if they’d never be able to walk again, and stared at the distant strip of sky, a blue bridge through the sea of pines.
There was no birdsong, no chirping or tapping. No wind.
A massive thank you to @jm.greenland for sending me a PDF copy of her debut YA novel, Embers, which is also my first Advanced Reader Copy 😀 (well, kind of, it wasn’t the final print version or the ebook, so not sure what you call it 🤔)
I knew nothing about reindeer herding until I read this part fact, part fiction book. I was totally surprised at the tradition, and the hate crime/victimisation the herders receive by people in positions of power or by capitalists. For these topics alone, this book is an important read.
Add to that the descriptions of the Scandinavian setting, and then you’re really drawn into Simon and Ellen’s world, as they go on a hunt to find out who beheaded the reindeers in the forest.
I was pleasantly surprised at how much this book reminded me of The Bridge (a Swedish-Danish TV drama series). In Embers, the male teen character, Simon, has Asperger’s syndrome, and very matter-of-fact observational and detective skills, which is similar to Saga, the character in The Bridge. And I just loved both of them.
I can highly recommend this whodunnit book and look forward to reading more of the author’s work.
Embers is released on 18th March across on Amazon.
1. Can you start by telling us a little about your current book?
Embers is a YA Mystery and crime novel set in the fictional mining town of Svartjokk in northern Sweden. It tells the story of 17-year-old Ellen Blind, who travels to Svartjokk with her brother Simon, a 14-year-old with Aspergers. They’re on a holiday arranged by their parents, who claim that the siblings should bond, visit the birthplace of their late grandfather, Lars-Erik, and discover their Sami roots. Ellen, though, knows that her parents also want them out of the way so they can sort out their marital problems. The holiday turns upside down when the siblings discover reindeer heads in the forest. Simon’s findings at the scene suggest the reindeer have been poisoned, and he suspects people in the town. Frustrated with the police’s lack of interest, he is determined to solve the case himself. The siblings’ investigation takes them to the local Sami village and the owner of the dead reindeer, Per-Anders Thomasson. It turns out that Per-Anders knows far more about Lars-Erik’s past than the siblings did. The more they learn, the more Ellen suspects that the reindeer killing is somehow connected to their grandfather and the reason he left his home-town and the Sami community behind. As Ellen and Simon are to discover, embers of the past rarely burn out.
2. Are you a plotter or a panster?
A bit of both! I do plan out the skeleton of the plot and basic character profiles, and also make a lot of notes on chapters and scenes as I go along, but often find I learn new things about my characters as I write, and figure out the next points of action as I write. The story kind of unfolds itself during the writing process, and it’s very difficult to predict how it will unfold before you start.
3. Savoury or sweet!
Sweet! Dark chocolate is my weakness!
4. Three books to a desert island. Go!
The Old Man and the Sea – Earnest Hemingway (One of my favourite books)
Robinson Crusoe – Daniel Defoe (Have never read it, but can’t think of a more ideal location to do so!)
Life of Pi – Yann Martel (Another favourite, and again, a perfect book to get lost in on a desert island)
5. Star Wars or Star Trek?
I’ve never seen either of them, but would probably go with Star Wars.
6. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Spirit walking into another animal/ being in an animal’s mind. This was always the superpower I was most excited about when reading fantasy novels as a kid.
7. Music or Silence when writing?
Silence if I’m writing in the morning/weekend. Ambient, nordic background music if I’m writing in the evening – it keeps me motivated and awake.
8. If you could live anywhere in the world, and take everything that you love with you, where would you choose?
Anywhere with mountains, deep forests and lakes, really, but if I had to be specific: Canada! (Always wanted to go there).
9. Your favourite karaoke song?
I don’t do karaoke.
10. One piece of advice to an aspiring writer?
Ask others to read your work! Even from the first draft! Perfection does not exist, and striving for it before you’re willing to share your story can kill the heart of the work. T
11. You win £1 million, but you must give half of it to charity. Which charity do you chose, and what do you do with the rest of the money?
Charity – Rainforest Alliance. Rainforests are the lungs of our planet and essential if we are to have any remote chance of battling climate change.
The rest of the money, I would use to fund the PhD in creative writing I’m hoping to do next year (though where is yet to be decided) and pay off my study loans. If there’s any left over after that I’ll use it for travel.
12. Horror films, yes or no? if so, any favourites?
No. I’ve just always felt rather icky about that genre. Psychological horror – maybe. The Orphanage (Spanish film) is a good one. (And keeps you on your toes!)
13. What are you currently working on?
My second novel, titled Wolf Hour, which is an adult literary thriller set in Sweden. It tells the story of a hunter, Gustav Khron, who is out on a mission to track down wolf hybrids with his team. The runt of the litter escapes and is later found rummaging through his rubbish bin outside his house. Out of compassion, seeing what a weak state it’s in, he takes it in, with the aim of releasing it into the wild conceits recovered strength – thereby effectively breaking the law. Matters soon get complicated, though. He discovers that the wolf hybrids are linked to a local drug network and the illegal production of moonshine – in which his own uncle, Roland, is implicated. When Roland’s body is discovered in a mire, Gustav finds himself knee-deep in a murder investigation in which he himself becomes a suspect. In all of this, the wolf-hybrid becomes an unlikely ally, and Gustav soon realises that the cause behind all these events may lie a lot closer to heart than he expected.
Embers is a YA Mystery and crime novel set in the fictional mining town of Svartjokk in northern Sweden. It can be described as a Scandi Noir version of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. It tells the story of 17-year-old Ellen Blind, who travels to Svartjokk with her brother Simon, a 14-year-old with Aspergers. They’re on a holiday arranged by their parents, who claim that the siblings should bond, visit the birthplace of their late grandfather, Lars-Erik, and discover their Sami roots. Ellen, though, knows that her parents also want them out of the way so they can sort out their marital problems.
The holiday turns upside down when the siblings discover reindeer heads in the forest. Simon’s findings at the scene suggest the reindeer have been poisoned, and he suspects people in the town. Frustrated with the police’s lack of interest, he is determined to solve the case himself. The siblings’ investigation takes them to the local Sami village and the owner of the dead reindeer, Per-Anders Thomasson. It turns out that Per-Anders knows far more about Lars-Erik’s past than the siblings did. The more they learn, the more Ellen suspects that the reindeer killing is somehow connected to their grandfather and the reason he left his home-town and the Sami community behind. As Ellen and Simon are to discover, embers of the past rarely burn out.
What is your preferred writing routine
My writing routine follows more or less the same pattern regardless of whether I’m writing a short story or novel. I always prefer writing in the mornings, roughly between 10 am – 2 pm. Normally, I’ve typed up the first draft on the computer, but recently I’ve gone back to writing by hand (even for my current WIP, my second novel!), before redrafting/editing it on a computer. I find writing by hand in a beautiful notebook is a safe space for trying out my ideas, before typing them up in a more formal, “polished” version on my laptop.
I tend to have a rough outline of the plot, which I will tweak and amend as I go along, but with certain key stages /turning points (including the ending), clearly identified. I normally have a reasonably detailed mind map for all of my characters, including appearance, body language, generic info like their favourite food and drink, hobbies etc, so that they feel like a real person I know in real life.
When it comes to drafting, I feel like I take the long route. The first two drafts of a WIP are always complete rewrites, particularly for novels. Not until the third draft do I have what feels like the true version of the story. Only by the fourth draft do I get to the true micro-editing stage.
What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
It is never too early to share your work with other writers/readers. Perfection does not exist, and striving for it before you’re willing to share your story can kill the heart of the work. Throw yourself into whatever opportunities come your way, and actively seek out for opportunities, in equal amount. Writing is about perseverance, but in order to persevere, you need to be fearless.
What have you found to be the best way to raise awareness of your books?
Social media. I love the Twitter community for writers, it’s an incredibly supportive space and a very efficient to grow your network. If not for twitter, I wouldn’t have encountered Tony and be invited to write this guest post! Twitter is also a great way of discovering new magazines, publishers and agents to submit to. Tell us something unexpected you discovered during your research
The crime in the book is actually based on a real reindeer killing, in which a circle of mutilated reindeer bodies had been discovered by two teenage girls in the forest. The location wasn’t far from the town where I’d stayed with my brother when we were travelling in northern Sweden. The culprit was never found. This opened my eyes to the hate crime that is committed against the Sami and their reindeer. The more I researched, the more atrocities, each one stranger and more gruesome than the next. All of them could be linked to the long-term contempt and discrimination against the Sami that has taken place through history with forced assimilation, racial biology studies and exploiting ancient grazing lands for iron ore mining and forest industry. All of these underlying issues have been described in the novel. What was the hardest scene you remember writing?
It’s difficult to describe this without giving away the plot! What I will say though, is that the confession building up to the climax near the end of the novel was quite challenging emotion-wise: every single word was loaded and had to perfectly selected. There was a very delicate balance between raining the emotion in and maintaining a tangible tension, and going overboard resulting in more cliched dialogue. What are you planning to write next?
I am currently finishing the third draft of my second novel, a crime novel for adults. Like Embers it is set in Sweden, but closer to home, describing the hunting community and small-town life, and the secrets and conspiracies that can take place within a family. It is also loosely based on a real incident that happened in the area, about wolf hybrids roaming the countryside and passing through towns, which had to be tracked down and shot.
