Intervjun med Magiska Alice Ekström

Hej 

 Berätta vem du är? Vad heter din senaste bok?

-Mitt namn är Alice Ekström och jag är författare till tio utgivna romaner inom genrerna fantasy, romance, feelgood och historisk skönlitteratur. 

Min senaste roman heter Våra krossade hjärtan och utkom på Seraf förlag nu i slutet av augusti. 

Vad har du för intresen?

-Mina intressen innefattar bl.a. sång, musik, läsning, skrivande, laga mat och se på serier. 

Hur kom du på idén till boken?

-Idéen till "Våra krossade hjärtan" uppkom av att jag lyssnade igenom en massa gamla svenska sånger och skillingtryck på youtube och fastnade just för en som heter ”Tjuvarnas konung”. Jag tänkte att det fanns en historia här som jag kunde sätta min egen twist på.

Vilken är din favorit  dryck när hösten nalkas?

- Te är min stora favoritdryck året om. Då ska det helst vara Earl grey med mjölk eller grönt te med honung. 

Vad var det svåra med att skriva boken?

- Jag upplevde inte att det var något särskilt svårt med just den här boken, utan snarare som med många andra är det en kamp att ens kunna skriva färdigt den.

Skriver du på någon ny bok?

-Jag har många påbörjade manus, men just nu skriver jag på en feelgood och en historisk roman. 

Vad är du stoltast över med boken?

-Det jag är stoltast över i Våra krossade hjärtan är att jag kunde skriva om min hemstad Helsingborg fast ur ett historiskt perspektiv, så jag är rätt stolt över all research jag gjorde.

Berätta lite om ditt förlag och hur det är och jobba med dom?

 -Det här är min fjärde bok hos Seraf förlag så det känns skönt att kunna samarbeta med ett förlag som man känner och som känner en. Då vet man var man har varandra. Processen består av att manuset blir antaget, ett omslag tas fram - och det som är bra med just Seraf är att man som författare får vara en del i omslagsprocessen - sen går förläggaren eller redaktören igenom manuset och sen går jag igenom det - och så fortsätter det så i några omgångar tills det är dags för korrektur, sättning och slutligen tryck.

Kommer det bli mer böker om Anna och Elias?

- Man ska aldrig säga aldrig, men det är inget jag har planerat.

Vad lyssnar du på för musik när du skriver?

- När jag skrev boken lyssnade jag mycket på The black keys, Barcelona och Florence and the Machine. 

 Vilken är din favorit  karaktär  i  "Våra krossade hjärtan"?

- Som författare måste jag älska alla mina karaktärer eftersom jag är deras skapare, men särskilt Anna och Elias böev mina favoriter. Jag hade nog inte kunnat skriva en hel bok om jag inte älskade dem mest!

Jag håller med dej där ! 🦇

Treal of Sunqueen

I have read Trial of Sunqueen by Nicha J. Tuli. I think it's super good, it has the same class as Fourth wing and has a spice of the Hunger Games. Like how the author mixes fantasy with The Bachelor. It is a real page-turner that is hard to put down. It was great to read about the kingdom and about the elves. The book grows and grows, it will be exciting how the story ends. It's really sexy and magical, I hope it becomes a TV series or a movie. I liked Lori the main character she was growing all the time. Was very unexpected with Atlas. It will be exciting to see who Nadir is, I liked Gabriel's humor. Can't wait for book two. Whatever happens, it will be exciting.

Strongly recommend that you read it. The best scene in the book is the maze and the sea scene.

Science Fiction, the Future, and AI-Generated Covers: An Author Interview with Tommy Bildström

Tommy Bildström is a well-known figure in swedish libraries and culture, currently in the spotlight with his philosophical fantasy novel "The Hero's Journey," set to be released in November. Here, he’s interviewed about another genre he enjoys writing—science fiction and the future.

**Tell us a bit about what you write.**

I’ve mostly written horror stories under a pseudonym in the past, but I’m dropping that now as I debut with my novel, which, by the way, might be more science fiction and horror than one might think. Besides my novel project, I’ve also been working on a science fiction short story collection that I may have a publisher for but its not quite decided.

**What fascinates you about science fiction?**

I started writing the short story collection a few years ago and read a lot of non-fiction books about AI, which sparked my imagination. This was actually before the AI boom really exploded. I created an early cover with the help of AI in Midjourney. Well, not just me—I needed help as it was a bit tricky when it first came out. I showed the cover to an editor who was surprised and didn’t believe it was made by AI. Six months later, every high school student was using apps like Image to create pictures, so it feels like I missed a small window of opportunity there.

But what really fascinates me are the fantasies about the future. Will we have religions centered around AI in a hundred years? (How will people relate to AI when their grandparents have been raised with it?) How would an AI revolution really look like?

Sometimes I play around a bit too much with style and content. There are often themes that interest me deeply on a personal level. Neanderthals are one of those topics that keep coming up. It’s so strange that there was a type of human that wasn’t really human.

The environment is another recurring theme, as is, unfortunately, quantum physics. I say "unfortunately" because I realize it’s not in the general public's interest or knowledge area, but on the other hand, I can’t understand how one wouldn’t wonder how reality actually works.

**What kind of feedback have you received on your science fiction collection?**

Pretty decent, actually. The feedback has been a bit mixed. The story that test readers like the most is the one I find the simplest and most boring. I have a story set in a flying saucer where the aliens are made of mucus and tasked with stopping an invasive species, which, of course, turns out to be humans. I think it’s a fun idea to apply our thinking about nature from an outsider’s perspective. Many have thought it was childish and had too much toilet humor, but that’s also the luxury of being a writer at this level. I mostly write for myself, and my goal is perhaps more to get things published than to sell a lot of copies.

**Back to AI. What do you think about AI-generated book covers or AI-narrated audiobooks?**

Like all other creative people, I’m both skeptical and maybe a little worried. For my debut novel, where I have a real and solid publisher backing me, I have a hand-painted cover, and I would never use AI for audiobook narration. You can also see that people are already getting tired of AI-generated styles when it comes to covers. At the same time, it’s practically impossible for me not to play around with the technology. I might have a publisher for my science fiction short story collection, but if that doesn’t happen, I’m tempted to self-publish, and in that case, AI covers are quite appealing. However, this doesn’t replace any artist or other writer. If a publisher believes it’s not good enough or interesting enough for the market, I might still want to release it, and it wouldn’t pose a threat to anyone competing in the market. In that sense, you could say AI democratizes the creative process and makes it more accessible. I also think it will be associated with lower quality, which will make it less attractive to many. But the fact that the technology exists is something we’ll need to relate to.

Here is the first AI-generated cover, created when the technology was new.

The author has experimented with storytelling in video games and video game worlds.

Here he is in cuberpunk (2a)

Here he is depicted as an astronaut (2b) (note: unfortunately, the author is not actually an astronaut in real life, but a librarian). The image is a cross between a screenshot and the author's real face pasted on.

And here as a PlayStation 2 demake character.

Here is an AI-generated cover for the science fiction short story collection.

The author has experimented with storytelling in video games and video game worlds.🎮🪐⭐️

 

A normal weekend

My weekend was good or it started completely crazy with my dog ​​disappearing in the middle of the forest, I mean really in the forest. Lucky I'm fast. It was a liter of blueberries, what to do with them, do you have any ideas? I made the host's most delicious Chili con carne, which is vegan. Soon finished my book love everything in it can highly recommend it is called Out of blood and ashes. I think you can follow my life here like a diary R.🐶🫐📚

Väsenjägarna

I have read the Väsenjägarna by Sophia Larsson I thought it was good I liked the feeling I got it was a super good book.

I can warmly recommend it.

My favorite characters were Alex and Nelly. Liked alex's filterless side and nelly's harsh comments and their family bond Like to see that really blood is thicker than water in the book. This book gets 8 out of 10 that's because it was way too short because it was so good. Can't wait to see what happens in book two. thank you Sophia for a good read hope it will go well now guys. a quote I have to include here is this.

ok i take that back your self control is better than mine Alex said after Nelly recounted her whole day and what Daniel had done. How come you didn't take him to a secluded place to kick his teeth out? I had done that.🤣

Nelly 

Jack

Alex

Author interview with Sophia Larsson

What were your thoughts when you wrote the book? And what was the idea behind the book?

The idea with the book was to try and write something new. I have for many years been very deeply involved in writing fan fiction in various fandoms. The idea of ​​using specifically Nordic beings grew a bit during the time at university when some classmates and I recorded a TV pilot about the Nordic Asa gods. Back then I wanted to write some type of story that was about specifically Nordic beings. But the idea really took off in March 2023 when I started writing “Väsenjägarna” (The faerie hunters), and the story quickly began to emerge during the writing process.

Do you have an interest in beings and the supernatural?

My interest in the supernatural has of course always been there.

Which character was the most fun to write?

The character that was the most fun to write was definitely Alex. He often speaks without filter or thought of consequences.

The most important question Will there be more parts in the book series?

There will hopefully be more parts, it depends a bit on how well the first book sells. But I’m done with 8 books in the series and will soon be done with book 9. If everything goes as I want it, and if the publisher wants to publish the sequel, book 2 should be available on the market at the beginning of 2025. 

Who was the most boring character to write about?

The character that bothered me the most in the first book was Jimmy, but also Daniel who mindlessly follows his father’s orders without thinking for himself or questioning.

Super thanks for the interview, love the book, can’t wait for book two, of course love Alex the best. 

Thank you 😄🙏✨️