I grew up in Sweden, and moved to Canada in my early 20s. My parents both read a lot, and we had a ton of books at home. Ever since I was a child, I've been a voracious reader, and science fiction and fantasy were my favourite literary genres right from the start. The writers that have made the deepest impression on me are probably Ray Bradbury and Ursula K Le Guin. I love Bradbury's poetic style of writing science fiction (even though he's not as "hard" a sci-fi writer as some of my other favourites in the genre), and Ursula K Le Guin is just a spectacular writer whether she is writing sci-fi or fantasy.

I've been writing stories for as long as I can remember. My first published work was a collection of poetry in Sweden. I wrote it mainly while I was a teenager, and it was published when I was 20.

Odin's Eye is a collection of short stories that are set in my imagined future world. They deal with how technological change and large or small disasters affect human beings caught up in that future.

For many years I kept writing in Swedish, even though I now live in Canada. Writing books and getting published in English, which is my second language, always felt terrifying. I think many writers can feel that fear when writing in a new language - no matter how proficient you are. Self publishing these short stories are my first step into the brave new world (for me) of English language fiction.

I fell for Smashwords because of the friendly interface and the friendliness with which it greets and supports its authors. It was an easy choice to make once I had looked around at some of the alternatives.

When you find that writing flow (and I don't always find it) when the words on the page match what you feel in your mind... that's an amazing feeling. And anytime people say that something you wrote touched them: that's always a great vibe.

My next writing project is a science fiction novel. It's set in the same loosely constructed future world that is explored in "Odin's Eye". I don't want to reveal very much about it, but it is set within our solar system.

I have many favourite authors. In science fiction it would be Ray Bradbury, Ursula K Le Guin, Arthur C Clarke, William Gibson, and Isaac Asimov. In fantasy, Tolkien is one of my all-time favourites, as well as Le Guin (again!), George R.R. Martin, and Philip Pullman. George Orwell, John Le Carre, Umberto Eco, Bernard Cromwell, and Colleen McCullough are other favourites of mine. I also love the Swedish authors Vibeke Olsson and Pär Lagerkvist.

I have two kids that keep me busy and a big black dog that takes me for walks every day. I love hiking in the woods, reading, watching movies, cooking, hanging out at the beach in summer, and traveling.

It wasn't the first story I ever read, but reading Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy as a young teenager really blew my mind. It was the first book I'd ever read that completely immersed me in an alternate reality. I remember reading long into the night to finish it, and crying my eyes out as the story ended: I didn't want to leave that world, I wanted to stay there and for the story to go on. I still feel shades of that every time I re-read the books.

Aaaa! Too many to choose from! Five of my favourite books are Ursula K Le Guin's "The Tombs of Atuan", Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles", Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings", Umberto Eco's "Foucault's Pendulum", and John Le Carre's "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy".