I live in Sweden, but I originally hail from Canada. Grew up mostly in or around Toronto, moved to the United States when I was 21 and lived and worked in Florida, and then twenty-five years in Hollywood, California.
What inspired you to write?
People! I have been a people-watcher. People fascinate me. I am drawn to altruistic and creative leaders who made a real dent in the world, like Steve Jobs, J. F. Kennedy, Neil Armstrong (first man on the moon) and of course, Nelson Mandela. Walt Disney set my mind on fire when I was a young kid, with his amazing animations and whole worlds he created. And finally, when I was looking for some sense in the world, during the mid 1970’s as I emerged off the assembly-line of my formal education, one author really lit me up – Richard Bach and his book Jonathan Livingston Seagull. In the early 1980’s I read a second book by Bach, called The Bridge Across Forever. As soon as I finished that book, I picked up a pen, bought a stack of cheap paper-booklets and scribbled-out my first stories. I was hooked.
What do people like about your books?
Mostly, they comment on the unique perspectives offered in my stories, since I not only give them an entertaining ride, but in fact, try really hard to keep a thread in the weave that puts the spotlight on some social or societal issue in our world; whether it is human trafficking, war, nuclear weapons, or on the flipside, an exploration into who we are and our potentials as people, most readers catch that thread and comment on it - which is great because that is the one I try to make shine.
Is there a message in your books?
Yes, of course, several. The essence of what I always try to get across is that good trumps evil any day, that there is more to life than the mediocrity we are surrounded with, and that our potentials as human beings is far greater than we are led to believe, or accept. At the same time, I do believe in a good love-story, and in nearly every book I have written, I depict love, not in a sexual way, but as the core value or matrix of who we are as people.
Tell us about your latest book.
My latest book, The 9th Divinity, is what I call a novelistic treatise on the sociological aspects of war, dictators and sociopaths. Not sure if that is an official term or not, maybe I just created it, but in this book, which is the 4th novel in my Keeno Crime Thriller series, while giving the reader a good thrill ride, I present an alternative perspective to perpetuating war as a means to peace, and the book delves into the sociopath, as the plot takes our crime fighting team into Ukraine and the world of Putin's dictatorial drive for power, and then across the seas to North Korea, as Kim Jong-un, another maniacal dictator, ramps up his agenda. The book is dedicated to the people of Ukraine, and 50% of proceeds from sales goes to Save the Children in Ukraine, and I am also giving away free copies of the eBook to civilian or military personnel in Ukraine to help inspire their fight for freedom.
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