Featured Interview With Sofia Ulrikson
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
This is where I would have answered with the opening line of EMMA, only with my name instead of hers at the start, had it not been for the inaccuracy of certain parts in that line when applied to me.
However, like Emma, I do have a comfortable home. And like many readers and writers, I love my home and accordingly, am still living in the city I was born and raised in: Oslo, Norway. This is also where my university is located and where I am studying to become a clinical psychologist – a fitting choice for an author who centers character, emotion, and mental health in her stories.
To answer the question about pets, I am currently of that age (early 20s) and situation in life (student living alone in a small-ish apartment) when having a pet of my own would be quite impossible. Fortunately, I can always go visit my family’s cat, who lives just a few minutes away.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was an avid storyteller in kindergarten; I used to gather friends around to share stories about our world and fantastical places. Learning how to read and write increased that passion for stories, and for books in particular. I was a quiet child back then, easily lost in stories and imaginations when the world around me became too loud, and I loved the structure writing gave the spoken word.
When I was five or six, I started writing my own stories (and soon wrote a book series for children consisting of well over ten installations!), and always thrived in school when we were given a writing task. I knew, as did those around me, that writing was my calling.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I enjoy reading from a variety of genres, in order to get inspired from different fronts. Even so, there are certain ones I tend to return to when I am choosing my next read. Fantasy includes many of my all-time favorite reads (in particular, light or cozy fantasy as opposed to epic fantasy). You will rarely see me outside without a book in my hand, and if that book is not a fantasy, it is usually a famous classic.
As to authors, Jane Austen, naturally, has penned some of my favorite books, and Suzanne Collins, in quite a different style, captures me every year when I reread her series. Other favorites include (but are not limited to) Rebecca Ross, Erin Morgenstern, Taylor Jenkins Reid, and Tove Jansson.
I am always drawn to stories that have a unique premise, charismatic characters, and descriptive and/or emotionally compelling writing! Thus, it is often these works that interest and inspire me most. Again, Rebecca Ross is a wonderful example of someone who writes beautiful stories with beautiful words, and is, therefore, alongside authors like Allison Saft and Madeline Miller, a great inspiration to me.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
It took me about a month to write BEHIND THE RED WOODEN DOOR and months (plural) to edit, amid other obligations and activities like work and studies. This YA/NA magical realism novel was the first longer-format story I finished; something about it felt more special to me than previous ideas I had worked on, and I felt compelled to complete it so I could share the story with the world.
Readers follow the emotional and magical journey of Drew, a lonely and downhearted young woman who has been suddenly and inexplicably left by her only friend, as she starts having strange dreams that feature a mysterious red, wooden door. Hesitant at first to explore this other world that feels as substantial as reality, she nonetheless finds herself drawn to the door upon witnessing a masked stranger entering it alone.
Desperate to rectify her lonesome situation during her time awake, she endeavors to handle the weighty demands of her job and distant father. But when she meets Bonnie, an outgoing girl who reminds her of the best friend who left, Drew begins to wonder about the possibilities of second chances.
Still, the memory of her absent friend continues to haunt her, even in her sleep. As she works to unravel their mysteries, the effects of her dreams on her daily life become ever more apparent — for, as it seems, more than one hidden truth remains to be uncovered.
Once Drew has opened the door, things might not return to the way they used to be…
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