By Hélene Fermont
Author of:
By now, everyone is used to living with restrictions. Over here in Sweden, where I live part of the year (the other part in the U.K.), what I miss most is the opportunity to meet up with fellow authors and attend literary festivals, events and book fairs. Working as an author in my genre of character driven psychological thrillers, it can be isolating, and I miss the physical meetings with fellow authors, brainstorming ideas and the feedback that we give each other. Thankfully, the internet keeps us connected mainly through Zoom and other devices. It’s a great pity, not being able to attend festivals and fairs where I get so much inspiration and the opportunity to get together with authors of my genre and bounce ideas off other people in the industry.
In Sweden, this time of year, everyone’s gearing up for the festive season which usually means we’re out and about socialising but of course this is restricted this year. For me, as an author, I welcome the chance to work on projects in my home office, irrelevant of the pandemic going on outside. The Public Health Authority advises that citizens keep a distance, take individual responsibility and display loyalty to fellow humans. So, no lockdowns yet which differentiates Sweden’s attitude on how to best prevent further contagiousness compared with other countries. The good news is that I’ll attend lots of festivals and fairs as soon as a vaccine becomes available which seems very promising in the near future.
Being an author is hard work most of the time but this year has been my most productive so far and I cherish every moment that I get to write my character driven psychological thrillers. I can’t wait for next year and the release of my upcoming thriller, The Matchmaker. Meanwhile, I, like my fellow authors over here and in the U.K, look forward to keeping in touch and, if possible, participating in local events and reading groups as much possible.