Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m Eetu Nikula from Finland, writing under the name “Eddie Cole.” I am a fifteen-year-old author, currently mainly writing cultural criticism, with a few dashes of philosophy sprinkled around. I’ve written a single book, Pandemic: A Kid’s Perspective.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Pandemic: A Kid’s Perspective was inspired by my own uncertainty of the issues circling our society.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Probably my nonexistent writing schedule. I may go two weeks without writing a single word, and afterward, go on to write twenty pages in a day.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My writing is mainly centered around the issues within our society and the issues within the human mind itself. If we are talking about purely fiction, looking back at everything I’ve read, I can quite firmly state that Orwell has had the greatest influence on me. If we are talking more in terms of my philosophy, then Hegel, without a question. Other two important authors from whom I’ve drawn lots of influence are Nietzsche and Camus. As an honorable mention, I’ll add Kari Enqvist, Finnish writer and physicist, who in his works tries to combine metaphysics and science.
What are you working on now?
I am currently planning a book on the issues of authoritarianism. I already touched upon the subject on my debut book, but am planning on going more in depth on this one. Another more long-term project is a book which tries to combine hegelian idealism with Caspar Hare’s theory of egocentric presentism. I already talked about Hegel’s works on my Pandemic book, but at the surface level.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Quite honestly, I am very new to this. I don’t have a concrete answer.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read everything you can read, watch everything you can watch, listen to everything you can listen and afterwards forget everything. Its your own canvas and although there are definitely some helpful guides and advices, never make them your rules.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
People should not seek happiness. Instead, people should find ways to reduce their own perception of the suffering happening around them.
What are you reading now?
Hegel by Mihail Ovsjannikov. I’ve gotten around to reading the Finnish translations of Nietzsche’s works, so The Gay Science by Friedrich Nietzsche. Finally, a classic, A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.
What’s next for you as a writer?
A very short break, then back onto a break, and maybe I’ll write something then. Who knows.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Bushcraft 101, The SAS Survival Guide, Pandemic: A Kid’s Perspective so that I could trade it with the tribesmen living on the island. Finally, The Phenomenology of Spirit. With some luck, I believe I could make sense of the Preface before I’m rescued.
Author Websites and Profiles
Eddie Cole Amazon Profile