Interview With Author Janus Lucky
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m Janus Lucky, a Finnish-born novelist who writes with a smirk and a sigh, always chasing the tenderness hiding in our messy human selves.
To date, I’ve written two novels: The Birthmark Murders – “Death Is a Cabaret, Old Chum” and Handful – A Boy At the End of a Rainbow, which will be published by August this year.
Now I am finalising the third one, a murder mystery in the Pekka Wall series called The Trkiumvirate Murders – Death As a Business Expense, which will be published by the end of the year. Each one digs into emotional truths, often wrapped in humour and naked vulnerability.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
In “The Birthmark Murders” I wanted to peel back the layers of what can often be a double-faced cultural elite that perpetuates cruelty under the guise of civility and sophistication. Mikael Långberg’s story is one of betrayal and exploitation by those who wield power in the cultural sectors. The protagonist, Pekka Wall, embodies my disdain for this mediocrity and hypocrisy. He sees through the veneer that many cultural decision-makers maintain, which often serves more to preserve their own agenda than to genuinely engage with or understand art and artists.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write religiously at least 1000 words per day, usually in the evening from 7 pm until I have done at least one scene. A fun fact: I am an SGI-Buddhist, and every morning, I chant for one hour to prepare my mind for the day’s and evening’s writing journey. Chanting in the morning gives me more profound insights, and then during the day, I imagine the scene I will write in the evening.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I live in the shadow of Stanislaw Jerzy Lec—his aphorisms taught me that brevity is a virtue. Then, there is, of course, the exceptionally great Finnish novelist, Mika Waltari, whose novel The Egyptian is second to none. I have read it dozens of times. The third well I drink from is Mikhail Bulgakov and his Master and Margarita.
What are you working on now?
My second book, a coming-of-age story that prequels The Birthmark Murders, Handfull – a Boy At The End of the Rainbow, is ready and with the proofreader. Currently, I am writing the second instalment of my murder mystery series, The Triumvirate Murders – Death as a Business Cost. It is a spooky, twisty and cruel but tender mystery about business and how greed, anger and ignorance can become lethal. Still 20,000 words to go 🙂
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have my website and Facebook page, but to be honest, it is a struggle. It is unbelievably hard to find genuine readers because (especially) Facebook is filled with snake oil sellers and dodgy “promoters” who fill my inbox, and I have to clean that trash dozens of times a day.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be consistent (write every day even if 100 words of shit) and don’t listen to the promoters, but seek out genuine readers.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“If you don’t know how to write a scene, you cannot write a story.” The best Finnish playwright, Jussi Kylätasku, said this to me in the sauna in 1984, and it has stuck with me ever since. The second best is “From a row of zeros, you can easily build a chain of shackles.” It’s from Lec, and it reminds me that conformity is seductive, but dangerous. Better to risk being wrong—and free—than to fit into a safe, numb majority.
What are you reading now?
I just read Colson Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys, which was haunting but brilliant. And I also read Sarah Wynn-Williams’s Careless People, which is an eye-opener if you want to know how dodgy Facebook and Meta really are. But just yesterday, I started reading the good old Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd again. It is a gem for mystery lovers.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to complete my Pekka Wall series. Now that I have almost completed the first three, I try to maintain the pace to finish all six book series by the end of 2026.
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?
Mika Waltari: The Egyptian
Mikhail Bulgakov: Master and Margarita
Stanislaw Jerzy Lec: Unkempt Thoughts
J.K. Rowling: The Harry Poter series
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Janus Lucky’s Social Media Links
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