Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Pertti Pietarinen. I come from Finland, one of the best countries in the world. My home is now in the city called Vantaa which is part of the Greater Helsinki area. I am happily married, already 40 years, and my wife is my greatest support always, including my book projects. I have lived also in Redmond, WA and Tokyo, Japan, and I love both places.
My profession was ICT, mobile technology, computer games, internet services and such for 38 years. I always dreamed about writing but was too busy. Then I made changes in my priorities and took the time to write. This proves you can make your dreams come true if you really want it. My first book was published in 2010, next two in 2012. They all were Christian genre and written in my native Finnish language and were published by a local publisher.
Now we live the year 2014 and in February I published my first English illustrated children’s book “Lucy The Cat” as e-book and print. In March my illustrated children’s book “Kissa Kiiskinen sankarina ja muita satuja” comes alive with all its speaking cats, dogs, horses, squirrels, witches, goblins, cat princes and princesses. I hope it will translated on day also in English. So, altogether five books so far.
My hobbies are music from The Rolling Stones to Beethoven, reading, computers and movies.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is an illustrated children’s book “Lucy The Cat” and the inspiration for that was our own four years old Sacred Birman Cat Lucy. She is a real beauty and really lovable. She can inspire many books.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Well, I don’t know what is usual or unusual. If I wake up at 4 AM and idea comes, I think it is best to get up and write it down. Otherwise it will be gone and in the morning you don’t have the faintest idea what your brilliant idea was.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I am mostly for classics. If I have to name two, I take Leo Tolstoy with Anna Karenina and Fyodor Dostoyevsky with Crime and Punishment. Third would probably be Jane Austin. But I admire J.K. Rowling and Mr. Harry Potter, too. Maybe that’s the child in me. Because I love to write for children I love also our Nordic story tellers like H.C. Andersen, Astrid Lindgren and Gosta Knutsson.
What are you working on now?
I love to have many projects at the same time. Currently I work on the next “Lucy The Cat”, one illustrated Christian children’s book and a couple of books in Finnish, one of those is about Japan based on my experiences when living there. I think that the Japan book should be translated also in English.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don’t have much experience yet. Hope to find out. I happy I found Awesomegang. I believe they can prove to be a good site. I use personal web site, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Goodreads, Amazon.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write what you know about. After that it depends what you want. Do you want fame and fortune or do you have other values. I personally would like to entertain readers and help them to feel good and maybe even help them to learn something.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Can not name any. Maybe I need one.
What are you reading now?
Right now a books about Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas, Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson and of course The Holy Bible.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I will finalize my book about Japan, 2nd book about Lucy The Cat and the illustrated Christian children’s book.
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?
The Bible and Boy Scout’s Handbook and then I should do some research to find the ultimate survival guide or survival guide to dummies.
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