Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a Norwegian vagabond, “wellness-coach” (a title I’m still looking to re-define) and newly self-published author.
I’ve spent my twenty-five years of life visiting a great many countries and work fields. Career wise, I started at my local book store in Norway when I was fifteen and continued on to freelancing for the local newspaper the same year (because working two jobs next to school is what good girls do). Since then, I’ve been working at pharmacies, a clothing store, a hostel in Thailand and a Bangladeshi start-up (virtually and still going strong).
I wrote (or should I say finished) my first novel the summer I turned twenty. It was in my native tongue and quite a cringy read. I’m not sure how but I had the self-awareness that it was pretty bad, yet it gave me the confidence to keep clinging to my author dreamt – I had finished a book after all.
Before it could be realised I decided to visit the world of academia, where rather than indulging in my history studies I spent my time in introspection and travelling whenever I had the chance. Backpacking through Europe and doing free-historical tours is very educational.
I’ve lived in four different countries thus far(Norway, Mexico, Austria and Egypt) and visited around thirty, but the one thing that always remained consistent was my passion (read: obsession) with story telling. Two years back, during my last and busiest semester at the University, I got a really great idea. Despite of what seemed like terrible timing, I started writing the book I was meant to write – “Truthful Roots”.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my debut novel is “Truthful Roots” and it’s the first book in the “The Seeds of Ascension” series. The short answer would be that inspiration came from everywhere and nowhere at all. I believe it was inspired by a combination of my own self discovery, world exploration and the many subjects I’d been absorbing during my university days.
At the time I received the first crumbs of it, I’d been studying history for two years and a half. I wasn’t a particularly good student and probably spent more time diving deep into subjects like psychology and spirituality than my actual curriculum. I was also spending my free credits in subjects on philosophy in Vienna during my last semester – making me reflect on ideas of free will, morality, art and so forth.
Initially, the plot-line started as a simple idea about a boy and his codependency to his grandfather and how he’d then be forced to leave home and wake up to the truth of his reality. My main intention was to bring subjects like mental health and spirituality into a fictional plot and though I didn’t really have the time, I decided it’d be a simple enough narrative. I’d mostly focus on the character’s inner world and emotions and it wouldn’t take too much of my time. “Seeds of Ascencion” was never meant to be a fantasy tale and certainly not a series, but with all my fresh knowledge and reflections, I guess my mind had the perfect environment for world building.
Shortly after I started writing things got a bit out of hand. All of a sudden I was crafting a fantasy series rather than just a simple, single standing book and I was amazed by the waves of narratives, characters and magic that came through. You could say the story took on a life of its own from there and it became a much bigger project than I could’ve ever imagined. I’m very grateful that it did.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure what might be seen as unusual or not (we artist are peculiar creatures), but what I’ve come to discover is that writing, when combined with world-building, isn’t a linear process. The narratives and characters tend to visit me as they please, providing everything from phrases, opinion, plot-twists and details I haven’t added to the storylines yet.
Of course, I also sit down and write page by page, but I’ll always keep various word-documents open and add notes as I go. It’s a bit of a scattered way of working, which resulted in the publishing process of “Truthful Roots” taking a bit longer, but it allows me to foreshadow really well and to always have the bigger picture in mind.
Adding to that, I do something I call “Method writing”, where I basically dive so deep into my character’s psyche’s that I know them like the back of my hand. It’s a very intriguing, messy, overwhelming and fascinating way of working and it makes it easier to flesh them out.
Due to these little artistic quirks, you could say I’ve been writing four books at once. It’s not been a conscious choice per se, that’s just how my brain has decided we’ll do things. Art is chaos sometimes and I’m doing my very best to add more structure to it.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
It is hard to say exactly. I read so many books growing up, but I was always a Charles Dickens fan (my dad used to read all the classics for me when I was younger). Otherwise, I’ve read my fair share of Paulo Coelho and I really love Stephen King – the way he writes characters baffles me. The recent years I’ve come to enjoy V.A Schwab’s and Robin Hobb’s writing.
What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on various books in “The Seeds of Ascension” series. Mostly the sequel (I’m currently on the second draft), but as mentioned, the narratives tend to come in different orders.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I won’t lie, promotion for me has been challenging and it’s something I should’ve made a greater effort with before actually publishing. Thus far I’ve gotten the most feedback and support from local communities, so I’ll be old-school and say Facebook.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Absolutely! I’ve dedicated my blog to writing and creativity, but I’ll share a few from the top of my head here (my advice are mostly self-reminders, as I’m a new author myself.)
1. Your first book won’t be perfect – do your best, allow the book to sit for a while, but if you know yourself to be a perfectionist, don’t wait too long before sharing it with people. It’s inevitable that we always evolve and refine ourselves as artists, so we’ll often look back at the work we started 1-2 years ago with overly critical eyes. It can be a great thing of course, but then again, if we take too much time rewriting and revising it’s easy to end up in a lupe and a lot of unnecessary self doubt and criticism can creep in.
2. Allow people to help you and dare asking for it. Writing can be a very solitary activity, but it’s so important to have others reading your work and allowing them to do so long before it’s perfect. Feedback is precious – both for motivation and for pointing out flaws. I waited way too long before I asked people to actually read it and it would’ve saved me a lot of what-if-it’s-not-that-good moments, if I’d done so earlier.
3. Don’t sell yourself short. I was close to doing so with a few publishing houses, but seeing the regular contracts I had a real wake-up call discovering the way artists are given crumbles and pennies for their work. Self-publishing became a bit of a protest for my part. It’s a bit early for me to say it’s “the better way”, but whatever you do: know your worth and do not settle for less.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
It’s hard to choose one, but I’ll be very simple here: pursue what you love.
What are you reading now?
Just like with my writing, I’m always reading multiple books at once;
“Shantaram” by David Gregory Roberts
“Norwegian wood” by Haruki Murakami
“The Zodiac Trials” by Michele Khalil
“The four hour work week” by TIm Ferris
What’s next for you as a writer?
For now it’s mostly about getting my physical paperback copies of “Truthful Roots” in place (Amazon has been a pain if I’m being honest) and finishing the sequel. I’m currently on draft two and very excited about how it’s coming together!
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?
Tough question but I’d definitely go for the 4 option.
“War and Peace” by Lev Tolstoj (I haven’t read it yet, but for the sake of culture and page-count).
“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll
“The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy” by Douglas Adams (it’s hilarious).
“The Name of the Wind” by Patrick Rothfus. The beauty of his prose makes you not even care he’s taking decades to finish book three.
I would also ask for a typewriter if possible. A stranded island would be perfect for writing.
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Victoria M. Steinsøy Website
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