Hakan Nesser Quotes
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There are 195 crime books published in Sweden every year. You could cut that to 100 and keep the good ones.
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I am not a political writer. I agree with Stieg Larsson and Henning Mankell, who are social writers. I can't write in that fashion. I am not good enough for that. What I am interested in is family dramas and why we are doing bad things to each other and what our motives are.
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While I'm writing, I'm also the first reader, and I want to write a book where I'm excited about what happens next.
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I like the slow Scandinavian pace. I don't need cliffhangers in every chapter because I don't want to make a Hollywood movie out of it.
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You should never ask, 'What would the readers like now?' Instead, you should ask, 'What would I like if I was a reader?' And then you must trust your own mind.
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If you want to start reading Swedish crime fiction, you have to start with Sjowall and Wahloo.
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It is difficult to survive as an author in Sweden, so for commercial success, it is good idea to write crime, get yourself translated, and live happily ever after.
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Writing is a creative process, and you need to have the doors and windows of your mind open so that you have the possibility of change.
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I was a late bloomer. I was 38 when my first book was out and 43 when my first crime novel was out. I had a story that could only be told as a crime story. I think the genre is good; it deals with the fundamental questions of life and death. The problem is there are too many bad crime stories.
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A good story can travel in time and borders; it hits you no matter where you are.