I was lucky to get an interview with Karen Lykkebo, the author of Heir to The Sun, and one of this year’s #SPFBO8 semifinalists.

Please, tell us a bit about yourself…
Ah, my favorite question to hate! Hello, hello, my name is Karen, and I’ve never been too fond of that. I’m from Denmark but live in Sweden where I’m currently studying to become a physical therapist. I have two adorable cats (Ahsoka and Azula) and the cutest boyfriend.

I used to be a marine biologist, but I don’t talk about that too much anymore, and once I lived in California and I love to talk about that.

Mountains and forests are my jam and though my hiking trips have been significantly reduced the past few years, I still spend lots of time just walking and foraging in the forest. It’s my quiet place to zone out and be inspired.

What was the first thought that popped into your mind when you found out you had made it to the semifinals?
A little shocked to be honest! Then very happy and slightly terrified, ha! I’m not very good at getting attention.

Why did you decide to take part in the SPFBO?
I read about it last year on reddit and thought it was a really neat concept. I didn’t really think about it until a few countdowns to the sign-up appeared on Twitter. I wasn’t going to participate (I’m generally an anxious person and ‘contests’ are a bit out of my comfort zone), but then I got tipsy on wine and saw there was still a few spots left. And well… here we are.

The lesson here isn’t to drink but to dare cross your own boundaries once in a while and try something new!

Why should we buy your SPFBO8 book?
Ah! My second-favorite question to hate! Well, uhm, buy it because it’s good?

Heir to The Sun is full of dark humor, fantasy creatures, snippets of romance, and high stakes.

Imagine you finally dared to break up with that abusive piece of sh*t you called your boyfriend, and just as you’ve settled down in a new town, gotten your life together and made a friend, she kidnaps you to a magical world. It could be all bad, but everyone is actually rather nice to you – especially that good-looking elven prince who serves you whiskey – and, hell, there’s even a magical toilet! The only catch is you have to be the Princess of Light. And, oh right, save the world before midsummer because that ex-boyfriend of yours? He’s the Angel of Darkness and he’s not happy you broke it off with him.

That sounds like a really great beginning and an interesting book :-)

What got you into writing? And how long have you been doing it?
Well, kinda sadly a depression got me started. I had (have) so many emotions and conflictions inside me that I had to get them out somehow. It became a therapeutic escape for me.

I’ve always toyed with the idea of writing longer stories as I’ve been daydreaming like a mad-person all my life. I wrote a lot as a teen but stopped as I started university at age 20. In 2018 I finally took the leap and wrote something “proper” (lol I’ll never show that draft to anyone!) and I just knew that I should’ve been writing for years! Then, at a very boring work meeting, the idea for The Palace of Winds came crashing out of nowhere and since I’ve just kept getting more and more inspired as I’m developing my craft and connecting with other writers and authors.

Why did you choose to write fantasy? And why pick this particular fantasy subgenre?
Fantasy is the best! Whether high, epic, urban or whatever. I love to be able to play with different elements and magic and make our otherwise dull world fantastic. I’m mostly writing in the epic genre, dabbled with some dark and a bit of romance too.

Most of Heir to The Sun was thought out as I worked as a barista myself (the MC Aura is a waitress in the beginning of the book) and I’d spent most of my shifts dreaming about all the cool things I wish I could do in a fantasy world. Meet a dragon for instance.

Which other author has had the biggest influence on your writing?
Oof, hard to say! I think most recent it was actually Mark Lawrence’s Book of The Ancestor series, The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, and Robin Hobbs’ Royal Assasin. They really rekindled my love for fantasy and reading and brought some dark themes and personal discoveries I really needed.

As a kid it was The Golden Compass (Philiip Pullman), Dystopia by the Danish author Dennis Jürgensen, and Harry Potter (J. K. Rowling). They opened my eyes to fantasy and the idea of all these worlds existing just beyond our reach that I wanted to explore.

What’s the best thing about being a writer?
For me to have found a home for all the characters and worlds I’ve been carrying around for years. Getting them solidified in writing and see them take shape as more than just shadows in my mind is incredible.

And getting reactions from readers. Have other people get excited from something I made up and wrote down is still very surreal to me.

And I’m very excited to have a fellow Danish writer going all the way to the semi-finals :-)

Speaking of that, how do I get into the semifinals? Just kidding! Or not? Do you perhaps have a tip, scrap of wisdom, or perhaps an author app, tool, or resource that you can really recommend we try?
I have quite literally just yeeted myself into the world of self-publishing in 2020 and I feel like I’m getting new tips and ‘Aha!’ moments every day.

So my greatest resource has been Twitter and connecting with other indie-authors and exploring more of the world of publishing and writing. And a tip for others, and myself!, would be to just try! Try writing, try have someone read it, try send your work to publishers and contest.

What’s the hardest thing about being a writer?
Finding the time to write. Between the everyday responsibilities and hobbies I make slower progress on my stories than I sometimes would like, and being a bit of an overachiever it’s hard to not do “everything all the time.”

Fighting perfectionism is another one for me. I’m better at it now, but as I’m also growing as a writer, it’s really difficult to not re-read my own books and want to add changes.

What new projects are you working on?
Not sure if it qualifies as a “new” project as it’s the trilogy I started writing in 2019, but my main focus right now is to finish the first draft of the third and last book of The Palace of Winds (not my SPFBO entry). Book 1 and 2 are out so I’d love to get the conclusion to the story soon.

Then, I’m itching to start writing a sequel to Heir to The Sun. It’ll dabble a lot more in romance than the first and I've got lots of disasters for my chaotic princess to go through.

Then there’s the finished draft of a dark fantasy with some sibling rivalry I’ve been sitting on for a few years but have not had the time to edit yet. And that sweet idea for a thief-cheats-thief sapphic forest-spirit romance I’ve been writing notes for.

… there are too many good ideas to work with!

Anything else you would like to say before we close?
Thanks so much for letting me ramble!

Any time, and thank you for the good advice! Best of luck with Heir to The Sun and all your upcoming books. A big thank you for doing the interview, Karen :-)