What inspired you to write a book about the stallo people and how did the idea for Stallo originate?

I didn’t set out to write a book about the stallo people, I more or less stumbled across their mythological footprints when expanding my troll story geographically. What is a troll? It’s a makeshift denomination for an elusive, mischievous supernatural being, originating from the stories of our oral tradition, therefore pertaining a certain degree of authenticity. In the sami culture of old, such beings, roaming the borders of reality, were referred to as stallo, or stallú, which is a sami word of obscure origin. Maybe it means steel, maybe it doesn’t – the etymological obscurity contributes to the sense of mystery. So the troll and the stallo are essentially the same. It’s obviously part of my literary method to adumbrate a hidden connection like that. The idea popped up when I moved a lawn and happened to find out where or rather how the troll was hiding. All these long years it was hiding in our domestic fauna, under my very nose. Hidden, however, is not forgotten. Continue reading →