hi, lovely to meet you!
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT me
my story began when…
my family moved from Finland to Germany when I was two years old. That’s when my journey around the world began: multiple cities in Germany, China, Poland, Finland, and finally, the UK. It wasn’t easy, I had to constantly say goodbye to schools, hobbies, homes and especially, friends.
So the only friends who stayed with me were FICTIONAL FRIENDS! They were people I could relate to, I could spend time with, and many of them gave me hopes that even silly odd little me could become something. Those friends (Anne, Hermione, Jo, Lucy and Susan) meant so much to me. That’s when I decided I wanted to become an author one day, and write relatable characters for others.
I knew there was something around the corner waiting for ME.
I had to find it.
I wanted to write books…
During lockdown I moved in with my granddad, started writing about him and my debut non-fiction book, Coffee with Grandpa (Tammi, 2020) became an immediate bestseller in Finland, making the TOP 10 Bestseller list that year. Since then I have published seven books in total: two narrative non-fiction novels about war evacuees (the first one being my granddad) and how they found a new home after losing everything. My next two books were my own memoir about growing up all around the world, and then a sequel with the stories of five other so called “third culture kids”. All four books discuss the themes of growing up whilst moving around, and how a sense of identity and home is formed when one never has a steady home.
My picture books are also based on the same themes. They are half real / half fictional recollections of my grandfather’s childhood as a war evacuee, told by him to his grandchild, fictional little me.
now I’m a full-time author!
I have published seven books in Finland, with more coming. But since most of them focus on Finnish history, they’re not interesting for the international market. Since I found and built my home in London though, my dream is to be a published author here, to do signings at Waterstones and Foyles, and Backstory in Balham and BookBar in Finsbury Park and Pulp Fiction in Oxford… London is where I write with my writing group, and London is where I discover, read and review books. So now I’m writing my first novel in English, which I will be editing on the Curtis Brown Editing Course in spring 2024… and hopefully, I’ll become a UK author then, too!
Until then, I will be reviewing other people’s brilliant books on my social media channels!
Some awards that I have
won in finland:
Adlibris Children’s Book of the Year 2024
Speaker of the Year 2024, Speakersforum
Storytel Audiobook of the Year 2021 (category
non-fiction and memoirs)Most Positive Finn of the Year, 2021
Cultural Act of the Year 2020, City of Valkeakoski
Memory Act of the Year 2020, Kanta-Häme Memory Association
my main themes:
01
THIRD CULTURE KIDS
02
NEURODIVERGENCE
03
ELDERLY PEOPLE + ALZHEIMERS
FUN FACTS
Go-to coffee order:
oat chai latte, extra hot!
songs on repeat:
I only listen to showtunes, at the moment a lot of Hadestown
I can’t live without:
my 65 Moomin mugs, my Lamy fountain pen and cute earrings
favourite BookS When I was little:
Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, Harry Potter, Narnia, The Help and many more
fictional characters I wanted to be:
Hermione Granger, Lucy and Susan Pevensie, Jo March, Anne Shirley
