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andreas
norman
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Andreas Norman made his debut as
a poet, published by Albert Bonniers
in 1996. Shortly after, he joined the
Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
where he worked in security issues,
i.e. during the ‘Arabic Spring’ and in
Egypt, Syria and Tunisia, as well as
being part of the Counter-Terrorism
Unit and working with terrorism
prevention issues. He is now stationed
at the Swedish Embassy in Vilnius.
Into A Raging Blaze, published
spring 2013, is his debut novel.
”A promising poet, who becomes a di
w rites a thriller - he’s got the languageplomat, who
knowledge, he’s got the story. It’s a sci , he’s got the
both urgent and thought-provoking, andntillating novel,
exploding
with action.”
Gunnar Nirstedt,
senior editor, Albert Bonniers Förlag
Into a Raging Blaze
ANDRE ASNORMAN
THRILLER
ALBERT BONNIERS FÖRLAG
ANDRE AS NORMAN
THRILLER
Mono Studio
Miroslav Sokcic
Kronobergstgatan 21
112 33 Stockholm
Tel: 070-765 53 64
[email protected]
Carina Dymek is a rising star in the Swedish
Foreign Ministry. A bright future as a diplomat
is laid out for her. During a business trip to
Brussels, she is approached by a mysterious man
who insists on giving her a USB memory stick.
As it turns out, the stick contains a classified
report outlining a new European counterterrorism agency. According to regulations, she
passes the report on to her superiors _ and is
the next day suspended and thrown out on the
street. Infuriated by this injustice, she decides
to clear her name by finding the man who gave
her the report and uncover the truth.
Bente Jensen, a senior officer at the Swedish
Security Service, is in charge of investigating
the case of Carina Dymek. She is immediately
approached by the British MI6. They claim to
have evidence that the young Swedish diplomat
is acting on behalf of an islamist network.
But the MI6 is far too insisting, and Bente
Jensen suspects that Carina Dymek is only
a pawn in a much larger game. Carina soon
becomes aware that she is being targeted by a
global organisation. Is it the British MI6? Or
a terrorist network? And what role does Carina
Dymek’s Egyptian boyfriend Jamal play in all
of this? Who is the hunter and who is being
hunted?
Into A Raging Blaze is an exciting and
high-tempo fusion of Le Carre- and the Bourne
films, written with a strong sense of drama and
language.
An interview with Andreas Norman
Since your debut as a poet in 1996, you’ve
written various works in different subjects.
What drives you to explore the thriller
genre?
ANDREAS: It’s true, I’m a civil servant and
this novel was written alongside my work as
a Swedish diplomat. I didn’t plan for Into a
Raging Blaze to be a thriller when I started
writing. After a few hundred pages I realized
it had grown into exactly that; a political
thriller. It proved to be the best form for
the story I was trying to tell. The world of
diplomacy and intelligence, from which I come
and also describe, is closed, full of silences,
secret agreements and power. It invites the
drama of the thriller genre. I like books with
a secret, that tease the imagination and lure
the reader into another world. The Foreign
Ministry, homeland security forces, and the
British MI6 are precisely such worlds.
You’re known for your thoroughness in details.
How important is research in your writing?
ANDREAS: I am careful. Perhaps it’s a scar
left from working for the Foreign Services
- I want to have all my facts right. Into a
Raging Blaze is a thriller written from
within the system, I would say. I think
research should give a story authenticity.
Authenticity in the setting and characters,
in how things work, is important for creating
tension and a feeling of believability. I think
most people are curious and fascinated to learn
exactly what a working day at the Foreign
Ministry is like, how contacts are made
between the Swedish and British intelligence
services when there is a terror threat, or how
things are done in a meeting room in Brussels.
It’s about being specific, making things come to
life. I did research by interviews, visiting the
places where the story is set and by searching
for source material - information about things
I didn’t already know, in order to get the
details right. Not everything got included,
there were lots of facts I left out. Research
gives me a feeling of safety when I write and
develop a story, and I believe readers get a
stronger reading experience.
Which authors inspire you?
ANDREAS: John le Carre- and Graham Greene.
Both authors have a beautiful, concise style
and a talent for storytelling that connects
in a deep way to human subjects alongside
international politics. It’s about being able to
write about serious subjects in an entertaining
and captivating way. That’s what I hope to
achieve with Into a Raging Blaze. Le Carreand Greene both shared the experience of
working within the diplomatic and intelligence
services and to write from inside, just as I do.
Their work is inspirational.
You’ve explored a wide range of fields
representing Sweden abroad. How come you’ve
chosen politics?
ANDREAS: I’ve always been engaged in
international events. It was first awakened
during the war in former Yugoslavia when
I was a student. I have a strong urge to
understand larger political questions. For
me, politics is about people and power, about
conflicts and often opposing visions of how
society should look. It’s a fascinating field,
where strong feelings are met with the law,
and bureaucracies with chaotic events. My
work as a diplomat gives me access to people
and situations I would never otherwise have
encountered, naturally inspiring my writing.
Working as a diplomat can be much less
glamorous than others imagine, but sometimes I
get a dizzy feeling when I realize I’m right in
the middle of a big event. Like taking part in
the UN’s work in Egypt and Tunisia during the
‘Arab Spring’, a very powerful experience.
Everything fell into place when I rewrote the
text. Of course, a lot of her characteristics are
mirroring myself and my experiences. At the
same time, because she is a woman, she became
more of her own person, she started to surprise
me, a more rounded personality as a second
generation immigrant, a woman in a male
dominated environment and a woman in love.
She sparked my curiosity, and I started liking
her a lot.
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What distinguishes your story from real
life? Does it depict correctly domestic and
international politics?
Tell us about Carina Dymek, why did you choose
her as your main character?
ANDREAS: She’s a normal, capable person
who happens to find herself pressed
between competing global interests without
understanding it, and is forced to handle
extreme and dangerous situations. When I
started writing the main character was a
man, but the character continued to develop.
Andreas Norman’s upcoming book Into a Raging
Blaze, to be released by Albert Bonnier
Forlag spring 2013, was sold on a pre-empt to
Gyldendal in Norway only four hours after the
Norwegian Editor, Siren Maroy, received
the
manuscript in her mailbox.
_
:
ANDREAS: Into a Raging Blaze is close to
real life, if I dare to say so. Of course I
have given myself freedom to invent certain
things. But real life is breathtaking, so why
not write as it is? I know about diplomacy
and I want to describe intelligence work as
it operates today: large organizations with
thousands of employees and an enormous
capacity to find the smallest detail about
an individual out of the global traffic of
information. It was important to keep my
story close to real life, making it believable
and tight.
I had some spare time in the morning
and started to glance through the
script. Before I knew it minutes had
turned into hours. It was simply
outstanding. I really don’ t think I’ve
read such an excellent Nordic
novel in many years.
It’s apparent the author knows what
he writes about, BUT most
importantly – he writes very well
and knows how to excite the reader.
Siren Marøy
Gyldendal Norsk Forlag AS
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For more information
please
contact
R ETL
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[email protected]
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