by Timothy Pike

Bjorn Leesson is a South Carolina–based writer and author of the Outside the Thalsparr series, which consists of five books, two of which are available for pre-order right now.

I interviewed Bjorn and asked him how he came up with the idea for this series, and given his professional background—combined with his self-professed fascination with “just about everything”—his answer was enlightening.

Thanks for joining us, Bjorn. What’s your favorite thing about living in South Carolina?

I have traveled from my roots, but not very far. I was born and raised in the Charleston, South Carolina, area until my wife and I decided to move to the center, between the locations of our real-world jobs, the Sandhills in the Midlands of South Carolina. I love it here! Low density, quiet, laid back, and rural. I don’t think I could ever move back to an urban or suburban setting now.

With a background in industrial manufacturing, which almost seems like the opposite of creative writing, what made you want to be an author?

I have always been keen to write, it just wasn’t until I managed to survive into my later years that I decided to really try to publish something. But as for the factory background, I have met dozens of the most interesting characters I could ever imagine meeting, and naturally, many of those traits made it into characters in the Outside the Thalsparr series.

For those who haven’t started reading yet, can you describe your series, Outside the Thalsparr?

Although the story overall is very complex, layered, with dozens of story arcs overlapping, I would summarize the series thusly: The Dokkrsdottir is not your ordinary Norse woman of the Viking age. One of the great warriors of her time, she soon learns that the hardest battles are not always those fought with a sword and shield. Through countless trials and tests, she is led by visions and omens on numerous adventures with the help of steadfast friends and family to discover her mysterious supernatural destiny, one more extraordinary than anyone could ever have imagined.

What gave you the idea for the series?

A mix of a few of my dozens of personal interests: history (Norse Exploration, or Viking Age, in this case), the paranormal, and genealogy, primarily, with several more to a lesser degree. The story of Myrgjol began churning in my head due to a confluence of two things: my own genealogy and new information in the field of archaeology that confirmed there were indeed powerful women who were Norse warriors, and even revered as such in leadership roles. With those sparse beginnings, I planned for a short story explaining this fictitious (but theoretically possible) female Viking warrior named Myrgjol. After two more years, and the tossing in of several more of my interests, I am at this minute finalizing the manuscript for the seventh installment, Rune of Building, in this series of seven books totaling about 750,000 words!

It seems like you’re fascinated by just about everything. What impact does this have on your writing?

Yes, and everything! From the moment I decided this project was going to be more than a short story, I wanted to bring a sense of realism and relatability to the pages. That means unique, complex, and believable characters who make mistakes, have flaws, have plans backfire in their faces, and, importantly, the notion that the “good guys” sometimes do bad things, and the “bad guys” sometimes do good things. And what better way to do that than to find interest in all things in life? How else can we build an in-depth world full of wonderfully deep characters if we come from only two dimensions?

I wanted to bring a sense of realism and relatability to the pages. That means unique, complex, and believable characters who make mistakes and have flaws—and importantly, the notion that the “good guys” sometimes do bad things, and the “bad guys” sometimes do good things.

Can you tell us about the research that went into writing these books?

Inestimable! I drew on my studies of various “-ologies,” going all the way back to grade school, for this series, so I wouldn’t have a clue how to quantify how much research—both direct and indirect—went into the Outside the Thalsparr series. No matter the actual number of hours, though, it was all worth it to bring Myrgjol, her family and friends, and even her enemies, into fantasy existence.

Do you have any writing rituals or non-negotiables when you sit down to write?

No, not really. I just need to have my mind “in the zone” and the rest seems to fall into place.

With two releases coming up in the next few months, I’m wondering: how are you writing novels this fast?

I am not sure, but I am taking advantage of it! In the past, my attention span has not been exceedingly long—and this is probably why I only really wrote short stories if I was on fiction at the time. But for whatever reason, Myrgjol’s universe exploding with growth has captivated my mind. Installment after installment, I just kept finding more to write and more characters to throw into the mix. “Strike while the iron is hot,” they say, so that’s what I did.

Do you have any advice for writers who may wish to add “Author” to their resumes or switch careers altogether?

Only make sure it is your passion if you step in. Undoubtedly, the reader will know if your writing journey degenerates into just another job to pay the bills with no passion behind it.

What’s in the works?

I haven’t decided one hundred percent, but I am leaning toward Rune of Building being the final installment of the Outside the Thalsparr series. However, I have a whole slate of spin-off novels on the board to carry on the stories of some of the other characters from the series. I don’t know how many yet. Then after that, who knows? Stay tuned.

Bjorn Leesson was born in the South Carolina lowcountry a long time ago. He has worked in manufacturing all his working life to feed himself but has nourished his mind with the study of many topics: history of all eras, the paranormal, astronomy, writing of different types, photography, archeology, genealogy, vexillology, some other -ologies, even stock car racing for a couple of years, and on and on. Bjorn finds just about everything fascinating in some way and has been accused of being too easily entertained. He currently lives in the Midlands of South Carolina with his wife of twenty-five years on their hobby farm.

Visit Bjorn at his website and connect with him on Facebook.