My story so far...
'Twas a maelstrom of thunder and death, the day the dark princeling came into the world. The foul trumpets of Kaz'an heralded his arrival with blasts powerful enough to change the winds in the sky and the mindless thralls of the kingdom stood at attention all the way to the crimson horizon to hail their new master. The cries of the newborn echoed around the throne room and the denizens of the land roared in furious joy. The man child already knew where his destiny lay. Or that's the way I would like it to have been on the day I was born. Instead it was a fine spring morning in 1973 in the pleasant town of Gothenburg in western Sweden.
I didn't have a clue what I wanted to be when I grew up.
And there was not a mindless thrall as far as the eye could see.
And there was not a mindless thrall as far as the eye could see.
Me and my parents moved into my grandparents' old house by the sea outside Gothenburg, and soon my two younger brothers arrived. Sadly, there were still no trumpets of Kaz'an.
At a young age, I discovered the joy of books. When I started school at the age of seven, my mother told the teacher I had just finished Jules Verne's
Journey to the Center of the Earth. The teacher thought she was joking. She was not.
Ever since then I've been interested in science fiction and the fantastic. In school I was never happier than when it was time to write essays. I would churn out page after page of action stories instead of the usual "What I did during summer holiday" drivel the teacher had asked for.
Luckily, my teachers never seemed to mind.
Maybe they liked action stories.
When I was ten, I - like so many other young boys at that sensitive age - discovered the forbidden but darkly alluring pleasures of role playing games.
When I was ten, I - like so many other young boys at that sensitive age - discovered the forbidden but darkly alluring pleasures of role playing games.
Me and my friends would sit for days on end, rolling our dice, moving our meticulously (but not very well) painted metal orcs, spinning tales of dark and dangerous lands.
And the occasional drunken halfling who betrayed his companions to the city guard and had them all arrested.
Who made up all the tales of dark and dangerous lands?
Guess three times.
We kept playing our RPGs far longer than the other kids on the block. In fact, on certain nights, when the stars align and the moon shines red with blood, we still gather our worn dice and meet up for more adventures in the dark and dangerous lands. The only difference is the Mountain Dew has been replaced with micro brewed IPA and fine Scotch, and we no longer have to wear fake beards to look like grizzled adventurers.
The drunken halfling still makes the occasional appearance, though.
The drunken halfling still makes the occasional appearance, though.
After high school I did my military service in the Swedish Royal Marines. That was a bit of a heaven and hell experience.
On the one hand, it was great fun (I love to blow stuff up with powerful explosives, shoot big guns and ride in cool boats).
On the other hand, it was a real pain in the behind, because I discovered I am allergic to running mile after mile in full combat gear, crawling through icy mud and making hundreds of push ups. It makes me very tired and nauseous.
And I don't like to kill things.
Not even mosquitoes. Unless they draw first blood, in which case they will be dealt with swiftly and painlessly.
Still, I got a green beret for my troubles and learned how to blow up bridges. It's always good to have career options when you don't know what you want to be when you grow up.
After surviving the military, I went to university to get a degree. Since I still didn't know what I wanted to be, I asked my parents for advice.
My mother suggested teaching (she was a teacher), since I like to explain things to people and can't stop telling them useless bits of trivia they never asked for. By the way, did you know you can fly to Mars in 2-5 days with an acceleration of only 1g?
Amazing.
My father suggested studying computer science (he worked with computers), since I liked to play video games.
It was a close call, but the video games tipped the scales, and four years later I had my Masters degree in computing and went to work in the IT business, where I am still plodding along.
The trumpets of Kaz'an? Silent as the grave.
The trumpets of Kaz'an? Silent as the grave.
I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up.
Maybe writing is my thing.
Making stuff up for a living sounds like a job for a responsible adult.
Right?
