Today is the national day of the Sami people who live in the north of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Hurray!
Actually it`s not entirely true to say they only live in the north of these four countries. They used to have large settlements far south, at least in the Nordic countries (not so sure about Russia) and today many Sami people have moved to the large cities in the south.
Great insights from a French woman who struggles with the Norwegian (and Danish) “art” of seduction.
So many talented fanfiction writers have evolved and taken the big step into the literary world. I`m happy to say that several of my friends and acquaintances are now published writers and I`m very proud of them.
List of Southern Vampire Mysteries fanfiction writers who have published books
But there`s one friend who is very special to me. She`s published around 70 (!) fanfiction stories and has been my beta reader for years. I`ve even been so lucky as to be able to visit her last summer and was thrilled by the hospitality she and her husband showed my and my family when we came knocking on their door in North Carolina.
If you read Southern Vampire Mysteries fanfiction you know her as Suki59 but she`s just published her first book under the name Suki McMinn.
Suki McMinn
If you want to read a story about a vampire who is not 300 years old and knows it all, then this is the book for you because in this book Derek Randall is turned just a few days after he`s met the love of his life. He now has to cope with his new world but finds it hard to stay away from Clara Deveraux. It`s a book with love and suspense – and vampires! – and with Suki`s inside knowledge of the fashion world in Los Angeles.
Drop Dead Gorgeous by Suki McMinn
This is the blurb from Amazon:
Derek Randall had a perfect life as an L.A. supermodel falling in love with Clara Devereux, his dream girl. But when he’s murdered and becomes a vampire, his world is turned upside down by his evil maker, Madeline. He struggles with his new existence, finds help from his nest of brothers, and goes to Clara. They renew their love and hatch a plan that will get him back in the spotlight, but it’s a dangerous game, and as Madeline circles closer, Derek has to choose: his life or Clara’s.
This book is the first in a series about vampires in Los Angeles. I loved Suki`s first book and can`t wait for the next one to be published! And I hope this book sells a gazillion copies 🙂
Today is the first Sunday in Advent and it`s also the 1st of December. Christmas is right around the corner and I`m sure that what`s on everyone`s mind is what Scandinavians eat for Christmas. Right? 😉
To understand the Christmas food in the three Scandinavian countries you have to know a little about the financial and agricultural history here. I can sum it up in two sentences: Denmark was a country with rich farms and an abundance in food and Norway was a poor country with small farms where people had to make do with what they had. Sweden was both.
Did you ever wonder how IKEA finds name for all the furniture they sell? They have Kramfors, Imfors, Håbol, Leksvik, Hemnes, Sandnes, Roskilde, Björkudden, Kaustby, Helmer, Elmrik and many thousand more.
Well, wonder no more – it has been revealed. And Denmark is considering going to war with Sweden over it (not really, of course, but it`s been added to the list Swedish insults to Denmark).
Scandinavia and the World
IKEA`s name rules
These are the rules IKEA uses when the company finds names for new products:
Denmark = a rug???
The reactions to this have mainly been Danish. Denmark is a rug? Denmark is something you walk on? Denmark is a doormat?
The official reply from IKEA to this is very diplomatic: We felt that Denmark is strong enough to carry us all. Those Swedes … cute as ever 🙂
Is this Denmark?
Exceptions
IKEA has 9,500 different products and I have to add that there are exceptions to these rules, like the bookcase Billy (the name sounds very much like “billig”, which means cheap, and I suspect this is the reason for the name).
Read more about IKEA`s product names. (in Swedish).
The Ylvis brothers (yes, the ones making us all wonder what the fox says) just uploaded another video, this time about the Norwegian phenomenon called “hytte”. It made me realize that I had to write about the craziness that Norwegians surround themselves with when it comes to their life in the cabins.
Sweden and Denmark
Now, Swedes and Danes have cabins too. In Denmark they are usually situated close to the beach and called “sommerhus” (summer house). If you look at a map, you`ll understand why. Denmark is small and has a lot of coast line due to all the islands. These summer houses are usually close to one another and leave you with very little privacy – as I said, Denmark is small.
Swedes also have a lot of cabins along their coast line and on small islands but, like the Norwegians, they also have cabins in the mountains. Swedes are not as extreme as the Norwegians, though. No one is.
Did you ever wonder what the fox say? I mean, we all know what dogs and cats and cows say (even if there seems to be some national differences) but what does a fox say?
This is the question Norwegian comedy duo Ylvis are asking us all in this funny video:
I know they have me wondering now.
Ylvis
Ylvis are the two brothers from Bergen, Norway, Bård Ylvisåker and Vegard Ylvisåker, and they have a show on Norwegian television. They aren`t always very funny (I must admit that I usually catch the funnier bits on YouTube as I can`t be bothered to watch the whole show) but because of their musical talent, their music videos are usually hilarious. They make fun of everything from dubstep to Scandinavian “dansband” music.
Here are a couple of their songs:
I have been contacted by more than one person wanting to date Scandinavian people or even marry one of us. My reply? Tough luck! Because Scandinavians don’t date. We hardly even have a word for it. The Scandinavian word for ‘date’ is really old-fashioned and one my grandmother might have used but probably didn’t because I don’t think she dated either. So the few times we have to use the word ‘date’ (usually to describe something foreigners do) we use the English word for it.
And we very rarely get married.
So how do we figure on top of these lists of “happiest people in the world,” you wonder? And how do we procreate if we don’t date and don’t marry?
How to date a Scandinavian
A few years ago I wrote a fanfiction called Highway to Hell about road rage on a European highway. It described how the heroine was stuck behind a truck and had the hero of the story flashing his lights to get past her, much to her annoyance.
But this summer I drove 6400 kilometers in nine different US states and I realized how strange my story must have been to you Americans (at least if the traffic in your state is anything like the traffic I met). The highways we drove on were like a train ride: Everyone was going around the same speed and you were just cruising along. No one breathing down your neck and honking the horn to get past you and no one driving like snails and turtles, stopping all traffic. The traffic was nothing like my story – it was so nice and cozy that 6400 kilometers felt like a … well, vacation 🙂 .
Yesterday I was driving home from Denmark, through Sweden, and let me tell you – the traffic in Sweden is nothing like a train ride. You are allowed to go 110 km/h or 120 km/h on the Swedish highways but people will be going at anything from 70 to 170. With two lanes it means you have to dodge the slow traffic in the inner lane (and sometimes in the outer lane because the bus going 80 *must* go past the bus going 70) and the blinking, honking fast travelers in the outer lane. So if my story Highway to Hell confused you when you read it, it`s unfortunately a correct description of how things are here. And if it scared you, you should probably think twice about driving on Swedish highways.
It`s not just in Sweden people drive like crazy but Swedes have been known to believe they are invincible in their so-very-safe Volvos. And they have a reason to feel safe because less people are killed in road accidents. Unfortunately, the people who are killed are now no longer sitting in their cars (they are safe there). It`s the pedestrians and the two-wheelers who are killed – probably by people driving safe cars, and driving too fast because they feel so safe.
So one could blame Volvo for making their cars too safe but really, that would be silly. Especially when Volvo makes cool adds like this one. I could forgive Volvo anything after I saw the add yesterda. It made me chuckle – but then I truly hate German techno 🙂
(Are you tired of German techno? Try some Swedish metal!)
T
Yes, I do prefer metal to techno!I went to my birth town Copenhagen this weekend and the main purpose was to see the Viking exhibition at the National Museum. If you follow this blog, you probably already know that I`m fairly interested *cough* in Vikings and seeing this exhibition was high on my list of things I wanted to do.
And they didn`t forget that Vikings were women too!
Vikings who couldn`t afford swords, carried axes
