Novellas and short fiction

I write about people in transition: places where belonging remains uncertain, relationships that quietly shift, and moments when the everyday comes sharply, unsettlingly into focus.

In brief

I have completed the year-long programme at Forfatterskolen, as well as a short-story course with Norwegian author Rolf Enger. Born in Hønefoss almost forty-nine years ago, I now live in the Old Town of Fredrikstad, Norway.

Works in progress

Novella

Working title: Documentation of Future Happiness

Erik lived in the same house for twenty-nine years. He knew every step of the staircase, the view across the rooftops, the smell of Karin’s baking from the kitchen. Then they sold the house to their daughter and son-in-law, because it was the right thing to do. Now they live in a flat with an underground garage and seven steps between the living-room table and the kitchen counter. Their son-in-law Holger is a man who looks after his family. He is polite, orderly and grateful. He trims the hedge, manages the money and always knows what makes the most sense. Cathrine is safe. The children are quiet and well behaved. Everything is in order. Blink is a novel about what remains difficult to see when you keep looking anywhere but at yourself — and the cost of choosing not to look.

Status
Under revision
Length
Approx. 35,000 words

Short fiction

Collection: In Between

Stories about thresholds, farewells and the small choices that grow larger than anyone first imagined.

Status
Final selection in progress
Format
8–12 stories

Publishers / independent release

A concise introduction

This website brings together a biography, an overview of current manuscripts, selected writing and contact details. A dedicated book page, newsletter archive and press images can be added as the work moves towards publication.

Purpose
Professional overview
Next step
Publication details to follow

A glimpse of the writing

It was only when the house fell silent that she heard how much remained inside it. Not sounds, not words, but the pressure they had left behind. As though the rooms were still waiting for someone to finish a sentence.
From a work in progress. This provisional translation can be replaced with an approved English excerpt at any time.

For manuscript enquiries, readings or collaborations

akvaernstrom@gmail.com

Keep in touch

I only send an email when there is genuinely something to share — a book release, a newly published story or another piece of news worth passing on.