I Tell Myself I Write Because I

Until The Eighties, Oslo Was A Rather Boring Town, But It's Changed A Lot, And Is Now Much More Cosmopolitan. If I Go Downtown, I Visit The Harbour To See The Tall Ships And The Ferries, And To Admire The Modern Architecture Such As The Opera House Or The New Astrup Fearnley Museum On The Water's Edge.

When I Propose A Candidate For A Job I Don't Do It Because The Person In Question Is The Best But Because He Is The One The Client Will Employ. I Provide Them With A Head That Is Good Enough, Placed On A Body They Want. [...] The World Is Full Of People Who Pay Serious Money For Bad Pictures By Good Artists. And Mediocre Heads On Tall Bodies.

At Nineteen I Was Pretty Sure I Was Going To Be A Professional Soccer Player. At That Time I Played For One Of The Norwegian Premier Leagues. But I Tore Ligaments In Both Knees, So I Started Studying Business Administration And Economics And Became A Financial Analyst, And I Worked At A Brokerage Firm As A Stockbroker.

I Was A Really Bad Taxi Driver. I Only Collided Twice But It Was One Time Too Much.

When You're An Established Name, You Know That A Children's Book Will Have A Pretty Good Chance Of Getting Picked Up. Like Madonna. It's Not That I Had This Great Idea. Actually, In My Case, It Was A Great Idea.