The Best Book in the World Blog Tour

Following phenomenal success with The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, Hesperus Press is delighted to be publishing a wacky and witty new Swedish novel from undiscovered author Peter Stjernström.

The Best Book in the World follows two competitive authors racing against each other to write the bestselling book of all time – imagine a book so amazing that it will end up on all the bestseller lists in every category imaginable, thriller, self-help, cookery, business, dieting… a book that combines everything in one!

Peter Stjernström tells us more about what it takes to write ‘the best book in the world.’

Where did you get the idea for The Best Book in the World?

I asked myself: what would be a really good title for a book? The ultimate name? Once it popped up the whole story came to my head with a big BOOM. It happened at a restaurant and I told my family practically the whole outline in the following minutes.

How did you choose the characters of Titus and Eddie X?

If you’ve spent some time in the book industry you’ve probably met these guys several times. They start out young and bold Eddie X and end up tired and grumpy like Titus. Men (yes, they´re always men) who regardless of age think that their highly important texts are the greatest gifts to mankind. That kind of bravery interests me. Well, the more I wrote about Titus and Eddie X the more I realized that I am no different. We’re very important people, all three of me.

What attracted you to writing about writing?

I love meta stories. And I love text and the craftsmanship. So what could be better than writing a meta story about writing text? That has just got to be The Best Book in the World!

How did you make the decision to leave the financial industry to focus on writing?

The short version: I was bored.

The long version: I was utterly and fatally bored and got my creativity and life back when I quit.

Do you have a writing routine?

Yes. I get up in the morning and write all day. I start with editing the text from yesterday and then move forward in the story from there. This goes on for a week and then I have to spend time with other projects. When the week is over I get severe anxiety problems if I don’t know when the next writing week will come.

Who is your favourite character?

Do you mean in The Best Book in the World? I really love all my characters. Even the annoying telephone sales person Fabian. Because sometimes I love to hate. I need it to raise the temperature.

What do you consider the best book in the world to be?

The best contemporary book is The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón and for older stuff I’d say a collection of short stories by Edgar Allan Poe.

Which other writers inspire you?

There are so many! But I guess I have to thank some of the guys that made me love the adventure of reading: Jules Verne, Alexandre Dumas, Robert Louis Stevenson, Selma Lagerlöf, Joseph Heller, Jean M. Auel, Luke Rhinehart, John Kennedy Toole and Franz Kafka.

Are you working on anything new at the moment?

Yes. But all I can say is that it won’t be the Best Book in the World.

Want to know more? Check back tomorrow to read my review on The Best Book in the World. The book is out today in English and you can buy it in all the usual places. And probably some unusual ones too.

Q+A provided by publisher.