The spirits of Nordic folklore come calling in this entrancing tale of family secrets and ancient mysteries by the #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Haunting of Brynn Wilder.
We chat with author Wendy Webb about her new release, The Keepers of Metsan Valo, along with writing, book recommendations, and more!
Hi, Wendy! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Let’s see. I’m the mother of an awesome son who makes me laugh. I’m a Minneapolis girl who lives a stone’s throw from one of our city’s famous river parkways with a good white German shepherd who takes his job of protecting my house very seriously. I’ve been a journalist my whole career and saw my first book published in 2010. For the first time, I put my personal life into a book, The Haunting of Brynn Wilder, and was nervous to have it published, but it was the bestselling book in the world for a month and, hey, the love I put into it came back to me. Truly astonishing.
As the year draws to a close, how has 2021 been for you?
A whole lot better than 2020.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
My grandma lived with us, and she was always the story lady. She read to me when I was a child. When I was about 10 years old, she opened Little Women and began to read, and my entire life was laid out before me. I identified with the main character, Jo March, so much so that I thought this book set a century ago was somehow about me. Jo was a writer. And that meant I was, too. It wasn’t so much a love of writing but a certainty that that’s what I was meant to do.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
Little Women for sure. After reading that book, I knew I’d be a writer, but I had no idea what I’d write. Then, a librarian put A Wrinkle in Time into my hands, and I became really intrigued with the paranormal. So that’s how it started.
Your new novel, The Keepers of Metsan Valo, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Could ancient folktales be real?
What can readers expect?
A good, creepy scare, a family mystery, engaging characters, and a beautiful setting.
Where did the inspiration for The Keepers of Metsan Valo come from?
No matter where your ancestors come from, we all have supernatural lore and legends in our backgrounds. Many of those tales are pretty dark and eerie. I started looking into the ancient folktales of my own heritage after my mother passed away. She was the granddaughter of immigrants from Finland. It may surprise you to know — it surprised me — that J.R.R. Tolkien used an epic, ancient Finnish poem, the Kalevala, as his inspiration for Lord of the Rings. I researched further and was astonished to learn that the Vikings pretty much left Finland alone. Why? They believed Finns could control the spirits of the air and the water and the land and could sink their ships if they wanted to. So basically my ancestors were thought of as Gandalf. (I’m trying to get my friends to call me that now but they won’t do it.) That all led me to wonder… what if that were true? And what would that look like in present day?
Can you tell us a bit about the challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
I wrote this book during the pandemic, so it was a hard time for everyone, not just me. But I loved being able to escape into this story.
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I loved Anni and Theo. It’s fun when characters just take on a life of their own, and those two did.
What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?
The best advice: Show, don’t tell.
What’s next for you?
My next book is done and will come out next fall, so I’m excited about that. Working on the one that will come next. It’s in the idea stage, which is always fun. I go to sleep thinking about stories.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
So many. Anything by M.J. Rose, Carol Goodman, Sarah Stonich, Emily Carpenter, and a new book, set to come out this spring by Simone St. James, The Book of Cold Cases. I got an advance copy and blurbed it — really great for any fan of gothics and true crime.
