Get to know the author penning the next book in the internationally beloved ‘Millenium’ series

When Swedish author Karin Smirnoff sits down to write, gut feeling is the driving force. Interpersonal relationships come a close second. She usually begins, fittingly, with the very first sentence, making sure it “feels like fun or as if you can build something around it”. Born and raised in Umeå, a tiny town in northern Sweden, Smirnoff settled into her authorship later in life. “Live first and write later,” she says. “It’s the thing – depending on what you’re writing about, of course.”

Looking back, Smirnoff says she sees potential in pieces she wrote long before her debut. “I recently read a piece from ’92,” she says. At the time, she was a recently divorced mother of three with no thoughts of pursuing writing professionally. “I had to shelve my aspirations to have a steady income,” she shrugs, her northern pragmatism shining through.

Having dabbled in journalism, photography, editing and even owning a woodworking factory in Piteå – which she still operates “on the side” – Smirnoff finally applied to a course in creative writing at Lund University in the south of Sweden. “I just couldn’t imagine myself selling wood items for the rest of my life,” she says. She was accepted off the strength of the first chapter from her debut novel, Jag for ner till bror (My Brother). Three months into the two-year course, Smirnoff finished her first draft. “Once I start writing, I write fast,” she says. “I don’t try to overthink. I just write.”

Related: Read the latest Vogue Scandinavia exclusive short story by Karin Smirnoff: 'What’s Yours is Mine'

The first in a trilogy set in the remote and rugged region of Norrland, Smirnoff’s home base, Jag for ner till bror follows Jana as she returns home to see her twin brother. What ensues is a story of a family torn apart by violence, addiction, and secrets. “All my books are about violence in some form,” says Smirnoff. “I think it’s a very interesting topic because it’s expansive, from the small violence within the family to the big global violence – violence against nature, for example.”

Since then, the acclaimed author and her storytelling prowess have captivated readers around the world, her raw and gripping prose garnering critical acclaim and numerous literary awards. “I don’t write for an audience, I write for myself, and if there happens to be an audience, then that’s great,” she says. “It makes me a little freer too; you don’t have you don’t have to think so commercially.”

Last year she stepped into the shoes of the late Stieg Larsson to continue his impossibly popular Millenium series (which began with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), taking the baton from fellow author David Lagercrantz. A project for which the gut-driven author has had to adapt to a more commercial mindset. “This project is so much bigger,” she says. “In order to get the assignment, I have had to write a synopsis, for example.” Smirnoff’s writing is both poetic and unflinching. Her characters are vividly drawn, and their struggles are all too real, making her work universally appealing. Her debut trilogy has sold almost 700,000 copies, being translated into 15 languages. She believes some of this stems from her “valueless writing.”

Almost all the characters who populate her books, Smirnoff has, in some form, either met or heard of. “The characters should not be filtered through what I think, they have to be the ones who think and feel,” she says. “I do not explain why they feel that way, but rather use action.” She believes this makes it easier for the reader to identify with the characters, seeing themselves in their actions – both the good and the bad. “I think that is an important process in reading in general, that there is some recognition that a person is a person... regardless.”

As for how her stories, especially her surroundings, come to life and build a crescendo of emotion and recognition, Smirnoff says she usually plucks inspiration from reality. “I was in a hotel which was painted with bright Clas Ohlson signs, and everything became so unbelievably blue and ugly and cold,” she says, speaking about her short story What ’s Yours is Mine for Vogue Scandinavia. “That’s how it often works when I write; I pick up things I know and then spin something around it instead of relying on fantasy.”

Related: Read our exclusive short story by award-winning crime novelist Viveca Sten

As so often is the case for Smirnoff, her piece for this issue is based on reality – a story her friend told her. “She got together with a guy who couldn’t let go of his ex, and because he couldn’t, their relationship didn’t work,” she explains. Smirnoff ’s friend then moved onto another relationship, but when she told her new partner about the ex-obsessed ex, he too developed an obsession with the woman. “And he started following her more or less, and they became a couple, too,” Smirnoff says.

Capturing Smirnoff among Carl Milles’ mythical sculptures at Millesgården in Stockholm seemed a perfect fit given the author’s epic emotional storytelling – her very own ‘Greek Tragedies’ of sorts. In the case of this story, neither party gets what they want from their partner. As she puts it, “I don’t think you get anything out of a relationship if you live in an idea of how something should be instead of living with how it is.”