'Short and Sweet' Interview with Kati Hiekkapelto

                           Kati with her punk band 'The Bearded Women'

Rotorua Noir will be your first visit to New Zealand. Tell us what you know about New Zealand and what you’re expecting to see and experience while you’re here?

"I know that New Zealand was the first country in the world that gave women the right to vote. This was in 1893. Finland was the third in the world and the first in Europe, in 1906. At the same time, and the first in the world, we allowed full political rights for women to stand for election. So, we Finns and Kiwis share a similar history of being in the front line of issues regarding women’s rights, which we should both be really proud of.

"I also know that you have amazing nature and I can’t wait to see it with my own eyes. I am planning to do a hiking trip before or after the festival. I would particularly like to see a local moose.
Naturally I am looking forward to Rotorua Noir too. It is always very interesting to meet other writers and readers, talk, listen, learn and simply have fun. Events and festivals are very welcome breaks in an otherwise lonely job. And what an opportunity they are to see the world too!
To see a local punk gig would be cool too..."




You’ve been to several crime writing festivals all around the world. How are you expecting Rotorua Noir to be different to the other ones you’ve been to?

"Knowing the organizer Grant Nicol, I’m sure that Rotorua will be different. For the same reason, I am expecting something very special, humorous and fun."




The weather in Rotorua during January will be very different to your country in the grips of winter. What steps are you going to take to combat the heat and humidity?

"I have already started to acclimatize to Rotorua - without consciously knowing it -  almost two years ago I decided that I will not spend winters in Finland anymore. This happened in Reykjavik in November 2016 (at Iceland Noir). I flew to Tenerife straight after Iceland Noir, where Grant was one of the organizers. I felt a kind of strange connection between these mysterious volcanic islands and now I am going to volcanic and mysterious Rotorua, organized by Grant too. I believe it is all written in the stars and that everything is connected and that islands are my destiny. I will have no problem with the heat or the humidity."





Next January you will find that New Zealand and Rotorua in particular is very different to the little island off the coast of Finland you live on. There is no snow in Rotorua and not one single moose either, so you will immediately feel culture shock. Also, there are no saunas in Rotorua but with the humidity here in summer you may not notice them missing. It is a particularly dangerous place to visit with huge spouting geysers, giant volcanoes, pits of mud so hot it bubbles and geothermal areas with pools so hot you can cook food in them. What makes you think you’re going to make it out of New Zealand alive?

"What can I say? I am shocked now! No moose!!!!  I’m not very worried about volcanoes and stuff like that but the lack of moose is definitely a problem. I’m not sure if I can make it without them. But I will try. Inshallah!"

'Short and Sweet' Interview with Fiona Sussman.

So, Fiona, you’ve just got back from a writers’ retreat in Iceland? That sounds like a lot of fun. As you probably know I lived in Reykjavík for two years and worked on the Iceland Noir crime writers’ festival up there.


#1: What were your first impressions of Iceland when you flew into Keflavík airport?

The day I arrived in Iceland the weather was wild and the cloud cover so thick that there were no sneak previews from the sky. But far from being a disappointment, this only added to the mystery of the place. Once on the ground, while waiting for the airport bus, I enjoyed the most delicious toasted sandwich and coffee ever, and from that moment knew I was going to love Iceland.

En route to my hotel I stopped at the Blue Lagoon, Iceland’s iconic geothermal spa. Soaking in the intensely blue water was the perfect antidote to jetlag. The wind howled across the water, churning it into waves; the steam rose to mingle with the mist; and people with silica smeared on their faces sloped past like specters. I had this sense of having arrived on another planet.


#2: Iceland’s known for some crazy foods. Cubes of rotten shark meat, ram’s testicles and grilled sheep’s head are among some of the weirder ones. Did you try anything out of the ordinary while you were there?

Let me preface my answer by saying that I spent a night (the week prior to my arriving in Iceland) in Tofino Hospital – Vancouver Island, with food poisoning. So by the time I reached Iceland, my bravery for adventurous eats had evaporated. I did not try any of the foods mentioned above, nor the horsemeat, minke whale, or puffin on offer. However, in the ten days I was there, I didn’t have one disappointing meal; the seafood was absolutely delicious!

A standout for me was a visit the tomato greenhouses at thttp://fridheimar.is/en, where over a ton of tomatoes is produced every day by the innovative harnessing of geothermal energy and carbon dioxide, and using bumblebees to pollinate the plants. We got to enjoy a delicious tomato-themed meal inside one of the hothouses, surrounded by tall green walls of tomatoes. Tomato cocktails, tomato soup, tomato ravioli, tomato-and-strawberry crumble . . . You get the gist. A truly unique culinary experience.


#3: The Iceland Writers Retreat was founded by the lady who is now the First Lady of Iceland. Did you get to meet her while you were there?

Yes, I did meet Eliza Reid. She is a delightful, very interesting person. She and Erica Jacobs Green, with whom she co-founded the retreat, are involved at every level – from planning the four days of immersion in all things literary, to engaging with participants. I didn’t actually realise she was the First Lady until I attended a function at the President’s residence; and there, standing beside the President, was Eliza. I think I slapped her on the shoulder in jest and said something really embarrassing like, ‘Eliza, it’s you!’


#4: As you can imagine I have a few friends in the crime writing scene in Reykjavík. Did you get to meet many of Iceland’s super-talented crime writing gang?

Yes! Thanks to Craig Sisterson’s introductions, I had the opportunity to share cocktails and some crime writing banter with Oscar Gufdmundsson, Lilja Sigurdardottir and Yrsa Sigurdardottir, who were in the thick of plotting Iceland Noir 2018.

I was also fortunate to hear Yrsa give a reading from her latest book, at the home of the late Halldor Laxness (winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1955). This was a real highlight, as Yrsa was on the international judging panel for the Ngaio Marsh Awards 2017.


#5: Did you get to do any sightseeing while you were there? A lot of people say that Iceland and New Zealand are a little bit similar but there are some big differences too aren’t there?

After the retreat, my husband and I hired a car and travelled along the Southern Ring Road to Hofn– a spectacular five days of waterfalls, black sand beaches, basalt columns, lava fields, geysers, glaciers, and glacier lagoons. Icelandic scenery is moody, atmospheric, and vast.

There are definitely similarities with New Zealand – the geothermal activity, volcanic backdrops, black sand beaches . . . However, the landscapes are more intimidating in their expansiveness and wildness.


#6: You’ll be appearing at Rotorua Noir next January. What are you looking forward to the most about the festival?

It is very exciting to be involved in Rotorua Noir’s inaugural year. I have no doubt it will be a great opportunity to engage with crime writers and readers from all over the world, while showcasing and reveling in our unique literary culture.

'Short and Sweet' Interview with Alan Carter.

Alan Carter was born in the UK but now resides in New Zealand and will be appearing at next year's Rotorua Noir writers' festival here in the Bay Of Plenty. He was recently asked to appear at Newcastle Noir in England and I caught up with him for a quick Q&A just after he returned.

#1: So, Alan, you’ve just been to the wonderful Newcastle Noir crime writers’ festival in England. It’s organised by a friend of mine, the fabulously crazy Jacky Collins who will be a panel moderator at Rotorua Noir. It sounds like everyone had a great time at Newcastle Noir. What was your favourite part of the festival?

"Newcastle Noir is a great festival held in a grand old building, the Lit & Phil, which oozes history, books, and grand thoughts. Jacky is indeed a dynamo who knows her onions (how is that for atrociously mixing your metaphors). There were so many great sessions and top rank authors lining up and all credit to Jacky for her obvious powers of persuasion. I think my favourite was Crime in Translation - Lilja Sigurdardottir and Roxanne Bouchard reading from their works in the original Icelandic and French and their respective translators reading the English equivalent and discussing the perils and art of what they do."

#2: You were born not too far from Newcastle? Do you get back there very often and what are your fondest memories of growing up there?

"I was born in Sunderland, about 20km away, but a world apart if you support the wrong football team. I loved the coastline, I grew up ten minutes’ walk from the beach at Seaburn and there are some specky limestone stacks just along the road at Marsden which I couldn’t resist including in Marlborough Man."

#3: You would have met quite a few authors while you were at the festival. Who were the stand out personalities for you either on panels or in person?

"Lilja is of course a real live wire and I enjoyed chatting with Mari Hannah who is building a large and devoted following with her NE (North-East England) set books. Newcastle Noir is good like that, intimate, with the chance to mingle with your peers and heroes (and heroines). Even managed a brief fanboy moment with Val McDermid who has said nice things about my Cato series."

#4: You’ll be coming to Rotorua Noir next year. What do you think we have to do to keep up with the likes of Newcastle Noir? Do you think for example that there might be some musicians hidden in our ranks?

"If there are they’ll have to be pretty good to match up to the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers - there's some serious musical as well as writing talent there. I think the intimacy and inclusiveness, not just among authors but between author and audience, which characterises NN (Newcastle Noir) is a good thing to aim for."

And given the size of the venue and the vibe that I will be bringing to the festival here in Rotorua, that is exactly what I'll be shooting for, Alan!