38 min
Lava Fields, Trolls, And The Hidden People. Iceland with Michael Ridpath Books And Travel
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- Places & Travel
From the ice of the glaciers to the black church near the lava fields and on to the steaming hot pools of the blue lagoon, Iceland is a country of stark natural beauty and interesting folklore.
In this interview, Michael Ridpath talks about the hidden people, the trolls, and the ghosts in the mist, as well as the landscape as a character, and why he keeps returning to the country for inspiration.
Michael Ridpath is a British author of crime and thriller novels. His Magnus crime thriller series is set in Iceland. And he has a website, WritingInIce.com, which features articles and pictures from his research travels.
Show notes
* Why Iceland is so compelling to visit
* Suggestions for the most beautiful places to visit in Iceland
* The Hidden People, and other interesting folklore of the region
* How long winters impact the Icelandic temperament
* Things to see and do in Reykjavik
* How to write evocative stories where the landscape is a character
* Recommended books about or set in Iceland
You can find Michael Ridpath at MichaelRidpath.com
Transcript of the interview
Jo: Michael Ridpath is a British author of crime and thriller novels. His ‘Magnus’ crime thriller series is set in Iceland. And he has a website, writinginice.com, which features articles and pictures from his research travels. Welcome, Michael.
Michael: Hello.
Jo: It’s great to have you on the show. So, first up, you’re British with close ties to the USA.
What drew you to write about Iceland in the first place and to keep going back there?
Michael: I think your question kind of encapsulates it because I knew nothing at all about Iceland, that was its attraction. They say when you start writing, you should write about what you know.
I used to be a banker a long time ago. I wrote a number of financial thrillers, which were set all over the world in places like Brazil, and Wyoming, and South Africa, and the Czech Republic. And those were really well to start with, and then they kind of run out of steam, as these things do.
So, I needed a new plan. And I decided I would write a detective series. I had the same main character in each book, which seemed like an interesting idea. But I needed the detective to be distinctive.
And because I like writing about foreign places, I thought, well, he needs to come from an interesting country. And I had two ideas, the first one that came to my head, which you should always go with the first thing that comes to your head, was Iceland because I’d been on a book tour there in 1995 and it was the weirdest, most surreal book tour I’ve ever had.
I thought, well, one day I’ll write about that. And I did lots of analysis and thinking and came up with an idea about an honest cop in Saudi Arabia, which seemed like a really good idea for a story. And then I decided I would make sure people would buy the book when I’d written it. So I asked people whether they prefer to story about an Icelandic detective or one set in Saudi Arabia, and there was a huge, huge majority in favor of Iceland, which people like me didn’t know about but wanted to find out about and no one was interested in Saudi Arabia. So, Iceland, it was.
Jo: Fantastic. That’s really interesting, because in my head, Iceland versus Saudi Arabia, these are two very different temperatures, let alone anything else. And you mentioned that you like traveling to foreign places.
What was it about the foreignness of Iceland that attracted you?
From the ice of the glaciers to the black church near the lava fields and on to the steaming hot pools of the blue lagoon, Iceland is a country of stark natural beauty and interesting folklore.
In this interview, Michael Ridpath talks about the hidden people, the trolls, and the ghosts in the mist, as well as the landscape as a character, and why he keeps returning to the country for inspiration.
Michael Ridpath is a British author of crime and thriller novels. His Magnus crime thriller series is set in Iceland. And he has a website, WritingInIce.com, which features articles and pictures from his research travels.
Show notes
* Why Iceland is so compelling to visit
* Suggestions for the most beautiful places to visit in Iceland
* The Hidden People, and other interesting folklore of the region
* How long winters impact the Icelandic temperament
* Things to see and do in Reykjavik
* How to write evocative stories where the landscape is a character
* Recommended books about or set in Iceland
You can find Michael Ridpath at MichaelRidpath.com
Transcript of the interview
Jo: Michael Ridpath is a British author of crime and thriller novels. His ‘Magnus’ crime thriller series is set in Iceland. And he has a website, writinginice.com, which features articles and pictures from his research travels. Welcome, Michael.
Michael: Hello.
Jo: It’s great to have you on the show. So, first up, you’re British with close ties to the USA.
What drew you to write about Iceland in the first place and to keep going back there?
Michael: I think your question kind of encapsulates it because I knew nothing at all about Iceland, that was its attraction. They say when you start writing, you should write about what you know.
I used to be a banker a long time ago. I wrote a number of financial thrillers, which were set all over the world in places like Brazil, and Wyoming, and South Africa, and the Czech Republic. And those were really well to start with, and then they kind of run out of steam, as these things do.
So, I needed a new plan. And I decided I would write a detective series. I had the same main character in each book, which seemed like an interesting idea. But I needed the detective to be distinctive.
And because I like writing about foreign places, I thought, well, he needs to come from an interesting country. And I had two ideas, the first one that came to my head, which you should always go with the first thing that comes to your head, was Iceland because I’d been on a book tour there in 1995 and it was the weirdest, most surreal book tour I’ve ever had.
I thought, well, one day I’ll write about that. And I did lots of analysis and thinking and came up with an idea about an honest cop in Saudi Arabia, which seemed like a really good idea for a story. And then I decided I would make sure people would buy the book when I’d written it. So I asked people whether they prefer to story about an Icelandic detective or one set in Saudi Arabia, and there was a huge, huge majority in favor of Iceland, which people like me didn’t know about but wanted to find out about and no one was interested in Saudi Arabia. So, Iceland, it was.
Jo: Fantastic. That’s really interesting, because in my head, Iceland versus Saudi Arabia, these are two very different temperatures, let alone anything else. And you mentioned that you like traveling to foreign places.
What was it about the foreignness of Iceland that attracted you?
38 min