Billy Goats Gruff: The Origin received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Roar Alexander Mikalsen.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
The book is called Billy Goats Gruff: The Origin, and it was published last year on Amazon and this year on Ingram Spark.
What’s the book’s first line?
The book’s first line reads, “Once upon a time, there were three billy goats called the Gruff brothers.”
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
I don’t know if you are familiar with the traditional tale of the three billy goats? It is a key part of Scandinavian folklore, and I have built on it to write a story about archetypes whose purpose is mass-awakening. Hence, it has qualities that readers will recognize from the works of authors like Herman Hesse, Carlos Castaneda, Paulo Coelho, George Orwell and J.R.R. Tolkien. Still, it is something else entirely, and while it offers the basics of cosmology and self-help from the perspective of legends and folklore, I seriously believe that this book can cure mental illness. At the very least, it speaks to the subconscious in such a way that a correction towards wholeness is made.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
My inspiration is my daughter. She loves the tale of the three billy goats, and I would narrate the tale in many different ways. After a while, rather than fighting the troll, it became natural to include it, and I have merely added a greater backdrop – one that makes the story more relevant to our day and age.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
For those interested in matters of life and death, good and evil and why we are here, this book is your answer. Indeed, the world of the three goats is remarkably close to ours, and the allegorical meaning behind their journey is sure to add another perspective to life, one that transcends that of the old.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
I believe that the main character of the tale is the smallest billy goat. However, the three goats function as a unit, representing different aspects of ourselves, and their journey into the unknown is comparable to our own. For readers who have had some life experience, I believe that my book will help them recognise their own story. This is what narratology and comparative mythology describes as the hero’s journey – and so, the ultimate hero is the reader.
When did you first decide to become an author?
I decided to become an author when I discovered that the world was different from what we are told. I discovered that there is a gap between theory and practice, one that must be recognized and resolved if humanity is to live up to its potential. I decided then I had to write about it and how we bring about utopian societies.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
Not at all. I have written six books that cover a lot of ground, ranging from cosmology, mysticism, self-help, and consciousness research to power politics, human rights law, drug policy, constitutional interpretation and social engineering. This, however, is my first work of fiction.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
I am a founder of the Alliance for Rights-Oriented Drug Policies (AROD), an organization dedicated to end arbitrary persecution in the area of drug policy. Lucky for me, this includes a lot of writing, which is my favourite activity. Most of my books have come about because of working in this capacity.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
For many years, I studied and wrote 12–14 hours a day. Now, it is more like 5 to 6 hours.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
I have huge respect for those who write, but it is tough trying to make it as an author. Having written six books that hardly sell, I can only conclude that most do it because they have a deep yearning, something that they want to add to the world, and that the dream of becoming recognized is a result of this spark. If money is the ambition, my advice would be to look elsewhere. But if writing for the love of it (or humanity) is all that you can do, my advice is to never give up and never let opposition bring you down. It may take another 10 years, maybe a lifetime, to find a reader, but the value is inherent in the doing, in the action and intention. You are truly a star for trying!
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
Injustice and less-than-adequate solutions have been the engine behind my authorship. Thus, I have written about matters that can be improved upon, and the ambition is to help humanity lift its horizon towards those ideals, values and principles that follow from wholeness.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
If I must choose one, it will have to be Sri Aurobindo, an Indian philosopher, yogi, guru, poet, and nationalist. He truly lived by his ideals, and his life and works have been a huge inspiration.