Process: Vargtimmen

Addicted to Scandinavian crime novels by the Icelandic Arnaldur Indridason and the Swedish Åke Edwardson. Currently reading the Edwardson series translated into French: riveting stories that are beautifully written and translated. In Chambre numéro 10 (Rum Nummer 10, 2005), Detective Winter mentions the hour of the wolf whenever he is reflecting on a case in the wee hours — a reference perhaps to the 1968 gothic horror film by Bergman, Vargtimmen. The hour between night and dawn is thought to be a transition time in Scandinavian folklore with more babies being born and more people dying at this time than at any other time.

I often find myself wide-awake at 4:00 a.m. Instead of getting upset over the sleeplessness, I've started taking advantage of this lucid time: I read or write, work on art projects. I have a long list of ‘to do’ items for the Tongue Rug project. My problem is finding the time after the full-time job. Perhaps the insomnia is a blessing?

Most of the novels take place in Göteborg, but I pay close attention to placenames as I have three waypoints in Sweden.

Ången Lake (S-1)
Nyköping municipality in Södermanland län on the south east coast

Ängesån River (S-2)
Överkalix municipality in Norrbottens län
in the extreme north (Swedish Lapland)

Ängesån River (S-3)
Hofors municipality in Gävleborgs län on the Baltic Sea coast

Though I am partly of Swedish ancestry, I know little about Sweden. Until I visit in person, I have to rely on my own imaginings of place based on fictional points of reference. Looking forward to that unsettling confrontation between fantasy and reality when I finally do make it to those waypoints.