The Ghost of the Deserted House follows two friends who sneak into an abandoned house on a summer night, where they encounter an unexpected visitor and wonder if the house is haunted. What was the inspiration for your story?

My Active Kids Series currently includes four books: The Ghost of the Deserted House, Luke’s Sailing Adventure, A Museum Robbery, and The Leading Role. Already, the series’ name and the books’ titles suggest that the heroes are a group of children who encounter surprising, interesting, and sometimes even exciting situations. These stories are based on my own childhood games and the friends and siblings who joined in.

This particular book takes place during the summer and tells the story of a visit to a friend’s family’s summer cottage. I had similar visits as a child, and they always felt like an adventure. Spending the night with a strange family can be tough for a kid. It might be an unfamiliar place to sleep, and the family might eat something different from what you’re used to at home.

And how well do your skills hold up in unfamiliar environments? A beach can feel strange and unsettling. Is it deep? Is the bottom muddy, or are there nasty, slimy aquatic plants growing in the water? What about those dark, enticing yet scary attics or abandoned houses? I still get chills thinking about how exciting a nature walk at dusk is!

What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?

The main focus of this book is actually summer nature. At least Finnish children have the chance to experience it in many ways. I want to take my readers to an environment filled with summer scents, trees, plants, and birdsong. It was also the rural environment of my childhood, by the beautiful lakes of Eastern Finland.
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I’ve drawn many memories from childhood summers throughout my adult life. I can still close my eyes and return to those landscapes in my mind. Nature is the greatest teacher. It allows us to see and experience things from small to large, helping us reflect on life as a whole. And children feel connected to the vastness of nature, even when they’re just playing a simple game with stones and squatting on the ground.

I also remember how inspiring it was to constantly learn new things. I believe a child is a kind of explorer, whom we adults should give a rich environment to explore and challenges to face. Ideally, children should explore and learn early with their friends. In this story, two young friends share the same experience, and supporting each other becomes essential when things get too exciting. – They say shared joy is double the joy, and I believe that, too!

What scene in the book did you have the most fun writing?

The adult me was, of course, captivated while writing a nostalgic journey through my childhood and its experiences in nature. But the most fun and inspiring part was writing the sections where the children set out on their own adventure in the abandoned house.

After all, the attic scene is the most exciting part of the story. There, the children display independence and a bit of daring. Such activities are usually the most fascinating for young readers.

I wanted to take my readers on an experience they might not have in real life. It’s always fun when an adult in a story does something funny or even gets caught up in a prank or trick. I think the father snoring in a hammock is quite endearing, especially when the kids attack this “ghost” in the dark attic.

What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?

In our small family business, I get involved in various parts of our publishing process. It’s rewarding to have direct contact with the people who create illustrations, edit, and lay out the work. As usual, I have numerous book projects at different stages. Some are still in the illustration phase on the artist’s desk, while others have just returned from editing.

I just published my 80th English children’s book in my writing career—there are even more in Finnish. The book The Hermit’s Hut is the fourth installment in my Lyrics of Life Series. This time, the story was inspired by John Lennon’s song Imagine. I believe the next sequel to this series will likely be published sometime next year.

Before that, I plan to publish two slightly longer novels for young readers. Those are really fun to write now and then. You get to create a longer adventure with a more complex plot, which allows more focus on the characters. These upcoming children’s novels include the exciting time travel adventure Professor Dreistein and the Captured Lightning and The Singing Ghost of Troll Village, which centers on a talent competition in a troll village. We can expect these new novels to be released later this year.

Until then, we at Wickwick need to focus on promoting our Bilingual Books Series—there are many titles featuring various language pairs! I hope these books help children worldwide master situations where they need to immerse themselves in two languages. It’s definitely more enjoyable with a good story and beautiful illustrations.

Creating new books is truly wonderful, but it’s also rewarding to share them with international publishers, such as at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair or the Frankfurt Book Fair. I was especially excited this spring when the Finnish version of one of my stories, “Carried by Wings,” was nominated for a prize in a Finnish competition. Wish me luck!

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