The pace of Swedish crime fiction is slower - Stieg Larsson's the exception. And I think we use the environment more.

If I can hit No. 1 on the 'New York Times' best-seller list, I'm thinking of having the entire list tattooed on my body somewhere. It would be fabulous.

The pace of Swedish crime fiction is slower - Stieg Larsson's the exception. And I think we use the environment more.

In Sweden, we've moved away from the notion that mothers have some magical, special bond with children.

Crime stories are our version of sitting round a camp fire and telling tales. We enjoy being scared under safe circumstances. That's why there's no tradition of crime writing in countries that have wars.

I've always viewed myself as a brand. When I started 10 years ago, that was very controversial. 'Marketing' and 'PR' were dirty words for the literary world, but that has changed. Once the book is finished, I want as many people as possible to read it.

I do listen to Abba. And a lot of '80s and '90s pop music.