Tina Åmodt - Selected Title Author

What inspired you to write this book?

On June 25th, 2022, there was a terrorist attack during Pride Week in Oslo. I already knew that I wanted to write about a kind of queer vulnerability in my new novel, but after the attack, it became clear that what I wanted to do was stage a character who didn’t just feel anger and shock, but who rather pursued the extremely uncomfortable thought: “What if the people who hate us are right?” And here, I was thinking primarily of those who are skeptical of same-sex couples being allowed to have children. Faced with such attitudes, it’s natural to compensate by becoming furious and indignant or extremely self-satisfied and positive – but then it’s as if you’re depriving yourself of the chance to engage in critical and nuanced thinking. And I won’t accept that. I didn’t want to write a happy-go-lucky representation of being a queer parent. I wanted to write a whole person and include all the murkiness that swirls up when you try to paint a picture of someone’s inner life.

What is your book about?

I could answer motherhood and co-parenting, or maybe doubt and infidelity, internalized homophobia, and the European fertility industry. Above all, however, it’s an in-depth portrait of a woman grappling with shame, forbidden thoughts, and the inevitable repercussions that come to the surface when you lie to and deceive your loved ones.

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