Ellen Alpsten
Author Interview - Ellen Alpsten
Author of Tsarina.
Author Interview - Ellen Alpsten
Author I draw inspiration from: Hilary Mantel, Isabelle Allende, Robert von Ranke Graves, Mika Waltari, Tracy Chevalier
Author Interview - Ellen Alpsten
Favorite place to read a book: My 'Reading Egg' hanging in my garden suspended from a giant Eucalyptus tree branch. It is made of beautiful wood and is of minimal Japanese design, yet featuring a fantastically comfortable plump russian green cushion, perfect for snuggling up in. It is a beautiful birthday present my husband made me some years ago. Unfortunately I have to fend off a LOT of competition for it, as my sons love it as well - I guess it doubles as a swing. A close second is my bed - reading at least one chapter every evening is a hallowed ritual, as any working mother might know. It is the briefest of windows during a long, busy where no-one wants anything from me. Often my eyes close over the book I am reading, but what a lovely way to fall asleep!
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: Pi from genius Yann Martell's 'Life of Pi'. I am sure he would know a way out and would have quite a story to tell along the way. What is being stuck in an elevator compared to being shipwrecked with a Bengal tiger? I think we would talk about hope, belief and religion.
Author Interview - Ellen Alpsten
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: As a child I sat down my four cats and three dogs in the Kenyan Highlands, where my father worked as a vet, preventing the spread of foot&mouth disease amongst the Somali nomad cattle to the Wildebeest. I dressed them up and told them stories. The other pets didn't quite offer themselves for that: a stroppy Polo pony, a wounded Serval cat and a baby crocodile paddling about in the bathtub. My two elder brothers were away at boarding school and we had no TV. Telling a tall tale is BIG tradition in the far-flung corners of this earth, be it the Australian Outback or the African Savannah. If you live miles away from all civilisation - my parents thought nothing of driving three hours to go to a dance! - being entertaining is a prime virtue. The first stories I read were a wonderfully garishly illustrated tome of Greek myths and going to the cinema was a HUGE event - nothing but Bollywood movies were shown. Hence my passion for great epic rags to riches stories, such as 'Tsarina': from serf to Empress, with the birth of a nation thrown in for good measure! When I 'discovered' Catherine I. of Russia when aged only 13, I knew I one day had to tell the world her story.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: I love a hefty tome in my hand, as hardbacks feel so special and elegant. Their design is such a statement and I admire all the work and thought that goes into it. Paperbacks are just so practical and can be packed everywhere ;they also don't mind the odd stain, or being lent or bent backwards, the spine cracking (horrible, I know, but it happens!). Ebook - what can I say. It is just SO easy to pack the Kindle or whichever reader you use, and I LOVE my library APP, which the whole family profits from. Listening to Audiobooks as elevated housework from chore to intellectual, enjoyable and cultural do
The last book I read: The Mirror and the Light' by Hilary Mantel
Author Interview - Ellen Alpsten
Pen & paper or computer: Pen & paper for notes - I always carry a little book with me, recording snippets of conversations, fleeting impressions or tucking away articles I rip from newspapers and magazines - the PC for writing itself. How wondrous it is every morning to open up the creation of a day prior and continue, diving straight back in. It always feels as if a lid opens or as if a source of light and warmth starts flowing. I admire the authors of olden days for writing a MS in longhand and am also in awe of their editing process - imagine to have to write it all again, via pen and paper? How did Lawrence of Arabia feel when he FORGOT the finished, hand-written MS of 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom' on a train to Paddington Station? The horror of it, and the blessing of a PC.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: Pippi Longstocking by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren - she is one cool girl, shaping the world according to Pippi. Hanging up the washing when it pours with rain? Sharing the house with a spotty dotty horse and a mad monkey? Why ever not!
Author Interview - Ellen Alpsten
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a: Editor in Chief at VOGUE; Wildlife TV presenter
Favorite decade in fashion history: 20s - very feminine, yet full of independence. Think young Coco Chanel: slacks and slinky dresses!
Place I’d most like to travel: I am fascinated by resurrection, reinvention and reincarnation - Vietnam is high on the list, and I wish to show my sons Egypt soon, taking the night train from Cairo to Luxor and travelling onwards by a Feluka, doing our own Nile Cruise.
My signature drink: Aperol Spritz - it gives me an Italian summer evening kick at any time, where-ever I am! Just gorgeous, from the bitter bubbly taste to the day-glow-orange colour.
Favorite artist: Bridget Riley - I am a sucker for stripes. Also, visiting St. Petersburg in Florida has made me realise what a genius Salvador Dali truly was, even though he might have sold out later. One has to know the rules to break them,.
Number one on my bucket list: Hot-air-balloon flight over the Savannah. Coming up soon!
Anything else you'd like to add: Tsarina' is more than just a book. It's my Horcrux. I think I was destined to come across her extraordinary story and I was destined to write this book. What a blessing! She has overcome greater adversities than a pandemic and I hope that she will kick Covid19's backside. Properly.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR INTEREST!!
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Twitter: @EAlpsten_Author
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Author Bio: Ellen Alpsten was born and raised in the Kenyan highlands, where telling a tall tale is a beloved tradition in all cultures present.
Upon graduating from the 'Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris', she worked as a news-anchor for Bloomberg TV London. While working gruesome night shifts on breakfast TV, she started to write in earnest, every day, after work, a nap and a run. So much for burning midnight oil!
Today, Ellen works as an author and as a journalist for international publications such as Vogue, Standpoint, and CN Traveller. She lives in London with her husband, three sons, and a moody fox red Labrador.
'Tsarina' is her debut novel.
