Sara Lövestam, a writer as well as a huge jazz music fan, lives in Sweden.Her novel Wonderful Feels Like This is now available in English.
From Lövestam's Q&A with Deborah Kalb:
Q: How did you come up with the idea for Wonderful Feels Like This, and for your characters Steffi and Alvar?Visit Sara Lövestam's website.
A: I was actually thinking of this jazz musician, Povel Ramel, who was also a comedian who wrote (and sang) very witty and quirky lyrics. He's kind of old school, but I really enjoyed his songs when I was a young girl.
One day, a few years ago, I started talking to a male friend of mine about Povel Ramel. He was very surprised when I said I really liked him and knew all his lyrics. Turned out, in his mind anyone who likes Povel Ramel is an old man.
So I began to ask around: Who do you think of when you imagine "a person who likes Povel Ramel"? Everyone had the same answer: An old man.
So I asked myself: What is it about Povel Ramel that makes old men like him so much but that also, evidently, attracts a young girl to his music and lyrics? And those old men and the young girls that like him, what do they have in common that attract them all to Povel Ramel?
That's how the thought of writing this book came up - I wanted to explore a friendship between a young and an old soul, solely based...[read on]
My Book, The Movie: Wonderful Feels Like This.
The Page 69 Test: Wonderful Feels Like This.
Writers Read: Sara Lövestam.
--Marshal Zeringue