Bio

Erika Vik (b. 1982) is an awarded author, illustrator and producer. She loves dark-toned rock music, fennec foxes and the feel of the wind on her face yet she'll never again sail on the North Sea when the storm is rising.

She was born in Hyvinkää, a small town an hours journey up north from Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Since spring 2019 she has spent half of her working hours as a full time writer. She's also the founder and producer of LANU!, a virtual literature festival targeted for children, teenagers and young adults, which is held annually since 2020. Vik has produced and filmed several short documentaries for the festival.


Vik's fourth novel, a psychological thriller Forever With You (Luonasi ikuisesti) was published in April 2023. The fast paced and atmospheric novel takes place in the brutal world of goth rock and dark desires. Forever With You is Vik's adult fiction debut. In 2023 she'll also publish her first realistic story for teenagers, Olivia online (S&S).


The Girl Without a Name (Hän sanoi nimekseen Aleia) was Vik’s debut novel and first part of the Twin Suns trilogy, a series of fantasy novels with steampunk and weird west vibes. It was first published in February 2017 by Helsinki-based publishing house Gummerus. The second novel, The Seer of Selesia (Seleesian näkijä) followed in August 2017 and the third one, The Daughter of Nefri (Nefrin tytär) was published in September 2018. The Twin Suns is loved by an wide audience of Finnish fantasy readers, and the trilogy was also awarded with Kuvastaja honourable mention as an excellent complete fantasy series. Find out more about the world of Twin Suns at www.seleesia.com/en.

Awards and Nominations

AS AN AUTHOR

One of the winners of the Literature Friends writing competition – Olivia online, 2022

Kuvastaja Honourable Mention for Excellent Fantasy Series – The Twin Suns, 2021

Honourable Mention for the Crime 2019 writing competion – Forever Yours, 2019

The YA-Character of The Year Prize – The Seer of Selesia, 2018

Shortlisted for the Toisinkoinen Prize – The Seer of Selesia, 2018

AS A PRODUCER OF LANU! FESTIVAL

The Finnish Book Industry Promotion Award, 2022

The Onnimanni Award, 2021

Nominated for the Read Hour Award, 2021

www.lanufestarit.fi

Contact information

Author

Erika Vik

info@seleesia.com


Publisher of Forever Yours

hanna-leena.soisalo@atena.fi


Publisher of the Twin Suns Series

info@gummerus.fi

Rights Enquiries

Foreign rights for Forever With You are handled by

Elina Ahlbäck Literary Agency Oy Ltd.

info@ahlbackagency.com

Head office: Rikhardinkatu 4 b 21, FI-00130 Helsinki, FINLAND



Helsinki | London | New York | Los Angeles

Foreign rights of the Twinsuns series are handled by
Ferly co / Heikki Laaninen, Licensing & Acquisitions Manager
heikki@ferlyco.com
Head office: Hämeentie 19, FI-00500 Helsinki

Helsinki | Vancouver

Books

Forever With You

NEW TITLE!

A fast-paced and intensive psychological thriller that takes a deep dive into the brutal world of the music industry. A black, snowless winter hides a mystery on the bleak streets of Helsinki where rock music, obsession and evil love become entwined.


Janne Kallamaa is a struggling musician at the lowest point of his popularity, a major Finnish rock star of the 90s who is rejected by his record company. Soon after, the CEO of said company is found dead. Is it suicide or murder?


Meanwhile, Janne is tormented by a faceless stalker whose threatening messages hide more than meets the eye. It’s as if the stalker knows everything about the former star’s life, even his darkest secrets.


Is there a connection between the stalker and a violent crime in Stockholm? How much is a human life worth when compared to immortal music? Janne feels the net starting to tighten around him and the city of shadows, hiding behind Helsinki’s facade and breathing the threat of violence, does not grant him mercy.


This sinister debut thriller asks what we are willing to sacrifice for art.

The Twin Suns Series

In a divided world, the winds are changing.

The girl has to remember. The selesian just wants to forget.

The Girl Without a Name

THE TWIN SUNS I

“Stay hidden. Stay out of sight.” That’s the only thing Aleia remembers. She has to find out who she is and why she doesn’t remember anything – and who is on her heels.


Corildon is a selesian, member of a feared and hated species among humans. He has isolated himself on the northern frontier, persecuted by his memories. When Aleia collapses at his gate, and the bad winds begin to blow away the power of the selesians with it, he nonetheless has to decide if he will fight or surrender.


A carriage heads out from Dwyr to Selesia to uncover Aleia’s secret, but not everyone wants them to reach their destination...


Twin Suns trilogy takes place in a world where war is brewing. Long-harbored tensions between the nations and species are coming to a head, and political scheming underlies the conflict. When events bring together a group of individuals seeking their own fate, each of them has to decide what they believe is right and what kind of world they want to live in. 

The Seer of Selesia

THE TWIN SUNS II

When a storm rises in the world of the Twin Suns, no one can escape the ghosts of the past any longer.


Corildon and Aleia have arrived in Selesia, where Mathyana discovers more about the unpredictable power cocooned within Aleia. Corildon has nightmares, but reality is becoming more like a nightmare itself: wild rumors are circulating about the reappearance of firebirds, exiled for over half a century. At the same time, in the world of humans, plans are taking shape that put Selesia’s entire future at risk.


Aleia is in the middle of all of this. She is capable of what the bad winds are capable of – she is a human who can sense the other pulse of the selesians, and she can harness channeled power. When the spell upon her is broken, will she become a threat to the selesians?


Twin Suns trilogy is a fantasy series in which fire kills, and magic wells up from deep within. It’s about the universal search for truth, how we view our enemies and how those views are torn apart, and the responsibility and forgiveness that comes with power.

The Daughter of Nefri

THE TWIN SUNS III

In eye of the storm, in the world of many truths, the most important thing is to know yourself.


There is a war in Selesia. Together with the Kartaags, the long-absent firebirds have attacked the country, and bad winds blow thunderclouds into the sky.


The clan has kidnapped Aleia to Thelluria, where it becomes clear to her that the truths of Selesia aren not the only ones. She must choose sides – and then fight for what she believes in.


When Aleia connects to her hidden powers, the enchantment begins to crack. Finally she remembers who she is and takes her destiny into her own hands.


The thrilling final volume of the Twin Suns trilogy brings to a climax the story of a world divided in two – a world in which the real battle is fought between justice and defending one’s own rights, between power and responsibility.

Praise

Vik has taken care in building a unique imaginary world. In Dwyr, which is slightly reminiscent of 19th-century America, travel is steam-powered, but magic is also a concrete reality. In addition to people, Dwyr is inhabited by Selesians, cat-eyed creatures similar to people but more sensitive to magic. They encounter precisely the same kind of prejudiced hostility as all ’others’ do in reality. – – The fast-paced Girl Without a Name is a plot-driven novel, a descendent of the old-fashioned adventure story. But it is not mere entertainment; themes of difference and outsiderness are strongly present. Entertaining it certainly is, in many ways. We await the sequel with interest.

Suomen Kuvalehti magazine on Girl Without a Name


The Girl Without a Name mixes current questions with imaginary fantasy to make a fascinating debut.

Turun Sanomat newspaper


Both magical and plausible; it’s hard to wait for the follow-up in this interesting trilogy.

Savon Sanomat newspaper

Blogs

Milka Nissinen, Her Campus

Erika Vik’s debut novel Hän sanoi nimekseen Aleia rises up to challenge modern young adult fantasy classics such as the Twilight series. – – The reason why Vik’s novel has the potential to enter the international fantasy scene lies in its ability to offer readers something completely new while at the same time embracing many of the classic fantasy elements: an epic journey, mystical creatures and magical stones are all present in the novel. – – In terms of the language, Hän sanoi nimekseen Aleia is delightful to read. Vik has a way with words that gives the novel almost a movie-like feel, without sounding tacky. – – The world Vik has created is so carefully thought out and so credible, that the reader is immediately sucked in.


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Pauline von Dahl

I was totally enchanted by this book – it was everything I want from a good book: adventure, fantasy, romance, science (!), travelling and it was deliberately finished. If this book will be available in English (and I do hope it will!), please read it!


Oksan hyllyltä

A strong storyworld, this book has a special something to it that made me completely sink into its world. 5 stars.