The Unpredictability of Being Human - Interview with Linni Ingemundsen

Being a human is unpredictable and that's exactly what Linni's book The Unpredictability of Being Human is about. I am delighted to have her on the blog today to tell us a little bit more about her debut novel.

Interview with Linni Ingemundsen

The Unpredictability of Being Human has been my favourite 2018 read and it’s still only January! Where did the idea for Malin’s story stem from?
Thank you so much for saying that! The whole thing started quite coincidentally. I was doing an MA in Creative Writing and had a deadline to submit some work. After accidentally burning a bag of popcorn I ended up writing a short story called You, Me and God Himself, (now first chapter of the book) which later turned into a novel. The voice and the character came first  -the story second. 
I don’t think I have ever come across a bunch of more realistic characters as I have in this, what made you write them with such emotional depth?
I am actually really surprised (and pleased) every time someone says that any part of my book has emotional depth. I always thought that my writing was very emotionless and had no idea that I was capable of emotional anything. But I guess I am drawing inspiration from the world as I know it and I do think my writing is the best it can be when I am not trying too hard and just write honestly.
The message I got from this is that life is never perfect, what would you like your readers to take from this?
I think striving for perfection is not doing anyone any good because it is not possible to achieve. Your Instagram account might be perfect, but your life isn’t. And that’s okay. You can still be fine, life can still be good, you can still be happy. So don’t work so hard. Perfection isn’t interesting, the real you is.
Malin’s take on the world is so literal and something that connected me to her instantly, what was the thinking behind this?
Being a teenager is hard for anyone and especially if you can’t pick up on hints or read social codes the way your peers can. I think these struggles makes Malin more likeable and as you said easier to connect to.
What did it feel like to have your debut published? 
Very, very surreal. I think there is still a part of me that half expects a phone call telling me that they need to pull back all the copies of my book due to some sort of malfunction in the universe. I am also very happy, grateful and also kind of scared. 
Do you have any other books planned?
I am currently working on my second novel. It will be very different from my first book and I have know idea if it will work or not. If all else fails I might have to make another batch of imperfect popcorn and see where it takes me. 
Thank you for your questions, I am so happy you liked my book!
The Unpredictability of Being Human is out now