Peter Franzén: Actor to Author

Finnish book publisher Tammi has scored a coup with a different kind of novelist: Peter Franzén, one of the most popular actors in Finland. Franzén is currently making headlines as the main character in Finland's big-budget crime film Harjunpää and the Priest of Evil. But his first novel Above Dark Waters (Tumman veden päällä), which was published this March, has been garnering him attention as well: the novel has been in the Top Ten since it was published and for the 4-million strong Finnish market has sold over 10,000 copies in hard cover - it immediately became a critical and a commercial success. "This is very good amount for any novel in the Finnish book market and an exceptionally big amount for a first-time novelist," says Hannu Harju, Tammi´s editorial manager of Finnish fiction. And Franzén is now set to direct and star in the film adaptation of the book. A play version is also scheduled for 2012 at the Finnish National Theater.

The novel is the story of a seven-year old boy called Peter living in a small town in northern Finland.  The boy's father is a police officer who has violent outbursts when drunk. Eventually Peter gets to know his biological father who lives elsewhere and befriends him.

Critics have hailed Franzén´s ability to look at the events from the young boy´s point of view. "Peter Franzén wrote the manuscript in the course of six years, but only when living at his second home in Los Angeles during the winter. Six months a year he lives in Finland and devotes his time to acting, which delayed the writing process." Harju says.

The idea for a book came first when Tammi contacted Franzén and suggested a book about acting. "He didn't feel comfortable with that," says Harju. "But he was inspired to write brief reminiscences about his childhood. These eventually turned into fictional events and were finally shaped into a novel."

One of the advantages of working with a famous-actor first-time novelist is that you don't have to spend much on marketing. "At the book launch, the auditorium of the publishing house was packed with media, including several TV channels," says Harju. "Because of the interest of the media, Tammi did relatively little advertising for the book." A second wave of interest occurred six months later when Franzén undertook a joint tour for both the Harjunpää movie and the book, during which he visited almost 20 book stores. The paperback is due out April 2011.

Does Franzén have plans for more writing? "He's currently working on a new manuscript in L.A., very likely about what happened to the main character of the first book later on," says Harju. "What Mr Franzén has promised is that it won't take another six years!"