Author: Marc Åkerblom
 
  
Marc Åkerblom lives in Halmstad, in the southwest of Sweden. He has lived and worked for a long time in Oslo and Stockholm. Åkerblom is of Swedish and Iranian origin. His professional background is from television where he has worked with documentary and drama for many years. Most of the time he has worked as a producer for different tv-companies, but he has also written manuscripts for documentaries. His most extensive work has been the series A History of Norway, based on the books by Karsten Alnæs. Marc Åkerblom both wrote the script and directed the series in cooperation with the Norwegian broadcasting company. Åkerblom has also developed a tv-documentary on popular belief and legends in Norway.

His debut novel, a dark thriller called Trollklockan, is possibly inspired by such legends and popular belief. In the novel Marc Åkerblom returns to the surroundings of his childhood -- the south of Halland’s heavily forested area and a town called Torared with 7000 inhabitants. At Torared Police Station Glenn-Erik Johnsson and his two colleagues Peter Exsell and Anna Greta Hansson try to keep things under control. The police district also covers the villages around Torared and the dark forest, Mörkveden, famous for the hunting facilities of deer and wild boars.

Less famous is a huge stone located on a hill deep inside the forest. But older people from the area are familiar with “The troll clock”, the clock is said to be troll made. Hit it, and a hollow sound runs along the crest of the hill. The legend tells that this is where Bölingen lives, a creature who entices young girls to the stone where he lets them wish whatever they want. In return Bölingen wants something that glints. Those who can’t give him that, they never return.


 
Bibliography
Trollklockan