Hygge, and The Cosy Knave

 Just as lagom is a untranslatable word which says much about Sweden, it is hard to understand Denmark without an appreciation of the still less translatable, hygge.

Hygge is one of the qualities at the heart of what makes Danes proud to be Danish. Here's what the official Denmark website says:

The Danes have a word that is hard to translate and no foreigner can hope to pronounce, but it is as Danish as pork roast, cold beer and Hans Christian Andersen. The word is “hygge”, and it goes far in illuminating the Danish soul. “Hygge” is a Danish concept which roughly describes that warm and cosy feeling when you are enjoying good food and are surrounded by good company. “Hygge” encompasses many different words – all related to having a good time and being happy. Gather family and friends. Pull the sofas and chairs up close to the coffee table and bring out some blankets. Douse the electricity and light some candles. Serve plenty of food and drink. That is pretty much the feeling of “hygge”! 

 
I am not sure it is quite right, but the word I noticed was 'cosy', which links nicely with a new book by Danish writer and blogger Dorte Hummelshoj Jakobsen. For the past couple of weeks, Dorte has been on a virtual tour of crime blogs, discussing The Cosy Knave, and I'm delighted she has dropped by at To Be Read to answer this question, posed on Jose Ignacio's  The Game' Afoot:

Question # 14 is: Could you please answer the question you were looking for but nobody asked you?

I am absolutely sure the blog friend who came up with this question wanted to offer me an opportunity to natter about something I have been burning to share with you. But you know what, I have always been a bit wayward so of course I had to turn it into the question no writer in her right mind would ever want:
Can you sell that novel of yours?
The cautious answer: it is still far too early to say so, but the first week hasn´t scared me off. As a self-publisher, I have got in touch with other new writers, and one of the benefits is that they talk quite openly about the days when they don´t sell a single book. But they also have good days, days when they believe in their books and feel confident that once the readers have found it, they will come back for more. And that is where I am right now; happy that I did it, and confident that lovers of cosy mysteries will come back for more.
The candid answer: no, I am not at all sure I can. But my amazing blog friends can - and they do!
And this was the ending. Thank you to each and every one of you for playing along!Dorte H.

So that's the final question of the tour. Good luck with the book, Dorte!

Comments

[Dorte H]

How nice to come home from the first day of the new semester and find such a cosy introduction to my mystery :)

Hyggeligt! Mange tak, Philip.

[Elizabeth Craig]

Hygge! What a great word. :) No, I won't try to pronounce it, but I liked it on sight.

I've read the same thing about sales and am expecting online book sales to be a long-term profit instead of short-term. Wouldn't it be nice to be pleasantly surprised, though!? Best of luck to you, Dorte!

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