GeekMom: Is there a particular subject you consider yourself a geek about? How does it impact your writing? I loved the Lord of the Rings films unreservedly there was nothing to do but capitulate to the 12-year-old in me that had waited for that moment for so many years. As for the films, if you mean The Hobbit – it was never my favorite (which means that I only read it about five times and not 20, like LOTR), and I could never identify with the characters, but Jackson knows his stuff so I'm sure it'll be a very well crafted and loving tribute to the book. Tolkien's books don't seem to have made much impression on style or themes, but it was my first encounter with a three-dimensional, hyper-detailed world. Tidbeck: I think I should make a distinction between impression and influence, if that makes sense.

What are your thoughts on the new films coming out? GeekMom: You've mentioned in other interviews that Tolkien was a big influence early on in your reading life.

Le Guin, Babel-17 by Samuel Delany and Keith Johnstone's Impro. It's really hard to say what books I treasure most now, there are so many! But books I keep coming back to are Neil Gaiman's Sandman, Garth Nix's Abhorsen series, The Birthday of the World by Ursula K. I read Eva Ibbotson's The Great Ghost Rescue, Roald Dahl's The Witches and of course Lord of the Rings again and again. Who Will Comfort Toffle? by Tove Jansson made a huge impression, although it was very scary. Tidbeck: As a child I loved everything by Astrid Lindgren, especially The Brothers Lionheart and the illustrated story Most Beloved Sister. GeekMom: What were your most treasured books as a child? What are your most treasured books now? The overt sexism I've run into has been as a geek in the gaming and fandom circuits – it's the usual objectification, ridicule and/or being ignored – although I've gotten off easy compared to other women I know. What is difficult is talking about sexism in speculative fiction and in geek culture there's a good discussion going on but also a lot of resistance and an unwillingness to acknowledge obvious issues, even in a country that's supposed to be ahead in feminism and equal rights. I haven't faced overt sexism as a writer, but it's obviously hard to say if I'd had more readers and an easier time reaching out had I been a man.

Jagannath by karin tidbeck