
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.
