Catching up with English journalist and author, Emily Kerr, she explains how our Finnish Wilderness Week trip inspired her to write her latest feel-good romantic comedy novel, “Meet Me Under the Northern Lights”.
“When someone says the word “holiday” to me, I used to automatically picture a hot beach, turquoise sea, and lots of ice cream. But when my friends persuaded me to accompany them on an Exodus Finnish Wilderness Week, I discovered the joy of a holiday featuring glittering snow, frozen lakes, and gorgeous huskies. In fact, I had such a magical time at Basecamp Oulanka that it inspired me to write my latest book, “Meet Me Under the Northern Lights”.
“When radio host Lucy Fairweather becomes the victim of a viral video she needs somewhere to hide out, and fast. Where better to escape than a wilderness centre in northern Finland on the edge of the Arctic Circle? There she has to quickly adapt to a very different environment, learning how to negotiate the challenges of living in a winter wonderland, alongside dealing with a gorgeous but rather grumpy new boss, and trying to discover who was behind the viral video which caused her downfall.”
“But while my character Lucy is initially less than impressed and wholly underdressed for her new surroundings, I was captivated from the minute I stepped foot off the plane. Basecamp Oulanka is beautiful, and we were all given such a warm welcome, it felt like home straight away. Like Lucy, I didn’t have a natural talent for snowshoeing or cross-country skiing, but thanks to the patience and brilliant teaching of the Basecamp staff, I was soon able to explore the stunning countryside using both skills.”
“Dogsledding was a bucket-list experience, and when we whizzed through the snow-covered forest, my friends and I couldn’t help thinking we’d been transported to Narnia! The highlight of the trip has to be when we were lucky enough to see the Northern Lights on the final night of our stay. It was a breathtaking experience, and I drew on my memories of that to write one of the most pivotal scenes in my book where the aurora also appears.”
“It was a truly wonderful holiday, and I thoroughly enjoyed travelling to Finland again in my imagination as I wrote “Meet Me Under the Northern Lights”.”
“Meet Me Under the Northern Lights” is published by One More Chapter, a division of HarperCollins and is available in ebook and audio on 3rd December, and in paperback on 3rd March.
Emily Kerr is an author and journalist based in Yorkshire. She loves travelling and exploring new places. “Meet Me Under the Northern Lights” is her third novel.
If Emily has inspired you to find out more about our Finnish Wilderness Week trip, click here.
