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Heikki Hietala is a Senior Lecturer at HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences. He holds an M.A. in English Philology from the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, and has worked in IT and localization for more than 20 years. Tulagi Hotel is his first novel.
Tulagi Hotel has its origins in the author’s lifelong interest in military history and popular culture. Hietala has accumulated a large library of books on World War 2, and assisted in editing and translating of a pictorial history of the Finnish Air Force 1928-1945.
He began writing Tulagi Hotel in 1996, but research and background work — not to mention everyday life — meant slow progress for many years. The first complete version was ready early in 2008, and in September 2008 a refined version was uploaded onto the HarperCollins website, Authonomy. Tulagi Hotel reached #15 among some eight thousand books.
Besides this novel, Hietala has written short stories, some of which have appeared in anthologies, ezines and literary websites, such as Emprise Review. He is a member of Year Zero Writers, a non-conventional convention of unconventional authors, and is currently discussing the publication of a collection of his short stories. A second book is being worked on, in the hope of not waiting another 14 years for it. Some of the short stories are available at his website.
In October 2010, Hietala won the Flash500 short story competition with his Flash Fiction piece, Lord Stanton’s Horse. His other ultrashort piece, Yessirree, also made it to the shortlist of 25 in May. Another short story, The Campsite, was given a High Commendation at the Global Short Stories competition in March, and was included in the anthology of 2011.
Heikki Hietala is a keen fan of British comedy and an avid Monty Python aficionado. He also subscribed to MAD Magazine at the tender age of 11, which should explain quite a few things. He lives in Klaukkala, Finland, with his family.
You can contact him at heikki dot hietala at sabulo dot com. There’s an Author Info Sheet – Heikki Hietala (506kb, PDF).
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