One half of me is dedicated to science and the other to art. I am at my happiest when I can bring these two sides of me together. The best ways to accomplish this are by translating difficult texts that are far removed both in time and space, writing essays that explore the borderlands between fact and fiction, and doing research for literary works.

I'm engaged in academic research with old Sanskrit texts. My dissertation deals with my primary research field which combines textual exegesis and literary research. It charts how the techniques employed in writing frame stories have developed from their origin (Brahmana texts from 800-600 BCE.) to the more fully-fledged forms (the great story cycles of the classical Indian period). My research on early coming-of-age stories is outlined in my long article on the ancient Sunahsepa legend (2001). The tail end of the tradition is represented by my comprehensive master's thesis on aspects of the Pañcatantra cycle. Using narratological theories I have been constructing a thematic and temporal bridge between these two, for instance through the Hindu epics and Buddhist Jataka tales.

My most recent writing project is the Björk series, historical detective novels set in the Helsinki of the early 1920s. The first book in the series, and my twelfth novel, Yön sydän on jäätä ('The heart of night is made of ice') was published in 2014, and the second, Käärmeitten kesä ('A Summer of Snakes') will be published at the end of May, 2015. I am currently working on the third instalment. History plays a significant part in the series: Helsinki on the threshold of modernity, the first years of Finnish independence with its tense political atmosphere and abundance of both internal and external threats, and of course soaring crime rates. I have greatly enjoyed doing the background research at the library and the archives, tracking down all manner of sources; it allows me to bring my research skills to bear on sifting through a variety of material. It has been great to exercise the scientific method with rigour, and that general history is part of my repertoire.