About

Ulrich Baldursson

Ulrich Baldursson is the architect of The Anomaly Archive, a series of paranormal thrillers that blur the thin line between the mundane and the macabre. His narratives unearth monsters both forgotten and familiar, exploring the chilling intersection where human depravity meets ancient folklore.

From Classic Roots to Modern Thrills

Ulrich’s obsession with the written word began in childhood, fueled by a father who prioritized continuous reading comprehension and a love for the "lost hours" found inside a book. His early influences range from the atmospheric dread of Edgar Allan Poe and the societal critiques of George Orwell to the intricate puzzles of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Dan Brown. This blend of classical structure and high-stakes entertainment remains the heartbeat of his work today.

A Swedish Rebirth and New Influence

Every writer has a turning point. For Ulrich, it came at age 33 upon moving to Sweden. While his first attempt at a novel in 2015 was a self-described "mess of ideas," the move North—combined with an immersion in Dungeons & Dragons—unlocked his true process. Rather than changing his voice, the game acted as a mirror, revealing his creative weaknesses and helping him develop a more natural, organic ability to build worlds. Through the lens of the game, he learned to embrace spontaneity, allowing his stories to evolve dynamically based on the internal logic of the characters and their environment.

The Art of the Subverted Reveal

Today, Ulrich specializes in mystery thrillers with a paranormal pulse. He invites his readers into a world where the primary antagonist could be a common criminal or a supernatural entity—and the distinction is never clear until the final, breathless reveal. In a Baldursson thriller, the most subtle clues carry the most weight, ensuring that the ending you expect is rarely the one you get.

Ulrich Baldursson has lived in North America, Europe, and Asia throughout his life. The continuous changes in culture and surroundings has helped to shape him into who he is today.

Currently based in: Sweden.

FAQ

Q1: What is the best order to read The Anomaly Archive series?

There's no particular order to The Anomaly Archive series, no story is directly connected to another, so you can pick them up and start with whatever peaks your interest the most!

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Q2: What genre does Ulrich Baldursson write, and who are his biggest influences?

I picked up a copy of The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown when I was in university, intrigued by the reference to Leonardo Da Vinci (who I've loved as an artist and study standpoint for years leading up to this point, and still do) and was immediately hooked on the way he interwove history, conspiracy, and fiction. Dan Brown is my most influential inspiration to wanting to write my own stories, bar none.

Though, aside from Dan Brown, I grew up with R.L. Stine as a child, followed by Edgar Allen Poe in my preteen and early teen years. When I picked up a copy of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in Ireland one winter, I realized that more intricate mystery elements combined with spine-crawling horror elements was what I wanted to create myself.

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Q3: Are your stories based on real-life paranormal events or folklore?

I haven't written anything directly to my own paranormal experiences, but I do try to weave moments into my stories that provide you with the uncertain anxiety that comes with being confronted with something you can't easily explain away with logic. Maybe one day I'll write a story that's based on my own life.

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Q4: How can I stay updated on new releases and book signings?

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and X (twitter) for now as well as bookmark my website. Eventually I'll have a newsletter that's available for those interested.

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Q5: How has living in Sweden influenced the atmosphere of your writing?

Living in Sweden has allowed me the time to focus on my writing much more than before. It's calm and quiet, yet rich with inspiration, history, and the arts. The Nordic lifestyle is something that was easy to nestle into, and I couldn't see myself planting roots anywhere else. (Though I would like to have a long stay in Japan to find some inspiration and material for more stories)

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Q6: Does Ulrich Baldursson use AI to write his novels?

Absolutely not. Everything I come up with from the initial idea to storyboarding and drafting is all done by me alone. I have an editor who reviews my work and helps ensure that I'm not getting tunnel vision and leaving plot holes that would derail my stories, but all of the work from the research, character design, monster design, world building, and anything else are all done by me. My notes that accompany each story are nearly 70% of the length of the completed story.

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Q7: What role does Dungeons & Dragons play in your storytelling process?

Dungeons & Dragons doesn't directly influence my writing, but playing it did help me develop my ability to react to unique fictional situations on the fly. If you actually get invested in the tabletop game it's easy to get lost in your characters. Playing through different campaigns with different systems enabled me to create characters with different backgrounds and practice thinking from their point of views. As a storyteller, that's a critical ability, otherwise all of my characters would feel the same. I strive for each character to be unique to the others, and I even try to make it so that the side characters are as real as the main characters.

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Q8: If you had to survive a night in one of your books, which monster would you least want to encounter?

I have crippling arachnophobia, so I wouldn't want to encounter that monster. I never gave it a name, and I won't say which book it's in because it's not revealed openly until it's too late! Though, honestly, none of my monsters would be fun to try to survive a night against. Some are more manageable than others if you play your cards right, though.

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Q9: Why do you choose to blur the line between human criminals and supernatural entities?

I like the idea of my characters being put in situations that are so awful that it only makes sense for something inhuman to be the cause of it. You just don't know if that inhuman entity is actually supernatural or if it's someone so demented and twisted that they would be seen as a monster by any normal standards once revealed. I also ascribe to the notion of: Just because you do everything right doesn't mean you'll make it out alive. Because sometimes... those looking to harm you also do everything right. That's about as haplessly real as I can make a horror story.

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Q10: What is your "writing kryptonite" or the hardest part of the creative process for you?

I feel like I have a number of hurdles, if I'm being honest. But they're not all present in each book writing experience. Sometimes I have a really difficult time creating my monster-character relationship and motivations. Other times it's difficulty deciding how a story should end - sometimes that changes as I'm actively writing. Trying to keep all of my ideas organized is really hard, at times, too. I'll use whiteboards to keep ideas somewhat organized and move them around with connecting lines so I can track twists and the order of things. But, to counter all of that, I do have days where I'll be able to put down 5,000+ words in my first draft and not notice the passing of time. So it's not all bad.

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