My name is Anita Hager, a 35-year old mother of two from Norway. I am an author and painter in my spare time, and a business manager by trade, all while attending daily to my husband, my two boys, and my four cats. My family means the world to me, and I can’t imagine my life without them.

Have you ever been shy? I was extremely shy when I was young. My heart rose up every time I had to say something out loud, and I avoided every situation that would get me in the limelight. Instead, I stayed in my room dreaming of being someone else.

And yet, I have always had a vivid imagination. Many stories developed in my head that helped me through the childhood. And so finally, a couple of years ago I dared to put them down on paper, and now they are turned into books. It is a dream coming true!

The love that I have cultivated towards writing comes from my dear Grandmother. Her tradition of reading to me when I was a little girl had been the driving force behind the stories that I write. To her, I owe my imagination and the dream inside me to tell those stories.

Luke –The horse who wanted to be a Unicorn is my first book. The story is based on a real horse I used to ride at the stable in my hometown. I am busy working on more stories about Luke and other animal friends, which you can view on my books page.

My family – I love them to bits

Together, my family and I live in a small cozy town, Gjøvik, close to the biggest lake in Norway, Mjøsa, and only two hours’ drive from the capital Oslo. Lillehammer, the town that hosted the Winter Olympics in 1994, is a mere thirty minutes’ drive away.

My family means the world to me.

I met my husband, Bjorn, at work in 2008. He was actually a tenant in my Grandmother’s house when he came to live in Gjøvik. We had crossed paths earlier, and I had always felt an extra heartbeat whenever I saw him. But the timing was not quite right yet. Finally, several years later, I moved into my Grandmother’s house as well and lived there for some years, and that is where our courtship began. So in 2008, we ended up living together in this house.

In 2010 we bought a beautiful house where we could live together. During this time, I also got pregnant with our first baby. Alexander was born in 2011 and Adrian was born in 2012. Two fantastic boys which I love so very, very much.

I really enjoy reading to my boys at night, and I like stories that give meaning. This was a great part of my inspiration to write children’s books. And because of my fondness towards animals, I like writing about horses, cats, and all kinds of creatures.

My roots – to whom I owe my best story-ideas

I grew up with my lovingly mother, father and little sister. Since I was little, we always had pets in the house – cats and dogs – which really cultivated my genuine love for animals. Now I have four cats – Aragorn, Baltazar, Sebatian, and Rocky about which I love to write.

Real-life characters and events are the inspiration behind all of my stories.

As you will notice, all of the characters in my stories are animals. I love writing about animals, especially about real ones from my own life. For example, Luke, the character in my first book, is based on a real horse I used to ride on when I was a little child.

What I do for a living

I work as a manager for an engineering company. My education includes a Bachelor degree in mechanical design and a Masters degree in business and economics. I am one of the main owners of the company and I really would like to manage this family heritage into a successful future.

The last few years had not been easy due to the bad economy. One of our daughter companies filed for bankruptcy this February, which make me feel like giving up. I felt worthless and miserable, and I experienced a light case of depression. But with my family’s support and a lot of mental work, I started to feel better and better. I did a lot of writing and painting as a remedy for my depression (you can see my artwork on my artwork page).

What I am mindful of

Let’s do a quick exercise. Rub your hands together in front of your heart. Then place your right hand over your heart and your left hand on top of your right hand. Close your eyes and take a good, deep breath. And then say, “I love myself. I know how to love myself. It’s natural for me to love myself.” And then fill all your body with the colors pink and gold.

With that, you start to get a glimpse of my inspiration.

I have always been interested in the mind. I also instruct people in mindfulness and memory training. I am curious about how our minds work. I have made mediation with positive affirmations.  How our thoughts affects our life is an extremely important theme to me. Do you see the glass half full or half empty? Do you spend hours in the day worrying? Do you treat yourself as your best friend or your enemy?

Mental work is very common among sports contenders, but there are many World Championships and Olympic Games every day for each person on a regular day. I strive to delve deeper and deeper into this topic every day.

The dream that keeps me going

My mission in life is to help other people see their potential and that everyone can be a success.

Free as a butterfly is my motto. Many years of my life I felt like a caterpillar, eating trough leaf after leaf in order move forward, only to end up feeling stuck like a pupae in life. But the death of the pupae is the birth of a beautiful butterfly, where one can feel free once again. One can spread your wings and show the world all your true colors. This is what I want to inspire in the hearts of children through my stories.