In this blog post, I conclude my series of historical posts on the development of photonics and for telecom in particular. I discuss my transition to a career as an author and how I refocused on photonics in my roles as an author, scientist, and developer.

An Important Book 

In 1999, I came across Management Challenges for the 21st Century by Peter F. Drucker in a Manhattan bookshop.

In its introduction, he noted that the book “[...] deals exclusively with TOMORROW’S ‘Hot’ Issues – the crucial, central, life-and-death issues that are certain to be the major challenges of tomorrow.”

Rereading it now, twenty-seven years later, I find that it has stood the test of time exceptionally well. Drucker’s pragmatic optimism is as compelling today as it was then. At the time, I was surprised to learn he had turned 90 the year of its release—his perspective felt remarkably timeless and sharp.

Schools and Reading Habits

My interest in writing first emerged during gymnasium in Sweden (upper secondary school), where I achieved excellent grades in language classes. This was largely thanks to an inspiring teacher and my growing appreciation for fiction. My love of reading started in childhood with Astrid Lindgren's Pippi Longstocking books.

Books were always present at home — non-fiction for my dad, and fiction for my mom. Dad was good at speaking in an engaging way, often with humor. The same was true of his writing, though unfortunately, he wrote far too little. My mom wrote grammatically correct and polished prose in both Swedish and English. However, she lacked Dad's natural feel for language.

My Own Writing

During gymnasium, I had the idea that I would someday try my hand at writing. In 1999, Drucker’s book ignited it all. His book was about management, but my writing was about other things. I started with essays and short stories in English that were one or two pages long. I called them "Writer's Scraps”.

While writing in my spare time, I began buying and reading contemporary books about human origins and history up to the present day from a 21st-century perspective. I hoped to find clues I hadn’t perceived earlier in life and historical events forgotten by the general public.

Yes, I found some of those. I also benefited from advances in DNA science regarding the evolution of Homo sapiens and other now-extinct species with which we share some characteristics.

A Tragic Incident

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I had been back in Sweden since 2000. I worked on fiber-optic communications in the archipelago and provided consulting services. A former colleague of mine from my days as a research director at one of Ericsson’s laboratories in the Stockholm area had left that job to start his own business.

At the end of 2004, I was in his office discussing a project with one of his colleagues. After our meeting ended, he entered the conference room. He seemed stressed but wanted to speak with me before leaving on a business trip to Switzerland. There were financial problems, something we were both accustomed to from our many years of working in research and development.

We both had backgrounds as innovators in a Swedish business environment that was hostile toward small businesses for many years, no matter how well-established they were. We both ended up at Ericsson, managing two different departments that worked with fiber optics at a subsidiary which otherwise focused on traditional telecom technology. Our reporting manager opposed fiber optics, but our earlier experience came in handy for protecting our operations and the employees who reported to us.

My former colleague asked me a few questions about critical situations I had encountered in the past and how I handled them. Then, he rushed off. That was the last time I saw him.

At the start of the following year, a former colleague of ours who still worked at Ericsson phoned me to say that he had passed away tragically. Those of us in the industry held a memorial service for him on February 15, 2005.

Following that incident, I spent a little over a month thinking it over, and then I felt it was time to change course. I decided to take a break from my active work in photonics and start writing instead.  I began on April 4, 2005.

Full-time Author

In addition to my writing, I have continued to conduct basic theoretical research in photonics independently and part-time. All self-funded. I have enjoyed writing from the beginning, and I still do. I also enjoy narrating my writing as audiobooks now.

Writing required intense focus—in the beginning, a single interruption at my archipelago home could ruin an entire day. As my research demands grew, I replaced the quiet seclusion (and sluggish ADSL) of the island with a dedicated writing studio in Stockholm, equipped with high-speed fiber.

At school, I analyzed the works of Nobel Prize-winning authors, whose writing styles inspired me. Refining my own writing style by drawing inspiration from theirs had an immediate positive impact on my essay grades. Later as a scientist, I have written extensively about science and technology, and have given many lectures on the subject.

Sweden’s Cultural Scene

Traditional cultural circles often overlook the transformative power of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). My perspective is different: I believe real progress happens when STEM and the humanities work together. Where others see friction between these worlds, I see opportunity. That drive to bridge the gap is one of the reasons why I founded my own publishing company.

My first printed book, Strandhugg i skärgården (Shoreside Forays in the Archipelago), was published on November 26, 2021, after two years of preparation. Given the shifting regional security landscape in 2022, I later decided to withdraw the publication as a precautionary measure.

My most recent book was released in hardcover on June 26, 2024, followed by an audiobook release on July 1, 2024. In that case, the decision to withdraw the audiobook was purely commercial, driven by limited reach through traditional distribution channels.

The audiobook was recently republished by my publishing house via Spotify for Authors—a platform rapidly gaining traction among established authors. With full production costs often reaching €300–500 per finished hour—covering narration, recording technology, editing, and mastering before taxes—traditional publishers rarely take risks on non-mainstream works or independent voices.

By overseeing the entire chain—from initial concept to print, audio, and e-book—I can bring a completed manuscript to market with agility. I now have a substantial catalog of unpublished manuscripts, both fiction and non-fiction, ready for future release.

Changed Focus

At the end of February 2025, I received a call from someone who has a strong understanding of my writing. This person suggested that I shift the focus to photonics. After thinking about it for a few days, I made up my mind. In addition to writing, I also decided to offer my services as an expert in the field.

I have been a member of the Optical Society of America (now Optica) since 1978 and am now an emeritus member. It is the world’s leading organization for scientists in this field. Over the years, I have kept up to date on the latest research developments, in part through its high-quality scientific journals.

The internet traffic problems we see today could have been avoided if a different path had been chosen for its development in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. A series of unfortunate decisions by those in power caused this.

I know how to correct these issues, and I am probably one of the few people who pioneered fiber optic communications from the 1970s onward who is still active in the business today.

About My Blog Posts

I published my first blog post on February 3, 2026. If you haven’t read my previous entries, I recommend starting from the beginning to follow this 50-year journey as a pioneer in fiber optics. You can find all twelve posts in the series at bohstrategy.org, including two summer features on the Baltic Sea and Stockholm archipelago.

With this post, the historical retrospectives come to a close. Looking back on my journey—from the early days of photonics to my years as an author, and finally bringing those two paths together—has been a rewarding process. Now, it is time to turn retrospective thinking on its head and look ahead.

Next Blog Post

The next blog post, which will be published on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, will focus on the future of photonics.