Lin-Marita Sandvik is the creator of Tor the Bear and all the text, photos and music which makes up the "Tor the Bear" - series. She is a teacher, mother of two and married, living in the Western part of Norway. Reading, writing, music and visual arts are activities she has enjoyed and nurtured from an early age. After completing the compulsory education in Norway she studied music for a couple of years, then enjoyed an apprenticeship as a photographer for six months. Instead of becoming a professional photographer she decided to have an academic education, and earned a master's degree in sociology a few years later. Life as a mother of two made her want to become a teacher, so she studied pedagogy, mathematics and music, and obtained a bachelor's degree in English. When her father died of cancer in 2014 she got quite sentimental about the loss of his spirit and personality from her and the family's lives. This was when "Tor the Bear" was born as an idea. A few months later he was "born" as a knitted teddy bear, who has inherited much of her father's spirit, courage and love of live. Creating the stories, taking the photographs, writing the texts, composing and recording the songs and designing the books gives Lin-Marita energy and inspiration. She hopes that the books about Tor the Bear, and his songs found on Youtube, will entertain and inspire readers of all ages.
