Malin Stehn

Popular Swedish author who has written a number of books for children, including series about the pop world, football and horses, plus a humourous book for adults. Born in Boden, Sweden in 1969.

As a child she was not really horsy and was in fact a little afraid of them. However, just like Sophie in her book You and Me Speedy, when she moved to a town where there were more horses than people (one of Sweden's major trotting centres) she was forced to get to know them. Now she is a big horse fan and occasionally rides. Her  equine-themed story features  trotters, inspired she says by living next door to one of Sweden's biggest trainers!

Although not horse-mad as a child, Malin did love reading and writing from an early age. She wrote lots of short stories in her youth and while still at school she and some friends started their own magazine She worked as an editor before trying her hand at penning her own novels, and now is a full time writer. 

The author has her own website. It is mainly in Swedish. There is an English language section which has biographical details about the author and also a contact. The rest of the website can be roughly translated by Google.

Sources: Interview with Malin Stehn on the Stabenfeldt/Pony website (link removed as sadly no longer available)

Humleby Farm Series:
Teen series set unusually in the world of trotting horses.

1) YOU AND ME SPEEDY
aka  DU OCH JAG  SPEEDY (Swedish title)
((STABENFELDT/PONY [SWEDEN/GERMANY/USA] 2008)
EDITIONS SHOWN: USA edition, Swedish edition.
SUMMARY: Sofie is depressed when she finds out her family plans to move back to Sweden after ten years in London. She does not want to swap the exciting bustle of the metropolis for dull country life. Even worse, there are more horses than people in the village of Humleby where her family have settled and she's always been afraid of horses and a bit disdainful of horsy people. But then she meets the trotter Speedy Legend, another newcomer like her, and she feels herself drawn to the beautiful chestnut. Could she turn horsy after all?

2) WILL SOFIE HAVE TO CHOOSE?
aka  MÅSTE SOFIE VÄLJA? (Swedish title)
((STABENFELDT/PONY [SWEDEN/GERMANY/USA] 2008)
EDITIONS SHOWN: USA edition, Swedish edition.
SUMMARY: Now Sofie spends time with gorgeous trotter Speedy Legend and has a job at Humleby Farm, she no longer misses city life, but she does miss her best friend Jojo who still lives back in her old home town of London. Why hasn't Jojo kept in touch? Could it have something to do with Sofie's new interest in horses? After all, the pair of them used to make jokes about people who liked horses! Sofie fears she'll have to choose between Speedy and her best friend….

3) WORKING LIKE A HORSE
aka VILKET HÄSTJOBB! (Swedish title)
((STABENFELDT/PONY [SWEDEN/GERMANY/USA] 2009)
EDITIONS SHOWN: USA edition, Swedish edition.
SUMMARY: Sofie is finding life problematic. She hates her new class and feels sick whenever she thinks about school. And the solace of her weekend job at the farm is marred when her favourite horse goes lame. 

4) HORSE FOR SALE
aka HÄST TILL SALU (Swedish title)
((STABENFELDT/PONY [SWEDEN/GERMANY/USA] 2010)
EDITIONS SHOWN: Swedish edition.
SUMMARY: Autumn arrives and Sofie is busy working in the trotting stables and looking after two mares. Her favourite horse Speedy is sadly still lame but things look up when she meets the gorgeous Adam. Then she overhears a phone call which makes her frantic with worry...

5) INTRUDERS IN THE STABLE
aka INKRAKTARE I STALLET (Swedish title)
((STABENFELDT/PONY [SWEDEN/GERMANY/USA] 2010)
EDITIONS SHOWN: Swedish edition, German edition.
SUMMARY: It is Christmas and Sofie's friend Jojo comes to visit. As well as the usual Christmas fun and girl talk Sofie is hoping to make Jojo more horsy by introducing her to all her favourite horses.  However their happy plans are upset when a series of unpleasant events strike the stables.

In Swedish language:

6) EN RIKTIG VAN (Swedish title)
(STABENFELDT/PONY [SWEDEN/] 2010)
Not sure if there were German or USA editions of this one.
EDITIONS SHOWN: Swedish edition.
SUMMARY: Racing and romance are uppermost in Sofie's life at the moment  She gets a fantastic chance to accompany trotter Born to Run when the horse is to race in Paris, France. But she is torn between this exciting opportunity and staying at home with her beloved Speedy and also to keep her eye on boyfriend Adam whom she thinks her best friend Zoe has fallen in love with!

Collector's info:
The first five books appear to have been published around the same time in Sweden, Germany and USA by Stabenfeldt. I cannot find a USA or German edition of the sixth book so I assume it has not been published in English language, although if anyone knows differently please let me know. The books are all easy to find in the USA, Germany and presumably Sweden too. But it can be hard finding them in the USA or Australia