Jane Valerie Steenbuch, born 1950 in England, married a Norwegian in 1973 and moved to Oslo.

Her family in the UK has lived almost 40 years in Dorset.

She received a joint MA in English Literature and History of Art from the University of Oslo. Having been a writer most of her life, she has begun to publish after her retirement from teaching. This is her first book of short stories.

Everything changed in 1950.

We entered an era of accelerating global warming, and a revolution in data technology altered the lives of everybody in ways that were previously unimaginable. Within a half century, life has been so transformed that we are all now living in a radically different world.

Sounds of a Century is a collection of short stories that spans and reflects 70 years of profound change. The background sounds to the stories move from frugal post-war Southern England to the golden age of oil in Norway. Characters struggle to adapt into their changing roles, and new-found wealth comes at a price. The global trauma of the Corona Pandemic gives time for new reflection.

These stories offer a glimpse of the century we are leaving behind.