I am delighted to have Christina as a guest poster today ~ thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for organizing.
Follow my fellow bloggers on the tour ā¤µ
Genre: Time travel historical romance
Publication Date: August 15, 2024
Series ~ 6th and final book in the Viking Runes series
Estimated Page Count – 350
LEGACY OF THE RUNES is the sixth and final book in the Viking Runes series and as with all the others, I wanted it to have a unique setting. Fortunately, when it comes to the Vikings, this is not difficult as they travelled widely. They were incredibly adventurous, in fact, and went as far as Byzantium – present-day Istanbul (which they called MiklagarĆ°r) – in the east and Newfoundland in the west, possibly further. It helped that they were skilled at navigation, had longships that were well suited to most conditions, and that they were completely fearless.
So for this final Runes story I chose the Orkney Islands as the main setting. The Orkney and Shetland Islands had long been a stepping stone for Norwegian Vikings sailing to the British Isles. If you head in a straight westerly direction from the southern part of Norway, you end up in either Orkney or Shetland. It was an easy journey in a Viking longship which only took a couple of days. It was a place I had never visited, so what better than to take a trip there?
Luckily for me, my husband was happy to come along, and we drove up to the top of Scotland and caught a ferry from Scrabster across to Stromness on the largest island. There are a lot of fascinating things to see in the Orkneys, with many sites dating back to Neolithic times, but as always, I was on the trail of the Vikings. They settled in the Orkney Islands during the 8th and 9th centuries (possibly before that), and have left traces of their culture everywhere. The most obvious one is in the names – anything ending in -ey or -ay for example, which means āislandā in Old Norse.
The first Viking site on my list was the Brough of Birsay, a little tidal island you can only reach via a causeway during low tide. I was delighted to find the remains of a substantial Viking settlement there, which helped me to visualise part of the setting for LEGACY OF THE RUNES. It had apparently been one of their strongholds during the 11th century. We visited during lovely warm weather and it was beautiful, but I could imagine how cold and exposed it must be during winter!
In Kirkwall, the main town, there was a historical museum with some interesting Viking items ā my favourite was a bear tooth carved with runes. We visited many other Viking sites and the most important one for me was at Deerness, which is part of a nature reserve. After a long walk next to spectacular cliffs you reach what used to be a Viking settlement on top of a 30 metre high sea stack. It was a wild and absolutely stunning place! Unfortunately, we couldnāt go across to have a look, as there had been a landslide over the path, but the remains of the settlement were visible from where we were. Down below was a beach and cove, perfect for landing Viking ships, and I used this in my story.
Another reminder of the Vikings could be found inside Maeshowe, a Neolithic chambered tomb shaped sort of like a beehive and buried inside a huge earth mound. Sometime during the 12th century, some Vikings were stranded in there during a snowstorm and they left behind a large quantity of graffiti all over the walls. Sacrilege, some might say, but for me it was wonderful to see and it made me feel closer to them.
All in all, it was a wonderful research journey, and just what I needed to complete the book!
Book blurb:
A bond that even time cannot break
Storm Berger has never forgiven himself for his younger sister Madisonās disappearance. Suspecting sheās travelled back to the ninth century in the footsteps of other family members, Storm can only make sure sheās safe by going after her.
Raised unconventionally as her fatherās only child, Freydis has never been content to simply accept her fate. So, when sheās promised in marriage to a tyrant, sheās determined to find a way out of the arrangement. Help comes in the form of a mysterious and attractive stranger stranded on her islandās shores: Storm.
The only way Freydis can truly be free is for Storm to marry her himself. But that would mean entwining lives that, until now, have been separated by centuries. . .
Purchase Link ā
Author Bio ā
Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip/dual time and time travel stories, and lives in Herefordshire (near the Welsh border) in the UK. Although born in England, she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden ā hence her abiding interest in the Vikings. Christina is a Vice President and former Chair and of the UKās Romantic Novelistsā Association and has won several awards, including the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel twice with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014) and the RNA Fantasy Romantic Novel of the year 2021 with Echoes of the Runes. LEGACY OF THE RUNES (time travel historical romance published by Headline Review 15th August 2024) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).
Social Media Links ā
Website: http://www.christinacourtenay.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christinacourtenayauthor?fref=ts
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/PiaCCourtenay
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ChristinaCourtenayAuthor/
Bluesky: https://christinacourtenay@bsky.social
Thanks for stopping by! Visit my bookish product page here š„°š
Other ways to connect with me ā¬
