Viking Societal Structure and Historical Fiction
Social class. It is one of those storytelling elements that can affect plot, character, and setting. But what happens when the social hierarchy is not so clear?
Social class. It is one of those storytelling elements that can affect plot, character, and setting. But what happens when the social hierarchy is not so clear?
With Halloween just around the corner, I wanted to share 10 creatures that may have felt very real to the people of the North.
Today we’ve finalized the cover for book two of Hakon’s saga. The book is called Raven’s Feast and the cover art is done!
That is the central question that Hakon Haraldsson must answer in GOD’S HAMMER. It is not an atypical question for the Dark Ages. There are countless stories of warlords and kings dying in their pursuit of the throne, or dying to protect it. Yet Hakon’s story stuck a chord with me because Hakon was not the typical Viking leader.
One of the most difficult judgment calls in writing historical fiction is the handling of names and place names, especially when dealing with time periods where written resources are scarce. Here’s why…
A number of people have asked me over the years why I chose Hakon Haraldsson (or “Hakon the Good” as the sagas call him) as the protagonist in the GOD’S HAMMER series (yes – it’ll be a series. I promise). While we don’t know all of the facts of Hakon’s life, we do know that even if marginally true, Hakon’s story takes many of the norms of Viking literature and turns them on their head. In many ways, Hakon is the anti-Viking, yet a memorable hero nonetheless. And that’s precisely what drew me to him.