Why I love a Viking.
My debut with Harlequin Historical is a Viking romance, called ‘The Viking Chief’s Marriage Alliance’.
I’ve always loved reading historical romance and when I decided to bite the bullet and aim for my dream publisher, I knew that there was one era in particular that captured my imagination.
I’ve read many historical (particularly medieval) romances over the years and I was a huge fan of ‘Vikings’ and ‘The Last Kingdom’ TV shows. I love the mythology, the passion and even the violence of the age. It was a time of clashing cultures and religions. The world expanded as people travelled and settled in new countries, creating a melting pot of cultures and beliefs.
When I went to University, I studied at the cathedral city of York, which at one time was known as Jorvik, the Norse capital of Danelaw.
In England, the Viking age was a time of conflict, fear and war. It’s not clear why the raids began, or continued in earnest for so long. Historians speculate many different reasons for why the Vikings left their home lands. But I believe, as with many events in history it was probably due to an accumulation of reasons. They’re ships were better, their warriors were fierce, and like many people they left to seek a better life for themselves and for their families. It also helped that they’re mythology and religion encouraged death in battle and was based on a warrior’s code of honour. To fight well was to die well.
I read widely about the Viking age before picking my specific time in history. I wanted to set my story in Danelaw (the area of England settled and ruled by the Danes, hence Dane-Law). I loved the idea of a community of warriors trying to build a peaceful land for their future.
I also knew I wanted my Heroine to have the heart of a Viking. I wanted her to be proud, strong and resourceful. When I created Gyda I decided that I wanted a woman who was searching for a better life than the one she’d left behind. This brought me to the idea of a shipwreck and the opening image of my story. A longship wrecked against the rocks illuminated by a burning tree that had been struck by lightning.
I decided her hero should be an equally brave and fierce Viking. But one with a deep sense of honor and integrity, who’d been hurt in the past and would be wary of this beautiful stranger. A woman who represented the ‘old world’ that he’d worked so hard to leave behind.
That’s when I thought that Gyda should be a rich woman fallen on hard times by the loss of her ship. This is what I love about the writing process, how one thing can lead to another, and with historical fiction, real history plays its part in informing your story. For example, the Norse could divorce. Marriage was an alliance of families and power, but a couple could divorce relatively easily, unlike Christian marriages at the time. So simple, in fact, a couple need only gather witnesses and declare themselves divorced. However, in practice it was probably a rare occurrence. I thought it would be interesting if my hero, Thorstein had been previously divorced as he’d be less keen to rush into another marriage.
“Thora, his first wife, had used her beauty like that. Wielded it like a weapon to get whatever she wanted. He didn’t want a seductress—a woman who offered kisses like flowers to doe-eyed men stupid enough to be chained by them. He’d been enthralled by a beautiful woman before. He’d never be so stupid again.”
I liked the idea of my ice queen heroine struggling with a husband who couldn’t trust beautiful women.
“He knew his future and it did not include a spoilt, shallow beauty from his homeland—especially one who only desired jewels and luxuries.”
Obviously Thorstein doesn’t realise that there’s a noble heart behind his wife’s cool façade. Ultimately, my couple must learn to trust each other before they can build a life together, they are tested by their own pasts and prejudices but eventually find love and happiness with each other. My romantic heart likes to think of the Viking era in the same way. Yes it was violent time, but it was also a time of change, where the mystical gods of thunder and wisdom made way for new beliefs.
I really enjoyed writing about my couple who have to let go of the past to find happiness. I hope if you decide to buy ‘The Viking Chief’s Marriage Alliance’ you enjoy it too.
A challenging wife
For a warrior Viking
When Thorstein Bergson rescues a beautiful woman from a storm-tossed longship he little expects to broker a powerful marriage alliance with her. This high-status ice queen is not the comfortable wife this warrior chief is seeking, but maybe the bittersweet pain in Gyda’s eyes hides another woman beneath? The one he tasted that first night, when she kissed him with such pent-up longing…
http://books2read.com/u/b5kD17?fbclid=IwAR3hXs574_WifoG0Uli0RvkjnRuCJ3KIvBhLMiUESsMDKqqHoU48hzzV_M
Lucy Morris lives in Essex, UK, with her husband, two young children and two cats. She has a massively sweet tooth and loves gin, bubbly and Irn-Bru. A member of the UK Romantic Novelists' Association, she was delighted to accept a two-book deal with Harlequin after submitting her story to the Warriors Wanted submission blitz for Viking, Medieval and Highlander romances.
Writing for Harlequin Historical is a dream come true for her and she hopes you enjoy her books!
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