Kroan, a warrior turned merchant ship owner and captain, is the first Viking I’ve ever written. Whew! I have to say, I’ve been missing out! Thick, bare chests strapped with leather and a battle axe. I mean, what have I been waiting for? Here’s a snippet from my contribution to Conquests, Sweet Silk. The Persian Empire, the North African coast, 820 AD **** “PARDON, MY LADY. I am in need of silk, and I’m told you have the finest in…
One of the perks to being a contributor to an anthology like this is getting to devour the other stories before everyone else, and reading those has been FUN. This anthology does what it says on the box: it smolders. And one thing I have loved about these stories (there’s lots of others) is how there’s plenty of women who are a match for their men in strength and spirit. That was the theme I wanted to explore with my story. Captured…
Only 3 days until the Vikings land – how exciting! I hope you’ve been enjoying our countdown, and the teasing little excerpts we’ve given you. I certainly have. Even if I’ve had to retreat to a cool, dark corner and fan myself to put out the flames… But on to business. Or perhaps I should say pleasure? Writing my story, “Ásgeirr and the Tree of Life”, was a pleasure from beginning to end. Most of my published stories are contemporaries,…
As a proud Canadian, I’ve always been fascinated with the legendary Viking settlement, Vinland, and it’s assumed location in L’Anse aux Meadows on the coast of Newfoundland. So when I heard that Delilah Devlin was looking for Viking stories to include in an anthology, Vinland was the obvious location to inspire me. But what do we know about Vinland? The site has been meticulously excavated since its discovery in 1960 and several discoveries inspired aspects of my story. Key among…
When I saw Delilah’s call for sexy, romantic Viking stories, I figured I’d pass. I’m a history buff, but I knew just enough about Vikings to figure I’d spend six months just figuring out what clothes my characters would be taking off and never actually get around to writing the story. Then one of my friends in the Society for Creative Anachronism, the historical recreation group where I play at being a person from the past, sent me a…
Vikings in Byzantium Let’s just get this out of the way, but the History Channel’s production of Vikings has given a sexy cachet to the fiercest warriors of the Middle Ages. When Delilah put out a call for stories in a Viking erotic romance anthology, my heart just went pitter-pat with excitement. And then the excitement sort of dissipated. My knowledge of Vikings is limited given their era is out of my purview. My field of study is Late Roman…
If you didn’t already have a clue, things were hard for women in Medieval times. More so if you were a captive, because then you had no protector–not a husband or family, to stand between you and the desires of the person who owned you. And that’s where Beatrix Ellroy’s heroine finds herself. A captive, but helping a man still recovering from a crippling battle wound. Enjoy the excerpt! ~ Delilah Devlin And if you leave a comment, you’ll be…
When Delilah Devlin put out a call for sexy Viking stories, I thought, “Finally! One I can let slide by.” For some reason, I always feel like I have to rise to the challenge for her story calls. See, she was the one who got me writing erotic romance in the first place, because she challenged me. This time, I was like, “Vikings? Nah, I don’t have a Viking story in me.” I hadn’t even read a Viking story in…
Invasion! Ah, Britannia, that rugged foggy isle. By the time of the Viking invasions in the ninth century, the people of these lands had become a mix of the natives (before 200 BC) and incessant waves of conquerers (Celts, Romans, Angles, Saxons). Absorbing newcomers and forging a new nation were a familiar process when Scandanavian adventurers set foot on her shores. Similar in so many ways to the earlier Northern European tribes that had made this island their home, the…
Note: Here’s another chance to win the Amazon gift card! Just be sure to comment! UPDATE: The winner of the card is Eniko! *~*~*~*~* I visited Ireland in 2012 and loved the many centuries of history you could see evident in the structures and ruins all over the island. The Vikings found their way to this island and staked a claim for a time, interbred with the inhabitants and became an integral part of the culture. Here’s an excerpt from…