Okay, so it’s 10:36 and I haven’t touched Dolor and Shadow yet, but it’s my birthday! I’m allowed to blow off work today if I want. I have so much yummy things happening and I’m just so excited! First, I found this yesterday on Twitter. It’s paranormal romance. I read every genre and LOVE […]
From Norway to Fantasy Part #4
So! The geography! I had just come off of two years of writing and researching Norse Mythology when I was looking over a map of Norway and Sweden. I was trying to imagine myself in the climate when I stumbled upon a Wikipedia Article entitled “Alfheim (Region)” and not “Alfheim (Mythology).” Alfheim (Old Norse: Álfheimr, […]
From Norway to Fantasy Part #3
I lied! I am not covering Geography just yet. First, I want to cover Norse Myth. I had studied Greek/Roman and Egyptian Mythology as early as eleven years old when I read my Encyclopedia set for fun. I would not branch away from those myths for another fifteen years. So when I began Dolor and […]
From Norway to Fantasy Part #2
I started Tales of the Drui in November of 2008. In 2010, I found a collection of videos that helped with my research…okay…kind of helped. Norway For Noobs by Chris Nikopol. Chris, if ever you see this. Thank you! I am a huge fan here in New York! I couldn’t stop laughing for a week! […]
From Norway to Fantasy Part #1
I could not have chosen a better land to inspire my writing than Norway. Just in thought, she takes my breath away. I didn’t wake up one morning and say, “I want to write about Norway!” Nor did I research her and say, “Oooh! This is a beautiful country (and it is)! I have an […]
Behind Dolor and the Shadow
I can not tell you how many times someone has stopped to ask me what “Dolor” is. I also have been told many times that a reader picked up the book just to find out what “Dolor” means. A few people have come to me and asked directly what the meaning is behind “Dolor and […]
Food and Spices of the Middle Ages
I just filled my new salt shaker. When I was done, I looked at the pile of salt—about 1 ounce—in my sink. I turned on the water and washed it down the drain. Down the drain. I felt sick to my stomach. Six months ago, I had finished researching the history on spices in Medieval […]
History vs. Fantasy
When I wrote Dolor and Shadow I wanted a Fantasy that started here on Earth…in Norway to be exact—the culture who gave us elves—and expanded into the myth from whence the elves were birthed. That drew me to Norse mythology. With Dolor and Shadow toggling between the fantasy and reality, I had to watch where […]
Jelling Stones
I adore history and decided to insert a lot of little treasures into Dolor and Shadow while I researched the project. One of my favorite scenes in Dolor and Shadow—Chapter 53—was the one I wrote around the Jelling (pronounced “Yelling”) Stones (pictured below). In the 9th Century, the king of Denmark, Harald “Bluetooth” Gormson, erected […]
Ogham Runes
One of the oldest writing system in existence are the Ogham runes from Ireland. It’s quite stunning. We have only a few rune stones with this writing. Some hypothesize that the writing itself had no sound to it. It only was used to communicate ideas instead of representing a sound like today’s writing system. In […]