I’ve been working on this 5-book romantic fantasy series since June 2021. The Road of Bones is the first installment of the series, following 20-year old Silla Nordvig as she travels the treacherous Road Of Bones with the Bloodaxe Crew. This book kicks off events that will reveal the hidden world of the Ashen (Galdra), the magic-wielding people of Íseldur who’ve been oppressed by the cruel Usurper, King Ivar.

The book takes place in a fictional world called Íseldur, which is inspired by Iceland (Íseldur is the Icelandic words for fire and ice put together!). Things you can expect in the books: Viking-vibes; a harsh land ruled by a cruel king; grumpy heroes; softer female lead characters; spicy romance; multiple POV; flawed characters.

I was inspired after reading Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone to create a fantasy world using real places and history as a blueprint. I loved Iceland as inspiration as (at the time) I hadn’t seen it done before in fantasy. Volcanoes, glaciers, black sand beaches and fjords really fired up my creativity! An Iceland-inspired world naturally led to Vikings, which required a lot of research into food, drink, weapons, the way they spoke, cultural customs and beliefs. I’ve listed some resources below, which were extremely helpful!

Other books that sparked ideas:

• The Handmaid’s Tale– it was while listening to this book that I got the idea for the pillars and brutal public executions
• The Way of Kings–reading this series made me want to do better in my own world building (and magic system!), particularly in the little details of flora and fauna
• American Gods— I had a major ‘aha’ moment while reading this that finally allowed me to tie all my books together

The nicknames were inspired by/borrowed from the Icelandic Sagas and Skaldic Poems:

• Bloodaxe Crew–was named after Erik Bloodaxe
• Hekla–was named after an Icelandic volcano (for her fiery personality)
• Jonas–his last name might hold a hidden meaning
• Rey– both of his last names have hidden meaning which is revealed in book 2
• Silla–I was inspired by Circe, in which Scylla is a sea monster. There is no link between the two, other than I liked the name 🙂
• Rurik– was named after the Varangian chieftain who brought the Rus together in medieval times
• Signe–was at one point named ‘Vespa’ and was meant to be a wasp queen. Her character eventually shifted toward more of a Scandinavian ice queen
• Bjorn & Yrsa–means ‘bear’ and ‘little she-bear’