Today, I have invited Christina Courtenay to visit. She has recently released a new book, Ripples Through Time (review further down) and I first asked her if she wanted to write a historical guest post, as she’s done several times on my blog. She sort of groaned. It becomes a bit tedious, after a time, […]
Chatting with Christina – about combmaking Vikings, hidden hoards and her latest release Read More »
In five days, it is Christmas Eve. And yes, I know most of the world is focussed on Christmas Day, but up here in Sweden, it’s Christmas Eve that is the BIG day. The 25th is a day spent mooching about in pyjamas while eating leftovers… When I was a child, my Christmases were spent
Today, Christina Courtenay visits me with a guest post about Roman baths in Bath which ties into her latest release, Shadows in the Spring. Further down, you can read my review, but first, let’s get to grips with Christina’s guest post! Bath and the Roman baths Doing research for a story can be extremely enjoyable,
I have spent most of last week in bed—or on the sofa—feeling sorry for myself. Why? Because I have been struck down by a bad case of flu, with fever, cough and a blinding headache. Problem with headache is that it makes it impossible to read. Or watch TV. So instead, I’ve listened to pods,
In the fair month of May – my monthly newsletter Read More »
Lately, my reading has included several books set in the 9th to 11th century, a period of time that comes to us as vague echoes through the mists of time. One of my recent reads is Hidden in the Mists, Christina Courtenay’s excellent dual time line book (more of that below) Her book made me
The hidden past – in which Christina Courtenay follows in the steps of the Vikings Read More »
Some weeks ago, I visited Birka. Okay, so for many of you, the name does not lead to an immediate “Oh. Birka! I’d love to visit some day.” Understandable, as Birka is nothing if not understated. In fact, stepping ashore the island Björkö in the Stockholm archipelago where Birka is located is more or less
Visiting with Vikings – of Birka, shield maidens, and a brand-new release Read More »
Taa-daa! Time for guest number two in my 17th century fest. Today’s guest has a thing about Prince Rupert. I most definitely do NOT – but I’ve decided to forgive Christina for this, as I suspect it is mostly Rupert’s long locks that set her heart a-flutter. I met Christina in 2012. There I was,
Today, I’ve invited Christina Courtenay over to share some information on runes, the Viking way of writing. Up here in Sweden, we have a number of runestones standing like silent sentinels over those that came long before us. These days, we consider them precious remnants of our past, some generations ago, they were viewed with
Spelling it out in Viking times – a post about runes Read More »
A couple of years ago, I attended a Writer’s conference in York. One of the ladies who stuck out was Christina Courtenay (fantastic hair; still jealous of it) who at the time had just recently published her book Trade Winds. It was sort of odd to realise that Christina spoke Swedish, had a thing about