Please give a warm
Coffee Pot welcome to Historical Romance author, Sarah Dahl. Sarah is
going to share the inspiration behind her fabulous story collection…
The Current: A Battle of
Seduction
(A Tales of Freya short story)
The "Tales of Freya" is a collection of
sensual short stories set in the Viking age –
and it opens with "The Current – A Battle of
Seduction"!
Viking warrior Aldaith
meets his real match only after the battle:
Marked from the latest
battle, Aldaith wants to recover by a stream. But instead of finding solitude,
he stumbles on the fearless shield maiden Nyssa. The fierce beauty invites
Aldaith into the water to engage in a very different kind of battle -- one for
which his training leaves him unprepared.
"Sarah Dahl brings a crisp, contemporary
voice to an ages-old world of battle, bloodshed and primal indulgences. Her
refreshing style not only draws the reader back into ancient times; it brings
the characters to us, allowing us to meet in the middle for a vibrant and
accessible experience.
From two ravaged warriors reaping the spoils of
war to the sensuality of a medieval menage, Ms. Dahl has a way of making scars
sexy and luring out the vulnerability in the invulnerable."
J.D. Lexx, author of The Crimson Confessions
"With her unique writing style and in-depth
knowledge of this bygone era, she brings the world of clashing swords, dashing
warriors, and strong, independent shield maidens to life.
Brutality turns into sensuality in an instant,
leaving the reader satisfied, yet craving more. Her writing is addictive, and
every story in this brand new and exciting series is sure to thrill and
delight."
Elaine Coetzee, author of Runo's Curse
"A clever concept, focusing not on the
chieftains and knights, but the very people battling to love and survive. Very
naughty in concept, steam and steel meet in harmony in the imagination."
Chris Cherry,
author of the Bestselling Love and War novels
Author’s Inspiration
I've always been drawn
"north". To the harsher climates and rougher landscapes. I'd rather
holiday on the stormy, grey Faroer islands than some Mediterranean beach.
Looking back, I've always spent my time travelling to where the Vikings went.
From Norway to Ireland and Brittany, from Denmark to England and Scotland.
Always favouring the rough Atlantic coast over some mild, but boring seascape.
These countries' Celtic and Viking heritage fascinates me. Give me timeless,
awe-inspiring forces of nature, and I'm happy.
When studying English
linguistics and Geography, I did my final exams about glaciers and natural
disasters. Again preferring the stark landscapes of fjords, forests and
snowcapped mountain peaks to something sweeter, more harmless.
Maybe that's because I
myself wouldn't be described as sweet, exactly. I'm a shield maiden at heart,
and in my writing combine the two: strong, independent women in equally
challenging landscapes and situations.
The more I immersed myself
in the history and culture of the ancient Scandinavians, the more I was
fascinated. Their early medieval societies were multifaceted and rich in
culture. Women had a say in most aspects. They ruled the house. They could
become healers or even warriors. They travelled with their men to settle in new
lands. And "the" Vikings weren't filthy, ruthless plunderers. They
were well-groomed farmers become part-time warriors, or young men seeking
honour in battle and by raids. They wouldn't go out to seek rape and harming
people for no reason, for that wasn’t honourable and didn’t add to their
reputation at home.
Of course, things became
more complex with Christianity slowly replacing the ancient mythology around
the gods Odin and Thor. I prefer my stories to be set in the earlier Viking
age, around 850-950, when things were still a little less politically and
religiously complicated. The "raw" era fascinates me most, because: I
write about the more normal people, the simpler lives. I zoom in on the more
common encounters, and what these people yearn for: farmers, monks, housewives,
the average warrior. I’m interested in the smaller worlds. Show average people
in slightly unusual situations, which in my sensual works often turn into
something sensual, steamy even. I’m interested in this often overlooked side of
human lives: people's passions and dreams, the force of seduction, this game
between man and woman.
So for my writing I have to
soak up everything there is about my chosen era, tirelessly. I read all the
books – non-fiction preferably – and try to follow new discoveries in
archaeology and linguistics, for example. In a museum or on a site, I read the
hard, historical facts, and then imagine what it "must have been
like" for someone living in the described circumstances. One striking
example is that I read that Vikings did expose their unwanted children to
nature to let them die. There's an abundance of possible stories behind such a
find. Out of this snippet from a text in the Viking museum at Hedeby became the
flash fiction "Maelstrom" you can read for free on my website.
The German Haithabu/Hedeby
Viking town and museum is my favourite place to go and immerse myself into
Viking spirit, and to conjure up new story ideas (or solve older ones).
Situated at the estuary of the Slien, the ages-old site is still in the
original place, still embraced by the protective earthen mound's half-circle. I
go there at least once a year, and their museum accompanying the site of the
town is excellent. The general tranquility and relative remoteness sparks my
creativity. Some of the Viking townhouses have been restored and make up a tiny
settlement now, where once over 1,000 people from all over the world lived
together. Standing high on the mound, face in the harsh winds and looking at
the flat below, across the re-erected pier and the grey water, it's hard to
imagine the bustling and what it really must have been like: living as a Viking
man or woman in such an exceptional place. There were almost no towns then.
Hedeby was unusual and an ongoing experiment of clashing cultures and beliefs.
And today, the mound is
still there, some of the houses revived, the landscape and sea-level fairly
similar. When I arrive at the site, I steer clear of all people and wander down
the wobbly plank paths alone, to duck into dark and smoky huts, or look out
across the water. Just soaking up atmosphere, I walk out onto the rough pier
and imagine a long row of ships of all sizes. Stalls and shouting people. The
noise and stink that has long gone. With a 180-degree turn, I take in the
entire landscape that must have looked similar then, although some tree species
changed and agriculture – the death of Viking sites all over Scandinavia –
changed some aspects forever.
Then I always take a walk:
up the mound, walking from one end to the other following that perfect
half-circle, looking down on what is left and recreated of the town and
harbour. I look down to the outer side, where the fields must have been, where
people felled trees, and let their cattle graze. I can walk down from the mound
and disappear in the light forest, circle the reedy, peaceful Haddebyer Noor,
and find two runestones along the way. They, too, tell stories – and authentic
ones. I can touch their rough surface and see the red runic writing, and
imagine the people they talk about, and the people who erected them to
commemorate Sygtrygg and Eirik.
Hedeby IS stories. About
people of all professions and backgrounds. They can be found in a hanging
shelf, a smoke-blackened roof, under sheepskins or in the bobbing of an empty
rowing boat.
The hour-long drive home
always sets my mind alight: I slowly piece together what I read and experienced;
I solve story problems that at home drove me crazy, and I create new
encounters. I frequently pull the car over to take notes or just close my eyes
and think. When I'm home, I'm always overflowing with creativity.
Hedeby is my place of
inspiration, and I'll go back for as long as it talks to me like that.
Links for Purchase
About the author
Sarah Dahl lives on the
edge of the rural German Eifel and writes historical fiction (novels and short
stories) primarily set in the Viking age. She also works as an editor,
translates, and coaches new writers in German and English. She is interested in
everyday life in bygone centuries and the human stories that may have occurred
behind the hard, historical facts. Her author page is: sarah-dahl.com
Useful Links
The Current – A
Battle of Seduction
Publication date: April 24,
2017
Published by: Pronoun
Series: Tales of Freya
Genre: Historical fiction
Thank you for sharing your inspiration behind The Current – A Battle of Seduction. I love the photographs, so atmospheric!
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