Hi there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
Today, we're taking a chance on fate with a special spotlight on a title now touring with Rachel's Random Resources. We were lucky enough to score a Guest Post from the author herself featuring a closer look at the book's heroine (are you stoked...because I'm stoked), plus at post's end, or somewhere thereabouts, there's a chance to enter the tour wide giveaway for a SIGNED copy of the book plus a little something extra! So, let's get this party started as today's featured title takes centerstage...
Whispers of the Runes
by
Christina Courtenay
About the book...
Time is no barrier for a love that is destined to be.
She couldn’t be sure that she had travelled through time … but deep down she just knew.
And her only way back had just disappeared.
When jewellery designer Sara Mattsson is propelled back to the ninth century, after cutting herself on a Viking knife she uncovers at an archaeological dig, she is quick to accept what has happened to her. For this is not the first Sara has heard of time travel.
Although acutely aware of the danger she faces when she loses the knife – and with it her way to return to her own time – this is also the opportunity of a lifetime. What better way to add authenticity to the Viking and Anglo-Saxon motifs used in her designs?
As luck has it, the first person Sara encounters is Rurik Eskilsson, a fellow silversmith, who is also no stranger to the concept of time travel. Agreeing that Sara can accompany him to Jorvik, they embark on a journey even more perilous than one through time. But Fate has brought these two kindred spirits together across the ages for a reason…
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~~~ Special GUEST POST with Author Christina Courtenay ~~~
The hero of my latest novel, WHISPERS OF THE RUNES, had already appeared in the previous story of this series, and therefore I knew he was a silversmith long before I started writing this. I am very partial to jewellery, especially earrings, so this was a definite bonus! To make it even better, I decided my heroine would also be a jewellery designer, but since she is from the 21st century and he’s from the 9th, their methods would be somewhat different. Not a problem as it’s always good to have conflict between the main protagonists. I enjoyed letting them teach each other a thing or two about their creative processes!
To most men from the past, a female jeweller might have seemed an impossibility (or even a threat) as for centuries women were only supposed to bear children and look after the home. Luckily for my heroine, Vikings weren’t that sexist. Their women were often entrusted with the running of farms or estates while the menfolk went raiding or trading. They were thought capable of looking after everything and even allowed to speak on behalf of the men at the thing (court of justice) if necessary. So my hero, although he’s surprised, doesn’t feel threatened by the heroine’s occupation. He’s more intrigued and eager to see what she can do. And once they start working together, he realises what a great team they make.
This couple get caught up with the so-called Great Heathen Army, whose participants had been looting all over Britain and amassing wealth for years. It must have been a golden opportunity (literally!) for any silversmiths as they had so much precious metal to be smelted down and made into new items. We have only to look at the Staffordshire Hoard, which although it is from a much earlier century, shows how items we would call treasure were merely valued for its metal and gemstone content by some. History buffs like me weep at the thought of for example treasured relics from monasteries and churches being turned into sword hilts, brooches or just hack-silver for bartering with. However, some of the objects created were every bit as magnificent too and Viking craftsmen were extremely good at what they did.
There are several different types of Viking jewellery/decorative styles, such as Borre, Jellinge, Ringerike and Urnes – my favourite is without doubt the Urnes. The patterns consist of elegant and elongated animalistic shapes, whose extremities and tails twine round, up and over each other like vines. The creatures are graceful and sometimes bite each other or themselves. Unfortunately, that style didn’t appear until the 11th century so I wasn’t able to incorporate that into my story, but the general themes were similar. Swirling creatures, both mythical and from real life, abound and seem to have fascinated the Vikings.
Viking women were extremely fond of beads and items made with amber, so of course my protagonists get to make things like that as well. In fact, they liked all sorts of gaudy things, colourful and bright. I can honestly say that doing the research for this book was an absolute joy!
Thank you very much for having me as your guest!
(My pleasure!)
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About the author...
Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip and time travel stories, and lives in Herefordshire (near the Welsh border) in the UK. Although born in England, she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden – hence her abiding interest in the Vikings. Christina is a former chairman of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association and has won several awards, including the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel twice with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014). Whispers of the Runes (time travel published by Headline 24th June 2021) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).
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YOUR CHANCE TO WIN...
...a signed copy of Whispers of the Runes plus a pair of silver Viking style earrings!
(Open INT)
*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
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Special thanks to Rachel at Rachel's Random Resources for the chance to bring this tour to you and to author Christina Courtenay for the great guest post. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, this promotion, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now, so click on over to your favorite online retailer to snag your copy today and be sure to check out the rest of the tour for more bookish fun!
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
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