A Writer's Mind: Time for More Passion in 9th Century Scandinavia. Viking Claim-The MacLomain Series: Viking Ancestors.

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Time for More Passion in 9th Century Scandinavia. Viking Claim-The MacLomain Series: Viking Ancestors.

Happy Spring! It’s been a brutal winter here in New England but the snow is finally melting and it won’t be long before everything starts turning green again. Likely because it’s been so frigid in my neck of the woods, I made sure to travel back not to winter but summer when ‘visiting’ ninth century Scandinavia.

Though the Viking King and Kol were around plenty, this time it was all about Raknar. The more serious of the brothers, I loved further exploring his backstory. What made him a little rough around the edges. This is the first time I’ve written a hero that’s not only a hardened warrior but a sexy single father who adores his son. And how exactly was a man like that going to work out with strong-minded, emotionally unavailable New Yorker, Veronica? Better than I ever would’ve anticipated. Naturally, the physical attraction is there but they form a bond that ultimately helps them overcome old wounds.

This is definitely one of my more serious tales but it suited this couple and in the end, they were one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. So if you’re ready, I give you the next story in The MacLomain Series: Viking Ancestors…Viking Claim.

Blurb

Veronica tries to cope with losing her sister but is drawn to everything that seemingly took Megan away. A magical stone. Rune staves. A Viking king. The far distant past. It all seems too impossible to believe. Until she slides down a snow swept hill near Maine’s, Raven’s Nest cliffs straight into a reality she never could have imagined.

Of dragon blood and brother to the king, Raknar Sigdir ‘the hunter’ is determined to welcome any woman from the future if it means he can conquer anew for his people. For those he cares about most. However, Veronica, the irresistible woman thrust back in time, soon has his mind less on loot and more on all the things he forgot about himself.

Honor. Decency. Pride. The ability to love.

A pact with the seers hangs in the balance when a ninth century Viking gives in to his heart to protect a modern day woman from a sworn, powerful enemy…his former wife. Rash actions mean an uncertain outcome. A new fate unfolds. An ultimatum is given. A claim must be made. Now all that lies ahead is a challenge that might very well mean the loss of an unparalleled passion found across time.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes

Excerpt

Raknar was heading in her direction.

Though tempted to take a healthy swig from her skin, she didn’t. Instead, Veronica stood up straighter and waited for him to approach. Believe it or not, she’d never seen him look quite as intent as he did at this moment. As if the devil was coming for her soul, but he’d get there faster. Purposeful, focused, he strode up to her. Before she could say a word, he yanked her against him.

Not a kiss.

Not quite.

But so very close.

Eyes nearly shut; his mouth hovered centimeters from hers, his hot breath a whisper over her lips. It was as if they were reliving that moment when he first pulled her down onto the Drakkar longship. Save now they were far closer, unparalleled need pulsating and palpable between them, like a living, breathing thing.

“Raknar,” she whispered before she could stop herself.

Her eyes slid shut. His lips came closer, hovered, rested against hers but didn’t move. Nothing existed but the feel of him against her. A renewed fire, a blatant want that had been there since the moment they first laid eyes on one another.

A shiver raced through her.

Lightning fast, he dug one hand into her hair and the other around the side of her neck. Still they didn’t move. Lips close. Breath mingling. Heat didn’t just flare but roared between them, an untouchable element made to mock, to accentuate the place both fought but needed so very much.

Somehow they were better at this. Wanting but not taking. Needing but avoiding. Pushing but not going all the way. Yet they had that in common. An unwillingness to scale the walls they’d erected.

His lips moved away and his cheek pressed against hers, his whisper close to her ear. “Come. Dance with me, woman.”

In any century.

Raknar gave her no chance to respond before they moved closer to the fire and she was in his arms, her body swaying slowly against his. Veronica dropped the skin of mead, not interested in her drink as she floated, lost. Just like she’d been that first night. Gone within his arms.

Gone within him.

Though it only felt like moments, the night drifted away. The planet turned. The stars moved. Vikings laughed, danced, partied, sang, but never once did Raknar let her go. They moved, touched, but never kissed. His hands drifted over her body not lewdly but worshiping, as though he memorized her every curve, every line that made up her form.

Viking Heart

Coming June 4^th

Available for pre-order.

Amber is heartbroken. Supposedly because of a pact made between three ninth century Viking brothers and Mt. Galdhøpiggen’s seers, her sisters have vanished into the distant past. Struggling with grief, she leans on her part-time fling Sean until even he is torn away. Or so it seems.

Of dragon blood and brother to the king, Kol Sigdir ‘the lucky’ has been determined to avoid his fate since the moment he promised himself, sight unseen, to a woman from the future. He adores all women and it’s no easy thing knowing he has to eventually pledge his heart to just one…until he meets Amber. A spirited artist and musician, she captivates him. When she offers him a soul-deep glimpse at what was missing from his life, he soon wonders how he will ever be able to let her go.

As Kol and Amber grow closer, they face multiple threats. Eager for revenge, King Alrek declares war. To make matters worse, he has an ally nobody could have anticipated. One determined to see everything come to an end.

Hearts struggle, rip apart, and then are rebuilt when the laws of time are tossed aside. A thousand years means nothing when two star-crossed souls are meant to connect. Even so, will the strength of love be enough to withstand a powerful enemy and bridge a gap across time already closed?

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes