Behind the Scenes: The Viking’s Witch (A Historical Paranormal Romance)
By Kelli A. Wilkins
This “Behind the Scenes” blog is part of a
series examining my romance novels. In each blog, I’ll talk about why I wrote
the book, share my thoughts on the plot and/or characters, and reveal what I
loved most (or least) about writing the book. Warning: Blogs may contain
spoilers.
Today I’m blogging about one of my
favorite historical romances, The Viking’s Witch.
The book is set in Celtic Scotland and blends a sensual love story with
adventure and paranormal elements.
I loved everything about writing this
book—the characters, the setting, the plot—and readers and reviewers loved it,
too. When the book was originally published in 2012 by Medallion Press, it won
an IPPY award for best historical romance e-book.
I’ve written a few detailed blogs about the
characters, setting, research, the gritty details, conflicts, violence, and even
the use of magic in the book. I won’t rehash all that here (you can read the
other blogs in the blog section of my site: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/blog , but I will talk a bit
about the origin of the book.
Like many of my romances,
the idea for the story popped into my head one morning. I know it sounds
strange, but the book came to me in a dream. It played out like I was watching
a movie. When I woke up, I grabbed a pen and paper and wrote down everything I
remembered. It took me about two hours, and from there I created an outline and
started writing.
I had to do a lot of
research while I wrote the book. I knew the story took place in Scotland, but I
wasn’t sure where—or when. I needed to set
the book in a place where the Vikings traveled in their early years of
exploration, but it had to be an isolated location. After much back-and-forth,
I decided on the Orkney Islands, then I had to decide on which island to set the
story. (There are 70 different islands, but only 20 are inhabited.)
After
I knew the setting, I did more research to learn what life was like in that
time period for Odaria and Rothgar. I had to make the details realistic for the
characters and the readers. Once I got a feel for what everyday life was like
for each of them, I weaved the details into the story.
One
way I did this was to have Odaria ask Rothgar questions (How did Norsemen
travel so far across the ocean? What are their ships like?) and address the
differences in their backgrounds. Rothgar also comments on how things are
different on the island compared to his home and is proud to teach Odaria about
his Nordic culture.
When
writing, I also faced another big challenge: technically, Odaria and Rothgar
would have been speaking
different languages and would have trouble communicating. So I had to find a clever
way for them to understand each other. In essence, I had to blend their two
cultures together in a way that flowed with the story.
The opening scene is very powerful,
and it was one of my favorites to write. When we first meet Odaria, she is
about to be burned at the stake for being a witch. Her fellow villagers have
turned against her, accused her of murder, and she’s been betrayed by everyone
she knows. It’s a very dark time for her, and although deep down she is afraid,
she doesn’t show it.
Instead, she calls down a
curse on the villagers, and seconds later, screaming “demons” appear out of the
darkness and capture most of her tormentors. Odaria is saved from the pyre—only to find herself facing
another big problem—hordes of Norsemen have
invaded the island.
In the beginning of the story
I deliberately kept the truth about Odaria’s “abilities” vague. Did she really
conjure up the Viking warriors who unwittingly saved her from certain death? Or
was it all a coincidence? I wanted readers to follow the story and wonder “does
she have abilities or not?” Is Rothgar right when he suspects Odaria is using trickery
and manipulating circumstances to scare people into thinking she’s a witch?
Over the course of the
book, Odaria never denies being a witch. She warns Rothgar not to cross her or
she’ll hex him. Rothgar laughs at her threat. He calls her “my little witch”
and makes fun of her… For a while.
Later, Rothgar needs
Odaria’s help and tells her to prove she has magic powers. Although reluctant, Odaria
doesn’t disappoint. After a few highly charged scenes, readers and Rothgar
learn the truth about Odaira’s abilities. I loved showing readers (and Rothgar)
Odaria’s powers of clairvoyance, telekinesis, and psychometry. The scenes that
included the “magic” elements were a lot of fun to write.
Rothgar and Odaria are my favorite
historical romance couple. Odaria is strong-willed and doesn’t take any
nonsense from Rothgar. Although she’s tough and feisty, Rothgar uncovers a
vulnerable, soft side to her. And while Rothgar appears gruff and violent on
the outside, underneath he’s really a gentle and sensitive man. Together, they
make a pretty good team. There’s lots of push/pull between them and plenty of
hot love scenes.
If you love historical romances,
paranormal romances, or romances filled with drama, emotional rollercoasters,
and danger, you’ll want to read The Viking’s Witch. I’m happy to say
readers and reviewers fell in love with Rothgar and Odaria as much as I did.
Here is the summary and book links:
The Viking’s Witch
Scotland,
803 A.D.
About to be burned at the stake by her
fellow villagers, Odaria does what any betrayed witch facing certain death
would do. She calls down a curse. Within seconds, rampaging Norsemen raid the
village, capturing everyone except her.
But her reprieve is short-lived, and
Odaria lands in the clutches of the Norse leader Rothgar. Can she remain true
to herself and fight her growing attraction to this domineering man, or will
she fall under his influence and be used for his ambitions?
After Rothgar witnesses Odaria’s powers
firsthand, he strikes a bargain with her. The raven-haired beauty will use her
magical abilities to help him with his quest in exchange for safe passage off
the isle. But can this cunning woman be trusted, or is she using him to exact
vengeance on her village?
Together they must fight bloodthirsty
villagers, battle a mutinous band of Norsemen, find a missing Norse ship, and
learn to trust each other…before time runs out.
Order your copy here:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/%20ebook/dp/B07T15MHSW
All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/4EQe0o
Read reviews here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/the-viking-s-witch
I hope you enjoyed
this “Behind the Scenes” look at the making of this sensual historical romance.
I welcome questions and comments from readers and other authors. Contact me via
the form on my site or on social media.
Happy Reading,
Kelli A. Wilkins
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kelli A. Wilkins
is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 20+
romance novels, 7 non-fiction books, and 5 horror ebooks. Her romances span
many genres and settings, and she likes to scare readers with her horror
stories.
Her
non-fiction tale, “The Dog That Wouldn’t Bark” recently appeared in the Chicken
Soup for the Soul: My Hilarious, Heroic, Human Dog anthology.
She
also released two horror shorts, More Than I Bargained For and Silent
Sentinel in 2021.
In
January 2021, Kelli published Journaling Every Week: 52 Topics to Get You Writing. This fun and innovative guide to
journaling is filled with hundreds of thought-provoking prompts designed to get
you writing about your feelings and emotions.
Kelli posts on her
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and Twitter: www.Twitter.com/KWilkinsauthor.
Visit her
website/blog www.KelliWilkins.com for a full title list and to find all her social media
links.
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