The Midhgardhur Wikia has landed!

Hello everyone,

     A little while back, I hinted in various social media that I was planning to do this: there is now an official Wikia for the world of Midhgardhur. It is still very much a work in progress - it's a big world, and so far I am the only one working on it, plus time working on the Wikia is time I'm not writing . . . but it is up and running, and growing, so check it out!

The Official Wikia for the World of Midhgardhur

Happy Reading! Skál!
~ Colin Anders Brodd

Word Count Wednesday for Two Projects!

Hello everyone,

     Today I have word counts for two projects to share!
     The first is for "The Harp of the Sisters" which is available TODAY at Tales From Midhgardhur on Channillo, which weighs in at around 4789 words!

      The other is the latest word count from the current round of editing on Ormsbani, which is currently up to 69,189 words!

     I'm happy to be making so much progress after such a long hiatus! In the meantime, you should check out the first book of Midhgardhur fantasy if you have not already - enjoy The Saga of Asa Oathkeeper: A Midhgardhur Fantasy! It's good stuff, and I promise that when Ormsbani is finished, it will be even better!

Happy Reading! Skál!
~ Colin Anders Brodd

Soon Coming: "The Harp of the Sisters"

Hello everyone,

     So, my next story for Tales From Midhgardhur should be available on Wednesday, March 30th, 2016. The title is "The Harp of the Sisters" and I think it took as much research as either of my novels. The reason is that it is based on a very old story that now has literally hundreds of versions, and I researched as many of them as I could, in as many languages as I could, to create a Midhgardhur-based version that incorporates elements from most of the versions.

     I was inspired by an article from Atlas Obscura entitled "How 2 Sisters and 1 Murder Inspired 500 Songs". It was a great article. The more I delved into the story, the more I knew I wanted to do a version set in Midhgardhur (some of the oldest versions are set in Scandinavia, after all!).

     For inspiration, I also searched for images connected to the story. Some old images still exist, but the most horrific were often the modern interpretations. Check out this image of the bone harp that appears in the story, for example.

     I used an online collection of English versions of the ballad. I enjoyed a Reddit analysis of a Norwegian version of the ballad. I plumbed a scholarly paper on Swedish and other Nordic variants. I found a good, clear English text with which I could work.. I found an old, scholarly comparison of various Nordic versions to English and Scottish. One page also listed more modern musical variants of the ballad, which sent me off to find versions like Jerry Garcia's Dreadful Wind and Rain and Tom Waits' Two Sisters. So much research! In the midst of it all, there was a death in my family, and I had to abandon all work for weeks at a time, so it is coming out much later than I had intended. I hope the wait was worth it!

Happy Reading! Skál!
~ Colin Anders Brodd

Word Count Wednesday and the Neverending Revision

Hello everyone,

     Well, I've been editing Ormsbani - truly, it feels like the revision that never ends - so I have the latest Word Count Wednesday weigh-in for that novel: 69,145 as of this writing! I have a lot more to do, but I feel like I am making good progress!

     Meanwhile, I'm pretty far behind on "The Harp of the Sisters," my latest project for Tales From Midhgardhur on Channillo. I had wanted to get it out by the Ides of March, but due to a number of family crises, it's still not done! Please be patient - it will be up as soon as I can finish it!

Happy Reading! Skál!
~ Colin Anders Brodd

Word Count Wednesday and a Harp

Hello everyone,

     Well, I am working on my next project for Tales From Midhgardhur on Channillo, a story called "The Harp of the Sisters". Word Count Wednesday: 1879. I can't say much more about it right now, except that it is a new take on an old story, and I think it will be a wonderful horror story!  In the meantime, I am also working on editing Ormsbani, and toying with some material related to The Sage of Asa Oathkeeper. I have far too many projects and ideas for projects and too little time, but there are worse problems to have! I would rather have too much inspiration and too many ideas than too little and too few!

     I was also lucky enough to make my first real public appearance as an author, recently. I visited a charter school for autistic students here in Phoenix and I answered questions the children had about being an author and my work. They were so enthusiastic and full of great questions! I discovered that although I am rather shy by nature, I love talking to people who are interested in stories and fantasy about my ideas and work!

Happy Reading! Skál!
~ Colin Anders Brodd