Prequel News: "The Tale of Halfdanur the Black"

Cover Art - Queen Ragnhildur's Dreams

Hello everyone,

     So, I know I have mentioned recently that I am working on a prequel to The Saga of Asa Oathkeeper: A Midhgardhur Fantasy, but I've been pretty short on details so far. I can now tell you that it will be a very short prequel (like a short story), and it will be called "The Tale of Halfdanur the Black". It will mostly concern the father of Haraldur Halfdansson, who is ultimately one of the great antagonists of The Saga of Asa Oathkeeper. I put together some cover art (the scene is from "Queen Ragnhildur's Dreams," a chapter in the story). I'm not yet hazarding a guess as to when it will be ready, but once it is, my intention is to make it available for free on Kindle.

     I'll post more updates as they become available!

Happy Reading! Skál!
~ Colin Anders Brodd

"Ingjaldur's Crown" to be released on schedule!

Good news, everyone!

     I finished writing "Ingjaldur's Crown" (I felt like I was never going to finish it at times!), and it will be posting to Tales From Midhgardhur on Channillo on schedule (6/1/16)! "Ingjaldur's Crown" is set soon after the events of The Saga of Asa Oathkeeper: A Midhgardhur Fantasy, and returns to Asa, Hrefna, and Hrafn for the first time, really ("Hrafn's Ninth Night" was a sort of prequel for Hrafn, but this is the first time I have returned to all the main protagonists!). So this was fun and exciting for me!

      Of course, I am still working on the thus-far untitled prequel to The Saga of Asa Oathkeeper, which is going to be a much longer project than any of my short Tales From Midhgardhur. Not sure what the July project will be yet, but it might involve Asa and her companions as well! All of this is working me up to the point where I might actually write that sequel that so many people have asked me to write!

Happy Reading! Skál!
~ Colin Anders Brodd

Word Count Wednesday - A Prequel and a Crown - More Asa Oathkeeper!

Queen Ragnhildur's Dream

Hello everyone!

     Well, it is Word Count Wednesday, so here are the updates:

     For everyone who loved The Saga of Asa Oathkeeper: A Midhgardhur Fantasy and asked for more of Asa, I'm actually working on TWO stories related to that novel at this time! One is a so-far-untitled prequel that I intend to offer for free on Kindle when its finished; Asa is not actually in the prequel (she is only five years old at the time the end of the prequel is set), but it is a return to that novel, in the sense that it sets up the background of the antagonist, Haraldur, telling the story of his father (Halfdanur Svarti) and mother (Ragnhildur Sigurdhardottir). Anyway, I finished the outline for this story yesterday, and the outline sits at 4373 words. I hope to make it a little longer than the typical story on Tales From Midhgardhur, perhaps a very short novella, by the time I finish it.

     The other piece is a short story for Tales From Midhgardhur on Channillo titled "Ingjaldur's Crown" - this story does feature Asa, Hrefna, and Hrafn, and is set at a time not long after the end of The Saga of Asa Oathkeeper. I haven't really started hacking away at this story yet; right now it sits at 1910 words. I had planned to release this one on 6/1/16, but I may not quite make it in time. The latest I want to push it would be 6/4/16, since I'm planning on doing some camping up in canyon country (northern Arizona and southern Utah), and I shan't have access to the Internet much there!

      I've been getting some great feedback on Twitter recently; if you're a fan and don't follow me there yet, I'm @Valerianus on Twitter. You can also follow my author page on Facebook and my author profile on Goodreads if you would like to help support my work!

Happy Reading! Skál!
~ Colin Anders Brodd

"Old Blood, Bright Fire" has posted on Channillo!

     The latest of the Tales From Midhgardhur, "Old Blood, Bright Fire", has posted to Channillo! As I mentioned previously, this is a story from my version of Arthurian mythology, which oddly enough was one of the early inspirations for Midhgardhur (primarily about Norse mythology). Enjoy!

Happy Reading! Skál!
~ Colin Anders Brodd

Word Count Wednesday - Double Trouble!

Hello everyone!

     It's time for Word Count Wednesday and I've got double trouble since I'm trying to meet two (self-imposed) deadlines, here - my Tales From Midhgardhur offerings for both May and June on Channillo! For May, I've got "Old Blood, Bright Fire" scheduled for released on 5/21/16 - it is complete, sitting at about 7018 words! For June, I've got "Ingjaldur's Crown" scheduled for 6/1/16 - I've started that one over, and I'm linking it to The Saga of Asa Oathkeeper: A Midhgardhur Fantasy, so I'll be bringing in Asa, Hrafn, and Hrefna. That one's just getting started, really, at about 383 words!

     If you missed it earlier, I'm also working on a short prequel to The Saga of Asa Oathkeeper as well, and beginning to get into serious research for this year's NaNoWriMo. I'm still editing my 2nd novel, and working on all sorts of projects! Keeps me off the streets and out of trouble, as they say!

Happy Reading! Skál!
~ Colin Anders Brodd

Forthcoming: "Old Blood, Bright Fire"

Hello everyone!

     Well, I am hard at work on a number of projects, as I outlined on my blog post for Wednesday. Today, I wanted to take a moment to talk about my next upcoming story for Tales From Midhgardhur, titled "Old Blood, Bright Fire". It constitutes a seeming departure from my usual Midhgardhur projects in that it is not primarily based on Norse mythology and fantasy, but rather on Arthurian mythology and fantasy.

     This is not actually a new direction for me, just the first time my interest in Arthurian fantasy will be reaching a public, general audience. When I first discovered NaNoWriMo, in fact, the very first project I ever attempted was a novel that dealt with Vikings in Midhgardhur's equivalent of the Danelaw finding that my version of Arthurian myth was linked to my version of Norse myth. I never finished that one (and it was intended to be the first of a trilogy!), but maybe I shall return to it someday. I'm certainly laying the kind of groundwork I would want with this story!

     So, to be clear, yes, it is a Midhgardhur story! It is set on the island of Prytania (Britannia), and deals with events leading up to the birth of King Urtur (Midhgardhur's version of King Arthur). it covers ground others have covered before in their own way, but this is the Midhgardhur "twist" on Arthurian legend. Favorites from my childhood lurk in the back of my mind and certainly affect the shape of the narrative (the movie Excalibur, Mary Stewart's Crystal Cave novels, Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon, etc.) but it is definitely my story.

     So why am I coming back to this now? Well, this is my Channillo story for May. May 1st is Beltane, or Bealtaine to give it a better spelling (used in the story) - the Festival of Bright Fire. A festival of love and sex and fertility and all that good stuff! I wanted to write a story about Beltane. Once I started thinking of Beltane stories I wanted to tell, I came back to my version of Arthurian mythology in Midhgardhur, and realized that my version of Ygraine (Ygrayne in the story) fit perfectly. May is also the birth month of a dear friend of mine who was as fond of Arthurian myth as I was when we were younger, and was very fond of the character of Ygraine at one time. So in a sense, the story is partly for her.

     Anyway, I do hope everyone enjoys "Old Blood, Bright Fire" - I probably shan't have much opportunity to return to Arthuriana any time soon, not when I have so many more Viking stories to tell, but Midhgardhur's Arthuriana is always there in the background, and maybe someday I'll even return to the novels I intended to write about it all . . .

Happy Reading! Skál!
~ Colin Anders Brodd

Word Count Wednesday and SO MANY PROJECTS!

Hello everyone,

     Right now, I have so many projects going on, I almost don't know where to begin! It is pretty exciting!

     First of all, I am tinkering with a (so far unnamed) prequel to The Saga of Asa Oathkeeper. It won't be a novel, maybe more of a short story than a novella, even, but it will set up some of the background to the events of that novel. It is currently only 881 words, but it's growing!

     Second, I am still editing Ormsbani. I finished a second draft, which is printed out for review, and I think it is looking great!

     Third, I am in research for my next NaNoWriMo novel, "Tyrfingur" . . . I don't start writing until November, but I'm really happy with the research!

    Fourth, I am trying to work in two different short stories for Tales From Midhgardhur, one for May ("Old Blood, Bright Fire") which is currently at 1534 words, and one for June ("Ingjaldur's Crown") when I shall be away on a camping trip. I have scheduled releases for these - "Old Blood, Bright Fire" should be available on 5/21/16, and "Ingjaldur's Crown" should be out on 6/1/16.

     That's it for updates right now!

Happy Reading! Skál!
~ Colin Anders Brodd