It’s been such a long time since I did an author interview, so I’m delighted to have the wonderful author, Christina Courtenay with me on the blog today. So, without further ado…
Hi Christina! It’s such a pleasure having you here on the blog. I knew I HAD to feature you after I saw your beautiful new book cover on Instagram. Can you tell us a bit about the cover? Including who designed it?
Hi Suzy – thank you so much for inviting me! I’m really pleased you like the cover as I loved it from the first moment I saw it. It was designed by the team at Headline and my only input was to request the addition of the little Viking ship in the background. Apart from that I thought it was pretty much perfect already 😊
I also love the title of the book, Echoes of the Runes. How did you come up with the title? And can you tell us a little bit about the story?
Thank you – the title was a collaborative effort between myself, my agent Lina Langlee and her boss, Kate Nash. I had a different working title for this book, but that didn’t really convey any sense of the Viking story, so we came up with a whole list of titles and whittled it down from there. Luckily the publisher liked our choice too!
What kind of books do you love to write?
My favourite type of story to write is timeslip or dual time. I love the fact that you get history, romance and some paranormal elements in there as well, and the possibilities are endless. Another good thing with timeslip is that you get two love stories, rather than just one, as there is usually one in each time period. And I love the idea of love being so strong it overcomes even the barriers of time!
In your author bio on your website, you mention how you hate sad endings. I feel exactly the same way (I won’t go and see a movie if I know the main character – or dog – dies in the end lol!). Does this mean we can expect only happy endings in all your books?
Yes, I would never write a book with a sad ending, ever! I’m exactly like you, I try to make sure books or films don’t have sad endings before watching/reading them. I have occasionally been fooled, like when a friend told me I just had to go and see The Bridges of Terabithia because it was amazing, and I was so depressed afterwards! (Sorry, hope that wasn’t a spoiler for anyone but it’s an old film now). When buying books, I will check the final paragraph to make sure – I know I won’t remember it anyway by the time I read it so that’s fine.
I know what you mean. I was so depressed after Bridges of Terabithia too, Christina!!
You also mention how you adored fairy tales as a child (me too!). How has this inspired you as a writer?
A recurring theme in my books is that good always triumphs over evil, which is what happens in fairy tales. It’s not always true in real life, but as a writer you can make sure of it in your stories. And again, the happy-ever-after endings that are obligatory. There were sad fairy tales of course, like some of H.C. Andersen’s (that poor mermaid!), and I really disliked those so that’s made me want to write happier stories instead.
We are so alike lol!
You grew up in Sweden. Has this influenced your writing at all?
Yes, I think writers are always influenced by their backgrounds and we’re often being told to “write what you know”. I wrote one series which was partly set in Sweden (the Kinross saga), and now I’ve returned to my heritage by focusing on the Vikings. I grew up in the kind of landscape the Vikings inhabited and read all the stories about them, as well as local folklore and history. It all becomes part of your subconscious and probably comes out in the writing.
As a blogger/author who also loves to write about fashion and style, I must ask – how would you describe your own sense of style?
Eclectic! As a teenager I tried to dress like everyone else – at that age you just want to fit in, don’t you – but once I matured a bit, I developed my own style. I love black, I adore boots of every kind – high heels, low heels, cowboy, you name it – and long jackets in the style of Captain Jack Sparrow. 1980s romanticism. Layers are good as they hide a multitude of sins 😀 and I always go for long waistcoats if I can find them. I don’t wear dresses a lot, but like mid-length skirts worn with boots. If I’d been younger, I would have embraced the Goth style as I love that, but instead I try to find clothing styles that fit my age and shape and make the best of it. (My sister-in-law often looks at my outfits and says “that’s so you”, which I take as a compliment). Here’s an old photo of me in the kind of outfit I love – please ignore the horrible bleached hair though, eek!
What a fabulous photo! I love your style – I was always a bit of a goth myself when I was younger. And I, also, can’t get enough of boots lol!
Thank you so much, Christina! It’s been such a pleasure.
Huge thanks for having me!
About Echoes of the Runes
Their love was forbidden. But echoed in eternity.
When Mia inherits her beloved grandmother’s summer cottage, Birch Thorpe, in Sweden, she faces a dilemma. Her fiancé Charles urges her to sell and buy a swanky London home, but Mia cannot let it go easily. The request to carry out an archaeological dig for more Viking artefacts like the gold ring Mia’s grandmother also left her, offers her a reprieve from a decision – and from Charles.
As Mia becomes absorbed in the dig’s discoveries, she finds herself drawn to archaeologist Haakon Berger. Like her, he can sense the past inhabitants whose lives are becoming more vivid every day. Trying to resist the growing attraction between them, Mia and Haakon begin to piece together the story of a Welsh noblewoman, Ceri, and the mysterious Viking, known as the ‘White Hawk’, who stole her away from her people in 869 AD.
As the present begins to echo the past, and enemies threaten Birch Thorpe’s inhabitants, they will all have to fight to protect what has become most precious to each of them …
Buy Echoes of the Runes
2nd book in the series, The Runes of Destiny (published 10th Dec 2020):
About Christina Courtenay
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). Echoes of the Runes (time slip published by Headline 5th March 2020) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).
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