Hi everyone,
Welcome to Part Two of an “Inside Look” at TheViking’s Witch. As most of you may know, The Viking’s Witch is a traditional historical romance with paranormal elements set in Scotland in 803. The main character, Odaria, is what they called a witch back then – nowadays we’d call her a psychic and a healer.
First, here’s the plot summary:
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 is
up.
Interviewers
have asked me how I can create such interesting and diverse characters for all of
my books. They want to know where Rothgar and Odaria came from. Well, there’s
no real way to answer that other than, I just made them up. They’re not based
on any particular person. (Although Chris Hemsworth from Thor is pretty
much is what I envisioned Rothgar to look like.)
Odaria is a
strong-willed “witch” who is tired of being abused and ridiculed by the people
in her village. She swears she doesn’t need anyone’s help to get by. Rothgar
was once a powerful warrior, but a personal tragedy has softened him and left
him broken and unwilling to love anyone again. When they meet up, they each
play off the others’ weaknesses. Odaria has no qualms about standing up to
Rothgar and arguing with him, and he respects her willful and fearless behavior.
Eventually they realize that they need (and want) to be with each other
forever.
I like introducing secondary
characters and subplots into all my books to flesh out the story. I’ve been asked about the secondary
character, Nordskog. He’s not the type of “hero” one would typically find in a
romance, but he serves an important role in the story. Where did he come from?
Well…
I used to work with a woman whose last
name was Nordskog and I told her that one day I’d use her name in a book, so I
did! Nordskog is a violent, vicious berserkr
and has a history with Rothgar dating from Rothgar’s old fighting days.
Nordskog’s hatred of Karnik draws him closer to Rothgar’s side as the story
develops. After Odaria helps heal his leg, Nordskog develops a fondness for
her, as well. He’s an impulsive brute, but he’s not stupid. He knows that Rothgar
is wealthy and will reward him for his services and loyalty.
But if readers thought Nordskog was
bad, the antagonist, Brennan, is even worse.
Brennan has
been described as “a perfectly evil villain” which was exactly my intention. I
wanted to portray him as an arrogant, self-righteous SOB – but not have his character be too
over the top. Brennan is a lying, murdering, religious zealot and that makes
him dangerous to Odaria and the other villagers. Most of the terrible things
he’s done happen off page and we learn about them through Odaria. Each time I
wrote a scene for, or about, Brennan, I made him a little more unstable and
psychotic, so by the end of the book readers see that he needs to learn his
lesson and pay for what he’s done.
Throughout
the book, Odaria shows off her “witch powers” and uses them for
self-preservation and to get revenge on the people who hurt her. Rothgar
doesn’t believe her and thinks she’s just pretending to be a witch to frighten
people. But after an interaction with Brennan, Rothgar got a taste of what
Odaria could really do if she set her mind to it.
I loved showing readers (and Rothgar) Odaria’s powers of
clairvoyance, telekinesis, and psychometry. The “magic” elements were a lot of fun to write! I’ve
always been interested in psychic phenomena and other New Age subjects, so it
was easy for me to incorporate what I know into Odaria’s character.
Now that you know all about the book and the characters,
here’s a short (yet steamy) excerpt from The Viking’s Witch.
As Odaria rubbed her temples with her fingertips, the wool
blanket slipped down, exposing her breasts. She tried to cover herself, but
Rothgar held her wrists.
"Let
me admire you." He pulled away from her and sat back on his heels.
Although
she was a bit embarrassed, she felt no need to shield herself. She trusted
Rothgar like no other. Before she knew what was happening, Rothgar’s warm mouth
covered her left breast. A flash of desire coursed through her, and she
groaned.
He
suckled her gently, then twirled his tongue around her nipple. The sensation of
his mouth working against her flesh sent her senses reeling, and she longed for
more. A low moan escaped her throat as he increased the pressure on her breast.
She
wrapped her arms around Rothgar’s head and held him to her, arching her back as
he devoured her. Her lustful feelings from this morning resurfaced, and she
willed him to ease her back onto the bed and make love to her.
After a
few minutes, Rothgar moved away. "I thought that would make you feel
better," he said with a wink.
She smiled. "Aye. I do. I’m tingling everywhere, but
it isn’t enough."
Rothgar stroked her cheek with his forefinger. "Then
lie back. I will make you feel things you’ve never dreamed of."
Odaria lay on the bed and closed her eyes. Her entire body
felt prickly, and her heart thundered in her chest like a drum. What would
Rothgar do next? Would they make love? He was the only man who had ever sparked
these desires in her. It felt natural to give herself to him.
She felt a slight chill as Rothgar tugged the wool blanket
away from her lower half, exposing her. A tremor of fear rippled through her.
"What happens now? I dunno how to do this," she whispered.
"Fret not, my little witch. We will not make love now.
I wish to save that pleasure for tonight." He chuckled. "But I know
how to give you the same pleasures of lovemaking while leaving you
intact."
"How could—?"
She gasped as Rothgar leaned over her and suckled her
breast again. Her skin quivered as Rothgar trailed kisses down her ribs and
stomach, inching lower with each kiss. His strong hands massaged her calves,
sliding upward until he rubbed her knees, then her thighs. His kisses went lower,
tickling her until he reached her lower belly. She moaned and squirmed on the
bed. This delightful teasing and touching was something she’d never expected.
How did Rothgar know how to make her feel so weak and vulnerable?
***
The book has received some excellent reviews. Click here to read 5-star
Amazon reviews! http://www.amazon.com/The-Vikings-Witch-ebook/dp/B008R5185G/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345990650&sr=1-1&keywords=the+viking%27s+witch
If you've read the book, I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to comment or drop me a line via the "Contact the Author" form on the News page of my site: www.KelliWilkins.com
Until next time,
Kelli
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