As a part of a Lyrical Press book tour, I am delighted to welcome Sabrina Jarema to my table today with the first of the Viking Lords series, a family saga set in Norway during the ninth century.
To celebrate the launch of this exciting new series, Sabrina and the other two participating authors, Martha Hix and Jane Goodger will be awarding digital copies of her book to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Scroll down to enter the Rafflecopter
Lord of the Runes
Following his father’s murder, Eirik Ivarson plunges into a maelstrom of brutal warfare. As outsiders threaten his homeland and all he holds dear, Eirik vows to maintain his focus and avenge the jarl’s death. In his quest for revenge, he will leave everything behind, all he knows, and all he loves.
Asa Sigrundsdottir, a spirited shieldmaiden with warm brown eyes, is wary of the golden-haired warrior discovered half-frozen in a storm. It is clear Eirik is a man of valor, bestowed with the gift of reading runes and destined for greatness. And despite the shadows in her past, he chooses her to help him on his journey. But when their bond is tested, it will take the strength of a hero to keep their love alive
Read an excerpt...
Not as she had been in life.
Eirik Ivarson had seen his dead wife in his dreams before, but in them, she was always as he remembered her—gentle and too weak to survive their brutal world. Her soft blue eyes would gaze at him with reproach like she blamed him for her death, sending her to dwell forever with the goddess Frigga. She’d been right.
But this dream was different and as he struggled to cling to it, she spoke.
“Why do you sleep, husband, while your kinsmen die?” Her eyes darkened into a deep brown as though she was sullied by passing so close to the earth. The vision turned as crimson as the blood that had gushed from her and carried her away from their life together. A scream split his sleep apart.
He tore himself awake and reached for his sword before he even opened his eyes. At least he was still dressed, having fallen across his bed well after midnight, passed out before he’d hit the furs. Head spinning with the mead he’d drunk, he staggered to the door of his small chamber.
Another cry cleared his thoughts. He eased open the door and took in the state of his father’s main hall. An unfamiliar warrior, an outcast from the looks of him, stood over two cowering serving girls.
Another servant lay in his own pooling blood beside them. The attacker raised his sword and the women shrieked again.
Yelling to divert the man’s attention, Eirik bounded across the room. He swung his blade as the invader turned. They clashed, flesh to flesh, iron to iron. Eirik’s momentum smashed them into the wall and the outcast’s head cracked against it. Dazed, he paused for an instant.
It was all Eirik needed.
Using his forearm, he struck the upper edge of the intruder’s shield into his face. His nose shattered. Eirik pushed the shield aside and whipped his blade across the man’s neck. Blood arced down his body as the attacker fell.
Meet Sabrina Jarema
Recently, she has branched out into historical romances set in the early Viking era. She is currently writing the Viking Lords series, a family saga set in Norway during the ninth century. She is an active member of the Tampa Area Romance Authors chapter of the Romance Writers of America. Please visit her website at sabrinajarema.com to enjoy her art, music, writing, jewelry, and all the other visions the night brings to her.
http://www.sabrinajarema.com/