Michelle Styles: New Year, Great New Viking Series --The Sons of Sigurd

2020 heralds the start of a Harlequin Historical series – The Sons of Sigurd. This is the first time there has been a Viking continuity. Five authors – Michelle Willingham, Harper St George, Jenni Fletcher, Terri Brisbin and yours truly have penned exciting stories revolving around five brothers and their quest to avenge their father’s murder. The first one Stolen by the Viking debuts in March (this means it goes on sale at Harlequin.com on 1 February. Harper St George’s  Falling for Her Viking Captive comes next and then mine Conveniently Wed to the Viking in July.

The series came about as a result of Jenni Fletcher visiting me when her family were on holiday in Northumberland in 2017. Over tea, cakes and much gossip, she mused that it would be great fun to do a Viking continuity. I promised to see what I could do. I am not sure she expected me to do anything.

When the annual AMBA lunch and toast to the authors rolled around, with knocking knees and a faint tremor in my voice I spoke first to my editor and then to the Historical team. Luckily they were all enthusiastic. In fact we were pushing on an open door. After getting the editors’ backing, Jenni and I were able to get the others involved. Then the hard work began — creating a series which could be sustained over five books and also showcased the individual authors’ talents.

Working in collaboration was something new for me. There is always give and take and the insight into other people’s working habits has been interesting. It is the first time I have dealt with dropbox, or a spreadsheet, for example. And the sheer pleasure of being able to spark ideas off each other was just wonderful. One of the bonuses has been being able to read each other’s work at an early stage and see the ideas start coming to life.

We are very proud of the series. The books can be read individually or as an overarching story. Personally we think, once you have read one, you will want to read them all.

To give you a flavor what is in store: this is the blurb for Michelle Willingham’s Stolen by the Viking

Bought for his vengeance

But claimed for his bed!

Battle-scarred Viking Alarr is a broken warrior who expects to die carrying out his oath of blood vengeance. He saves maiden Breanne î Callahan from slavery only with the intention of getting close enough to kill her foster father. Until their spark of passion ignites a desire to keep her close…and presents Alarr with a gut-wrenching choice—his revenge or his heart?

You can read the start of the story on overdrive.com for free. And then hopefully you can see why we are all so excited by the prospect.

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance in a wide range of time periods for Harlequin Historical. Her most recent book A Deal with Her Rebel Viking was published in December 2019. Her next book Conveniently Wed to the Viking will be published in July 2020. You can learn more about Michelle and her books at www.michellestyles.co.uk

Dealing with Story Ideas by Michelle Styles

Sometimes story ideas come quietly on cat’s paws. You don’t know they are there until they start to flow from your fingertips. You can’t really say when or why they arrived, you simply know you need to write the story. Other ideas roar into your mind and refuse to let go, drowning out all other ideas until they vanish as quickly as they came, leaving you to sort through the wreckage.

My latest book from Harlequin Historical A DEAL WITH HER REBEL VIKING was one of the latter. I saw a tweet about an Oxfordshire Easter tradition about women capturing men and then men capturing women and thought  there must have a romance in it somewhere. Although I have written a number of Viking set romances, I had never set one in the Midlands, in the old kingdom of Mercia. In many ways, Mercia is overlooked as it became part of Wessex after Aethelflaed, the Lady of the Mercians and daughter of King Alfred died. She is probably the person most responsible for stopping the Vikings and for helping to ensure England evolved as a concept. She is also one of my great heroines. However, my story takes place slightly earlier than her reign, during that period when the Great Army was first on British shores.

  The idea seemed deceptively simple when I first started writing it but as ever with these things, the initial idea proved slightly elusive (among other thing I forgot the romance) and I had to work hard to make the story work for my characters (cue large scale revisions). However after working  very hard and completely re-jigging the ending, my editor loved it (cue celebrations on my part). I was also very pleased with the cover as they used the model Carson who had inspired the hero as the cover model.

As I wrote it, I also realised that there was more than one story here and so I have ended up writing a trilogy. The slight hiccup with this was that I had already committed to writing a book in the Sons of Sigurd series which Harlequin Historical is publishing in 2020. The four other authors are Michelle Willingham, Harper St George, Jenni Fletcher and Terri Brisbin. My book is the third one and is entitled CONVENIENTLY WED TO THE VIKING (publishing July 2020).  Michelle Willingham’s Stolen by the Viking will be published in March 2020. It has one of the new look Harlequin Historical covers. And having read an early draft, it is every bit as lush as the cover looks. Writing in a collaborative series was a totally new experience for me and it took me a little longer than I had planned.

 So after a long hiatus,  I have just returned to Midland set trilogy and am writing the second one. It is wonderful to revisit the world that I created last year.  This time, rather than setting it in the Forest of Arden, I have moved the action northwards to Sherwood Forest. It is easy to forget that these forests existed long before the tales of Shakespeare or indeed Robin Hood and I wanted to do something to address that.

Right now, I am hoping that people enjoy my new book. You can read the start of it here for free.

Michelle Styles writes warm ,witty and intimate historical romances for Harlequin Historical in a wide range of time periods, including Roman, Regency, Victorian but most recently Viking. Her latest A DEAL WITH HER REBEL VIKING will be published on 18 November 2019. Her next book CONVENIENTLY WED TO THE VIKING will be published in July 2020. You can learn more about Michelle and her books at www.michellestyles.co.uk

The Little Camellia That Could by Michelle Styles

About 20 years ago, I planted a camellia in the garden. It was in flower then from what I can recall and was a Mothering Sunday present from my three very young children.. I thought it was in a good spot.

I have always liked camellias and so was delighted to have one in a garden where I knew I’d be around for a long time. We had always had camellias in the garden when I was growing up -- there were one of my mother's and grandmother's favourite flowers. They always remind me of California. After getting married, I moved to Northumberland England, near Hadrian's Wall.  I looked forward to blooming again as it was a thoughtful gift.

The camellia out May 2018

 Year after year, I’d wait for it to bloom and it never did.  I added a second camellia (a white one) and planted it next to the camellia whose blossoms I could no longer really recall. 

I blamed the frost, the fact that where we live is probably on the edge of its growth zone. The plants kept getting larger and putting on more leaves but no flowers.

This year, my husband said enough was enough. Even though we had the space, it had not done anything there and it probably would not survive transplanting. So I took some cuttings to see if I could salvage it that way.

Then on Sunday, I went down to see how the rhododendrons were doing and to my amazement, the camellia was actually flowering!  It had taken a long time but it was worth it. The white camellia is also about to bloom.

It may be that it isn’t the best spot for them and I do have the cuttings I started to try again somewhere else, but I finally camellias blooming in my garden.

And this minor miracle showed resilience and persistence on the camellias’ part. Sometimes, it just does take patience. I think it is a metaphor my writing  -- never give up and keep doggedly trying.

In other news:

My editor let me know that they are buying my 27^th historical romance for Harlequin Historical – another Viking set romance and we agreed the idea I should be pursuing for the 28^th one. More details as and when I get them.

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance for Harlequin Historical in a wide range of time periods, most recently Viking. Her latest The Warrior's Viking Bride was published in March 2018 and received 4 stars from the RT magazine. You can learn more about Michelle and her books at www.michellestyles.co.uk 

Michelle Styles: Roman and Viking buried treasure

Treasure remains in Britain’s earth. 

So far over the past week or so, I have learned about the Galloway or Dumfriesshire hoard and the 25 tablets which were just dug up at Vindolanda.

Gold bird pin from Galloway hoard wikipedia

The Galloway hoard was dug up in 2014 but the National Museums of Scotland needs to raise £1.98 million to save the hoard for the nation and so have made a public appeal for the funds. The hoard compromises more than 100 objects, many probably looted from churches. It appears to be buried by Vikings in the early 10 century (900’s) and also includes silk textiles from Byzantium and several large and exotic seeds (why they were buried is anyone’s guess!). It offers a glimpse in the Scottish Viking experience.

As my current Harlequin Historicals explore some of the Vikings in Scotland learning about the hoard was thoroughly fascinating. However, the objects do need to be studied and analysed. So even after 18 months or so, we are at the very early stages of understanding the how and why. Apparently some of the less valuable objects were buried above  the large silver pot which contained the most valuable items – sort of an insurance measure but the owner never returned to claim it. There is certainly a story or three there. It is currently the largest Viking hoard to have been discovered in the British Isles.

The whole Viking experience in the British Isles is intriguing. The Vikings are there when Scotland becomes one kingdom.  The word Galloway comes from the word meaning half Gaelic, half-Norse. It is a part of Scotland which was linguistically and culturally Norse during this period. The Vikings were not just raiding, they were living and working. However because they were not really a literate people, they did not leave many writings behind and finding these sorts of hoards can give insight into the every day workings from that period. And it is entirely possible that there are more about, but mostly metal dectorists only find ring pulls…

Then a few days ago Vindolanda which is a few miles from Hadrian’s Wall (and reasonably close to where I live) announced they had found25 more tablets on 22 June 2017. Earlier tablets were pronounced Britain's most valuable treasure some years ago so it is really exciting that they have found more. Some of these new tablets are so well preserved that they could be read straight away (without having to do the usual infrared technology). 

One tablet is from a soldier called Masclus who wrote to his commanding officer requesting leave. He is already known because a previously discovered tablet had him requesting more beer. It is possible once these tablets are properly deciphered, other names will turn up. But these letters which are about the size of a postcard are truly windows into the past. The excavations at Vindolanda are going and they have recently secured more funding so that various bits of wood (including Roman toilet seats) can be displayed.
I think it is terribly exciting that new things are being dug up and we are learning more about the past and the people who live there.

In other news:

I have finished revising my latest Harlequin Historical The Warrior’s Viking Bride. It has been titled but not scheduled. Set in Scotland at the end of the ninth century, it is about a Viking Shield Maiden and the Celtic Warrior who has to forcibly return her to her estranged father. It is always good when a story works and even more exciting when it  is sold. The hero appeared as a secondary character in Sold to the Viking Warrior. 

Michelle Styles writes witty, warm and intimate historical romance in a wide range of time periods including Viking. Her latest Sold to the Viking Warrior was published in February 2017. You can learn more about Michelle and her books on www.michellestyles.co.uk 

Michelle Styles: Celebrating My 25th Harlequin Mills and Boon Historical plus giveaway

On 1 Feburary 2017 (or 17 January 2017 depending on where you are in the world) my 25^th Harlequin Historical will be officially published — SOLD TO THE VIKING WARRIOR.

When I first sold to Harlequin Historical, I hoped that  Gladiator’s Honour would not be a one hit and that there would be more.  The memory of that day lingers long in my mind. I had convinced myself that the calls only happened on  Thursday and when Linda Fildew phoned, I thought – well it will be more revisions and I must be very close.  Linda was confused as she always phoned on a Friday to give the new author a wonderful weekend. It was the start of a special relationship which lasts until today.

The print version of the article with my cover

It was Linda who suggested that I might like to try writing Vikings. The resulting book Taken by the Viking was recently called by The Times an unimprovable title and used as a pivot for a supportive article about Mills and Boon. What impressed me was that the journalist, Ben Macintrye who is better known for his serious  hard-hitting pieces about the secret services manage to capture the essence of how I write Vikings — namely ‘The heroine may be taken by the Viking but, by the last page, the Viking is no longer the brute he was.’ The piece also used the UK cover of Taken to illustrate it in the print version. So it was thrilling on Christmas Eve  to make The Times.

One of the reasons why Harlequin has bought my stories is the readers. To honour those who had asked for more Viking stories, the book is dedicated to them. The first feedback I have had from a reader has been positive which is excellent and I do hope people like this tale.

I wrote SOLD TO THE VIKING WARRIOR because my youngest son has been volunteering on the Western Scottish Isle of Oronsay and told me about how the Vikings had based their fleets there. My husband and I then went on a holiday to Islay and I became inspired to write this story, particularly after I learned more about the history of the island and how Somerled was most likely half Gaellic and half Norse.

I currently hard at work on the sequal.

The back cover reads:

In her captor's bed! 

Women are not part of Sigurd Sigmundson's existence, and Eilidith should purely be a means to an end to gain access to a well-guarded Viking stronghold. He would have to be made of iron, though, not to be stirred by the warmly sensual woman beneath her ice-cold shield. 

Liddy has been made to feel ugly and insignificant because of her facial birthmark. Surely her captor couldn't physically desire her? But, oh, how the stifled, passionate Liddy yearns to experience unrestrained love in his arms…

You can read the first chapter at overdrive.

It is available online at Harlequin, Amazon.com, Mills & Boon, Amazon.co.uk and Barnes and Noble to mention a few places.

Because it has been a tradition with me:

GIVEAWAY

I am giving away ONE signed copy of SOLD TO THE VIKING WARRIOR

Please email me at michelle@michellestyles.co.uk  the name of the hero and heroine of SOLD TO THE VIKING WARRIOR. I will be choosing the winner on 28 January. void where prohibited.

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historicals in a wide range of historical periods. You can learn more about Michelle and her books on www.michellestyles.co.uk