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806 thoughts on “Discussions”

  3. Hey, I just read The Long Hunt and I must say it was a great addition to a fantastic story. I especially enjoyed the diagram depicting the sea battle. I have often found myself reading battles that I am unable to picture in my mind. Those simple pictures were very effective in telling me exactly what was happening during the battle. I very much appreciate this diagram.

    Thanks for your time and your writing,
    Jordan

    PS. The Long Hunt was very much worth the wait. Can’t wait until book five.

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    • It would not be possible for anyone to upload the cover image of any book to Facebook unless you were the copyright owner and had an account.

      You might want to think about creating a Facebook account and uploading all of your books covers. A lot of what you write here on the Discussion Board can simply be cut and pasted on your Facebook page and actually you are already doing what you would do on Facebook but you would reach a much larger audience. :)). Contrary to public opinion you don’t really need to get caught up in the daily postings.

      Another category of Facebook pages other than “personal” pages are pages created under a restricted format used only for Celebrity/Organizations/ Business’s or Band pages. Bernard Cornwell has a Facebook page. To see his page you will need a personal Facebook account, but a friend who has one can show you.

      Only the official representative of an organization, business, celebrity or band is permitted to create a Page. Pages are for businesses, organizations and brands to share their stories and connect with people. Like timelines, you can customize Pages by adding apps, posting stories, and more. Engage and grow your audience by posting . People who “LIKE” your Page and their friends will get updates in News Feed which reaches out to many other people.

      I would suggest finding a friend who knows Facebook really well. And I mean, really seriously technically well, not just someone with a personal Facebook page. They can get things set up for you. Our webmaster is a master of Facebook. If you’re interested I can send you contact info however, I would need an email address so it doesn’t go on your Discussion board.

      I’m happy to pay the $17 for the new book – thank you for your talent.

      Kate.

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      • Thanks, Kate. There actually is a Strongbow Saga Facebook account, but I made the mistake of setting it up as a personal account, so only “friends” can see it. I accept any friend requests. I tried a while back to convert it, but gave up after having difficulty with Facebook over the request.

        Maybe creating a Page under my own name would be worth considering. Thanks for the suggestions. An email address you can write to is strongbowsaga@gmail.com.

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        • Sorry it took me a few days to respond – I forwarded your Facebook comments to our webmaster Chris, who unfortunately responded that he is maxed out and can’t take on anymore clients at this time. I’m sorry to disappoint you. …By the way, I originally sent this to the email address you listed above but it was returned both times as “undeliverable”. If I think of any suggestions in the future, I’ll get back in touch.

          The Long Hunt arrives Tuesday. Have a kind, safe, and wonderful holiday.
          Thank you,
          Kate

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    • Paul, it did come out as a Kindle book today and I was going to announce it today, but when I purchased a copy myself for a final review, I discovered that the last paragraph in the “Acknowledgements” section–a paragraph that’s very important to me because it thanks the fans of the series–had somehow gone missing.

      I’ve corrected the file and uploaded it, and the correct version should be out tomorrow, so I’m holding off the official announcement until then. Be sure and update your Kindle book after tomorrow.

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  6. On my Facebook page there is an area for favorite movies, TV shows, music, and books which shows an image of favorites selected.

    For books I added “The Strongbow Saga, Book Two: Dragons from the Sea” but there is no cover art. When clicked the page takes one to “Good Reads” where you see no cover art, just the title. Thought you might like to know that it would be great if the cover art for all your books appeared when the book is added to Facebook (and of course Good Reads). (marketing is endless :))!

    I would have pre-ordered “The Long Hunt” on Amazon if it had been available.

    Thank you for your wonderful storytelling.

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    • Thanks for giving me that heads up, Kate. I discovered just over the past two weeks that although the new Northman Books edition has been on sale on Amazon since 2010, earlier this year it somehow got deleted from Amazon’s search engines, so if, for example, a search was run for “strongbow saga” to see what books were available, the current print edition of Dragons from the Sea did not show up–just the old, out of print HarperCollins version. I should have been checking my monthly sales figures more closely–looking back, I see that book has only been selling one or two copies a month–but I’ve been so immersed in working on book 4 that I’ve let to many other things slide. Perhaps this issue has something to do with the cover art being missing, as well.

      As you’ll see from the post above yours, the Kindle edition of The Long Hunt actually went on sale today, but there’s an error in it, so I’m holding off on an official announcement until tomorrow, when the corrected version will be up. The print edition should be available later this week.

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  7. I just wanted to express my appreciation for the Strongbow series of novels. I enjoyed the first three very much and I am happily anticipating reading the fourth in the series as soon as it is available.

    I am especially pleased with the historical veracity of your writing. Although I do not consider myself an expert on the Viking era, I have always eagerly read non-fiction materials on the subject. I have yet to note even the smallest anachronism or factual fault in the Strongbow novels. I am also pleased to find no evidence of modern attitudes being displayed by any of your characters.

    Having written a novel of my own, I appreciate the time and effort that is required, not only for the actual writing, but also for the necessary research that makes a work of fiction “factually accurate”. So, do not feel that you need to take time from your excellent work to reply to this email.

    Thank you for Strongbow.

    Sincerely,

    David Christie

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  9. Hey just asking, would Viking-Age Scandinavians ever own books or use parchment?
    After all, furs and pelts were a major export; monasteries that the Vikings raided often possessed an abundance of books.

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    • Viking age Scandinavians used runes, a somewhat simplified form of alphabet, to write with. To my knowledge, no books were ever written in runes. By the end of the Viking era, books were being written in Iceland–that’s when and where most of the old oral sagas and tales from the Viking period were put into writing and preserved. Off the top of my head, I’m not sure what form they were written in–there may have been (probably was) a written version of the Old Norse language by then, using the standard alphabet, but if not, I suspect they’d have been written in Latin. Those first written versions of the sagas were probably written on parchment, although again, I’m giving that answer just based on my general background knowledge, and have not researched it.

      It’s certainly possible that some captured/stolen books might have been taken to Scandinavia, although I’m not aware that any concrete evidence of that has been discovered. The Vikings did have rather eclectic taste–a small statue of the Buddha was found in one Viking-era grave.

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  10. I just read the great news that you’ve completed your first draft of The Long Hunt – congratulations and thank you! I look forward to reading it soon.
    I love historical fiction and read all things viking that I can get my hands on, yours rank amongst the most authentic that I have read. As I was born in Northern Jutland (Denmark), have sailed recreated longships out of Roskilde Fjord and walked amongst the ship shaped viking burial grounds of Lindholm Hoje, I was able to mentally trace Halfdans journey in Viking Warrior.
    If there is anything I could comment on it would be the way your books have been marketed based on the cover art. Both the earlier Harper Collins covers and the newer ones do not exactly entice an adult readership. They lend a somewhat juvenile aspect to the books, yet your books are very enjoyable reads for adults!! The UK cover art for B. Cornwell’s Saxon series for example do justice to his writing…I know – don’t judge a book by its cover…yet to some degree we do as humans. Just my thoughts on how to reach a wider readership…please don’t take it the wrong way – I really enjoy your stories! Keep them coming!

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    • Thanks, Erik, and sorry to be slow to respond. I’ve been trying to push book 4 along–just sent the second draft out to its editors last night.

      It’s very gratifying to hear that, with your background and experience, you find the series authentic–that is something I strive hard for. I’d love to someday have the chance to sail on one of the recreated longships at the Viking ship museum. I used their website as one of many research sources about the ships while writing book 4, as much of the story takes place over the course of a sea voyage across the Baltic. You’ll have to let me know, after you read it, if I was (hopefully) fairly accurate.

      The original HarperCollins covers were specifically designed to appeal to teenage girls. I thought it a strange decision to tailor the covers for so narrow a group of readers, rather than try for broader appeal, but I was not given a vote on the matter. When I regained the rights and republished the first three books, I was trying to create covers that looked more like general historical fiction, but was working on a very limited budget–commissioning new original artwork was not financially feasible. If book 4 does well enough, perhaps I’ll look at creating new covers.

      I’d love to hear feedback from other readers on this issue. Do you find the current covers for books 1 through 3 appealing, a turn-off, etc., and also what are some fiction book covers you especially like? I’ll hope to see many responses–I’m interested in your thoughts.

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      • Dear Judson – I gave your question about book covers some thought and admit that it’s not an easy one. You are probably working with a limited budget for one. Then you have the question of how best to mirror your writing with a cover that remains true to your writing style. If your covers are to parred down and minimalist you might alienate younger readers, on the other hand I think the current covers may be stopping some adult readers from picking them up. It was while I was looking at the cover of your Beast of Dublin preview that it suddenly dawned on me that you might strike the right balance if you took the current back-drops (the burning steading, the sea coast and the French city?) which are nice touches but instead of super-imposing the miniatures which are a little cheesy and juvenile in my opinion, you use the Viking sword that you had on the cover of Beast of Dublin on one of the titles and continue in that vein… a viking helmet, shield, jelling style piece of jewelry, etc. for the other books. I think that might just strike the right balance while keeping to your budget. If you’re headed north with your story in the Long Hunt get a back-drop shot of wild Fjords with evergreen trees or some other picture that reflects the atmosphere of the novel. I’m sure Oregon has some beautiful material for shots that you can use that wouldn’t be to anachronistic for a Danish/Norwegian landscape.
        Anyway that was sort of the best that I could come up with, not sure what you or the other readers/fans of your books will think. In any case I’m looking forward to the release of the Long Hunt and will read it even if you end up putting a dancing pink fairy on the cover 😉
        Erik

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        • Thanks, Eric. At a minimum, your suggestions have inspired me to consider seeing what an artist might charge to replace the current figures with similar ones that are drawn or painted, rather than photoshopped miniatures–although I think the one on the book 3 cover turned out better than the others. The background for the book 4 almost certainly will be an Oregon stand-in for Scandinavia.

          I did look at Cornwell’s UK covers, but to me they seem a bit too generic to convey much of anything.

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      • Thank you for asking for your readers feedback on book covers for The Strongbow Saga’s. I much prefer Harper-Collins original covers to the new ones mainly because the covers are dynamic, vivid in color, and communicate a strength of vision for the book./story. That they were perhaps designed to entice young girls never crossed my mind because they are powerful covers. Sadly your new series of covers doesn’t reflect the great storytelling hidden within them, (although Dragons from the Sea is the better of the new series). To my eye the covers don’t appear they were designed by a professional graphic designer.
        They are neither dynamic, strong or visually interesting and hide the jewel of your very talented and imaginative story telling. I appreciate the difficulty of finding “creative” people – so why not think outside the box? What about offering a contest to your readers or the general public to create and submit a book cover for your review in exchange for recognition on your website and cover credits and free future books in the series? They are tons of creative people out there with great imaginations and you just might come up with something good. In addition it will generate good publicity for future books.
        Good luck. And please let me know if this will be the last installment for Halfdan. Thank you. Kate.

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        • Thanks Kate–I might just try your suggestion. There would certainly be nothing to lose by it.

          The upcoming book 4, The Long Hunt, will be the second to last book in the Strongbow Saga series, which will end when the conflict between Halfdan and Toke is finally resolved in book 5. However, I do have some ideas for a couple of stand alone novels that would pick up Halfdan’s story again, some years later. Hopefully I’ll get to them.

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          • Here’s a few covers I felt that were interesting – I tried to cut and paste the images here but it wouldn’t allow me to “paste”. All of these can be found on Amazon. Thank you.

            #1 – Strong dynamic cover
            Ragnarok: The End of the Gods (Myths) by A.S. Byatt (Feb 7, 2012)

            #2 – Strong dynamic cover
            Note the font for “THOR” .
            OK – visualize this :)).
            Your books title could be in the
            upper black area, with your
            name in the bottom black area
            in red or a stand out color.

            Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World Prelude (Thor (Graphic Novels)) by Marvel Comics, Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost and Christos Gage (Oct 29, 2013)

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            • Continued: Your selected image would be in the middle.
              Both the title and your name “pops” in this type of cover and with a strong simple image this would be a great cover in my opinion.

              #3 Strong Dynamic cover
              The Flatey Enigma [Kindle Edition]
              Viktor Arnar Ingolfsson (Author), Brian FitzGibbon .

              Hope this helps –

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