THE ODDNY EINARSDOTTIR SERIES
Content warning: this series, while not overly explicit, deals with mature topics related to SA and kidnapping.
BOOK I: THE SWORD
957 CE. Orkney Islands, Kingdom of Norway
Oddny Einarsdottir, 15, brims with excitement as she sets sail with her dashing foster brother. After a decade of separation, she's about to reunite with her father at his homestead in Iceland. But it is not to be. Just days into the voyage, she's screaming helplessly as the vikings butcher her foster brother before her eyes and drag her off with the booty.
A slave market would have been agony enough. But Oddny has already caught the lecherous eye of her brutal sea king captor.
The Sword begins the saga of Oddny Einarsdottir, a Norwegian girl struggling to redefine herself after three shattering years in bondage. Passion, resilience, love and vengeance unfold against a rich backdrop of medieval slavery, civil war and the day-to-day life of 10th century Norway — all seen through a woman's eyes.
Editorial Reviews
"The Sword... is a wonderful exploration of the enchantment, magic, and inherent violence of early Norse culture and family life... Author Lilypearl Colman has created a delightful character in Oddny whom all women will readily identify with even a thousand years after the novel’s setting... This was a fantastic read that I can highly recommend."
—Grant Leishman for Readers' Favorite
"This is an absolute hidden gem of a novel, and I urge anyone who values mature, superior story-telling to give it a go. I'm looking forward to the next one."
—TN, Amazon Customer
"This has everything I look for in Norse/Viking historical fiction... I’m still so impressed by the realism in the pages of this novel. All characters are morally grey, flawed individuals – my favourite type. I really enjoyed this story and am eager to read the next in this series."
— GT, Goodreads author
"So many things make this a wonderful book. The writing is superb. The research and authenticity pulls the reader into the Viking world, with its culture, beauty, language and brutality. This is not just another Viking story. It is rich with detail, and characters that jump off the page. I highly recommend."
—BC, Amazon Customer
COMING SOON...
BOOK II: THE VOW
960–975 CE. Kingdom of Norway
While civil war and famine ravage the countryside, Oddny Einarsdottir finds herself caught in a battle of her own. Haunted by a miscarriage, she wrestles with her resentment of her bastard son and tries to atone by enduring her rocky marriage to her husband, Vermundr, in grim silence. But her rivalry with Vermundr’s troubled cousin and the arrival of a handsome fugitive poet bring her resolve to a crossroads. She finds herself torn at last between cold resignation to her duties and a cruel and unexpected kindling of feelings long thought dead.
The Vow sees Oddny Einarsdottir to the end of her journey amid a chaos of warring kings, petty feuds, and clashing hearts. From a shattered girl to a struggling woman, she must find the strength to put her sordid past behind her and own her life, her choices, and her honor.
Early Release! Coming 09-17-2024
If you're like me and love reading Icelandic Family Sagas, or the work of
Sigrid Undset (most notably, Kristin Lavransdatter), you will enjoy this
book.
I write because I find it mentally stimulating; because I enjoy developing characters and masterminding plot twists and symbology. I've been fascinated by Old Norse language and literature since I was a kid, and there is so much inspiration in old myths and histories. In writing Oddny Einarsdottir, I have drawn on several different Icelandic sagas, with little nods and tributes paid here and there through names and/or personal descriptions. But my greatest inspiration has been the story of the Irish princess, Melkorka, in Laxdæla saga. The image of that young girl, barely 15, brutally abducted from her homeland and absolutely stripped of any protection or comfort in the hands of those pirate slavers - it's always haunted me. The very fact that her experience traumatized her into selective muteness testifies to the anguish she endured. Years later, she conceals her mounting resentment towards the Icelander who, by dint of chance, buys her off a slave market to be his bedslave. Yet it is the son she bears this man that heals her broken spirit. And what a feisty spirit she had! I could never stop wondering how her life might have been, or what it had been, before her abduction. And I think of all the women who, to this day, suffer the same fate. We know now what such violence does to a person's psyche. How did those women cope back then?
And so my book was born.
As September draws near, I'll be posting more content on my Instagram regarding the historical/political background of the series, the characters, etc. Stay tuned for more spoilers too on the homepage! I'm very excited to share The Vow and hope it will receive a warm welcome.