Eire’s Viking Trilogy, Book Two
By: Sandi Layne
Beginning ten years after the end of Éire’s Captive Moon, this is the story of how Agnarr Halvardson returns to Éire with the intention of settling there, marrying, and siring sons.
It is also the story of Aislinn, who was a child in Ragor when the Northmen raided eleven summers prior but is now a working physician in her own right. She spent a year in Bangor Monastery and became a Christian before Cowan and Charis returned to take the children to Cowan’s village in the kingdom of Dál Fiatach and returns there a decade later to finish learning all she can from the monks about their healing practices.
When Cowan brings her a patient, injured and temporarily unable to speak, she can’t help but find the strong, tall man attractive, even if such feelings unsettle her.
Although sparks fly immediately, Agnarr’s idea of wedding Aislinn—the physician who heals him when he is injured—is hampered by many factors, including language and cultural differences. There is also the matter that he is the man who kidnapped and enslaved Charis years before.
Believing strongly that God gave Agnarr to her as a patient, though, Aislinn does her best. Her knowledge of who he is wars with her unwilling attraction to him. That he makes his interest in her clear doesn’t help, as he goes so far as to seek her father’s permission to wed her. Can she forgive him for what he did to her village? Can she love him if she does? And will she be willing to accept a life at Agnarr’s side even if he does not love her?
Meanwhile, other raiders from the North come to Éire’s green coasts. Pledging his loyalty to the new king, Muiredach of Dál Fiatach, Agnarr prepares to defend his new home.
I interviewed one of the characters from Eire's Viking.... here's what happened :)
What's your full name? Do you love it? Or hate it?
Aislinn. It’s pronounced Ash-lean. I don’t have a second name. *Looks confused* Why would I need one? I’m the only Aislinn in the village of Tuaim Rithe, and the only one who lived in Ragor. And of course I like my name. Why wouldn’t I? If I hated it, I could change it. Others have done so.
Who is your best friend?
My best friends are my adoptive parents, Charis and Cowan. It’s not that I’m not friendly with the others in the village, but I can talk with my parents about anything, really.
What do you do for a living? And what's your dream job?
I’m a bhanchneasaí - a healer, you’d say. A physician or surgeon, as is Charis. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do in my life, helping the sick, healing the wounded.
Are you single/married/divorced/looking for love?
I’m unwed. Silly young men—they are all about sheep-eyeing me. Staring at me. It’s annoying. We were playmates as children, many of us. I’m not interested in marrying any of them and I won’t marry unless I love a man the way I’ve seen other women love their husbands. *nods*
I’m lucky in that my parents aren’t making me wed, either. Instead, they’re going to let me study with the monks and learn to improve my craft.
Name one of your all-time favourite books?
*blinks* Books? Codices? I don’t get to read many manuscripts, it’s true. They’re precious, but I did see some, when I was at the monastery. The monks didn’t teach me to read, but Cowan did. Some. He wrote out some Scriptures for me when I was younger, to show me my letters.
I like stories…is that what you mean? The legends about Cuchulainn, the stories of Lugh of the Long Arm. Heroes of my people. I also like hearing stories from the Bible.
What inspires you?
Inspires me? To do what?
I want to be happy. I want to help people. I want to be of use and to make a difference for my people, if it please God.
Where is your favourite place in the world?
I’ve heard of a wider world, I have, though I’ve not gone farther than Tuaim Rithe to the North or the Sea to the East. Cowan has told me much of his travels, and Charis told me some of the places they saw on their way home from the Northern lands, when they escaped from their captivity. But I think Éire is more beautiful than any place they told me of, and I can’t imagine wanting to leave my home.
Favourite movie?
What’s a movie?
Favourite author?
Author? Writer? Like the men who wrote the Bible? The men who wrote the Greek and Latin stories? I heard Plato being read, once. I didn’t like it. Maybe if I hadn’t been spinning at the time, I might have. My favorite stories in the Bible are the Gospels. I think I like Mark’s the best.
If you could have a dinner party with anyone in the world (alive or dead, real or fictional), who would you choose and why?
*Looks pensive and wistful* I’d want to see my parents - Dow and Morag - again. Dow died when I was a little girl and Morag was killed by the Northmen…
Tell us a random fact about yourself.
I always wished I could have a baby brother or sister that lived past their weaning year. I never told my mother, though. When Charis and Cowan adopted me, I had hoped they’d adopt another one of us from Ragor, but they didn’t. I guess I was handful enough!
Who would play you in the movie about your life?
What are these movies you ask of? I haven’t an idea.
Tell us something interesting about where you live.
Tuaim Rithe is where the kings are buried. When we were first brought here from the monastery, my friends and I would creep out to the burial mounds to see if any of the old kings would return. I thought I saw one, once. Not a tall ghost, but maybe it was only the mist.
Author Info
I was born in Southern California in the 1960′s – yes, I’m a California Girl! Though I have lived in Arizona and Florida and now reside in Maryland, I still carry my linguistic roots and occasionally drag out my inner Valley Girl. With a bit of “y’all” and “hon” additions for good measure.
Married for more than twenty years to an amazing guy, I have two sons. My elder is officially an adult and my younger is eleven. I have one degree in English and one in Ministry, and I claim Theology’s crimson Master’s collar, too. My employment has spanned a vast spectrum, but now I prefer to work at home.
I spend my days writing books and short stories, and even some fanfiction from time to time, deriving inspiration from Pride and Prejudice, True Grit and The Last of the Mohicans. If I’m not writing, I’m probably editing something or catching up with my favorite shows on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. Reading is a given. I think I’m on my third Kindle, now, and I still have hundreds of paperbacks and numerous bookshelves.
http://sandyquill.com/
https://www.facebook.com/SandiLayne66
https://twitter.com/sandyquill
Rafflecopter Giveaway (Two $10.00 Amazon or B&N Gift Cards)
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Teaser
He gripped her wrist, surrounding it entirely in his palm while he stared at her. His jaw worked but no sounds came out, save a frustrated grunt.
Concern cooled the blood rushing to her cheeks and she tried to cover her embarrassment by sniffing and pulling his head down to check his bandaging. Both hands bracketing his head, she puffed out a breath and found the edges of the linen. Before she could untuck the closing end of the fabric, though, she felt his eyes on her and swallowed.
“Northman?”
The bright blue of his gaze was suddenly hot. Hot and filled with something that made her stomach flutter as if occupied by a tiny bird. She felt drawn into his eyes, frozen as his hands came up her arms, the fingertips resting just under the short sleeve of her léine. Her own fingertips trembled against his bandaging and his expression shifted in a way she couldn’t define, exactly. Blushing, she decided to pretend that she wouldn’t be thinking about that look all day and shook her head to make the idle idea go away.
Full Chapter One Here: http://sandyquill.com/novels/eires-viking-trilogy/eires-viking-2/chapter-one/
Aislinn. It’s pronounced Ash-lean. I don’t have a second name. *Looks confused* Why would I need one? I’m the only Aislinn in the village of Tuaim Rithe, and the only one who lived in Ragor. And of course I like my name. Why wouldn’t I? If I hated it, I could change it. Others have done so.
Who is your best friend?
My best friends are my adoptive parents, Charis and Cowan. It’s not that I’m not friendly with the others in the village, but I can talk with my parents about anything, really.
What do you do for a living? And what's your dream job?
I’m a bhanchneasaí - a healer, you’d say. A physician or surgeon, as is Charis. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do in my life, helping the sick, healing the wounded.
Are you single/married/divorced/looking for love?
I’m unwed. Silly young men—they are all about sheep-eyeing me. Staring at me. It’s annoying. We were playmates as children, many of us. I’m not interested in marrying any of them and I won’t marry unless I love a man the way I’ve seen other women love their husbands. *nods*
I’m lucky in that my parents aren’t making me wed, either. Instead, they’re going to let me study with the monks and learn to improve my craft.
Name one of your all-time favourite books?
*blinks* Books? Codices? I don’t get to read many manuscripts, it’s true. They’re precious, but I did see some, when I was at the monastery. The monks didn’t teach me to read, but Cowan did. Some. He wrote out some Scriptures for me when I was younger, to show me my letters.
I like stories…is that what you mean? The legends about Cuchulainn, the stories of Lugh of the Long Arm. Heroes of my people. I also like hearing stories from the Bible.
What inspires you?
Inspires me? To do what?
I want to be happy. I want to help people. I want to be of use and to make a difference for my people, if it please God.
Where is your favourite place in the world?
I’ve heard of a wider world, I have, though I’ve not gone farther than Tuaim Rithe to the North or the Sea to the East. Cowan has told me much of his travels, and Charis told me some of the places they saw on their way home from the Northern lands, when they escaped from their captivity. But I think Éire is more beautiful than any place they told me of, and I can’t imagine wanting to leave my home.
Favourite movie?
What’s a movie?
Favourite author?
Author? Writer? Like the men who wrote the Bible? The men who wrote the Greek and Latin stories? I heard Plato being read, once. I didn’t like it. Maybe if I hadn’t been spinning at the time, I might have. My favorite stories in the Bible are the Gospels. I think I like Mark’s the best.
If you could have a dinner party with anyone in the world (alive or dead, real or fictional), who would you choose and why?
*Looks pensive and wistful* I’d want to see my parents - Dow and Morag - again. Dow died when I was a little girl and Morag was killed by the Northmen…
Tell us a random fact about yourself.
I always wished I could have a baby brother or sister that lived past their weaning year. I never told my mother, though. When Charis and Cowan adopted me, I had hoped they’d adopt another one of us from Ragor, but they didn’t. I guess I was handful enough!
Who would play you in the movie about your life?
What are these movies you ask of? I haven’t an idea.
Tell us something interesting about where you live.
Tuaim Rithe is where the kings are buried. When we were first brought here from the monastery, my friends and I would creep out to the burial mounds to see if any of the old kings would return. I thought I saw one, once. Not a tall ghost, but maybe it was only the mist.
Author Info
Married for more than twenty years to an amazing guy, I have two sons. My elder is officially an adult and my younger is eleven. I have one degree in English and one in Ministry, and I claim Theology’s crimson Master’s collar, too. My employment has spanned a vast spectrum, but now I prefer to work at home.
I spend my days writing books and short stories, and even some fanfiction from time to time, deriving inspiration from Pride and Prejudice, True Grit and The Last of the Mohicans. If I’m not writing, I’m probably editing something or catching up with my favorite shows on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. Reading is a given. I think I’m on my third Kindle, now, and I still have hundreds of paperbacks and numerous bookshelves.
http://sandyquill.com/
https://www.facebook.com/SandiLayne66
https://twitter.com/sandyquill
Rafflecopter Giveaway (Two $10.00 Amazon or B&N Gift Cards)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Teaser
He gripped her wrist, surrounding it entirely in his palm while he stared at her. His jaw worked but no sounds came out, save a frustrated grunt.
Concern cooled the blood rushing to her cheeks and she tried to cover her embarrassment by sniffing and pulling his head down to check his bandaging. Both hands bracketing his head, she puffed out a breath and found the edges of the linen. Before she could untuck the closing end of the fabric, though, she felt his eyes on her and swallowed.
“Northman?”
The bright blue of his gaze was suddenly hot. Hot and filled with something that made her stomach flutter as if occupied by a tiny bird. She felt drawn into his eyes, frozen as his hands came up her arms, the fingertips resting just under the short sleeve of her léine. Her own fingertips trembled against his bandaging and his expression shifted in a way she couldn’t define, exactly. Blushing, she decided to pretend that she wouldn’t be thinking about that look all day and shook her head to make the idle idea go away.
Full Chapter One Here: http://sandyquill.com/novels/eires-viking-trilogy/eires-viking-2/chapter-one/
Book Trailer
Thank you for hosting today!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting! Aislinn enjoyed being interviewed. ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt was my pleasure! I loved her Aislinn's answers lol!!
ReplyDelete