Thursday 5 November 2020

Q&A with Christina Courtenay

    Welcome to The Comfy Chair blog... Christina Courtenay, author of 'The Runes of Destiny.'

Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip and time travel stories, and lives in Herefordshire (near the Welsh border) in the UK. Although born in England, she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden – hence her abiding interest in the Vikings. Christina is a former chairman of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association and has won several awards, including the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel twice with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014).  The Runes of Destiny (time travel published by Headline 10th December 2020) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).


1.      What was your favourite childhood book/author?
The Famous Five series by Enid Blyton – I read all 21 of them and wished there were more! (Loved all her other stories too).

2.      What inspired you to start writing and how long has it taken you to get to this point?
I started writing when my first child was born because I needed a job I could do from home so I could be a stay-at-home mum. It wasn’t as easy as I thought though and I didn’t get published until the week after she left home aged 21! But by the time I realised how difficult it was going to be, I’d been bitten by the writing bug and haven’t stopped since.

3.      Describe your writing space - neat and ordered or creative chaos?
That depends – I usually work in ordered chaos, but I have occasional tidying up sprees when I get fed up with the mess and I do like order in general.

4.      What is the easiest and hardest part of the writing process? 
The easiest part is the writing – just letting your imagination flow. I’m always really excited when I start a new project and I love writing the first draft. The hardest part is self-promotion and balancing the time spent on writing with that taken up by social media.

5.      Which other authors are you influenced by?
All my fellow timeslip/time travel authors, particularly Barbara Erskine, Susanna Kearsley and Nicola Cornick. They are all mistresses of their genre and write wonderful books! Early on I was also influenced by Johanna Lindsey because she had a way of leaving her readers feeling massively satisfied, and she was great at creating literary families readers want to return to over and over again.

6.      What does literary success “look” like to you?
I suppose all authors want to be bestsellers and I’m no different, but the best thing is when readers truly enjoy your stories and tell you so. And when you hear that you have cheered someone up or helped them over a difficult period in their lives perhaps.

7.      How do you select the names of your characters?
I keep a list of great names and whenever I hear one I like I add it to that. I also scour the internet for suitable names and can spend ages looking for the right one. As I’m writing Viking stories at the moment, I have a list of Old Norse names and I’m always happy to be able to add more.

8.      If your book was to be made into a film/TV programme, which actors would play which role?
Chris Hemsworth would make a great Viking hero (as he does in his role as Thor) but I take inspiration for my characters from random photos on the internet who “become” my hero/heroine and mostly those people aren’t actors or actresses so can’t play those roles. If my books were to be made into a film I think it would be great to cast unknown actors/actresses from Iceland or Scandinavia. I’d love to be allowed to help choose them!

9.   What do you hope your readers take away from your book?
Entertainment and a feeling that all is right with the world, that good always triumphs over evil and that love is stronger than anything else.

 

Lastly, Jenn (The Comfy Chair) likes to enjoy a good read snuggled up with a cup of tea and piece of cake... what cake or sweet treat would you suggest to accompany your book? 

 

I’m a chocoholic so a bar of Bourneville or some Ferrero Rocher chocolates would be my preferred option. Swedish cinnamon buns could also work! (I have a great recipe if anyone wants :-D)


The Runes of Destiny
Release date: - 10th December 2020


Separated by time. Brought together by fate. When helping out at an archaeological dig, Linnea uncovers an exquisite brooch, but blacks out after reading the runic inscription. She wakes up surrounded by men in Viking costume, who seem to take re-enactment very seriously. Lost and confused, she finds herself in the power of Hrafn, a Viking warrior who claims her as his thrall and takes her on a journey across the seas to sell her for profit. Setting sail, she confronts the unthinkable: she has travelled back to the 9th century. Linnea is determined to find a way back to her own time, but there’s a connection forming with Hrafn. Can she resist the call of the runes and accept her destiny lies here …

Buy Links:-

Amazon UK 
Amazon US


Social Media:-

http://www.christinacourtenay.com

https://www.facebook.com/christinacourtenayauthor?fref=ts

https://twitter.com/PiaCCourtenay

https://www.instagram.com/ChristinaCourtenayAuthor/




2 comments:

  1. Thank you, Sandy, glad you enjoyed it! And many thanks to Jenn for having me as your guest!

    ReplyDelete