Ask the Author: Harper St. George
Answered Questions (8)
Harper St. George
Thank you so much! I love to read Evie Dunmore, Sherri Thomas, and Mimi Matthews. Some of my older influences would be Lisa Kleypas, Judith McNaught, LaVyrle Spencer, and Laura Kinsale to name a few. Joanna Shupe has lots of steamy Gilded Age books as well.
Harper St. George
Thanks for the question. In my opinion, it made sense that the Vikings didn't establish themselves for long in North America. Vinland didn't have many of the already established resources they were accustomed to (textiles, weapons, armor, etc) and they could get those easily from Europe. I don't believe they had the sheer number of people willing to make a long-term settlement viable, especially when considering the number of indigenous peoples already established there who would have and did resist them. Also, it was an extremely long trip from Norway for the time, so support from home would have been very limited. It was even a longer trip from Greenland to New Brunswick than Greenland to Norway.
Harper St. George
This one is such a hard question to answer, and I don't think I can choose just one. First up, one of my all-time favorite books is Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer. I love how Elly and Will are misfits who find a kindred spirit in the other. He's an ex-con who has no one and nowhere to go and he ends up in her yard. She's an outcast in her Georgia town who's given up on ever fitting in. Together they find their create their own world.
Another favorite couple is Jamie and Claire from Outlander. I love how he let's her be herself even though she doesn't conform to how women around him behave. And the same goes for her. They're very good complements to the other.
Another favorite couple is Jamie and Claire from Outlander. I love how he let's her be herself even though she doesn't conform to how women around him behave. And the same goes for her. They're very good complements to the other.
Harper St. George
I love the Viking era because I really enjoy historical romance when almost anything can happen. A raid, an abduction, an overthrow of power, an exotic location - there is almost no limit to where the story can take you.
I also love stories that aren't quite as hemmed in by social convention as those set in the recent past. Of course, the Vikings had their own social conventions and hierarchy. But a Viking warrior can get away with almost anything!
I also love stories that aren't quite as hemmed in by social convention as those set in the recent past. Of course, the Vikings had their own social conventions and hierarchy. But a Viking warrior can get away with almost anything!
Harper St. George
The best advice I have is just to keep writing. This is important for so many reasons. No matter how bad you think you are at writing, you'll never improve without writing more. If you just can't quite figure out how to capture the emotion or conflict within a particular scene, then you just have to write it and go back and make it better. But if there is nothing on the page, then there is nothing to make better. Just get it on the page, keep writing, and you'll be one step closer to your goal.
Harper St. George
The idea for the Viking novel I'm working on now came about because I like contradictions and contrasts in the books that I read, so I wanted to explore that in my writing. I'm betting you've never met a Viking warrior like Eirik before. He's everything you imagine a Viking warrior to be, but he also has a secret you wouldn't expect.
Harper St. George
Wine and bad reality tv. (Just kidding...sort of) I find that when I'm stuck it's usually do to an issue with character development, which means I just don't know how this character would react to a certain situation. I've found that starting with a blank sheet of paper and writing whatever comes to mind about what that character would be thinking-in first person-really helps to put me in the right mindset. If that doesn't work, sometimes a short break to read a great book is the answer.
Harper St. George
I'm currently working on my second Viking novel. It follows Kadlin and Gunnar from the first book, Enslaved by the Viking. I hope to redeem Gunnar and show that he's not really so bad.
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