Felicia asked A.C. Melody:

Hearthstone Alpha is an amazing read! The details are so precise - did you have any knowledge of Norse Mythology before you wrote it?

A.C. Melody Thank you! I have to confess, I never set out to make a book about Norse Mythology, because of how little I knew about it. But I'm always trying to find the origins of things, so when I was searching for the "oldest" legends about wolves, of course, Asgard is exactly where I ended up! Not saying the sagas are the source of all wolf tales, but once I got there, I didn't want to leave.

Somehow, I had the same 'knowledge' I think we all hear as children about Odin, Thor, Loki and the Valkyrie. Which, as adults, some learn is mostly wrong–or Disney-diluted–while others never learn any differently, because they read or watch Marvel. And I'm a huge Marvel fan, so that's not a slam - but Thor is about 90% inaccurate when it comes to real Norse Mythology. The biggest surprise was learning that Loki is way older than Odin, and the father of major players like the Fenrir, the world snake, Odin's eight-legged horse and the Goddess Hel. I think he's some kind of uncle to Odin according to the (mostly unreliable) Aesir family tree, because they all came from giants (Jotun).

Anyway, without going into a long lecture on all I've already learned, I will say there is still so much more I have yet to even glimpse. The Norse Mythos is vast, complex and surprisingly human. The Vikings had Gods that walked among them, vulnerable as much as they were powerful, and expected to make the same kind of sacrifices for greatness and good. I'm hoping as the Ulfrinn series progresses, I'll be able to share more of the fascinating and less heard of parts of this incredible, ancient culture.

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