Broods of Fenrir
Author : Coral Moore
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/106624
Barnes & Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/e/2940013500624
The original inspiration for my werewolf story came to me a while browsing the Wikipedia page on Fenrir.
There, in a paragraph about the Poetic Edda (a collection of ancient Skaldic poetry) I first read the phrase broods of Fenrir and immediately fell in love. There is a roundness to words that to me feels like a growl. From there, I ventured out into the convoluted paths of the internet to learn more about Fenrir and his broods.
In my travels I found a gem of a site, voluspa.org, that has beautiful translations of Icelandic and Norse Eddas and Sagas. The stories there spurred my imagination for weeks afterwards, even prompting me to learn some Old Norse pronunciation so that I could speak the original lines.
The 40th stanza of the Völuspá (The Prophecy of the Seeress) in particular really started the gray cells churning:
The giantess old | in Ironwood sat,
In the east, and bore | the brood of Fenrir;
Among these one | in monster's guise
Was soon to steal | the sun from the sky.
In the east, and bore | the brood of Fenrir;
Among these one | in monster's guise
Was soon to steal | the sun from the sky.
The web site explains that the brood of Fenrir is a pair of wolves, named Skoll and Hati, who are prophesized to consume the sun and the moon.
Most mythology has roots in fact, describing occurrences that earlier man didn’t understand. So, I started to wonder, what might have served as the inspiration for a story like this. My imagining of the race of werewolves that spawned this tale became the seed of an idea that grew into my book, Broods of Fenrir.
In my alternate history, werewolves are a separate species from humans and were enslaved by the Norse in pre-Viking times. Their culture was repressed by the aggressive barbarians, and after a time they adopted a variation of the Skaldic myths as their own origin story. Eventually, some of the brood escaped captivity and fled to Iceland, Greenland and North America ahead of the Viking expansion through those areas. Their violent, tumultuous background is the basis of some of the darker scenes in my book.
The research I did while writing was extensive, but not much of the actual detail made it into the story. Instead, I let the knowledge of Norse culture and language I gained flavor the characters and world they inhabit.
For a chance at a free eBook copy of Broods, tell me about your favorite myth adaptations.
**Post a comment below to enter to win.**
You have until 12/8/11 to post your comments to enter to win the contest. Please be sure to include an email address or some way for us to contact you. (If we cannot contact you we cannot award you your prize.)
Winner will be announced on 12/9/11
**Post a comment below to enter to win.**
You have until 12/8/11 to post your comments to enter to win the contest. Please be sure to include an email address or some way for us to contact you. (If we cannot contact you we cannot award you your prize.)
Winner will be announced on 12/9/11
Thanks to the lovely Katie for hosting me!
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