While researching The Heart's Warrior, I received quite a jolt. Because of their daring deeds, a Viking named Rognvald, the Earl of Moere, and his four savage sons intrigued me. I found myself reading everything I could find about them. Rognvald, pronounced ‘Rog-n-vald’, was the father of Rollo, the First Duke of Normandy and a powerful ally to King Harald Fairhair of Norway.

Because my dad gives me some great plot ideas, I called him to discuss these interesting Vikings. Dad commented that he thought we had a Rognvald in our family tree and I held the phone receiver while he went to retrieve his genealogy book. As it turns out, the line in question was my grandmother's and traces clear back to Adam and Eve through a set of royal lines. (Tongue in cheek, of course.)

My father’s genealogy included Grandpa Rognvald and Grandpa Rollo, along with some other notorious names such as Robert of Normandy and William the Conqueror. After months of fervently researching Rognvald, Earl of Moere, I discovered I had been reading about my own thirtieth great-grandfather! I have based The Heart's Warrior loosely around these men and their dealings with King Hakon and Eirik the Bloodaxe, who sought to dominate North England on two separate occasions.

Truly, The Heart’s Warrior was a book written from my heart. I call the book a PG-rated Viking novel and I loved every minute of the research. I hope you enjoy Kerstin and Jonas’s story as much as I enjoyed writing about them.