Music can be the sound track to our emotions. A great song can not only change
your mood but also change your day. When a song speaks to you and knows your
heart, you bond with it. I thought it would be fun to pick my characters brains
and pick the top 5 songs for HΓΆk Magnusson and Lady Sovia, the hero and heroine
of my new Viking romance, THE NORTHMANβS BRIDE.
To give you a touch of context, my young Viking warrior HΓΆk Magnusson gets
his heart clawed out by his first love, Lady Sovia. Seven years later and his
wound has yet to heal. Donβt judge my book by the cover models. I promise HΓΆk is
not always that grumpy looking.
HΓΆkβs Playlist would be:
Bite Hard by Franz Ferinand. After Sovia tossed HΓΆkβs love aside,
heβs gutted and understandable ill tempered. This song is about breaking hearts
and breaking minds.
Hopeless Wanderer by Mumford and Sons. Scorned and feeling he has
dishonored his family, HΓΆk volunteering joins the neighboring counties civil war
to secure his families boarders.
Tick Tick Boom by The Hives. Years later, on his second encounter
with Sovia, HΓΆk is a ticking time bomb of a Molotov cocktail of rage, vengeance
and unrequited love for a woman he is convinced will be nothing but destruction
for him.
Viking Death March by Billy Talent. Protective and possessive is an
understatement when it comes to HΓΆkβs feelings towards his bride, therefore it
is never wise to threaten the life of a Northmanβs bride.
Love Song by The Cure. Under all his armor and lethal glaring, HΓΆk is
a big, mushy, poet. Spoiler alert! Eventually, HΓΆk will help heal Soviaβs past
wounds with adoring devotion and loving care.
Lady Sovia has been used and abused by her father for her entire life, yet she
has a strong, deep inner strength that she is unwilling to be surrendered.
Unjustly labeled a whore at court, she refuses to apologize but continues to
hold her head high. Her unbreakable spirit becomes her most adored quality by
her husband.
Soviaβs Playlist would be:
Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division. After a lifetime of
pain, Sovia does not believe in romantic love, believing it is a grave disease
of the mind.
What Kind of Man by Florence and the Machine. Sovia can never forget
her brief encounter with the young Northman. HΓΆk has haunted her dreams.
Kiss with a Fist by Florence and the Machine. Once HΓΆk takes her as
his bride, she believes she is beyond redemption and is resigned to living in a
contemptible marriage, never believing she is worthy of his love or kindness.
Superwoman by Alicia Keys. To protect her family, Sovia will stop at
nothing; prepare to sacrifice her pride, her vanity and even her life for their
security.
Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler. Once Sovia admits to
herself that she loves HΓΆk and always has, it opens her up to surrender to her
fears of losing him, knowing she wants him, and deserves him will be one of her
greatest challenges.
Passions flare in the icy north in the third Sons of the North Romance
novel from the author of The Warlordβs Wife and The Iron Princess...
Sovia, daughter of Baron Losna, is on a mission to seduce StΓ₯l Magnusson,
firstborn son of Swedish warlord Jarl Magnus Knutson and heir to his seat. With
a civil war on, the stakes are high. The Baron needs the money and political
alliance that Soviaβs marriage to StΓ₯l would secure. Fortunately, Soviaβs skill
with men, not to mention the rugged good looks of her target, makes the
assignment all too easy. But the tables turn when Sovia realizes she has taken
the wrong Magnussonβ StΓ₯lβs twin brother HΓΆkβto bed. Wrong brother or not, HΓΆk
is enamored, and offers to marry Sovia. When that offer is rejected by her
father, HΓΆkβs heart and pride are broken.
Seven years later, as Lady Sovia is about to be executed by Norway's usurper
king, HΓΆk, now a battle-hardened warrior, comes to her rescueβby finally taking
her hand in marriage. Though his intent is to take revenge, as well as her
hereditary land, he cannot help but be impressed by her unbreakable spirit. But
Lady Sovia has secrets that will make it nearly impossible for them to live
happily ever after...
Sandra Lake was born somewhere in the wilds of Sweden. Surrounded by
shirtless, blond men, she learned to sail, swing a sword and skin a bear when
she was only three--wait no, that was Davy Crockett...
The real Sandra was
raised in rural Canada. (close enough to Sweden) She married her childhood
sweetheart (who is blond and on occasion shirtless). They are currently living
happily-ever-after along with their kids and unruly husky in Quebec, Canada.
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