I am pleased to participate in the Blog Tour hosted by Entangled Publishing for S.T. Bende's Elsken.
About Ms. Bende:
About Ms. Bende:
Before finding domestic bliss in suburbia, ST Bende lived in Manhattan Beach (became overly fond of Peet’s Coffee) and Europe… where she became overly fond of the musical Cats. Her love of Scandinavian culture and a very patient Norwegian teacher inspired The Elsker Saga. She hopes her characters make you smile and that one day pastries will be considered a health food. CONNECT ONLINE WITH MS. BENDE:
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Welcome to Darlene's Book Nook, Ms. Bende!
Ms. Bende has written a guest post, so I will now turn the floor over to her!
Casting a Norse God
by S.T. Bende
My name is ST Bende, and I am a humongous nerd. I loved every single subject in school, I was in the junior high school marching band, and every March 14th I celebrate Pi Day. So when I was writing Elsker, my mythology-based New Adult romance, I had an absolute blast researching Norse gods to fit the role of my hunky hero. I must have read all the books in our little library that had anything to do with Scandinavian mythology -- I wanted to make sure I chose the perfect guy for my twenty-year-old small town girl.
Here’s the breakdown on some of the gods I auditioned to woo Kristia Tostenson… and the breakdown on the gorgeous god who made my final cut.
(1) Thor - God of Thunder, known for his fiery red hair and equally hot temper. Must be tall, hot, and brooding.
I wrote my first draft of Elsker before the Chris Hemsworth movie came out, and in hindsight I’m so thankful I didn’t go with Thor. He was popular enough before, but recreating him as a romantic hero in a post-Avengers world would have stepped on a lot of toes.
(2) Loki - The trickster god. Must be innately sneaky.
Odin’s half brother has a long history of making trouble for Asgard. I toyed with doing a whole ‘misunderstood bad boy thing with Loki, not unlike Wicked does with the Wicked Witch of the West, but ultimately I decided Loki wasn’t the right match for Kristia.
(3) Balder - The fair god. Must radiate purity.
The god of light, joy, and sometimes justice was just too goody-goody for my innocent heroine. Kristia needed someone who would shake up her Emily-Post-guided world, and Balder just wouldn’t do. But he was such a great character that he landed a supporting role.
(4) Freyr - The fertility god. Must absolutely ooze charm and… well, fertility.
Freyr quickly hit my cutting room floor, as both Kristia and I are far too prudish to entertain a romantic lead that is the actual god of fertility. Freyr got a bit role in Endre, the Elsker sequel. And that was enough Freyr for me. For now…
(5) Njord - The god of wind and sea. Must have lovely feet. (Apparently some goddess married him for his tootsies.)
Since much of Njord’s mythology involves the identity of his wives, he was a quick ‘pass’. Kristia needed a complicated hero, but she didn’t need multiple ex-wives chasing her around. Though now I’m thinking The Real Housewives of Asgard might make a fun series.
After much deliberation, I found Kristia’s Norse deity in:
(6) Ull - The God of Winter. Must love skiing, hunting and archery. This 6’ 5” blonde Adonis is a former Asgardian Assassin with a tortured past. But now it’s time for Ull to start thinking about his future.
Lucky Kristia!
Thanks so much for joining us today, Ms. Bende!
A month of prizes to celebrate the ELSKER release, including:
Amazon gift card
Query critique
A copy of ELSKER
and
YOUR NAME in the ELSKER sequel, ENDRE!
SERIES: The Elsker Saga, Book #1
AUTHOR: S.T. Bende
PUBLISHER: Entranced Publishing, Blush
PUBLICATION DATE: April 22, 2013
PUBLICATION DATE: April 22, 2013
FORMAT: E-book, 228 pages
GENRE: New Adult Paranormal Romance
Kristia Tostenson prefers Earl Grey to Grey Goose and book clubs to nightclubs, but when she transfers from her one-stoplight town to Cardiff University in Wales she falls in love with Ull Myhr. Her new boyfriend isn’t exactly what she was expecting. He’s an honest-to-goodness Norse God — an immortal assassin fated to die at Ragnarok, the battle destined to destroy Asgard and Earth. Kristia’s crazy visions are the only thing that can save their realms.
Her orderly life just got very messy.
Buy Links:
Kobo / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Entranced
Book Excerpt:
At eight o’clock, a firm knock interrupted my reading. I picked my way through the flower shop that our living room had become and opened the door.
“Oh good, you kept my peace offerings.” Ull treated me to a rakish grin.
“Just a few of them,” I muttered. “Come on in.”
“Oh, no. You must come with me.”
“Why?” I challenged. Ull sighed.
“Are you going to fight me at every turn?”
“Probably.”
“Please come.” He looked so adorable standing on my stoop, his scarf casually thrown across the grey sweater under his coat. I gave in quicker than I meant to.
“Fine.” I grabbed my coat from the closet by the door and shoved my keys and wallet into the pocket. “Where are we off to?” I closed the door behind me and followed Ull into the brisk night, waiting for his promised explanation.
But he didn’t say anything. Instead, he put his hand on the small of my back and guided me away from campus. I shivered and noticed that Ull wore his jacket open, at ease in the chill. As we rounded the corner, Ull dropped his hand to clasp mine. It was so warm, so strong, and for a moment I forgot to be mad at him. We walked in silence as he led me down the main road. After two right turns, I found myself standing in a quiet garden.
Ull had brought me to a church.
TUR, the prequel, can be downloaded for free
at http://www.entrancedpublishing.com/imprints-2/blush/elsker/
To enter the giveaways, please fill out the Rafflecopter entry forms on Ms. Bende's blog located HERE.
Tour Participants:
April 10, 2013: Jacqueline Gardner
A TUR Preview
Band Geek Thursday
April 14, 2013: To the Point
Syttende Mai
April 15, 2013: Cover Lure
Twitter for Authors
April 16, 2013: YAtopia
Author Interview
April 17, 2013: Tina's Book Reviews
Inga on Why Being A Norse Goddess Rocks
April 18, 2013: Loup Dargent
Elsker Spotlight
April 19, 2013: Off the Page
The God of Winter's First Ever Interview
April 20, 2013: Anna's Romantic Reads
Inga's Earth Day Post
April 21, 2013: Manga Maniac Cafe
Author Interview
Thor the Bride
Author Interview
April 23, 2013: Burning Tree Reads
Author Interview
April 24, 2013: Starting on the Write Page
Author Interview
April 25, 2013: Leisure Reads
Elsker Spotlight
April 26, 2013: Books Books and More Books
April 27, 2013: KA Last
Author Interview
April 29, 2013: Lola's Book Reviews
Which Elsker Character Are You?
April 30, 2013: Cocktails and Books
Elsker Spotlight
May 1, 2013: Babbling About Books and More
A Rare Interview with Elsker's Ull
Becoming an Accidental Novelist
Interview with Elsker's Inga
Five Things I Love About Ull
May 4, 2013: Pieces of Whimsy
Author Interview
May 5, 2013: Romance Book Junkies
Inga Talks Ull
May 6, 2013: Darlene's Book Nook
Casting a Norse God
May 7, 2013:
Indie Ignites
The Gods
Workaday Reads
Author Interview
May 8, 2013:
Samantha Stroh Bailey
Cosmochicklitan
Spotlight on Ull
Nyx Book Reviews
Author Interview
May 9, 2013:
USA Today Happy Ever After Blog
That Thing I Said
Author Interview
May 10, 2013: Louise D. Gornall
Author Interview
May 11, 2013:
Lindsey Loucks
Introducing Inga
T.L. Bodine
Elsker Promo
May 12, 2013: Ana Blaze
May 4, 2013: Pieces of Whimsy
Author Interview
May 5, 2013: Romance Book Junkies
Inga Talks Ull
May 6, 2013: Darlene's Book Nook
Casting a Norse God
May 7, 2013:
Indie Ignites
The Gods
Workaday Reads
Author Interview
May 8, 2013:
Samantha Stroh Bailey
Cosmochicklitan
Spotlight on Ull
Nyx Book Reviews
Author Interview
May 9, 2013:
USA Today Happy Ever After Blog
That Thing I Said
Author Interview
May 10, 2013: Louise D. Gornall
Author Interview
May 11, 2013:
Lindsey Loucks
Introducing Inga
T.L. Bodine
Elsker Promo
May 12, 2013: Ana Blaze
May 15, 2013: Reading Between the Wines
Design by Parajunkee Design
Thanks for hosting the Elsker crew, Darlene!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure!
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