Exclusive interview with author Marissa Campbell and a review her novel about an English heiress and Viking raiders
Rating: Three Stars
By Gabrielle Pantera
“It was on a cold, Outlander-less night,” says Avelynn author Marissa Campbell. “I had just finished my hardcover, fresh-off-the-shelf copy of Diana Gabaldon’s An Echo in the Bone. I was staring at the final words feeling the mixed emotions of complete satisfaction and deep melancholy that comes from reading a fantastic book and knowing you have to wait another five years before the next book in the series comes out. What on Earth was I supposed to do for the next five years? Then I had this crazy thought. Perhaps I should write a book for other lost and Outlander-less souls like myself.”
Engaging. Our hero is the beautiful Avelynn, daughter of Ealdorman of Somerset. She was secretly taught pagan rituals by her mother and she knows how to fight with swords, write, and has even ruled in her father’s absence. However, her father insists she marry Demas, who loves her wealth and status, not her. Avelynn loves Alrik, a Viking raider. Can they be together? And what about her secret supernatural powers? Can she keep them hidden?
Avelynn is a ninth century Britain world of secret meetings, sex on the beach, witches, potions and Viking raids. We want to embrace Avelynn as a heroine. Why doesn’t she fight alongside her fathers’ men? Avelynn and Alrik are mismatched, from different worlds. Alrik could have rescued her, taken her away, then brought her back to help her father and brother. Or, she could have been captured and taken away then escape to come back to help her family. I would have liked more of a hero’s journey from the heroes.
“I think the most surprising thing about writing the book was how long it took,” says Campbell. “How long every aspect of the process took. I spent six months alone just researching the time period before I put a single word on the page. I wanted a solid understanding of the world and its people first. Once I started writing, it took a year and a half until I finished the first draft. Editing took another eighteen months, though in fairness this was my first novel. Once I had my manuscript ready to go, I still had to find an agent and publisher. From the moment I began querying and receiving form rejections to the much anticipated release day, it took another year and a half to get Avelynn in stores.”
“I couldn’t travel to ninth century England, so I relied heavily on maps illustrating the lay of the land a thousand years ago, and books on native flora and fauna,” says Campbell. “I bought a lot of history books about the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, but also spent time reading about the political powers and events on the continent. I read books on leechcraft, paganism, herbalism, and magic. Every little aspect of ninth century life…. I had to cross-reference my facts constantly. For example, at one point in the story I needed to know if churches had bells. Turns out that a few did.”
Campbell says that finding an agent and publisher has meant having all her dreams come true.
Avelynn is Campbell’s first novel. About ten years ago, while working as a yoga teacher, Campbell wrote a spiritual self-help book with yoga teacher Annemarie Greenwood. Life: Living in Fulfillment Every Day which won an Editor’s Choice award, a Star award and acclaim from the Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards. Previously, Campbell had written for years for local newspapers and magazines.
Campbell is finishing the final edits to the sequel to Avelynn. She lives in Toronto, Canada, not far from where she was born.
Avelynn: A Novel Paperback – September 8, 2015 by Marissa Campbell. Trade Paperback: 352 pages, Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin (September 8, 2015), Language: English ISBN-13: 978-1250084989 $15.99
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