Local Author Pens Thrilling, Epic Viking Tale

Local author Katie Aiken Ritter’s Viking: The Green Land is a thrilling and epic tale about the Viking’s dangerous journey to Greenland. The protagonist, The Tiller, was forced to set sail on this precarious voyage by the powerful Althing Council after being falsely accused of a crime. On the ship is the Fishgirl, a mysterious woman who knows a dark secret about what lies at the end of their voyage. There are many shocking revelations along the way, including the true identity of the main characters.

Katie had wanted to write a novel, and inspiration for her Viking saga came in a unique way: “I am a practical, science minded woman, but some entities crossed space and time to tell me to write this book, and nobody was more surprised than me. It was like a movie happened really quickly in my head. I saw the Vikings on the ship.” Katie believes she’s been called to ‘set the record straight’ about the true nature of Vikings. Often cast as wild and brutish, Vikings actually had a complex legal system and interests outside of pillaging their neighbors. After receiving this message Katie went to her laptop to learn more about the history of Iceland, Greenland and Vikings. “I was waiting for the entities to come and tell me what happens next in the story after they make landfall in Greenland, but I had to figure out the rest on my own,” Katie told me.

The events and characters in Viking: The Green Land are based on historical events and figures. Much of what we know about Vikings comes from oral tradition… stories passed from generation to generation by word of mouth. Some important details are missing, and Katie had to use intuition to complete the story. “Everything in the book, down to how they lived and what they ate, is all deeply researched,” Katie explained to me. “But parts are speculative. It could have happened the way I laid it out, and I believe that is how it happened.”

Ending with the introduction of one of history's most famous Vikings, The Green Land seems destined to be turned into a series. Katie has written one sequel and two prequels to The Green Land with more books on the way. With The Green Land standing well on its own, the choice is up to you to start chronologically or with the first book she wrote. If you want to start at the beginning of the narrative the first book in the series is The Plains of Althing, a hero’s journey with political themes.

Passionate about Scandinavian history, Vikings have become a part of Katie’s life. She volunteered on the Draken Harald Hårfagre, a reconstructed Viking longship that successfully sailed all the way from Norway to America. She has also visited Iceland and taught a class on Viking history. If you want to be transported back to the dangerous and exotic world of Vikings, pick up a copy of Katie’s Viking: The Green Land or Viking: The Plains of Althing on Amazon for exciting summer reading!