Hello Readers! Welcome to the Release Day Celebration for
The Extremely Epic Viking Tale of Yondersaay
by Aoife Lennon-Ritche
presented by Tantrum Books!
Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!
Happy Book Birthday, Aoife!
This winter, siblings Ruairi and Dani Miller visit their ancestral homeland: the legendary Viking island of Yondersaay. Even with Granny Miller's storytelling to pass the time, the pair manage to find trouble. In less than twenty-four hours of their arrival, Ruairi is mistaken for the lost Boy King of Denmark, kidnapped by Vikings, and scheduled to be sacrificed at sundown. Granny isn’t very pleased.
But when everyone except them goes Viking, the three turn to Granny’s epic tales of the legends of Yondersaay, The Gifts of Odin, and King Dudo the Mightily Impressive for clues. But not all stories end happily, and Ruari, Dani, and Granny will have to write their own happy ending.
The Princess Bride meets Vikings in this enchanted tale of high adventure, buried treasure, villainous treachery, violent ends, and – of course – true love. Aoife Lennon-Ritchie's debut middle grade novel, THE EXTREMELY EPIC VIKING TALE OF YONDERSAAY, is a humorous and heartwarming story for readers ages 9+.
The Extremely Epic Viking Tale of Yondersaay
by Aoife Lennon-Ritchie
Publication Date: October 11, 2016
Publisher: Tantrum Books
Excerpt
The King of the Danes
“It wasn’t today
or yesterday,” Granny began again. “It was a long, long time ago when the world
was warmer, and some believed the sun moved around the earth. There was a
Viking of old called King Dudo the Mightily Impressive, lord over all Denmark.
King Dudo was a big man, broad and tall, with tanned skin tight across bulging
muscles and long reddish-blond hair that fell in thick waves to his elbows—a
mighty warrior. All who fought with him worshipped him, and those who fought
against him trembled in fear at the very sight of him. An adventurer, he
pillaged and plundered as far north as the turn in the world and as far south
as the oceans of sand.
“One
bright autumn, King Dudo and his warriors set sail from their homeland to the
northern-most seas of the world. They wore thick layers of skins and furs
against the cold of the northern air.
“Among
their number on this westward voyage was a famous monk from the lower lands
called Brother Brian the Devout and Handy with Numbers. Brother Brian had the
gift of navigation and was an expert star-reader. His job was to guide King
Dudo and his Viking warriors to the northern lands.
“After
roiling upon the waves for many weeks, their supplies diminishing, and cramp
and fatigue setting in, the Vikings were anxious for the sight of land.
Surprised they had not found land yet, some began to doubt Brother Brian’s
ability. A whispering campaign started at the backs of the longships: “Brother
Brian has gotten us lost!”
“Now,
while it is true that Brother Brian was tasked with getting the Vikings safely
to and from the lands of the north, only King Dudo knew that Brian had another
task—another secret task.
“It
had long been suspected that in the middle of the northern-most seas, between
the homelands of the Danes and the far-off lands, below the turn in the world
but beyond the craggy cliffs of Land of the Scots, lay an island. This island was
often the subject of the songs and tales of the kingdom’s official
storytellers, the court skalders. The stories described it as an enchanted
island, cloaked in secrecy. The island was called Yondersaay.
“Viking legend tells that after death, the
most worthy Viking warriors would meet in Valhalla, the Hall of the Dead, for a
final battle. Anything a Viking had buried in his earthly life would be his
once more. His true armor, weaponry, or wealth stayed buried in the earth while
its ghostly copy awaited him in the afterlife. So it was, every Viking, before
he died, buried his prized weapons and his most coveted jewels in preparation
for this final battle.
Excerpt 3
The Little Secret
Granny had to
shout now because of the noise of the wind on the gangplank of the ferry she,
Dani, Ruairi, and Mum were boarding. Granny was eating the steaming hot pie Mum
had gotten for her in a sailor bar in the port. They huddled close together and
shuffled up the gangplank in their winter clothes.
“About
three weeks into the voyage,” Granny bellowed, “a few days after the warriors
started wondering why they hadn’t found land yet, dusk fell on a clear, calm
ocean. The night was full of light from the crystalline moon, and Brother Brian
turned a little in his position in the prow of the lead longship and made a
long slow nod of the head toward King Dudo, closing his eyes as his head
reached its lowest position. It was a very cool move. Brother Brian had been
practicing it in his head for weeks.
He waited for King Dudo to take his seat beside him.
“‘We
are close,” Brian said to Dudo and looked to the stars, then back down at the
books and scrolls and charts laid all about him and back up to the stars again.
“‘All my information, all my years of training, and all my expertise tell me we
are very close.’
“The
boat glided quietly through the water. Most of the Vikings were sleeping. Not
so much as a seabird disturbed the stillness of the night. The monk and the
king looked hopefully all around; it felt to them that they could see for
miles. If the island was there, they would see it.
“They
looked and looked. An hour passed, two hours passed, then three. But no land
came into view. All of a sudden, King Dudo swung his head around to the left.
‘Shh!’ he hissed. Brother Brian swivelled his gaze around and looked hard, but
he couldn’t see anything. ‘It sounded like—’ King Dudo said, stopping short.
“‘Like
what, my lord?’ Brian asked.
“‘Oh,
nothing, it’s ridiculous … but for a minute there, I thought I heard children
laughing.’
Brother
Brian gasped, clutched his chest, and went pale.
“‘It’s
nothing,’ King Dudo continued. ‘The ocean is playing tricks on my mind.’ Dudo’s
shoulders sagged, and he let out a big sigh. ‘This is ridiculous! What am I
thinking? A magical island in the middle of the ocean … Enough. Time to let it
go. Let’s get back on track and deliver my men to land.’
Irish actor and writer Aoife Lennon-Ritchie studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, the Universita di Catania in Italy, University College Dublin in Ireland, and the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Aoife holds diplomas, degrees and a Masters in the multiple fields of business and information technology, English and classic literature, theatre and creative writing; she looks forward to doing her PhD in Film and Media. Always searching for new adventures, Aoife has lived in the UK, France, Greece, Italy, and several US cities, including Chicago, New York and Pittsburgh. She speaks three (and a half) languages. Although she was once an investment banker, she much prefers acting, fencing, writing, and being a mum. She currently lives in Cape Town with her handsome husband and two small children.
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