The Fair Viking Princess: At First Sight

According to a study from about three years ago, one in ten Icelanders will become published authors. My husband says in a teasing voice, "That is because Icelanders have a lot to say." The BBC has commented, "Icelanders are besserwissers." I looked that one up and the dictionary states a besserwisser is a German word meaning "knowing better" or in other words, "smart aleck." Well, I do know one thing ... whenever a group of Icelandic people are around, there is never a lack of wonderful, stimulating, and lively conversation about all sorts of topics.

I've been reading a lot of Icelandic books lately and below you can read a Press Release about a new fictional romance series. I just ordered it online and cannot wait to read it - especially since it is about my home area. Marilyn is a Western Icelander (Vestur-Íslendingar) and many people here in North America of Icelandic descent are published authors.

Welcome, Marilyn, to the great group of published Icelandic authors and best of luck with your Fair Viking Princess Series.

Press Release from Marilyn Gregoire:

“Real ND and MN Small Towns Tagged in Romance Fiction”

“She said WHAT? About WHO?” No matter how many disclaimers a fiction writer provides, art has a way of imitating real life. So it is for Marilyn Gregoire’s The Fair Viking Princess Series, recently published on e-book and in paperback. Marilyn, daughter of Ethel and the late Harlan Thorlacius, Stephen, MN, grew up being amused and amazed by her Icelandic relatives in Mountain, ND. So when it came time to write something about interesting people she naturally chose to write about Mountain. But, wait now. The interesting people in the stories are fictional. Many locals will try to decipher upon whom the characters are based. Her neighbor has already assumed that HE is Alan, the main hero. No, not the case.

The drama/comedy/romance/cookbook will entertain and inspire. Its genre is ‘Contemporary Christian Romance’ and it tells the story of love and life where characters grow in their faith and gradually figure out what God really wants of them.

A topic studied throughout her three trilogies (yes, a collection of nine books) is sexual abuse, an edgy issue. The first trilogy is on Trust. The second, on Truth. The third, on Forgiveness. Trust, Truth and Forgiveness are issues at the core of any sexual abuse survivor. Trust is the first thing lost for anyone who is abused. Then they wonder, “Should I tell the truth?” Each individual has to wrestle down that answer on his own. But in order for a survivor to move on and live a happy life, forgiveness is critical.

This fiction writer is a happily married wife, mother, and grandmother now, but was molested at the tender age of ten. Gregoire explains, “I’ve been verbal about being molested over the years, but I started to wonder about the classmates who I left behind when we moved from that town. Had that old friend of the family moved on to mess with my old classmates? My curiosity about that has sent me into a very therapeutic process of writing fiction to work out my issues and curiosities. Add a strong sense of Christian faith into that and here we are!”

The first book, The Fair Viking Princess: At First Sight has been proofed by a counselor at the Grand Forks Community Violence Intervention Center, Grand Forks, ND, who helped to verify that the hurt and healing in this story, “At First Sight”, is plausible, but also to add resources for people to use to get help if sexual abuse is an issue that affects them or someone they know. Resources are posted after the last chapter in the e-book and paperback and also on a page of her website. “Going to the website, www.marilyngregoire.com, is the easiest way to understand why I write and where you can get ahold of these books, in whatever format you prefer. If you don’t do websites, check with a neighbor—that’s how small towns are.”

Book two in the series, When Prayers Aren’t Enough, will be published and available in late July, then book three, What the Heart Hears, which starts off with a Christmas theme, will be available before Thanksgiving. Then the series switches over to Truth with The True North Series for three books, then to the To Forgive is Divine Series for three more where small town pride and tenacity are tested to the core.

But for now, you can relax, Mountain, Cavalier, Walhalla…even Park River, Adams, Milton and Edinburg. And let’s not leave out Drayton, Crystal, Hensel, Leroy, Pembina, Niche, Bathgate, Hamilton, Joliette and Langdon, North Dakota. Stephen or Argyle or Warren, Hallock, Kennedy, Karlstad, Greenbush, Humboldt or even Donaldson on the Minnesota side. Everybody? It’s literature. And as interesting as you are, this time, it’s not about you.