Norse Greenland – A Visit to the Idea Factory

A Homemade Map for “The Snowman of Bishops Fell”

A map of the Norse “Eastern Settlement” in Greenland.

I drew this map of the Eastern Settlement (one of two communities in Norse Greenland, existing from roughly 985-1450) back in 2013 for an unrelated project. While not whatsoever perfect (or accurate!), someone reading “The Snowman of Bishops Fell” may at least get an idea as to the location of the action.

You’ll notice a cross labeled “Gardar” just above the separation between the images. This was the location of St. Nikolaus Cathedral (and the residence of the bishop). You may also imagine that one of the three mountainous triangles immediately to the right of that location is Bishops Fell.

Coming Soon: “The Snowman of Bishops Fell”

Set in Norse Greenland during the 15th century, “The Snowman of Bishops Fell” concerns a band of Norse Greenlanders sent into the mountainous wastelands east of the settlement to destroy an outlaw who seems to have harnessed supernatural powers.

I wrote the first draft of “The Snowman of Bishops Fell” in either late 2016 or early 2017. Continue reading “Coming Soon: “The Snowman of Bishops Fell””

Summer Editing

Summer allows for some editing, but are you ever really done editing?

Summer break allows an opportunity for me to edit some previous work. Hard to believe I haven’t touched this particular draft for nearly a year.

Continue reading “Summer Editing”

Out of the Darkness

Norse Greenland is the setting for a novella combining elements of historical fiction with things that go bump in the night.

A few years ago, I started work on a novella set in Norse Greenland. If you are unfamiliar with the story of the Norse Greenlanders, I would suggest that you check out the following two links:

Greenland: What Happened to the Greenland Norse?

The Fate of Greenland’s Vikings

The Greenland Norse were also thoroughly examined in Jared Diamond‘s Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.

The mystery surrounding the Norse in Greenland is one of the greatest of the Middle Ages. I first became enchanted with the Norse Greenlanders over a decade ago when I really developed a fascination with Leif Eriksson and the Norse settlement of Iceland. Jane Smiley‘s The Greenlanders was the first novel that I truly loved and that work has been a source of great inspiration for me.

I drew the maps below to go along with my novella set in Norse Greenland – Out of the Darkness. The fjord systems depicted are located along the southwest coast of Greenland. Out of the Darkness is set in the middle of the fifteenth century during the twilight of the Norse settlements in Greenland. A malevolent and seemingly supernatural force has appeared among the scattered farms of the Eastern Settlement (the maps below show districts, farms, and churches within this settlement). The Greenlanders must respond to this dangerous threat when several inhabitants of outlying farms disappear or are murdered (in a very specific way). As this menace emerges, several farmers in the settlement are looking to abandon their steadings in Greenland and attempt to begin a new life in Vinland (America). Much of the action takes place at Njals Stead, the farm of Thorolf Hafgrimsson, and in the Dyrnes district. As the novella progresses, the events of the story lead several characters to return to the deserted Western Settlement in pursuit of the evil that has terrorized the Greenlanders.