I think it is fair to say that I have never read a poor book from the publisher Kelpies.  So there were very high expectations when I was asked to take part in the blog tour for David McPhail’s latest Viking adventure.  Needless to say, the book more than lived up to my dreams.  I would like to thank David for this guest post and I am sure that everyone will find it just as hilarious and exciting  as I have done.

The Story of a Girl and Her Axe

About ten years ago, I published a book called Thorfinn the Nicest Viking and the Awful Invasion, about a ridiculously polite Viking boy trapped in a world of ferocious, belching Vikings. While everyone else was pillaging and roaring, Thorfinn baked scones, made tea, washed the dishes and helped old people across the street. In short, he possessed absolutely no useful Viking qualities whatsoever.

Much of the fun of writing Thorfinn came from finding new ways to embarrass his fellow Vikings.

One small character in that first book was a red-haired Viking girl called Velda. With her oversized helmet and enormous axe, she was every bit as fierce as the other Vikings, possibly fiercer. She had a loyal heart, an adventurous spirit and absolutely no interest in being told what she could or couldn’t do.

As Thorfinn became a series, my editor suggested Velda should join his adventures. I remember saying something like, “Well, the Vikings think it’s bad luck to have girls aboard their longships.” We both immediately went: “EXACTLY.”

From that moment, Velda’s path was set. The Vikings didn’t want her around, but Velda wasn’t remotely interested in their opinion. She was coming anyway.

Over eight Thorfinn adventures, Velda became his closest companion. Thorfinn solved problems peacefully. Velda preferred charging straight into danger with confidence set to MAXIMUM and planning set to MINIMUM. And sometimes, when you’re writing, a character simply refuses to stay in the background. Velda was one of those characters. She barged into scenes, stole jokes and generally behaved as though the books belonged to her.

So, I suggested giving Velda adventures of her own, and suddenly Velda the Awesomest Viking was unleashed – OORAH!

Three books later, Velda now captains her own ship, the Mangy Mutt, complete with a rainbow sail. She hated the rainbow at first, right up until she realised how furious it made other Vikings. Naturally, she kept it.

Her crew are as chaotic and oddball as she is, a collection of goofballs and outcasts she regularly insults as “PIG-DOGS”, “SEA-WEAVILS” and occasionally much worse. But Velda would fight the world for them, and they’d do the same for her.

Together they’ve battled legendary wolves, frost giants, oh, and not to mention an oar salesman who boarded the ship and refused to leave until Velda bought new oars.

And now comes The Wild Unicorn Chase, in which a particularly smelly troll steals Velda’s beloved axe. Velda will do absolutely anything to get it back… even if that means sailing across the sea in search of fabled lost unicorns.

I’m very proud of this little book. Underneath all the shouting, axe-waving and troll pong, it’s really a story about empathy, friendship, building bridges (and sometimes smashing them down again). It’s about the vanity of human endeavour, our talent for meddling with the natural world, and the importance of hope.

Because as it happens, everything becomes more hopeful once unicorns are involved.