Nordic Nights

I guess I was in a runic mood. I had found these cool old letters, odd, pointy, each with its own tale. I fell in love. As a writer words and letters are my bag. So when I found the Norse runes it was a natural. My interest in Norse and Viking mythology had been piqued by my second Alix Thorssen mystery , Painted Truth , where my heroine collects "The Mighty Thor" comic books and gets ideas for solving crimes from the back pages, in Tales from Asgaard. Since Alix is a Norwegian/Montanan, it felt right.

So it had to be winter, didn't it? Ice, snow, cold -- the weather of the Norse. And of Jackson Hole in January. Let me tell you about the year we were in Jackson in our VW bus (the no-heat originals) when it was thirty below zero. The driver sat in a down sleeping bag with one foot out for the gas pedal. We figured later it might have zero inside the bus, just based on collective body heat. Oh, yes, it can be cold.

How to celebrate cold but a winter carnival? Nordic Nights is a fictional fete but Jackson and most every mountain town holds a winter carnival where such nonsense as bed races, cardboard sleds, and ski-jorring (pulled by a horse while on skis) sends away the "shack nasties."  My Nordic Nights are a little more sedate, emphasizing Nordic culture with ice-carving, Viking mythology murals, and Nordic ski-racing. One of my favorite characters is Bjarne Hansen, the ski racer who woos Alix. Ah. Too bad he came with all that baggage.

I also got a kick out of the White Queen of the Runes, Isa Mardoll, whose name comes from the letter "I" and also represents Ice. She's one of those white blondes who wears only shades of white and is perfectly controlled and ambitious and slightly evil. Or perhaps more than slightly. You decide.

I hope you enjoy reading it.
Lise

Read Chapter One of Nordic Nights

Reviews:
"A crisp, straightforward mystery that. . . conjures up the icy beauty of Jackson Hole. Her agreeably feisty heroine and a hair-raising finale will keep readers entertained throughout the night, Nordic or otherwise.
-- Publishers Weekly

"Drawing on her own Nordic background and her intimate knowledge of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Lise McClendon has crafted a dark tale of theft, murder, art, and archaeology. It begins with Alix Thorssen's stepfather, Hank, discovered standing over the corpse of a visiting Norwegian artist, refusing to say a word in his defense. It falls, therefore, to Alix to clear him and uncover who sent Glasius Dokken, a painter of myths, to Valhalla. With ancient legends seeming to come to life around her, and with very contemporary bullets being fired through the windows of her art gallery, Alix's investigation could end with a Viking funeral. . . And it may all hinge on what the rune stones say.
The first Alix Thorssen mysteries, The Bluejay Shaman and Painted Truth , established Lise McClendon as one of the finer new talents on the mystery scene. With the publication of the long-anticipated third novel in the series, McClendon steps to the front of the class and proves that there's nothing cold about Norwegians. Her vivid depiction of life in a wealthy resort town and her understanding of ancient Scandinavian traditions combine in a chilling puzzle for all mystery fans."
-- Walker & Company

"A solid, enticing addition to the series."
-- Library Journal

"You can taste the snow in this one."
-- I Love A Mystery

"Savvy readers will enjoy the glimpses of Nordic ritual, the vivid descriptions of the Wyoming winter, and the pattern of fire and ice as Alix's emotions fight logic and the heated passions around her fight icy greed."
-- Kirkus  Reviews