Happy hump day my lovely readers. Today I’m really excited to be part of Titan’s blog tour for a Norse debut fantasy novel, The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec. I’m really excited to read this book when I’m in the mood for it as I’m mood reading a lot these days and loving it. But to celebrate the release of the book I have a special interview with the author herself. So before I hand over to Genevieve here is a little bit more about the book. Fans of Neil Gaiman will love it.

When a banished witch falls in love with the legendary trickster Loki, she risks the wrath of the gods in this moving, subversive national bestselling debut novel that reimagines Norse mythology.
Angrboda's story begins where most witches' tales end: with a burning. A punishment from Odin for refusing to provide him with knowledge of the future, the fire leaves Angrboda injured and powerless, and she flees into the farthest reaches of a remote forest. There she is found by a man who reveals himself to be Loki, and her initial distrust of him transforms into a deep and abiding love.
Their union produces three unusual children, each with a secret destiny, who Angrboda is keen to raise at the edge of the world, safely hidden from Odin's all-seeing eye. But as Angrboda slowly recovers her prophetic powers, she learns that her blissful life--and possibly all of existence--is in danger.
With help from the fierce huntress Skadi, with whom she shares a growing bond, Angrboda must choose whether she'll accept the fate that she's foreseen for her beloved family...or rise to remake their future. From the most ancient of tales this novel forges a story of love, loss, and hope for the modern age.

Interview with Genevieve Gornichec

1. Firstly, can you share with us something about the book that isn’t in the blurb?

Yes! I feel like a lot of people hear “Norse mythology” and think of an action-packed adventure, but this is a really quiet book – it’s a character study about a really minor figure in the myths who doesn’t see a lot of the myths themselves unfold. Angrboda is fierce, but in a subtle way, unlike other characters like Skadi, for example.  

2. I saw from your bio on your website that studied Norse Myths, what was it that intrigued you to study that part of history?

When I was an undergraduate I spent a semester abroad in Sweden, which is where my grandfather was from, and when I got back, I ended up taking a class on Old Norse where we actually translated some of the myths from their original language. From then on, I was hooked!

3. The inspiration of the book stemmed from your love of Norse mythology, how did you know what plotline to take when it came to writing your debut book?

I set out to write a book that could conceivably fit into the background of the myths, since Angrboda is a background character. I wrote the first draft for me; I had written other books at the time and never thought that The Witch’s Heart would be my debut novel!

4. What was your favourite part of writing The Witch’s Heart?

My favourite part was getting to spend time in Angrboda’s world and get to know all of my favourite figures from Norse mythology a little better. Just like readers are sometimes sad to finish a book, it was also sad to finish writing it and move on to something else. 

5. What were the key challenges you faced when writing this book?

My biggest challenge was writing Ragnarok, “the doom of the gods.” Prophecies complicate a lot of things and can sometimes make it seem like the characters don’t have control of their own decisions, so it was a struggle to write that in a way that gave Angrboda her agency back. 

6. Can you give us an insight into a typical day of writing The Witch’s Heart?

Honestly…I wrote the first draft of this book ten years ago, and it took me about three weeks because it was during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I was also in my third year as an undergraduate so it was a lot of late nights and caffeine!

7. What’s been the highlight of your writing journey?

The absolute best part has been hearing from readers who truly connected with the book. I kept it to myself for so long that it was really scary for me to put it out there, and I am honestly very grateful and downright stunned at the support The Witch’s Heart has received so far. 

8. As the trickster Loki is featured in your book, could I assume you might be a Marvel fan? Or is that a jump in the wrong direction?

That’s a great question! Even though the first Thor movie came out the same year I wrote The Witch’s Heart, it didn’t really affect how I wrote the book; I already had my own vision of Loki firmly in my head. But I don’t blame readers who picture Tom Hiddleston as they read – I hear that a lot! He’s a wonderful actor. I personally keep Marvel’s Loki and Loki from the mythology firmly separated in my head, even though I enjoy them both as characters.  

9. What book started your love for reading and literature?

I can’t even decide! I was a voracious reader as a kid. I read everything in sight because I just wanted to escape. I can’t pinpoint one specific book that started it all.

10. Has there been any newly released books that you’ve enjoyed?

Most recently I’ve enjoyed Sistersong by Lucy Holland. It’s not out in the US until later this year, but I was looking forward to it so much that I decided to pay for international shipping and snag a UK copy, and I was not disappointed. 

11. What do you find yourself doing in your writing downtime?

I used to be a one-book-at-a-time type of writer, but lately I’ve found my interest wandering between a lot of projects, so I don’t have much writing downtime these days!

12. What do you hope for readers to take away from your book?

I hope the takeaway from The Witch’s Heart is that there’s always hope, even though it seems like the odds are stacked against you. You can always start over, reforge your identity, and be who the person you want to be. It’s never too late.  

Thank you so much Genevieve for coming onto my blog and The Witch’s Heart is out NOW! Grab your copy now with the links above. 

About the author

Genevieve Gornichec earned her degree in history from The Ohio State University, but she got as close to majoring in Vikings as she possibly could, and her study of the Norse myths and Icelandic sagas became her writing inspiration. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio. The Witch’s Heartis her debut novel.

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