READER’S GUIDE | FANTASY | FICTION
Reader’s Guide: Legend of the Storm Maiden
Your guide to my NaNoWriMo novel
Welcome to the reader’s guide to Legend of the Storm Maiden!
On 13 July 2022, I published the flash fiction story The Sea Fortress. It had been looming at the back of my head for a while and finally came to me when I sat on a rocky pier. I had to write it down that instant and scribbled desperately while the waves threw water at me from the left and right. It remains one of my most-read stories.
The Sea Fortress sparked the idea for a couple of serialised stories. At some point last summer, I stopped publishing new chapters. I didn’t get bored of the story but instead felt like this was the story I wanted to tell. That also meant that I should do it “right” at the time.
Stormborn, as the story was originally titled, returned to the back of my head and lingered until November approached, and many things changed. After studying which stories and concepts worked, I used NaNoWriMo to turn Stormborn into my prospectively first novel. It is slightly above 70k now, and I’m still motivated about the story.
The Storm Maiden
The story follows the adventures of a young female warrior, a shieldmaiden called Ylva. She lives in a society that resembles our world’s Vikings. However, Ylva wasn’t born into her community. The tide swept her ashore as a toddler, together with the strange debris of an unknown vessel.
A childless couple of innkeepers — Fjell and Lifa —takes in the child after finding her surrounded by debris on their inn’s waterside terrace. Although she grew up in the town of Stolthavn, Ylva has trouble fitting in. She possesses powers that she can control as barely as the community’s elders can explain them.
Lifa — the family’s sceptical voice of reason — is constantly worried about her daughter’s future and often at odds with her husband — a former adventurer and famous warrior — in this regard. Not only has Fjell taught his daughter how to wield a weapon from an early age, but the two share a hot temper. If Ylva doesn’t seek trouble herself, it usually comes around to check on her.
The novel tells of her quest to find answers about her powers and heritage.
The Story so Far
Prelude — The Sea Fortress
Chapter 1 — Legend of the Storm Maiden
Chapter 2 — Flotsam
Chapter 3 — Journeys of Regret
Chapter 4 —Return of the Champion
Chapter 5— Memories in the Moonlight
World-Building—Myths, history and more from the World of the Storm Maiden
Here you can find stories about myths, history, cultures and much more based on Ylva’s world. I previously posted these stories or cross-post them on the novel’s World Anvil page.
World-Building — Stories based in the World of the Storm Maiden
A collection of stories based in Ylva’s world but not necessarily connected to the main story or even happening in the same period.
Feedback to Legend of the Storm Maiden
You can find out more about Stormborn: The Legend of the Storm Maiden on my Patreon and the story’s growing WorldAnvil page:
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