Mystery and Tragedy: John Gwynne on Writing and Life
From windswept battles to arcs of bloody vengeance and betrayal, John Gwynne’s Bloodsworn Trilogy has been an epic ride. John has penned an exclusive essay on how it feels to wrap this trilogy, and the hardships he and his family faced while writing The Fury of the Gods. Here’s John Gywnne, in his own words.
Paperback $21.99
The Fury of the Gods
The Fury of the Gods
By John Gwynne
In Stock Online
Paperback $21.99
Game of Thrones meets Vikings, for fans of ancient magic, fierce warriors and bloody battles.
Game of Thrones meets Vikings, for fans of ancient magic, fierce warriors and bloody battles.
Writing the Bloodsworn Saga has been my love-letter to Norse mythology. Admittedly not so much a loving Shakespeare-like sonnet; more like a war-torn, fire-blackened, blood-soaked shred of crumpled parchment.
I fell in love with Norse mythology early, having a clear memory of reading a retelling of Beowulf when I was nine or ten years old. Dragons, berserkers, monsters, I loved it all, and after that it was a slippery slope of giant wolves and serpents, talking crows, deceitful gods and the battle to end all battles: Ragnarök. There is something about Norse mythology that I find fascinating and enthralling. Its mystery, its tragedy, its darkly pragmatic, comic view of both the gods and humanity. And of course, its brutal, bone-crunchingly epic battles.
As I grew older I became as equally fascinated with the historical period of the Viking era, and this combination might go some way to explaining why I am now a Viking re-enactor, something that I do with my three sons. There are few things that are quite so much fun as dressing up in a coat of mail, buckling on a helm and standing in the shield wall, shield and axe in my fists, my sons either side of me.
I wrote book one, the Shadow of the Gods, in 2020 and it was published in May 2021, by which time I had already finished book two, the Hunger of the Gods.
And then my life changed, forever.
If I am going to talk about the behind the scenes of the Fury of the Gods then at this point I must talk about events that happened in my personal life, as they had a profound impact on my writing.
In September 2021 my beautiful daughter Harriett died.
It was like stepping on a landmine, an explosion going off in my world, hurling myself and my family into a world of pain and grief, changing everything.
For a parent, losing a child is the ultimate wrong. I retreated from the world, just focusing in on my wife and sons, Caroline, James Ed and Will. Work, writing, research, social media, even reading, it all stopped as we tried to get through the pain of one day at a time, sometimes one moment at a time. All of us trying to hold each other up, while at the same time broken by our own grief.
Looking back on the first year is like peering through a fog. Myself and my family – my wife and three sons – were in shock. Much of that time swung between raw pain and a kind of numb autopilot. In many ways the second year was harder, the pain more acute, the sense of loss overwhelming. Some days the pain of losing Harriett was almost unbearable, some days I could function on a basic level, other days…not at all. By the third year, it is not that you come through the grief, or that it lessens, I think it is more that you start to learn to live with the grief and pain, learn to function despite the pain. And slowly the pain moves from a constant, overwhelming barrage to an ebb and flow, though with no discernible rhythm. Some days are filled with dark clouds, some days the storm comes, and other days, or moments, you can see the sun.
It was not until the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024 that I sat down to try and write the Fury of the Gods, the third and final installment of the Bloodsworn Saga. I was anxious about it, as I had not written a word since April 2021, but once I started writing it was like the dam bursting. Going back to the world of the Bloodsworn felt like being reunited with old friends, and the words just poured out of me. It was an intense time, exhausting, draining, but also cathartic in some way. I wrote for long stretches at a time, beginning and ending in the dark, and by April 2024 the Fury of the Gods was finished.
I think it’s important to say that just because I’ve managed to write this book it doesn’t mean that I have ‘come through’ the grief, or ‘moved on’ from the pain of losing Harriett. It doesn’t work like that, at least, not for me. It’s more like an ever-present pain that I have learned to live with, to walk alongside. Grief is more than a short, sharp shock. It is an ocean that surrounds you, with no shore in sight. My family and I have had to learn to swim through it, its presence constant, ever-felt. And at the foundation of it all, I just miss Harriett so much. Her smile that would light up a room, the mischievous twinkle in her eyes, the way she would just hold my hand.
So, this is our life, now, learning to live without our Harriett, learning to live with grief. Learning to brace ourselves against the pain and trying to look to the good things worth living for. For me that is my wife, my children, my grand-children. My friends. And somehow I have been able to return to books. Both reading and writing.
Writing The Fury of the Gods has been both a sprint and a marathon. There were many times I feared I would not be able to finish it. Without the love, support and help of many people I am sure that I would have faltered. My family, my friends, and of course my fabulous agent Julie Crisp and wonderful publishers Orbit. They put zero pressure on me to write this book and finish the series, for which I am immeasurably grateful.
So, for the first time in my writing career there has been more than a year-long gap between my books. During this time I have heard from many of my readers, all of you so very kind. There have been so many messages of love and support, and I am deeply grateful for those kind words, offering their sympathies and kindness, offering support and never putting any pressure on me to write and finish the Fury of the Gods. I will be forever grateful to the people who took of their time to message and send me their love. Nothing can change the pain of losing my daughter, but knowing that there are people out there who care enough to take the time to send a message, well, somehow it does help. It has meant a great deal through the darkest, most awful of times.
And now here we are, and the Fury of the Gods is almost upon us. I hope that you enjoy it, I hope that you feel it was worth waiting for. I hope that the characters take you on an emotional journey. I know that my writing may contain a battle or two, but at the heart of it are the characters, their journeys, their loves and their losses. Family and friendship are my guiding stars, and I hope that comes through in my writing. Most of all in reading the Fury of the Gods I hope that you enjoy going back to the Battle-Plain and taking one last journey with the Bloodsworn.
