The Rise of Runes and Shields: The Seidr Saga Book 1

“a story fueled by passion and energy that will attract and delight young adult fantasy readers with its special brand of coming-of-age and magical transformations” – D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review

Witchcraft need not be evil.
Twins Freyja and Bjorn live in a time when Viking magic, called the Seidr, is deemed witchcraft and forbidden. When their home is attacked by men sent from the tyrannical local earl, who accuses their mother of a murder she did not commit, the twins are forced to flee into the night and onto an adventure to not only prove their mother’s innocence but also set to rights the ills created by the misuse of the Seidr.
Along the way, they both make new friends, reunite with lost allies, visit hidden worlds, and learn the true ways of the Seidr, until they find themselves caught in the middle of the never ending war of the Fire and Frost Giants. Bjorn must learn the ways of magic and Freyja the life of the shield maidens if they are to survive.

About the Author:
J. M. Stephen is an author and educator with a penchant for mythologies and history. She loves the woods, secluded places, reading Virginia Woolf and being out in nature. She has taught writing, literature and publishing at The Gotham Writer’s Workshop and The New School. Her articles and short stories have appeared in numerous publications. Aside from her young adult series, she is also the author of the adult biblical fantasy, Nod and four works of literary fiction. She now writes for the newspaper, The Deerfield Valley News in the southern Vermont town where she lives with her family.