Heima: Challenge to the Crown

by S.W. Gunn

Waking from injuries caused during the end of the Kostir, Daell Skeidsson finds himself having to quickly adjust to his new role as both the King of Heima and husband. He soon discovers that his new bride, the Queen of Heima Astir Jofurrsdotter, is everything that he could have ever dreamt of in a wife. On top of learning more about her, he discovers that his blossoming earthcrafting abilities continue to grow well past those of any other Jordling. This discovery will change everything known about Heima.
Now sitting on the throne, Astir has smoothly and easily adjusted to her role as the Queen of Heima. Her training provided her with everything that she needed to run the day to day operations of Heima but she soon quickly discovers that her training did not cover other aspects of life, especially when dealing with her new and very exciting relationship with Daell.
Their blossoming and joyful relationship, along with an untraditional journey to meet his parents, goes smoothly until a challenge to the crown arises. This challenge is nothing Astir was trained to deal with and shakes the entire foundation of Heima itself as it brings war to their very doorstep.

280 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 20, 2016

About the author

Born in Muskegon MI and raised in Concord CA, Heima: The Ninth Kostir is S.W. Gunn's first novel. He is 42 years old and married to his lovely wife Neeta. They have two boys, Shawn II and Spencer, and a cat named

In writing Heima he drew upon many of his own life interests and experiences. Things like his hobbies, which include writing, reading, video games (World of Warcraft), and card games (Magic the Gathering), have added little bits of inspiration or stoked his imagination.

One specific area that has inspired the words and phrases within Heima was Medieval Norse history (Specifically the era in which the Vikings existed). Personality quirks like his favorite color, which is purple, added to the novel (It is the favorite color of our erstwhile Princess Astir).

Other areas of inspiration that poke their heads in Heima include his Bachelor’s in History that he obtained from Chaminade University. Some of his favorite novels that are either especially entertaining or inspiring to him include: The Lord of the Rings/Hobbit series, any Star Trek book involving Klingons (especially from Keith R.A Candido), and lastly he loves the Trollslayer series from Warhammer. His favorite movie is “Tangled”, which he loves it because it is such a beautiful story with a pair of lead characters that play off each other both strongly and equally, which inspired the society of Heima.