Illustrating Runewood

A mythic novel from the imagination of Sölvör Bjarna

It is not a typical occurrence to see an eight-legged horse, even for a very unusual girl such as Brynja.
—Sölvör Bjarna, Runewood

During the pandemic, I found myself sitting on a boulder while staring out to sea. Clouds raced by and I was lost in thought about what exactly my output into the world should be. I had left a rural life that seemed ideal, for something that made very little sense - a house in the city, on the pure basis that I felt deeply that it was a necessary change in order to get to that wild place which called to me. I just wasn’t sure where or what it was. In the meantime, I was lost and often found myself sitting on boulders, staring at the water, the sky.

As I sat there, my phone buzzed: an email from author Sölvör Bjarna inquiring if I’d like to illustrate her work of fiction! It felt like a startling coincidence… a response to what I was pouring out into the universe at that very moment. Not a typical occurrence in the very least!

Sölvör invited me along into her world, full of the ancient animals that inhabit Norse mythology. I found myself curled up reading her first draft, carried along with Sleipnir to Yggdrasill, the sacred ash tree. Imagining the drawings that would soon take shape.

Sölvör Bjarna is a Canadian-Icelandic author whose roots trace back to ancient Icelandic poets. Their pens echo throughout the words she weaves beautifully in Runewood. My accompanying illustrations are simple silhouettes representing the mythical Norse animals, guiding the heroine on her otherworldly journey.

This summer, I had the pleasure to travel to the West Coast. Sölvör and I met up and she gifted me a beautiful Jörmungandr, the ouroboros of Norse mythology. A beautiful reminder that creation and destruction are intertwined in life as well as myth. One that matched perfectly with the illustrated cover of Runewood <3

This collaboration has been deeply meaningful. Thank you, reader, for joining me here, and thank you to Sölvör for taking a chance on me during a liminal period. Your work helped me through a strange, in-between place and I’m grateful for the friendship you’ve extended to me <3

You can explore more of Sölvör’s work (as well as find Runewood) at her website: solvorbjarna.com (it’s also available on Amazon). To follow along with her thoughtful musings, find her at Instagram @solvorbjarna.

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