When I toured Wales, Aberystwyth Castle was a must-see for me because it featured prominently in Heart of the Viking. It was amazing to stand in the places that my characters stood, to walk through the castle entrances, see the walls of the rooms, and look up the stairwells where so many pivotal scenes took place. But there is a scene in the book between the hero and the villain that was especially tense – it made the hair stand up on the back of my neck even when I was writing it! – and it takes place with the hero, Red, chained to the wall in the castle yard while the villain enters through the back gate on a dark and stormy night (of course!) and the two mortal enemies come face-to-face. I won’t say anymore as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who has not read the book yet, but it is one of the scenes in Heart of the Viking, that readers bring up to me the most often, usually followed by a shiver.
The path of the assassin through the back gate of Aberystwyth Castle in Wales as he stalked the hero in the night.