Speed of Winter

Nora stretched her arm right back and threw the stone as hard as she could towards the hole in the middle of the frozen lake. The stone spun through the air but just as it was about to land a hand pushed its way out of the water and caught it. The hand was followed by a long arm, then a head and a body. And legs. An old man, dressed in a long green robe rose from the lake.

His feet floated a few inches over the ice. Then he bent down and blew on his hand towards the hole he had come from. The hole turned white and then was smooth with ice.

Speed of Winter is about a young girl who becomes the apprentice to Jack Frost.

The Series

Viking Kite stories are written by English-Swedish writers, Andy Coombs and Sarah Scho - both authors and teachers with more than 40 books published and a million books sold in Sweden. They are the all-time, best-selling educational authors in Scandinavia and live just outside Stockholm in a forest cottage with their little black and white dog, Nimly.

Viking Kite celebrates Scandinavia’s progressive approach to gender, race, identity, social fairness and inclusivity. Andy and Sarah have been educating and entertaining Sweden’s youth for twenty years - and now, finally, in the Spring of 2021, their stories can be read anywhere in the world. All Swedish/English translations are done by Inger Stroemsten.

These 23 stories are aimed at MG and YA and range from alien angels to time travelling Romans. Bullying to the closest friendships. Personal identity and growth, to animal minds and ancient tribes of wild horses.

The Stories

Viking Kite stories take us to alien worlds, the distant past, Neanderthal life, lonely mermaids, lost Valkyrie, hungry vampires and powerful wizards. Genre-spanning and fast-paced. The books are in three exciting genres: Strange Life, Different Minds and Shadow Side.

Strange life stories explore ideas like identity, fitting-in, bullying, family dynamics, and social issues.

Different minds are an exploration of the other; if evolution were a living being what would it say? What is animal consciousness and how would the ancient Romans see us? New ways of thinking; different minds to explore. Empathy. Learning. Imagination.

Shadow side stories are darker in tone. From cheating to parental neglect. Coping with inner rage to ending hatred. Living with death and loss and crime. There are also a few monsters, vampires and ghosts…but not as you might expect.