I’ve always liked reading Norse myths and legends, and the Icelandic Sagas, written in the Middle Ages by the descendents of Vikings. The Sagas are interesting because they mix ordinary domestic stories about farms and families with sudden bits of supernatural stuff, featuring ghosts and trolls. The fantasy never takes over, but it never goes away either; it’s just taken for granted by the people as something on the margin of their lives. I was keen to try a saga of my own, which would explore themes of story-telling and family life, and began jotting down a few fragments of story.