Viking Voyager: An Icelandic Memoir

Today it is my pleasure to welcome authors Sverrir Sigurdsson and Veronica Li and Sverrir’s memoir/autobiography, Viking Voyager: An Icelandic Memoir.

 

 Author’s description

This vivacious personal story captures the heart and soul of modern Iceland. Born in Reykjavik on the eve of the Second World War, Sverrir Sigurdsson watched Allied troops invade his country and turn it into a bulwark against Hitler’s advance toward North America. The country’s post-war transformation from an obscure, dirt-poor nation to a prosperous one became every Icelander’s success. Spurred by this favorable wind, Sverrir answered the call of his Viking forefathers, setting off on a voyage that took him around the world.

About the Authors

Sverrir Sigurdsson grew up in Iceland and graduated as an architect from Finland in 1966. He pursued an international career that took him to the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and the U.S. His assignments focused on school construction and improving education in developing countries. He has worked for private companies, as well as UNESCO and the World Bank. He is now retired and lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and coauthor, Veronica.

Veronica Li emigrated to the U.S. from Hong Kong as a teenager. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and her master’s degree in International Affairs from Johns Hopkins University. She has worked as a journalist and for the World Bank, and is currently a writer. Her three previously published titles are: Nightfall in Mogadishu, Journey across the Four Seas: A Chinese Woman’s Search for Home, and Confucius Says: A Novel. Her website is www.veronicali.com.

Find the Authors

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Sverrir-Sigurdsson/e/B08LFYCCPD
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Veronica-Li/e/B001JOSCAQ

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tssigurdsson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/veronica.li.39

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sverrir_Sigurds
Twitter: https://twitter.com/VeronicaLi5

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/142534.Veronica_Li

Buy the Book

The Book will be $1.99 during the tour.

Amazon.com buy link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08MDMRM66/

Amazon.ca buy link: https://www.amazon.ca/Viking-Voyager-Icelandic-Sverrir-Sigurdsson-ebook/dp/B08MDMRM66/

 Yes, there is a giveaway

The authors will be awarding a $50 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Enter here to win.

This post is part of a tour sponsored by Goddess Fish. Check out all the other tour stops. If you drop by each of these and comment, you will greatly increase your chances of winning.

My Favorite Excerpt

One memorable incident took place [in 1968] during our drive through Anbar province in Iraq. The place was unheard of when I motored through, but after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, this Sunni stronghold of Saddam Hussein’s became world renowned for insurgency and suicide bombings. Even during my days, traveling in this neighborhood was dicey. While guessing my way through the desert of Al Anbar, we passed a ghastly sight. It was the charred remains of what looked like a small industrial complex. The scene evoked news articles about an Israeli air raid on an Iraqi nuclear research facility. I knew we shouldn’t be there, but there was no other way out than to keep driving. Soon after, a military patrol pulled up alongside. I stopped the car, and we all got out to show them exactly who we were, a family of dumb, lost foreigners.

A soldier peered into my car. He started shouting angrily in Arabic, his finger jabbing at the camera on the back seat. They hustled us all back into the Peugeot, I in the driver’s seat, Monika next to me, while Steinn shared the back seat with the soldier. I felt something hard poke at my spine. I glanced at the rearview mirror and realized the object was the muzzle of the soldier’s machine pistol. The drive lasted an hour at most, but it seemed like eternity. To prevent an accidental burst from the gun, I took it slow and easy on the desert tracks.

Thank you!

Sverrir Sigurdsson and Veronica Li — we appreciate your sharing Viking Voyager: An Icelandic Memoir with us! Best of luck with sales, and with all of your future writing.

15 thoughts on “Viking Voyager: An Icelandic Memoir

  1. Thanks for hosting. I’d like to point out my book is $1.99 during the virtual book tour Nov. 23-Dec. 18. I tried to lower it to $0.99 but Amazon won’t allow it because the file is too big. It contains color photos of gorgeous Icelandic scenery.

    • Victoria, the excerpt is about my road trip in the Middle East shortly after the Six Day War with Israel. Not the safest place to drive around in, but I was a fearless young Viking then.

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