Wow thanks Phil, that was quite an endorsement to get from a former history instructor!

You are absolutely right about the title. My stories tend to start with a title and then they begin living a life of their own as I start writing. In the end it was perhaps not so much about Scandinavia as it was about a whole host of countries.

It is a topic I keep trying to get right. How countries prosper and progress has long fascinated me, whether it is political, social, scientific or economic development.

I am still wanting to write a story which combines the importance of water, wood, wool and metals. Like how ships required wood and smelting metal required wood. There is a lot of interesting stories about deforrestation of various countries and the terrible economic consequences afterwards.

It is interesting how very few history books or larger analysis I have ever read on how civilizations rise and fall have ever put much focus on that aspect.