Iceland Research That Shaped Icy Betrayals
Do you ever research the place you’re writing about?
Yes, though this is the *first time* I’ve managed to visit somewhere with the intent to write about it later.
Visiting Iceland in April 2024 profoundly changed the plot for ICY BETRAYALS.
How so?
Seeing the land at the tail end of winter, while snow still flurried, while nothing (much) was green and growing, let me have a close look at the landscape.
Walking to Europe
On this first trip to Iceland, it was snowing when we landed… and drove to Europe.
Wait, what? How? Where?
The Bridge Between Continents on the Reykjanes Peninsula spans a fissure between the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate.
Iceland sits on both plates which are slowly pulling apart (about 2–3 cm per year), creating visible cracks, fissures, and rifts across the island.
Earthquakes (especially minor ones) are very common.
Visits to bookstores were VERY NECESSARY
Not only did I spend much time online researching things, I returned with tall stack of books to read. Here’s the book haul from my April 2024 trip to Iceland.
RUNES
Runes play a large role in ICY BETRAYALS, so I spent a bit of time reading up on them. Here’s a whole blog post about the different runic writing systems and how they can be used to form bindrunes.
One fact I stumbled across was: Icelanders Can Read Viking Sagas in the original language. If they learn the sounds of runes, they can (usually) understand what’s written.
ICY BETRAYALS is partly set in Húsafell, Iceland. So when we returned in September 2025, I absolutely needed to visit a few of the places I’d written about, but hadn’t manged to visit the first time.
On our visit to Húsafell, our guide was thrilled to learn about a book that had been set there, one with huldufólk and trolls. So I asked Bjarni if it was true that Icelandic people could still read Viking sagas.
Yes, he replied. And, when pressed, he did confirm that if he pondered the sounds of runes, he could work his way through that text as well.
THEN he told me he had an ancestor who’d written poetry, would I like to hear it? Yes! Could I record and share it? Yes!
He pulled the car over, pulled up the ancient words on his phone and read this for us.
“A farmer called Ian S. I am related to him in the 30th generation. He was born in the year 910. And here are three of his verses.”
Listen to him read aloud:
Hraunfossar
Real world book inspiration: Hraunfossar near Húsafell… so many waterfalls, but which one? If you’ve read ICY BETRAYALS, you might just feel like this landscape is familiar…
Húsafell Canyon Baths
When I was writing ICY BETRAYALS, I spent a lot of time looking at maps. Some of that asking myself, “Why is Húsafell listed like a city but I can’t find a town?”
Google Earth shrugged.
On location we learned one large family owns all the land and you’re more or less owning campground level cabins there. It’s not a town town.
The area has lots of farms, access to a river valley with waterfalls, trips to glaciers, a goat farm, a nearby fancy hot springs place and the hottest water spring in Europe… lots to see. And, of course, the place I modeled a setting on in ICY BETRAYALS, these canyon baths.
So, when we arrived, I ran out to take a few quick photos/videos with Jeff while the other two people (shoulder season) were changing into swimsuits before we too climbed into the hottest of the two pools.
Did Jeff try the stream? He did, along with the other two guys, but all three of them only made it up to their knees before running back to the hot springs.
Sheep were everywhere in Iceland when we visited in September (but still inside their barns in April). But I saw no goats. And I’d written one into ICY BETRAYALS.
I was certain I’d read about goats in Iceland. Nearly. Worried, I started googling on the road.
A goat farm! And it was near Húsafell. My memory wasn’t failing.
It was the same farm where Game of Thrones found their goats for season four.
Háafell Goat Farm
Friðheimar
And what about greenhouses? One of my goals during our return trip was to visit Friðheimar, known for growing tomatoes and serving tomato-based foods in a restaurant inside of a greenhouse (if you want to visit, make your reservations well ahead of time!).
With limited light and heat, how can Iceland grow its own food all winter? They tap into the “low” temperature geothermal feilds and circulate warm water through a system of pipes in the walls and floors of greenhouses. In this video, you can see tomatoes growing via hydroponics. They’re planted in a “log” of sorts, then string is tied to the top of the plant and the ceiling. As the plant grows, the string is wound up until there are vines stretching from floor to ceiling. They produce 700 tons of tomatoes a year, roughly 39% of Iceland’s consumption.
Þingvellir
Later in the story, we visit this historic location. I’ve an entire blog post with more photos and history of the location.
A View from Lögberg Law Rock
What with there being a rather important scene that takes place here, I took a minute to film a 360° for you. You’ll just need to use your awesome reader imagination skills to cover the landscape with snow.
Drekkingarhylur
“Tell me something about what inspired a scene in your book.”
This view from April 2024.
Drekkingarhylur, or the Drowning Pool, at Þingvellir National Park in Iceland is a natural pool in the Öxará river that was used as an official execution site for women during the 16th-18th centuries.
Records list 18 women as executed in this manner, with the last one recorded in 1739. Their names are listed on a plaque beside the pool to remember the lives lost to the harsh justice of past centuries.
While writing, I found myself wondering, squinty-eyed, if the Vikings colonized Iceland, why wasn’t Norway in charge?
And I fell down a research rabbit hole.
One so deep that when recent events made Greenland a topic and my eldest wondered aloud why Iceland was its own country while Denmark ruled Greenland, I puffed up and said “because Napoleon lost” and launched into an explanation of the Treaty of Kiel. So I present, written for you (without spoilers), a bullet-point easy-to-follow:
Timeline of Icelandic Rule
Raufarhólshellir, The Lava Tube
If you’ve read ICY BETRAYALS, you’re familiar with this particular “cave”. It’s about 30 minutes by car from Reykjavík. (And about 41 km or 25 miles from Þingvellir as the crow flies. IYKYK)
Travel photos from April 2024
Dýri was outside again in Sept. 2025 – this time we met his human. Yes, three legs. She told us he was indeed named “Animal” after the muppet. Turns out he has quite the fan club in Reykjavík.
Stóri-Kambur (Horse Farm)
Skogar Museum (Cultural Heritage)
Kvernufoss (Waterfall)
Mývatn (Home of the Yule Lads)
Eiríksstaðir Museum: 10th Century Viking Longhouse
One Last Thing:
What’s that around his neck?
What’s he looking for?
Can anyone guess?
I name it in the book…