Local author finding success with Viking time-travel romance series

North Kildonan

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/04/2025 (271 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Susan Haire’s literary time travels have garnered her some international recognition.

The North Kildonan resident, who writes under the pen name Maureen Castell, is a published author of what she describes as “Viking time travel romance”.

Haire, 74, found out earlier this year she’d won the 2024 Diamond Heart Award for speculative fiction from the Romance Writers Association of America. She won for her first published novel, The Viking Who Fell Through Time, which was published by Champagne Book Group in 2022, when Haire was 71.

“It feels fantastic,” Haire said recently, noting the award ceremony was held via Zoom. “And being my first book, too, and my first time as a published fiction author.”

Haire’s second book in the series, published in 2023, is called The Viking’s Shadow Lady, and the third, published in 2024, is called A Viking in Atlantis. The fourth book in the series is expected later this year.

The northeast Winnipeg resident, who was a technical writer for more than 30 years before retiring in 2019, said one of the main features of her books is finishing with a positive outcome. She’s been writing fiction since high school, but started taking the pursuit more seriously around the turn of the century: “I was then lucky enough to be accepted into a mentorship program at RWA in 2021.”

“One of the main requirements of romance writing is having happy endings,” Haire said, noting the series focuses on the historical aspects of time travel, and also survival.

Haire’s website includes descriptions of the her books, a biography, and a list of some of the events she’ll be attending this year, some of which she may even attend dressed as “a Viking housewife.”

Visit maureencastell.com for more information.