Historical fiction novelist Octavia Randolph wants you to celebrate your wins
"Anytime you’ve connected with a single reader, that is a huge success and deserves celebration."
This week I’m talking with Octavia Randolph, a prolific and wildly successful author of historical novels and essays. She’s best known for her Circle of Ceridwen saga, a meticulously researched series of eleven—soon to be twelve, as To the Sun, her newest book, comes out September 1!—books set in ninth century England and Scandinavia.
Octavia created her own success—after traditional publishers turned her down, Octavia embraced independent publishing (there’s a difference between this and self-publishing that I wasn’t aware of until Octavia pointed it out—fascinating), and in our interview she gave a ton of insight into how she did it, both practically speaking and how she stays inspired to keep telling stories.
Octavia joined me from her home on Gotland, a small island off the coast of Sweden in the Baltic Sea where some of her novels are set and which was an important way station for the Vikings as the traveled East and West from Scandinavia. Connecting with her felt a little like time travel.

Listen to Octavia’s episodes:
Octavia Randolph, practical matters: An amazing writing process that starts outside at 6 am + Independent publishing vs. self-publishing
Octavia Randolph, inner stuff: Dealing with professional envy + an absolute master class on building a community of readers
Octavia Randolph, what’s coming up: Why Taylor Swift is a model for her + a glimpse of a big shift that’s brewing
Or, become a paid subscriber and listen to the full interview in one, ad-free episode 👇🏻
We covered:
Why ‘Viking’ isn’t really the right word to describe the people from Scandinavia who explored far and wide a millenia and a half ago
How a fascination with physical artifacts from England’s early history put her on the path to be a historical fiction author
How she found her way to massive publishing success despite having great agents and getting only rejections from traditional publishing houses
The difference between self-publishing and independent publishing–and a peek inside the cast of folks who make it possible for Octavia to edit and publish her books
How identifying with your characters is great, until you need to write scenes where they face hardship
Octavia gives a gosh-darn masterclass on building a community of readers NOT TO BE MISSED
The testy letter she received from a reader and how she responded
The critical importance of defining success for yourself, and not by looking at what other people have achieved
How she uses runes to stay connected to her characters and consider possibilities in her own life
The absolutely incredible sounding retreat she hosted for readers last year in Gotland, where she now lives and where many of her novels are set
Why she looks to Taylor Swift as a creative role model
The big shift she can sense is coming, although she can’t say more, but she did mentioned “a possibility of a television series”—and what she’s doing to stay grounded as it continues to unfold
The Henry James novel she re-reads each summer
How three cups of coffee is the perfect number of cups of coffee
The lunch she has had nearly every day for nearly 40 years
How a daily morning walk forms the basis of how she gets her writing done–that, and talking to herself as she writes
Links to specific things we discussed:
Gotland, the Swedish island where Octavia lives
Visby, the Unesco World Heritage site on Gotland
The Ambassadors, by Henry James, the novel Octavia re-reads every summer
Epidemic Sound, the Swedish streaming music service Octavia uses as a soundtrack for her videos and to set the mood while she’s writing
Where to find Octavia:
Visit Octavia at octavia.net
Check out the Circle of Ceridwen Saga private Facebook group
Follow Octavia on Facebook
Follow Octavia on YouTube
Listen to past episodes:
Hayley Krischer, practical matters: The power of just keeping going + how to capture those great ideas that come when you’re not at your desk
Hayley Krischer, inner stuff: True confessions about how “horrible” writing can feel + why–and how–she wrote her next novel in longhand
Hayley Krischer, what’s next: What she’s recently learned about understanding her character’s psyches + the incredible allure of hot tubs
Mark Cecil, practical matters: On writing multiple books before you get one published + the genius trick that kept him going
Mark Cecil, inner stuff: Why getting feedback on your work is like open-heart surgery + opting for the twisty path vs. the straight path to ‘success’
Mark Cecil: What’s coming up The iconic filmmaker who's a master myth maker + being honest about how much time you have for all the various parts of life
Full show notes for Mark Cecil
Julie Gerstenblatt, practical matters: On writing novels that will never be published + stepping out into a new genre
Julie Gerstenblatt, inner stuff: A ninja mind trick for making a daily writing goal seem easy + why you should show *and* tell
Julie Gerstenblatt, what’s next: How to approach writing about something you have little firsthand experience of + the magic of a Disney soundtrack
Full show notes for Julie Gerstenblatt