While she was writing, Anna Ciddor formed a picture in her mind of the characters in the story. When the publisher decided to use a photo on the front cover, Anna had to hunt for a boy and a girl who looked the same as the pictures in her imagination – and were the right age.

This is how Oddo is described in Runestone: ‘a thin boy with a pointy face’, his ‘hair gleamed like the bronze buckle on his belt,’ and he had ‘a big, toothy grin’.

This is how Thora is described: ‘honey-coloured hair … plaited and twirled round her head. Her face … rosy and chubby’