What's the story behind A Strong Tower?

This novel is a re-telling of Hamlet (actually a pre-telling), slid from the 14th century into the 11th century and moved 6 months before Hamlet's dad is murdered.  While it starts on the cold parapet of Elsinore Castle (as Shakespeare's play does), there is no ghost since Hamlet (Sr.) is not dead (yet).  The characters in Hamlet will not use Shakespeare's un-Danish names.

This period of history in Scandinavia is a time of affluence.  Most of the wealth of Europe is here.  Life is easy.  Holding onto it is difficult.  Saxons (what will become northern Germany) are moving north into Jutland.  Normans are moving into the Danish-held British Isles.  Norway, Sweden, and Denmark constantly fight each other.

The story is told from the point of view of 3 Danes who go to work for the Roman Catholic church as a courier team delivering messages (and collecting information).  They work out of a Benedictine abbey (the Abbey of St. Knud) on the island of Fyn.

They are being led/trained by a monk, Brother Einar, from the abbey.  He is the quiet voice of God's wisdom in the background.

They will increasingly encounter Hamlet (Sr.), his son Hamlet, his mother Gertrude, and the uncle Claudius.  Most of the cast of Hamlet will be represented (Horatio, Polonius, Laertes, Ophelia, etc.).

At this point, it looks like I will be abandoning Shakespeare's non-Danish names for ones more consistent with that time in history.  For example, Hamlet's father is Knud II ("the Great").  Horatio is Hrothgar.  Elsinore Castle is Kronborg (the historic site Shakespeare used for the setting of his play).

Now, back to writing...