Hello from gorgeous cow country in upstate NY!
Today, according to the Old Julian Calendar, it's St. Nicholas Day. As it should be, last evening was fabulously cold, with a wind chill of -25 F and temperatures in the single digits. I tried to drive in those conditions. Let me tell you, all those fairy tales about the horrors of winter? They're not fairy tales. The white-outs almost had faces, they were so intent on attacking my poor car.
It was fun.
Also as it should be, I'm thrilled to share a present with you today. Many of you have asked me about Russian fairy tale collections in English. My answers have generally been non-committal, partially because most translations don't quite capture the magic of the original Russian. But the other reason is that I'm going to be doing my own translations and eventually collections of translations of the most famous Russian tales.
I'm also going to be starting a new podcast, where I'll be telling famous Slavic tales, then discussing them afterward. The idea is less to deconstruct them (Heaven forbid!) but more to share some ideas about why these tales remain so compelling and immortal. I'll let you know when that podcast becomes official. At this point, I'm still prepping it and exploring options.
I hope to have something more concrete on this front by mid-January.
But in the meantime, here's your present: "The Tale of Ivan the Prince and the Grey Wolf," translated by me, in any ebook format you like, as well as pdf.
Click here to receive your free gift!
If you prefer to read on a website, here's the link for you.
Second gift: a special deal
I'm also thrilled to let you know that I've bundled three authors who publish with my publisher, Waystone Press, and I'm offering the ebook box set at a reduced price for a limited time. Here's the cover image and blurb:
An impossible quest into the realm of fairy tales. A magical journey to a land of pirates and Jinn. A sojourn across time and space to a new world of wonders. In Worlds Enough and Time, you get three stories for the price of one!
The Song of the Sirin by Nicholas Kotar is the first volume of the Raven Son epic fantasy series inspired by Russian fairy tales. If you love complex characters, unexpected twists, and gorgeous worldbuilding, you'll love this book.
The Hidden Island by Richard Garcia Morgan is the first book in a young adult Fantasy series, Tales from Mysterion. If you liked The Neverending Story and The Chronicles of Narnia, you’ll love this coming of age tale in a world of mythical talking creatures, magic, and high adventure.
The Dome-Singer of Falenda is a stand-alone young adult fantasy by Katherine Bolger Hyde. A Wrinkle in Time meets C. S. Lewis's Space Trilogy in this adventure for all ages.
Buy Worlds Enough and Time to enter a world of adventure and inspiration today!
Another Deal Coming up!
I was very, very happy to recently be chosen for a Bookbub international feature deal. For those who don't know, Bookbub is a company that runs a mailing list of readers who love to buy books on discount. To get a US Bookbub is the Holy Grail of indie publishing. Well, I got the slightly less impressive international version.
But the important thing is that starting on December 22 and ending on December 29, The Song of the Sirin will be 99c (or the equivalent) in the UK, Canada, Australia, and India books markets on all retailers. I know I've not been very good about discounting for my international readers, but here's your chance!
I'll send you a reminder email on Sunday about the Bookbub deal.
In the meantime, thank you again and again for coming along with me on my writerly adventures!
~Nicky