After months and months with not many public updates on A Dagger in the Winds, the first book in my fantasy series based on Slavic mythology, I’m devoting this week’s Slavic Saturday to the book and some early insights into it.
Note: As I continue working on my edits of A Dagger in the Winds, I’m accepting advance readers (early reviewers) for the book! If you’re interested in free side novellas attached to the stories as well as early insights into the books, you can also join my monthly newsletter.
Firstly, the image above is a teaser of the illustration for the cover. The artwork for the cover was done by the very talented @Marichka_Art on Instagram. If you’re interested in more of her style, be sure to go check out some of her other art! The final release of the cover won’t be until early spring of 2021 due to the work of everything else on top of the illustration, but I’m excited to at least be able to share a taste of it with you all.
You may have noticed as well that the title of A Dagger in the Winds was hyperlinked above (and magically here as well, wow!). That’s because I’ve been working on my website here a bit and have finally created a preview page for the book. If you’re reading this, though, you don’t have to worry about clicking the link, because this article is also about revealing the (first draft) of the book’s description. This will be the first of the posts revealing more about the world, characters, etc. that will become more frequent as we get into next year.
When it comes to the series name, unfortunately, I still haven’t nailed down one. The good news is that I have a short-list, and I’d love your help to choose a series name. You can check out the names here, and vote in the poll. All who vote are registered for a drawing of a free signed paperback copy of A Dagger in the Winds upon release.
I’m also officially nailing down the release time frame for A Dagger in the Winds to be in the summer of 2021, likely July or August. My goal is for subsequent books in the series to be released quicker than the time-frame that I’ve been working on this book (since January!), and if you’d like to keep updated on my progress, you can check out the new progress tracker I have on my homepage.
Now, for the blurb I know you’ve been waiting for since I mentioned it three paragraphs ago! Check out below for the description of A Dagger in the Winds.
A rejected son with a hidden power.
A forgotten sorceress with the blessing of a goddess.
Forced apart for years, only together can they save their tribe.
Wacław has always been a wanderer, searching for a purpose. As the outcast son of the high chief, he’s dreamed of freedom ever since his father tore him from his best friend: the sorceress Otylia.
Four years after Marzanna, goddess of winter and death, stole her mother, Otylia has told herself she needs no one else. She’s the sole channeler of the wild goddess, Dziewanna. Everyone left her—even Wacław—but Dziewanna never would.
Today is the festival of the spring equinox, the day the spring gods will exile Marzanna. But when Otylia discovers Marzanna’s demons attacking Wacław after the festival, she realizes the dark truth about both the goddess and her lost friend.
Marzanna lives, and they are the only ones who can stop her endless winter.
On the journey that follows, Wacław and Otylia must face menacing demons, cursed forests, and even death itself. If they have any hope of surviving, though, first they must mend their broken relationship.
That’s all for this week’s Slavic Saturday. If you’d like to keep updated on the book, you can join my newsletter below. Be sure to keep a lookout for more posts next week, and if you haven’t seen the full series of posts, be sure to check them out.