Why Am I Reading Grimdark? Recently I decided, for reasons that will become clear later this summer (how’s that for a teaser?), …
How to Build a World in Both History and Fiction
This post originally appeared on November 14, 2019, on A Light So Lovely. I’ve been thinking, lately, about the question of …
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A Phrasebook for Travelers from Slavic Mythology
Secondary Belief Part of what makes good fantasy great is effective world-building. The ability to suggest a realistic world, …
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How a Group of Young Russians are Creating Culture with Folk Music
It's been a while since I've posted anything about Russian culture or history on my blog. There have been lots of good reasons for …
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Nietzsche’s Superman: the Perfect Villain or Anti-Hero
There's one thing no one does enough of these days. Read philosophy. As I've been going through this first semester of my Masters …
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Two Ways of Writing “Christian Fantasy”
You might think we're living in an age remarkable for its low level of culture and thought. People on all sides of every …
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Monsters from Slavic Mythology: Mermaids, Water Spirits, Vilas
Have you ever heard writers say something strange like, "My characters have minds of their own"? They go on to complain that …
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Renaissance Man: Seven Inventions of the Russian Leonardo da Vinci
When you think about the great inventors of history, a few names come up: Archimedes, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Thomas Edison. …
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Water in Slavic Mythology (Part 2)
Have you ever seen photos of Russians getting in long lines in the middle of winter only to jump into a cut-out in the ice? Have …
When evil seems unbeatable…
Have you noticed a strange thing about modern culture? People everywhere are complaining that the world is becoming a more evil …
Water in Slavic Mythology: the Giver of Life and Death, Part 1
Perhaps the most mythologized element in Slavic mythology is water. In my own first novel, The Song of the Sirin, the Water of …
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The Rosetta Stone for Old Rus Was… a Piece of Birch Bark?
Have you read Evgenii Vodolazkin’s excellent novel Laurus? If you haven’t, you’ve deprived yourselves of a rare experience of …
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The Path of the Artist: remembering the art of Pavel Ryzhenko
As a writer, I find myself as inspired by painters as I am by other writers. One of my favorite artists is Pavel Ryzhenko, who …
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Fantasy for our time: my writer’s manifesto
Ask pretty much anyone what is the one pop-cultural event that they’re waiting for more than any other. What do you think they’ll …
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Radonitsa: How Russians Give Joy to Their Dead
As much as my stories are traditional historical fantasies set in a mythical early Rus, the events and characters are equally …
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Villains of Slavic Mythology: Koshchei the Deathless
This week we're continuing the theme of "the invisible world in Slavic mythology." After the hero has passed the trials of Baba …
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The Land of the Dead in Slavic Mythology
Nearly all tales from Slavic mythology are fascinated with death. This is perhaps not surprising to anyone who knows Russian folk …
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Slavic Mythology Spotlight: The Tale of St. Theodore the Tyro
Babies are the best storytellers. Uninhibited by any rules, they freely mash up everything they know into amazing works of …
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