Tanishka Kundu
CCE CONTRIBUTOR
Three rows of wooden chairs have been strategically placed in front of the platform at the back-end of the Queen Street Commons Cafe. A community of writers, friends and family alike have come out to the reading of Katherine Anthony and Vanessa Ricci-Thode’s new books, published respectively by the home grown publishing house Crow Girl Publishing and Iguana Books.
Konstantin’s Gifts is not Anthony’s first book. She has written a variety of fantasy novels and runs Crow Girl Publishing. Her book is set in 19th century Russia, where serfdom was a dominant feature of the social fabric. In the book however, the Russian countryside is transformed into a land of vampires, werewolves and rusalkas (a combination of nymph and siren). It is a country where not only men and women, but souls are owned.
When asked about what got her interested in the issue of serfdom, Anthony tells us “It’s an issue that fascinates me. [By] Studying the law and human rights, and the idea that at one point, people could be owned & reading accounts of 19th century serfs. Konstantin and Sveta [characters in the book] were based on accounts by a house serf.”
Meanwhile, Ricci-Thode’s is a first time published author with Dragon Whisperer. The book’s main character, Dionelle, is a girl immune to fire. Just after her wedding, the regents of her land decide to give her the job of dragon whisperer when the previous one dies in a bar brawl. Caught between her monarchs, dragons and the complications of a new marriage, it is a tale of balance and harmony.
Dragon Whisperer won’t be the last book from Ricci-Thode however. Publisher at Iguana Books, Greg Ioannou gives us a heads up. Ricci-Thode has written over ten books, all of which are lined up for publishing.
Both books were written during the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), November 2009. NaNoWriMo is a challenge to all writers everywhere. They have to write a novel in a month. It also serves as a hub for writers and opens them up to a community that offers support and tips on how to write a novel.
After many revisions and a lot of editing, the books have been printed out and are lined up to a small table to the right of the stage. Although they are big fans of E-publishing, some hard copies have been bought out for the reading. They are on sale, and for the signing. Jessica Cowan, editor-by-night and one of the many people who helped in the writing of the books. “I’m really excited. I helped with this book, and my name is on the back,” Cowan said. “I’ve been waiting for it to come out. Vanessa’s done such a great job.”
The reading goes well. Where Anthony reads with a clear diction about the enchanting song of the rusalka meant to possess the human mind, Ricci-Thode reads to us about Dionelle’s frustration with the nobels’ stupidity about the dragons.
As the lights dim, the audience grabs copies of the new books. With new technology, it is much easier to be a published author. As writers, both Anthony and Ricci-Thode are very excited to have more people being able to read their books and we, as audience, are awaiting more of them.
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