Title: White Raven: Sword of Northern Ancestors
Author: Irina
Lopatina
Genre: Fantasy
Synospis: The fate of Areya rests with the lost sword
Urart. Will White Raven retrieve it before it's too late?
In the kingdom
of Areya, humans, animals, and the magical creatures that inhabit the Eternal
Forest have long coexisted peacefully, but now something is horribly wrong. A
terrifying stream of monstrous creatures has begun to emerge from the secret
depths of the earth, terrorizing all of Areya's native inhabitants. From the
tiny, wise drevalyankas to the bellicose cave-dwelling gnomes to the devious
kikimoras who gather roots and herbs in the marsh, everyone is in danger.
With the aid of
Urart, the magical sword that has been passed down from the time of the ancient
northern ancestors, Grand Duke Vlady can offer temporary protection to his
people. But Prince Vraigo, Vlady's nephew, who is endowed with magical power
himself, understands that the source of the evil monsters must be found if
there's any hope of survival. Along with a motley crew of his forest-dwelling
friends, Vraigo sets off on a perilous quest in search of the koschei, the
powerful, corrupt Archmagus whose mission is the destruction not just of Areya,
but of the entire world.
As if this
weren't bad enough, Urart disappears from the duke's stronghold. Without it,
Areya is doomed, and only Vraigo, the White Raven, can possibly get the sword
back. This journey requires Vraigo to use all of his keen wits and magical
abilities, as well as to ally himself to dangerous creatures like yagas and
werewolves, natural enemies of man, and precipitates the young prince into the
most bewildering, complex challenge he has faced yet: life in the twenty-first
century.
{ About the Author }
Irina Lopatina
lives and works in Siberia, Russia, but her homeland has an even more wonderful
and exotic name: Altai. It is a unique place where old Altai Mountains rise
high up to the sky, centuries-old forests stretch out as in ages past, and
mighty Siberian rivers flow along the plains. Altai is one of the few places in
the world where huge, densely populated cities coexist with pristine wild
places. Moreover, this is an area of the earliest human civilizations, through
which the great migration of people from eastern lands to Europe once took
place.
While studying
at the Altai State University, Irina devoted much attention to the past of her
native land. As a student, she went to the archaeological sites of ancient
settlements located on the mountain plateau, where it was only possible to
arrive on foot. She remembers moments when it was quite easy to imagine how the
ancient people had lived, what creatures neighbored them, and what adventures
took place in these vast spaces. Irina needed take only a small leap from there
to White Raven, his friends, and his enemies who were ready to begin a journey
through the Eternal Forest of Areya.
Of course, it
would have been much more difficult for her to create her stories if Irina had
not been inspired early on by the works of many excellent fantasy and science
fiction writers such as J.R. Tolkien and Ursula Le Guin, the Russian authors
Nick Perumov and Svyatoslav Loginov, as well as the wonderfully charming
Russian fairy tales where a brave prince, his faithful grey wolf and the evil
koschei always live. And so it happens that Irina's novels are the stories of a
distant, semi-fantastic land which, who knows, may still exist next door to us.
{ Author Interview }
Irina
Lopatina is the author of, White Raven:
The Sword of Northern Ancestors, set for release July 2012 by Light
Messages Publishing. She also recently published Tales From The Frog Forest, a collection of children's stories
about three unlikely playmates who learn to get along through hopping, flying,
and running.
Irina
lives in Siberia, Russia, near the ancient Altai mountains, a setting she says
provides perfect inspiration for fantasy stories. We recently interviewed her
about her writing and the source of her deeply creative stories. Join us as she
discusses why she writes, how she finds her characters, and offers some advice
for young authors.
Please
note: Irina speaks and writes only in Russian. Her answers here were translated
by Dmitry Lopatin, the translator of White Raven: The Sword of Northern Ancestors
and Tales From The Frog Forest.
A. This did not happen in a day. There always
were various stories occurring
in my head, and one day
I decided to write them down on paper.
2.
Which writer, if any, would you compare yourself to?
A. I did not
try to follow the style of other authors. I write as I think, so the readers
can learn much more about me from my books than from an interview (joking).
3.
If you couldn’t be a writer, what would you be?
A. I am a historian by education, so I would continue
teaching history at a college.
4.
What is your all time favorite book and why?
A. I would say
it is The Twelve Chairs, a classic satirical novel by Russian authors
Ilf and Petrov. These authors have the most keen wit in my opinion. I would
also mention sci-fi novels of the brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, Russian
science fiction authors, because I think they are some of the most creative authors.
All their novels differ from each other and have well-constructed concepts of
fantastic reality.
5.
Do you have any advice for budding young writers?
A. Just start writing, and in the process you
will see if you can become a writer.
6.
What inspired you to write White Raven?
A. The
classic fantasy novels that I read, Russian fairy tales, and the knowledge of the
history of different nations.
7.
What’s your favourite film adaption of a book?
A. Probably, I
will not be original
here – it is a screen version of The Lord of the Rings, directed by
Peter Jackson. It impresses me with
its meticulously worked out details that were described by J.R.R. Tolkien in
his book.
8.
Which character from a book, if any, would you most like to trade lives with?
A. When I was
a little girl, I really wanted to be Dorothy from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
And I even asked my friends to be Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Toto. ;)
9.
What are you working on next?
A. I have a rule not to reveal the secrets of a
book that is not yet completed. When the book is ready, you will definitely get
to know everything. (Hint: White Raven fans should be pleased with my
project.)
10. And lastly, If you could live in any other
era, which would you choose?
A. I am familiar a little with the past of
mankind because of my education, but its future is a big secret. So, I like to live at present and see how the
world is changing.
{ About the Illustrator }
Even as a child,
Igor Adasikov knew that he would be an artist.
While studying
at an art school, he devoted much of his time practicing classical drawing,
seeking to depict the world around him as fully as possible. His works often
won awards in Russian art contests, and he continued his education at Moscow
Art Institute. After graduating from the Institute, Igor worked as an artist
preferring realistic painting, such as portrait and landscape. However, his
rich imagination still needed an outlet and manifested itself in full while
illustrating the fantasy novel, White Raven: The Sword of Northern Ancestors.
Here, in the
surprising fairy-tale world, void of any boundaries, the artist found the
nourishment to feed his creativity. Having traveled with the heroes through the
whirlwind of adventures, he worked to give readers a visible image of Areya,
bringing to life the magical creatures that inhabit the land, and making
friends with the heroes of this fascinating story.
