It’s a Book!
And a War.
I had just published the first novel in my magical realism trilogy, “Tales of the Wandering Mists: A Fairy Tale,” when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022.
In January 2022, I had just received a commission for two scripts: one for children and one for an adult audience. We began meeting with the actors and discussing the details. I remember the night of February 23-24, when I was working on the final scene of the children’s play, and I fell asleep a couple of hours before the first Russian missiles screamed toward Odesa.
All hell breaks loose
And from that day on, life changed completely. My work in real estate was put on hold. My scripts were put on hold. My books were put on hold. Only the war remained.
From the first day, I tried to understand who I was and where I was amid this reality. I, a person who had been absolutely peaceful and far from the army and politics, found myself in the middle of explosions and the suffering of ordinary people. My friends were dying, my relatives were suffering. Russians were inflicting atrocities. Every day the news was more nightmarish than the day before. There was the occupation of Kherson, Bucha, Irpin. There were terrible events at the front, bombings of peaceful cities, destruction of life and culture.
This video shows some of these Sentinels at the frontline expressing their appreciation for our support.
The greater good
But throughout the country also emerged brave souls who, like the Sentinel characters in my Fairy Tale, defended the world from the enemy invasion, day after day. It really seemed as if the Tale were some kind of prophecy.
In 2022, I joined the Ukrainian volunteer movement to provide support to civilians, animals, and our brave defenders on the front lines. My friends and I delivering water to Mykolaiv when the Russians cut off the city’s water supply. We created the “NAFO Odesa Squad” team, started helping people in the devastated, de-occupied territories of the Kherson region, and supporting the frontline defenders in any way we could.
I am grateful to all the good people in the world who support us every day. And I’m grateful to my publisher, Pierce Press, and my English translator, Marina Palenyy, who believed that my book should be published in English so that it could be shared with readers around the world.
More magic to come!
I hope you enjoy this book when it is published in English and eventually in other laguages, and I thank you from the depths of my heart for your support. The second and third parts of the Tale are ahead. And, believe me, everything will be fine. Because real miracles happen at every step. You just have to notice them in every drop of rain, in every ray of sunshine, and in every child’s smile.
After getting to know him, Pierce Press decided that all proceeds after production costs should go to Oleg, who has suspended his career to support Ukraine’s fight for freedom; the publisher will not retain any net revenue for this first book in The Tales of the Wandering Mists trilogy.
