Mother Christmas - by Valya Dudycz Lupescu (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

An exquisitely unique retelling of the origin of jolly, old St. Nick.

Volume 1: The Muse

It's the one story of magic and wonder everyone thinks they know--yet the most epic part of the tale remains shrouded in mystery. What actually happened 1,800 years ago to transform a starry-eyed young priest named Nicholas into a winter wizard destined to circle the world on a sleigh of hope? Now, the secret is revealed: She happened. This is the story of Amara, one of the legendary Muses of the House of Polyhymnia. Sent by the Muses to a small town in ancient Lycia, Amara sees something special in Nicholas's kindness and generosity. As she prepares to defend humankind against the Kobaloi, creatures who feed on fear and chaos, she senses this young man may be the partner she needs to stand against their growing power. But binding her fate and her magic to Saint Nicholas will mean breaking the laws of the Muses--and risking their eternal wrath.

Review Quotes

"Colorful and attractive design and drawing, good character
work, interesting take on myths and legends. Very entertaining!"--Colleen
Doran, New York Times bestselling
cartoonist (Sandman, Wonder Woman, Neil
Gaiman's Chivalry, Snow Glasss Apples)

"The new mythos Valya Lupescu and Vic Terra have created in Mother Christmas is as rich as it is
colorful! I was lost in the gorgeous art and story and I was sorely
disappointed when I found out I only had the first arc to read! I can't wait to
find out what happens next!"--Jill Thompson, Eisner award winning artist and
creator of The Scary Godmother

"A wondrous story about friendship and the magic we all hold
deep inside." --Cynthia von Buhler, author/artist of The Illuminati Ball

"A colourful,
imaginative, and heartfelt beginning, empathetically wordspun by Lupescu and
vividly illustrated by Terra."--Brooke Bolander

About the Author

Valya Dudycz Lupescu has been making magic with food and words for more than 20 years, incorporating folklore from her Ukrainian heritage with practices that honor the Earth. She's a writer, instructional designer, and mother of three teenagers. Valya is the author of The Silence of Trees and the founding editor of Conclave: A Journal of Character. Along with Stephen H. Segal, she is the coauthor of Forking Good: An Unofficial Cookbook for Fans of the Good Place (Quirk Books) and Geek Parenting: What Joffrey, Jor-El, Maleficent, and the McFlys Teach Us about Raising a Family (Quirk Books). They are also the co-founders of the Wyrd Words storytelling laboratory. Valya earned her MFA in Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and her poetry and prose have been published in anthologies and magazines that include The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Kenyon Review, Culture, Gargoyle Magazine, Gone Lawn, Strange Horizons, Mythic Delirium.

Vic Terra, AKA Kennedhi, is a Brazilian artist, visual designer, aspiring writer, and illustrator of the Mother Christmas graphic novel. Terra loves drawing vampires, dragons, monsters, and creatures in general. She's also skilled at video editing, animating, 3D modeling, and throwing axes.