Ken Czech
Author of Historical Fiction
History has been my passion since I was a wee lad. After retiring from a career of teaching history at both secondary and higher education levels, I've turned that passion to writing historical novels. My stories combine fiction with actual events and actors taken from the past. My wife Mary and I live on an abandoned granite quarry in Minnesota where we enjoy the wildlife and the changing seasons. That's where our writing happens.
KISS OF FROST AND FLAME
Siberia, 1581. When Umey, an outcast woman of Samoyed and Russian blood, stumbles on a ravaged village, she unwittingly uncovers a plot that threatens to devastate her beloved forests and the tribal folk who live there. It's furs—soft gold—the invading Cossacks crave, and the greediest of them is Yermak, the man who saved her life and raised her.
Armed with fearsome muskets, the Cossacks plunge deeper into Siberia. Umey is soon forced to make a choice: accept Yermak's protection, or use her woodland skills to aid the tribes in their desperate resistance. Umey and Alexey, a Russian soldier who has seen too much war, are soon enmeshed in an unfolding crucible of destruction where they must rely on their courage and newfound love if they are to survive.
"I was immediately drawn in by the atmospheric and descriptive effort that Czech put into his writing to bring the wilds of Siberia to life. I was fascinated by the customs and tribal people as well as the beauty of nature … Umey’s gentle but unwavering courage makes her a protagonist whom you grow to feel deeply for during the adventure. Overall, Kiss of Frost and Flame is a work that fans of historical adventures and cross-cultural writing are sure to enjoy as much as I did." --K. C. Finn, author of Caecilius Rex and The Book of Shade