Beautiful Winter

by Eugie Foster

When her widowed mother remarried, Prascovia wanted to hate her stepsister. But even though her mother despises sweet, beautiful Marfa, Prascovia found herself adoring her new sister instead. Their mother’s spite drives Marfa one winter's night into the bitter cold, but astonishing them all, Marfa returns with violets, strawberries, and the favor of Lord Frost. However, having Father Winter as an admirer has its own perils, and Prascovia vows to save her beloved sister from Winter’s attentions.


A lush re-imagining of the Russian “Jack Frost” fairy tale.


“A haunting, mesmerizing fairy tale steeped in Russian lore.”
—Craig Childs, Jr., The Midwesterner


“a lovely fairy tale”
—Wordsworm, My Magic Book Journal

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories

23 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 18, 2013

About the author

I grew up in the Midwest, although I call home a mildly haunted, fey-infested house in metro Atlanta that I share with my husband, Matthew. After receiving my Master of Arts degree in Developmental Psychology, I retired from academia to pen flights of fancy. I also edit legislation for the Georgia General Assembly, which from time to time I suspect is another venture into flights of fancy.

I received the 2009 Nebula Award for Best Novelette, the 2011 and 2012 Drabblecast People’s Choice Award for Best Story, and was named the 2009 Author of the Year by Bards and Sages. The Dragon and the Stars anthology, edited by Derwin Mak and Eric Choi, with my story, “Mortal Clay, Stone Heart,” won the 2011 Aurora Award for Best English Related Work. My fiction has also received the 2002 Phobos Award; been translated into eight languages; and been a finalist for the Hugo, Washington Science Fiction Association, and British Science Fiction Association awards.

My short story collection, Returning My Sister’s Face and Other Far Eastern Tales of Whimsy and Malice, was published in 2009 and has been used as a textbook at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of California-Davis. Check out my fiction index for a list of all my published and forthcoming works.

I am represented by literary agent William Reiss of John Hawkins & Associates, Inc., and I’m a voting member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), the non-profit writers organization founded by Damon Knight in 1965 and presenter of the Nebula awards.

I also keep a blog where I indulge in self-absorbed musings and document my writing progress, and I post regular updates on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook.

Reviews

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounding up, for this Russian folk tale-inspired story. If you like The Bear and the Nightingale, you should check out this short story, free online at Intergalactic Medicine Show magazine. Review first posted on Fantasy Literature:

Prascovia is the teenage daughter of an unreasonable, highly demanding mother. Her mother was once a lovely woman who danced for the czar, but Prascovia is neither beautiful nor graceful, though she is talented at drawing. Mama refuses to believe that lessons and beauty treatments won’t make her daughter more like her, so their relationship is highly contentious.

Prascovia’s father dies when she is sixteen, and her mother remarries a common man who has a lovely and sweet (if slightly simple-minded) daughter, Marfa. Prascovia is surprised and a little dismayed to find that her mother’s venom has been transferred to Marfa, who has done nothing to deserve it. When Prascovia tries to intervene, it backfires … but leads to a surprising, supernatural encounter.

“Beautiful Winter” is inspired by Russian folk tales, mostly “The Twelve Months.” It’s a straightforward retelling, but Eugie Foster changes the story in some fundamental ways, particularly in the relationship between the two stepsisters and the character of the plain daughter. Though she has some envy for her stepsister, Prascovia is a decent person with a good head on her shoulders. I enjoyed the way her artistic nature was woven into this story.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completely loved the POV on this re-telling of a Russian folk tale. 5 stars. :)

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read at: http://www.intergalacticmedicineshow....

A retelling of Jack Frost of sorts. The Russians call him Morozko, which I think is close to "Father Frost"

I rather liked this description:

It was a terrible winter. The cold chased away every corner of warmth until there was only cold, cold, and more cold. Tea turned to slush between pouring and sipping

and later this:

In the morning, men came and took Papa out through a window -- for the dead should not pass through the doors of the living -- and carried him to the bathhouse. There, they dressed him in clothes sewn with an unknotted thread and the buttons on backward before bearing him to his new home in the cemetery.

I like the idea of this type of clothing for the dead and think it rather creative.

I too would need advice on milking an insane cow.

I mused on this as I trekked back home, a distraction from my frost-gnawed toes and ice-nipped fingers, and the grim clouds overhead. At least the snow held off until I was close enough to see the smoke from our stove, a blessing that earned my fervent thanks to all the saints who watch over foolish girls who dawdle on winter errands.

"Stop blathering nonsense. Pay attention to your task or you'll be adding a finger to the soup." Made me smile.

I was curious about the name Marfa so I looked it up. There's a Marfa, Texas, but also a tsarina which I think is cool.

Apparently, Prascovia comes from a word meaning preparedness, which I liked.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This very short piece is a great blending of folktale tropes.