Amanda McCrina
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mccrina.bsky.social
Amanda McCrina
@mccrina.bsky.social
640 followers 130 following 510 posts
Writer of historical fiction (next: BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS, 2/3/26) • Polish-American • ❤️ cats, coffee, Frank Sinatra • Rep: @jenniekendrick.bsky.social

https://campsite.bio/amandamccrina
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mccrina.bsky.social
I don't repost videos or screenshots of POW executions, but this is such an important point.

russia r*pes, c*strates, and b*heads Ukrainian POWs on camera. Any "peace" plan that ignores or normalizes that is absolutely worthless.
Among the 28 points of the initial Washington/kremlin plan, one was a general amnesty for war crimes. This video footage shows Russian troops killing five Ukrainian soldiers, prisoners of war. This adds to the several hundreds such crimes committed by Russia.
November 24, 2025 at 4:22 AM
mccrina.bsky.social
Finished copies of BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS are here!

The Wawel dragon and other Polish folkloric elements are an important thread in the story, so I love this detail on the case.

BSF is a story of the Eastern Front of WWI that Kirkus calls "sharp, compelling, and thoughtful." Out Feb 3; preorder now!
A red hardcover book with a white dragon motif
November 21, 2025 at 1:49 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
russia killed at least 25 people in Ternopil last night, children among them.

Ternopil is in western Ukraine, about two hours from Lviv.

Photo from @united24media.com
Residential buildings destroyed and burning
November 19, 2025 at 1:43 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
Happy independence day, Poland! 🇵🇱

A snippet from BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS, out February 3.
The service to Lublin stops at the far platform in seven minutes. He is here, like me, to catch a train. His Lublin is liberated now. Privislinsky Krai, the Russian-ruled Vistula Land in which he grew up, no longer exists as of this past September, when the German offensive swept through all the way to Vilna. Of course when we speak of someplace like Lublin being "liberated," we mean only that it is no longer under Russian occupation. There is not really much difference between groveling to the kaiser and groveling to the tsar--he was right. It is not really liberation to trade one occupation for another. So I suppose he, like me, like every Pole, is free without really being free. I suppose none of us can really go home. But perhaps one day.
November 11, 2025 at 7:31 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
Kirkus had lovely things to say about BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS.

Full review: www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
A thoughtful examination of boundaries between right and wrong, carried by the moral tension and strength of the characters, this novel challenges readers to question ethical certainties. Sharp, compelling, and thoughtful.
November 8, 2025 at 2:58 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
Another trade review is in for BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS! "A complex narrative rendered in the protagonist's measured voice and filled with references to Polish class distinctions and history."—Publishers Weekly 🇵🇱
"A complex narrative rendered in the protagonist's measured voice and filled with references to Polish class distinctions and history."—Publishers Weekly
November 8, 2025 at 12:33 AM
mccrina.bsky.social
Happy to share that BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS' first trade review is a good one!

From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: "For fans of Libba Bray and Ruta Sepetys, this is a well-written, suspenseful story, which would be a great addition to YA sections."

lernerbooks.com/shop/show/26...
"For fans of Libba Bray and Ruta Sepetys . . . a well-written, suspenseful story."
November 3, 2025 at 12:49 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
Quick little sketch this afternoon of Wiesław Chrzanowski, a Polish Home Army soldier and Warsaw Uprising insurgent. (He survived the Uprising and various POW camps and died in Warsaw in 2011.)
Pencil sketch of Polish Home Army soldier Wiesław Chrzanowski Original photo of Wiesław Chrzanowski
October 30, 2025 at 10:01 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
Having a girl party for #NationalBlackCatDay
A black cat and a woman sitting on a couch
October 28, 2025 at 2:36 AM
mccrina.bsky.social
As someone who actually studied ancient Rome, I just want to point out that M*sk here is looking at a Bernini sculpture from the 17th century. Not ancient Roman.
A Twitter post saying that Elon Musk is donating millions of dollars to people who study ancient Rome, accompanied by a photo of Musk looking at Bernini's David
October 21, 2025 at 1:55 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
Nice to see BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS get a shout-out in this roundup of forthcoming historical fiction from Historical Novel Society!

historicalnovelsociety.org/forthcoming-...
Amanda McCrina, Beyond Seven Forests, Carolrhoda Lab, YA (an 18-year-old Polish countess is trapped in her home with two Polish deserters from the Russian army during a blizzard as World War I rages)
October 20, 2025 at 2:36 AM
mccrina.bsky.social
Thought this new WWII history seemed... really problematic. Did some digging—and yep. Not at all surprised by the author's views on Ukraine.
World Enemy No. 1 by Jochen Hellbeck Cover flap copy of World Enemy No. 1 by Jochen Hellbeck Interview with Jochen Hellbeck in which he expresses concern that Western provocation hurts ordinary Russians
October 19, 2025 at 10:15 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
With you in spirit today, #NoKings
A "no kings" pin on a lanyard
October 18, 2025 at 4:54 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS, my novel set on the Eastern Front of the First World War, is available on NetGalley! If you'd like to read it four months early, this is your chance!

www.netgalley.com/catalog/book...
A digital mockup of an e-reader with the cover of BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS by Amanda McCrina
October 17, 2025 at 9:51 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
A new book trailer for BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS, out 2/3/26 from @lernerbooks.bsky.social!

In winter 1916, as World War I rages, a blizzard traps 18-year-old Polish countess Renata in her home with two escaped enemy POWs.
October 1, 2025 at 9:51 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
Review copies of BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS have arrived!
A paperback copy of BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS by Amanda McCrina, with a box containing more copies in the background. A black cat looks on.
September 24, 2025 at 1:27 AM
mccrina.bsky.social
Lviv Croissants in Roswell, GA
💙💛
A croissant filled with berries and mascarpone
September 20, 2025 at 9:41 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
Research. For *Reasons.*
Confessions of a Home Army Executioner, by Stefan Dąmbski
September 17, 2025 at 4:24 AM
mccrina.bsky.social
Five months until BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS, my new novel set on the Eastern front of the First World War about a Polish countess and the two enemy soldiers who show up at her door.

Out February 3!
Collage of four photos: 1) a couple dancing, 2) a snowy forest, 3) a revolver being reloaded, 4) a L'viv cityscape under snow, with a text overlay that reads "No one will ever accuse you of being a coward, I can promise you that"
September 3, 2025 at 1:02 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
“An active assault on virtue wherever it exists”

www.liberalcurrents.com/let-it-burn-...
August 30, 2025 at 12:15 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
Bought this for myself on @marshaskrypuch.bsky.social's recommendation. If there was ever a book Amanda needed to buy immediately, this is the book.
The Golden Daughter by Halina St. James Secret wartime letters, a volatile love triangle, an unmarked grave, a noble heritage—a revelatory mother-daughter memoir about discovery, love, and forgiveness. Sorting through her late mother’s possessions, Halina St. James found a secret stash of letters. They told how her mother, Maria, was abducted as a teenager in Ukraine by Nazis and sent to Germany as a slave. After the war, Maria found herself pregnant in a displaced persons camp. She married the father, an older man from a noble Polish family. But her life changed when her husband introduced his friend, a young Polish freedom fighter. In Canada, the younger man betrayed his friend and ran off with Maria and Halina. The letters made Halina realize how little she knew of her mother or her heritage. The Golden Daughter is the gripping story of a mother and daughter shaped by forces they had no control over. After uncovering truths hidden for a century, Halina was finally able to make peace with her mother, her father—and herself.
August 27, 2025 at 5:13 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
Introducing pre-order perks for BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS!

Pre-order from my local indie, Bound Booksellers, and receive:

🌲 a signed/personalized hardcover
🌲 a character art postcard with art by yours truly
🌲 25% off list price

Pre-order here: boundbookstn.com/products/bey...
August 27, 2025 at 1:50 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
I did art today!

Adya and Renata from my upcoming WWI historical novel, BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS, out February 3, 2026!

Add to Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/23...
Digital illustration of a man and woman dancing
August 25, 2025 at 11:10 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
Happy independence day, Ukraine
💙💛
The Ukrainian flag flying from an apartment balcony
August 24, 2025 at 5:13 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
This is one of the most disgusting and shameful moments in American history.
Putin and Trump laugh and shake hands on a red carpet in Alaska
August 15, 2025 at 9:29 PM