#frostbitten

Hurt

Frostbitten by Dietrich Stogner

I came across Dietrich on Instagram, where he does videos about writer life, the reality and the work of it, lots of book recs and writing advice. I'd been looking forward to trying this, a fantasy mystery with horror elements, and I enjoyed it. There is great depth to the worldbuilding, done without too much exposition, and I understand that Dietrich's subsequent books are also set on the same world, which is good because there is much to explore here. The plot is a fairly standard "fish-out-of-water arrives in a new town where everyone and everything is strange, something weird is going on, need to work things out and make friends along the way", but it's handled well, the monsters are creepy and the banter is good. You really feel the cold. I also liked the faint glimpses of the wider political world and the sense that something bigger is going on.

To pick up your own copy, look up Dietrich on Instagram, he's currently offering this book for pay-what-you-want with all proceeds going to support immigrants' rights. He's a queer indie author and seems like a decent guy.

All told, glad to have read it and I will pick up Dietrich's other novels in future.

The Land of Ice Cream

Art and description for my new OC by @frostcorpsclub

Rimmah Vir Nivis was born in to the well off but highly religious Rabinowitz family. Growing up she found her community loving and warm but stifling, like she was born in the right place but in the wrong body. It was an internal struggle she kept to herself for many years out of fear of disappointing her parents. She has always felt a kinship with creatures commonly considered pests- insects, vermin, etc. her plan was to go to college and become an Entomologist. Had she came out to her parents things would have gotten very complicated but her they never would have stopped loving her. Unfortunately, this was something Rimmah would never get to learn as her parents both passed away in her early 20s 

Without them she felt more lost than she ever had before and one night found herself secluded. She was preyed upon by a snowman (TBN) who had every intention of making her in to his next meal. She lost an arm in the process but using her pent up frustration and grief she put up a fight like she never had before. Impressed with her tenacity the snowman decided to turn her. 

Frostbitten

Andrew Wyeth

I wanted to remind everyone about this fic by @modernvintage that's one of my favorites. It's an oldie but a goodie! In case there are any Kristanna fans out there who haven't come across it, this is one of my absolute favorites, and you need to read it ASAP (but after all the Yuletide fics ofc!). If for nothing else, then for the on-fire chemistry (saying a lot since it's a snowstorm), an excellent characterization of Anna, Kristoff's amazing cabin, the cabin smut, and Anna's potty mouth. And other stuff. Trust me, you'll love it.

AU. Tough and smart, Anna is the lead of a team of forest rangers, working hard in the mountains every day to rescue strangers. During a rescue, a sudden storm blows in, and she finds herself stranded and with limited supplies. That is, until her teammate and second-in-command Kristoff shows up and offers her a safe place to ride out the storm.