Amanda McCrina
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mccrina.bsky.social
Amanda McCrina
@mccrina.bsky.social
650 followers 130 following 550 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
What snub? Snub implies a majority of ppl reasonably believed he had a chance at it. Snub is The Dark Knight not getting a Best Picture nom.

Calling it a snub normalizes the rantings of a spoiled narcissist who throws a tantrum that threatens int'l security every time he doesn't get what he wants.
Guardian headline: Donald Trump links threats to seize Greenland to Nobel prize snub in letter
January 19, 2026 at 2:19 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
I'll be back at the Gaithersburg Book Festival this May! GBF is one of my favorite bookish events to attend, and I'm so happy to be there again this year with BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS. 🌲
Beyond Seven Forests book against a snowy background with the text "Gaithersburg Book Festival, May 16, 2026"
January 19, 2026 at 3:25 AM
mccrina.bsky.social
Happy to share a bit of the positive review from Booklist for BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS! The full review will be out February 1.

“McCrina has created characters with depth and complicated backstories . . . [A] thoughtful human account of the impact of war.”

#BookSky
“McCrina has created characters with depth and complicated backstories . . . [A] thoughtful human account of the impact of war.” Booklist
January 16, 2026 at 1:19 AM
mccrina.bsky.social
Proud of everyone who showed up on short notice in the cold in Brentwood, Tennessee.

#IceOut
#IceOutForGood
January 11, 2026 at 8:53 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
Yup. It's not "trump's occupation of Venezuela."

We've spent years trying to get people to recognize *russia's invasion of Ukraine, *russia's genocide in Ukraine, *russia's kidnapping of Ukrainian children. Not just putin's.

No shirking our own responsibility. That goes for Congress and all of us.
Cory Booker @CoryBooker Today, many leaders will rightly condemn President Donald Trump's unlawful and unjust actions in Venezuela, and I join them. But just as glaring, and far more damning, is Congress' ongoing abdication of its constitutional duty. For almost a year now, the legislative branch has failed to check a president who repeatedly violates his oath, disregards the law, and endangers American interests at home and abroad. corybooker — My thoughts on Donald Trump's occupation of Venezuela
January 4, 2026 at 6:37 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
Every argument supporting what we just did in Venezuela falls apart when you remember that not quite five months ago, American soldiers were on their knees rolling out a red carpet for *putin*.
American soldiers kneeling to roll out a red carpet in front of a Russian plane
January 4, 2026 at 2:10 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
Today is the last day to get 25% off your pre-order of BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS with your Barnes & Noble rewards or premium membership!

Out February 3!

www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beyond-sev...

#HistoricalFiction #BookSky
"It would be helpful for us to have your explanation for the record." "My explanation, Colonel?" "If you please, Countess. We know what you did. We would like to know. why." "Very well," I say. "I will tell you why." BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS 25% off pre-orders using code PREORDER25 BARNES&NOBLE
January 1, 2026 at 3:28 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
Merry Christmas!

One of my favorite paintings—Winter (1905) by Ukrainian artist Oleksander Murashko
Painting of a Ukrainian couple walking in snow
December 25, 2025 at 4:54 PM
mccrina.bsky.social
Save the date! The launch event for BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS will be Saturday, February 7 at B&N Cool Springs in Franklin, TN.

I'll be in conversation with NYT-bestselling author Sharon Cameron!

More info + tickets: stores.barnesandnoble.com/event/978006...

@lernerbooks.bsky.social #booksky
December 17, 2025 at 2:00 AM
mccrina.bsky.social
We're less than 2 months out from BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS! It's a locked-room survival thriller set during WWI, with a dash of Polish folklore & an unreliable narrator. I'd love it if you pre-ordered/added it to your TBR!

lernerbooks.com/shop/show/26...

#WritingCommunity #BookSky #BeyondSevenForests
"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." KIRKUS BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS "For fans of Libba Bray and Ruta Sepetys a well-written, suspenseful story." SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL 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 BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS
December 4, 2025 at 3:05 PM
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