M'rella asked Eric Alan Westfall:

What prompted you to write a book based on a Russian fairy tale?

Eric Alan Westfall M'rella, first, please accept my abject apologies for not answering sooner. The last question prior to yours was 4 years earlier, and my excuse for not checking is the rarity of questions.

Looking back, the Tsar known as "Ivan the Terrible" has always fascinated me. Not that I know any real historical details about him, just the name and his reputation. I've also had a fascination for intricate Russian artwork, particularly about the firebird. And I'd also downloaded, back in 2017, the online versions of a variety of fairy tales, including the firebird one.

So suddenly there was an idea for telling the firebird tale, but with the idea being the hero was "Ivan the Not Terribly Bright" instead. The "not bright" aspect didn't last very long, I borrowed "A. Wolfe" from the wolfe who appears in the version of The Tinderbox I hope to get finished by early 2022, tossed in some cruel brothers...and I was off and running.

I'm proud of the final result, and hope you enjoyed it.

Again, my apologies for taking so long.

Eric-the-ever-embarrassed

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