Psychological Romance
Date Published: November 24, 2018
Publisher: Foolishness Press
Christmas in Prague is the story of Joseph, a divorced American twenty-something living as an expat in Prague. He's obsessed with Karina, a Czech waitress-turned-supermodel. She's freshly back from a trip to Italy with her English teacher, and she's ready to give Joseph the attention for which he's been longing. Will his Christmas wish come true?
Excerpt 1: 472 words
We came up out of Staroměstská metro station at the Kaprova exit. The air was clear and cold. A light snowfall had just started. Elijah and I are accosted on the sidewalk by three characters. The tallest one is dressed like a pope; tall red bishop’s hat, long white robe with a red silk stole to match. He’s carrying a crosier with a curved top like a question mark and ringing a bell. Saint Nicholas, obviously, the Greek bishop upon whom the Santa Claus legend is based. Another character is dressed all in white with a coat hanger halo, she is the Anděl (angel) I am told. She looks familiar, maybe one of the topless dancers at the place by the Charles Bridge, or a waitress at the Chapeau Rouge. Or maybe she just looks like one of those. The last character is the best - soot-covered face, hair sticking in all directions, limping along on one cloven hoof and one foot, wearing a brown fur jacket, dragging a chain and carrying a burlap sack. That is Čert or Krampus, a polymorphic figure, half-goat half-demon.The angel beamed, a bad girl hooking a sweet smile into us. I wondered if her blonde hair was a wig or not. I couldn’t tell. Krampus shouted in my face “Bububu!” and rattled his chain at me.
Mikuláš asked me a question in Czech. I told him I didn’t understand. Elijah translated, “He’s asking if you have been a good boy this year.” I put my hand on my chin and rolled my eyes heavenward. If I was not good, legend had it, Čert would take me in his sack and deliver me straight to hell. Krampus held his burlap sack open. He waved a piece of coal in my face. The angel in the push-up bra pushed forward, her hands folded together holding a basket of rock candy. A lace dress, sky blue eyeshadow and giant wings on her back. I reached out and took a piece of candy. Krampus rattled his chains in anger. They waited for me. I looked at Elijah. “You have to sing a song or recite a poem.” he said to me.
I said, “Kolo, rovno, hovno,” rolling the r in rovno as hard as my untrained tongue could. It’s a Czech rhyme that translates to “Bicycle, straight, shit.” Čert hopped up and down, one paw and one hoof, rattling his chains in glee. Mikuláš dismissed us with a wave of his holy hand. The angel took a long look at us before retreating.
“I don’t think they were impressed.” Elijah said. I unwrapped the hard candy and popped it in my mouth.
I should have said “Strč prst skrz krk”, a vowelless Czech tongue twister that translates to “Put your finger through your throat.” That would not have impressed either.
Top 5 things you didn’t know about the book “Christmas in Prague”
This holiday season, take a break from all the stress, heartache and loneliness that so many feel at this time of year. Grab your favorite eReader, download my book, “Christmas in Prague” and settle in for a romantic adventure through the streets of Prague.
In case you are not convinced, here’s 5 things you didn’t know about my book until now.
1. I’m hungry -- what’s to eat?
2. Who are these characters?
3. What’s with the cover?
4. What’s so special about Christmas in Prague?
5. What’s so special about Prague?
Like the paper chain countdown, let’s tear off each one together.
5. What’s so special about Prague?
Prague is a beautiful old city at the heart of Europe. Some say the reason it is so beautiful is that it escaped bombing during World War II as it was occupied by the Nazis, and (mostly) peacefully liberated by the Americans and the Russians. I think it’s more than that. A bridge built by a superstitious king in the fourteenth century? A castle that sits high on a hill overlooking a loop of the Vltava river? A castle containing structures built in every architectural style since then? It has history. It has magic. It has this ironic literary past that is a story unto itself.
For me, Prague is special because it has become the center of my adult life. I lived there for seven years, made lots of close friends, Czechs and non-Czechs alike, and ultimately, Prague is where I met my wife. Fellow American expat, fellow New Yorker, Holly Spruck. She’s from Westchester County, the eastern part of that beautiful state, and I am from Western New York, near Buffalo. We love Prague, we go back every year; sometimes it feels like we never left.
In fact, we are now taking readers on tours of Prague. Imagine traveling with the author and his artsy wife to the place where the book was set, imagine seeing first hand what all the hubbub is about, imagine getting the chance to live like a local for a week or two. Sound good to you? Send me a note - I’d love to show you around.
4. What’s so special about Christmas in Prague?
Christmas in Prague is a sensory overload event. Especially on Old Town Square. The twinkling lights, the vendor stalls beaming warm light, the chill of the night air on your neck, the spicy aromas wafting on the air. What’s different this year? Joseph has decided that to get the true expat experience, he has to commit to Prague. He has to forgo the annual trip to his mother’s house that he has done every other year. She’s none too happy about it, but she understands that Joseph needs this time to figure out what is really important to him.
3. What’s with the cover?
Allow me to repeat: Christmas in Prague is a sensory overload experience. I wanted to share that with readers, from cover to cover. The scene depicted in the beautiful 3 foot wide by 4 foot high original oil painting that adorns the cover of the book is of the fishmongers on Old Town Square who butcher the Christmas Carp from the shallow tubs of oily water right there in the snow, blood and guts everywhere. The painting was commissioned from the 2018 Charlotte Art Pop artist known as HMCAS, that is Holly Spruck, my wife. You really need to see the painting in person, but until then feast your eyes on this amazing cover.
2. Who are these characters?
Fans of “The Chimera of Prague,” which won the 2018 New York Book Festival for Romance, will recognize Joseph, the obsessive divorced American expat whose dreams are all dead. The jet black hair, the tortoiseshell glasses. They will remember Karina, the tall slender Czech waitress, the one that Joseph obsesses over, only now she has transformed. Her career is taking off. She’s on the cover of Czech Elle magazine dressed as Mrs. Claus, and she’s back from a trip to Italy with her English teacher. She surprises him on Svatý Mikuláš, the eve of the name day for Saint Nicholas. There is a cameo from Naked Pete, and a little taste of his backstory. And for a little Christmas mystery, there’s a voice message -- a special someone from Joseph’s past life in Western New York -- how did she get his number?
1. I’m hungry -- what’s to eat?
The sights and smells of Christmas in Prague would be incomplete without mention of all the yummy food. I managed to work all of it into the story, as Joseph joins Avi and the rest of the expat scene at a traditional Czech Christmas Eve feast. From the open-faced deli style sandwiches (Chlebíčky) dressed with potato salad (Bramborový salát) to the garlic soup, (Česnečka polévka) with rye bread croutons and cubes of Emmental cheese. To the Christmas Carp, the dark, aromatic meat fried to perfection at the center of the Czech holiday tradition. And finally to the Christmas cookies, a category of goodies called vánoční cukroví and more specifically to the powdered sugar laced cookies, called sušenky. As the ultimate bonus in this slender edition which is a stand-alone excerpt of Part II of The Chimera of Prague, I have included recipes for the food and drink that spice the Christmas in Prague experience. Save yourself the plane ticket and the jet lag; come away with me on a full-on European holiday adventure. It’s a win/win!
About the Author
Rick Pryll is an award-winning author and poet. His book, "The Chimera of Prague" was selected as the winner of the 2018 New York Book Festival for Romance. A graduate of MIT, Rick wrote a novella as the thesis for his Mechanical Engineering degree. Having grown up in Western New York State, Rick and his wife, ArtPop Charlotte 2018 artist Holly Spruck, live in Charlotte. They have two children, two cats and a dog.
First published to the web in 1994, his hyperfiction short story “LIES” has garnered praise from the Wall Street Journal, SHIFT magazine, and several other publications in print and online. It is cited in more than seven books, has been translated into Spanish and Chinese.
From 1996 to 2002 Rick lived in Prague, in the Czech Republic. While there he published two books including Displaced (Foolishness Press, 1998) and Wallow (Foolishness Press, 1999). His stories and poems have been featured on the pages of THINK and OPTIMISM.
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