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?

Interview

What is the hardest part of writing your books?

I prefer not to talk about writing. The more I talk about it, the less I do of it. Perhaps instead, let me tell you about my next release.

Save yourself the plane ticket and the jet lag. Come away with me on a romantic adventure through the streets of Prague.

In April 2019, I am set to release Part II of “The Chimera of Prague.” In this book, my fifth, change is in the air.

In Part I, the main character, Joseph, he’s tall, he’s handsome, he’s athletic. And he’s lost. His marriage is over. His dream of writing a novel is dead. He’s stuck, one hand in his jet black hair, the other adjusting his tortoiseshell glasses, somewhere between self-pity and a cycle of esteem-draining relationships. He’s convinced himself that he’s obsessed with a young Czech woman, a waitress named Karina. She’s tall, slender, and her heart is on the mend after a recent breakup. Her modeling career is about to take off.

Early in Part II, Joseph gets a wake up call. It’s a kick in the stomach.

It’s just what he needs.

As a result, he re-thinks everything. He re-thinks his relationships, who he calls his friends, where he spends his time and how. Haunted by the image of his lost friend, the unfortunate Ingrid, he’s trying to make better decisions. He can hear her clicking her tongue each choice he makes.

For Joseph, re-thinking means picking up his pen. This time he’s not writing for anyone else but himself. Readers of the first book will be glad to know that Dani, Joseph’s first love, is back. She’s featured in his stories as he digs through his past trying to get back to the origin of his own heartbreak.

The book is set in Prague, and at every opportunity, readers get a taste of the beauty, the magic, the history contained in this ancient European gem.

(If you really must know, the hardest thing about writing, for me, is knowing what to work on next. So many good ideas, so little time.)

What songs are most played on your Ipod?

My iPod? Oh my goodness. Do you really want to know? It’s embarrassing. No really. It is.

But I can tell you this. My next release is chock full of music references. If Joseph, my main character, had an iPod it would have all of these songs on it from the book:

● “You spin me round” by Dead or Alive

● “Bizarre Love Triangle”, a song from New Order

● The Prince song, “When Doves Cry”

● The Bronski Beat song, “Smalltown Boy”

● “Push it” by Salt-n-Pepa

(If you really must know, “idfc” by blackbear - Joseph would love that song.)

Do you have critique partners or beta readers?

I have an alpha reader, beta readers (a dozen or so - always looking for more), critique partners, a copy editor, and reviewers.

I’m humbly grateful to count myself part of a constellation of artists, writers, editors, designers, teachers and friends. Who can say why or how these things happen, but by grace and universal goodness, my writing network expands.

What book are you reading now?

I come to writing as a reader first. Maybe most writers do.

But rather than pin myself down, let me tell you what the main character Joseph is reading in my next release. He’s reading Dr. Zhivago. Again. He collects the descriptions of winter and keeps them in a file for reference.

(If you really must know, I’m promiscuous; when it comes to books, of course. I am reading “Losing Venice” by Scott Stavrou for a review I am working on, I’m reading “Grandmother” by Bozena Nemcova for Czech culture and “Without Fail” by Lee Child for guilty pleasure.)

How did you start your writing career?

A writing career? Is that what this is?

Let me tell you about the writing career of my main character Joseph. His dream of writing a novel is dead. It’s true he keeps a journal and he’s been toying around with a couple of short stories in an effort to understand his particular brand of dysfunction, but he’ll tell you, perhaps to a fault: he’s no writer.

(If you really must know, it all began when I decided to quit my job in Corporate America and moved to Prague. I wanted to see if I could make a career of writing.

Back then, my stories brought me a taste of success. I won a short story prize at MIT, and a hyperfiction short story I wrote in college and then published on the web was read more than 10,000 times.

Twenty years later, I have four books in print and available as eBooks.)

Tell us about your next release.

Uh. Yeah. Um… Can I ask you a question: Have you been paying attention?

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.

Contact Links

Purchase Links

a Rafflecopter giveaway