The Tale of Kore ~ Book 1
A Fruit of Life and Death Novel
In the heart of academia, Corey, an ambitious master’s student, yearns for a life beyond the confines of dusty books and lectures. After making a fateful wish, Corey becomes a key player in a cosmic drama that unfolds following a re-enactment of an Ancient Greek mystery cult dedicated to Demeter and Persephone.
Whisked away to the shadowy depths of the Underworld, Corey discovers a world teetering on the brink of chaos. Dark forces stir, with ancient gods either missing or perishing. To restore balance, Corey must brave the labyrinthine passages of the Underworld, confront mythical beasts, and uncover long-buried truths to revive the goddesses of justice, memory, and spring—before true darkness takes hold.
Inspiration
The Tale of Kore
The Tale of Kore was written in the most tumultuous time of my life. In fact, I would venture 2021 was that way for a great number of people. In a time in my life when nothing was certain, this story emerged and demanded to be told. I wrote this story as a goodbye to academia.
This story, for me, represents a dream ~ a desire ~ for how my education might have continued. It's a fantasy of the academia, blended with elements of fantasy and mythology. In my soul, there is a need for nourishment, and a keen desire to understand how we got to where we are today. My fascination with the ancient world stems from this concept, and the more I learn about past civilizations and the ideas each of them brought into this world, it makes me more and more certain that the way forward is not compartmentalizing our cultures, but blending them, taking the best of each as we see fit. I am an advocate for public domain education and the abolishment of privatized information. There is no reason to have a paywall between us and dissemination of knowledge.
My inspiration for this novel came from the urge to find the best moments of my education, to immortalize that voracious learner inside, and blend it with what motivates me, which is myth, history, and self-improvement. I loved 'The Song of Achilles' by Madeline Miller, 'The Secret History' by Donna Tartt, and 'If We Were Villains' by M. L. Rio, and to me, this book is a culmination of the elements from these novels. Using the historical myth retelling of Miller and blending it with the University settings of Tartt and Rio was my way of responding to not only these novels, but to my fears and wishes for the future. I want a world of truth. Of honesty. Of integrity. Of belief. Of hope.
I hope this novel lights something up within you as it did for me.
Sincerely,
Amanda L. Rautio
