Please help me welcome Catherine Stine to the blog today! She’s one of the authors in the upcoming Combat Monsters Anthology…
Combat Monsters is listed as the “untold tales of World War II, with reimagined battles, injecting fantastical monsters that helped change the course of history.” What a fun premise! What drew you to participate in the anthology?
I took it as a great, adventurous challenge! The setting I chose was Russia, whose participation was invaluable to the war effort and who people are less familiar with. I’ve been to Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and I’m fascinated with the Russian culture, history and people.
Your story “Grigoriy’s Army” features a neurodivergent hero. Is he based on a specific historical figure or person? Tell us about your research.
I have friends who are neurodivergent and it made sense for this character. Grigoriy is highly intelligent, intuitive, and driven, and is also socially awkward. His father, a bioengineer, took his young son to the labs, thus giving Grigoriy close proximity to this new branch of science. It was only logical that Grigoriy would infuse the knowledge and then take it to a deeper, more visionary level in his own adulthood.
The story also features genetically altered bears. Can you share what makes the bears special?
Grigoriy inherits a large piece of land from his uncle, which has not been cleared. Grigoriy, using his brilliant skills, which have extended into genetic engineering experiments, takes his own DNA and also successive breeding of the local bears for genetic markers, to make enhanced, super-strong bears that follow Grigoriy’s commands. They can pull huge trees from their roots and move them with ease. And when the Red Army commander forces him to work for the war effort, Grigoriy adds more enhancements, such as cyborg aspects of steel-tipped claws and scanner eyes.
Tell us about your writing: What genres do you write? Do you prefer one over another?
I write urban, paranormal, and historical fantasy, all with suspense and slow-burn romance. My witch historicals are heavily-researched, which I love doing. For instance, Witch of the Wild Beasts was set in 1854 in Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary. I spent about five months doing research into all aspects of old Philadelphia, where I actually grew up! Evalina is accused of witchcraft when her pet bird flies down the throat of her abusive boss. It is also a medical thriller, and all of these elements and practices are accurate to the time. This prison, which was state-of-the-art in 1854, is also described in realistic, historical detail. My urban fantasy is also something I love because it’s entertaining to create original supernatural beings, and quirky villains with unique magic. And I pride myself on crafting thrillers with plenty of plot twists you never saw coming. A witch can be seen as a misunderstood wise woman. A demon can be a cypher for an angry, prideful man, who has lost control. In other words, a magical world can function as a psychological allegory of the real world.
What inspired you to write your current series?
I’ve been working on a supernatural detective series, called the Sleuths of Shadow Salon. The lead investigators are Celestine, a witch and art intuitive, and Luna a mermaid with water magic. They solve crimes in Savannah, Georgia, a city I love for its its lush, spooky beauty. Every time I’m down there, it inspires lots of plot ideas. I have three books in the series out so far and I’m proud to say that Book 1, Guardian of Monsters, just won a Shelf Unbound 2024 top Indie Book award.
I hear you do many book events. Where can readers find you in 2025?
I do, and I’d love to meet you and talk books! Links and details are on my website events page https://catherinestine.com/events-classes/
In April, I’ll be at Authors Rock Roanoke in Virginia. In late June I’ll be at Getting Witchy With It in New Orleans. In July, I’ll be in Savannah at Literary Love Savannah. In September, I’ll be at Getting Witchy with It in Salem, Ma, and at Books, Books, Books in Lancaster, Pa. In October I’ll be at RAGE in Atlantic City and Late Night Witch’s Market in Lehighton, Pa.
Thanks, Jen Twimom and That’s What I’m Talking About!
Thank you, Catherine. Let’s learn more about her story and the anthology!
“Grigoriy’s Army” by Catherine Stine
Publisher: Blackstone
Publication date: Feb 11, 2025
Series: Standalone
Genre: Adult urban fantasy / alternative history anthology
Grigoriy was an awkward, bearlike child, yet very observant. His mother had died in childbirth so his father, a bioengineer in Moscow, often took Grigoriy to his lab to encourage him to engage. Grigoriy seemed riveted. When Grigoriy was seven, his father became deathly ill. Grigoriy snuck up on his father’s ladder to pick him apples and fell, badly injuring his skull. His father died while Grigoriy was in surgery. Back at home in a distant aunt’s care, people saw that Grigoriy had changed. He stopped talking and became obsessed with numbers and chemical equations. It was assumed he was suffering from a broken heart over losing his father.
His father’s brother, Eduard took Grigoriy in, at his farm outside of Stalingrad. Grigoriy loved farming though he stayed distinctly odd. Neighbors would see many animals creeping around in the fields, and this was the only thing that made Grigoriy’s eyes light up. Turns out he was using his own chromosomes to create hybrid bear workers, much stronger than any human. He used them for farm hauling. The government came calling and said they’d been watching him. And now that the Nazis had invaded, Grigoriy had two choices: either enhance his bears more to serve the government or be killed. Reluctantly, Grigoriy created bio-engineered super warriors to try and defeat the Nazi invasion of Stalingrad.
About Combat Monsters anthology
New research has uncovered deeply buried military secrets–both the Allied and Axis special operations during World War II included monsters. Did the Soviets use a dragon to win the Battle of Kursk? Did a vampire fight for the Canadians in Holland? Did the US drop the second atomic bomb on a kaiju?
This collection takes real events from World War II and injects them with fantastical creatures that mirror the “unreality” of war itself. Each story–and two poems–feature mythical, mystical, and otherwise unexplainable beings that change the course of history. Dragons rise and fall, witches cast deadly spells, mermaids reroute torpedoes, and all manner of “monsters” intervene for better or worse in the global turmoil of World War II.
Combat Monsters anthology Buy Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Combat-Monsters-Untold-Tales-World/dp/B0D7DL2JTH
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/combat-monsters-untold-tales-of-world-war-ii-henry-herz/21587667
Target: https://www.target.com/p/combat-monsters-by-henry-herz-paperback/-/A-94001412
Mysterious Galaxy: https://www.mystgalaxy.com/book/9798874748432
Blackstone: https://www.blackstonepublishing.com/products/book-govw
Author info:
Catherine Stine a USA Today bestselling author of historical, urban and paranormal fantasy, all with suspense and slow-burn romance. Witch of the Wild Beasts won second prize in the Romance Writers Sheila Contest. Other novels have earned Indie Notable awards and New York Public Library Best Books. Her newest urban fantasy series, Sleuths of Shadow Salon is set in Savannah, Georgia, and stars two fierce supernatural women investigators. Catherine hails from Philadelphia, and lives in New York State. She attends many bookfests. Check the events page on her website to see if she’ll be at one near you.
Catherine Stine’s Author links:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kitsy84557
Website: https://catherinestine.com/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/catherine-stine
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@catherinestine7
Catherine on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorcatherinestine/
Subscribe to her newsletter: https://catherinestine.com/wp/get-the-newsletter-contact-me/
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Catherine-Stine/e/B001H9TXJC
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1018139.Catherine_Stine
Join the FB ARC reader group, Magical Muses: https://www.facebook.com/groups/754142243261916
Events Page: https://catherinestine.com/events-classes/