Sylwia Koziel’s debut novel is a Princess and the Pea retelling with dual timelines, political intrigue, and first love. The Bone Below features a charming traveller, a morally grey prince, and secret identities that span over dual timelines. With subtle yet darker twists to the fairy tale, this fantasy has both court intrigue and quite a romance. Born in a small village, a woman leaves the safety of her home to find a cure for her ill sister, but is taken prisoner by the foreign King and Queen. Each day spent in the castle brings her closer to the Prince, and to a hidden truth. This exciting debut is set to be published by a small press, and is this decision to sign with an indie publisher as well as the inspiration behind the novel that Sylwia Koziel (The Bone Below, April 2024) writes on here. To view more such posts by debut authors, make sure to check out this collaboration, Debut Dialogues!
Embracing the Indie Ink
Sylwia Koziel (The Bone Below) shares the inspiration behind writing a fairy tale retelling and the decision to publish with a small indie press.
The journey to publishing my debut novel, The Bone Below, was a storm of emotions: daunting, challenging, exciting, rewarding. But like any story, I think it’s best to start at the beginning.
How I Started Writing
Like many others, COVID was a time of discovering (or rediscovering) passions and hobbies for me. Through the pain and anxiousness, we reflected on what we wanted our lives to look like and what exactly we wanted to do with our time. It was a true joy to watch everyone find the little things that made them happy.
I graduated from college in 2020 and was struggling to find a job, so I knew I needed to distract myself from that frustration. As a voracious reader, I had always tinkered with the idea of writing my own novel, but I had always been intimidated by the prospect of writing.The imposter syndrome was strong, my mind convincing itself that I didn’t have a story worth telling. But the desire was relentless and the itch needed to be scratched.I had to at least try.
What Inspired The Bone Below?
From the beginning, I wanted to write a fairy tale retelling because there is something so special about taking the familiar and flipping it on its head. I had grown up watching Once Upon A Time and reading the Lunar Chronicles, and I was inspired by how the writers twisted the classic tales to be so much more.
Luckily, I had the thought of a Princess and the Pea retelling swirling in my head for years. The inspiration: a PC computer game my mom bought me while we were visiting family in Poland when I was five. I don’t remember too much about the concept or goal of the game, aside from it being about Princess and the Pea. What I do remember is a sense of discomfort while playing it. A prince who wanted to marry a princess. A lost princess knocking on a castle’s door during a storm. A queen who wanted to test her.
The original tale by Hans Christian Andersen is short and simple, giving me lots of room to play with.I wanted to take these characters who lacked depth and add in their own motivations that would expand the world of the story.
Because this game was purchased in Poland and both my parents are Polish, I wanted to subtly include some of the country’s culture and history. The story I wrote is very loosely based on the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, a time where an elective monarchy was established and where nobles were hungering for more power. The added history made for a juicy political conflict in my story and raised the stakes. The Bone Below became rife with intrigue and tension. Slowly, my thoughts and ideas became a full manuscript. I sat back with pride because even if it went nowhere, I could at least say I did it.
However, I knew that I wanted to push this story. I workshopped the manuscript with a few beta readers who provided great advice about how to improve it. Writing can feel so solitary, but in those moments when I was discussing my story with others, I was reminded why I love books at all: it’s a form of connection.
Why Did I Pick an Indie Press?
After rewriting parts of the story and learning that this standalone was actually a duology, I ended up in a position where I liked where it netted out. I felt like I could publish this into the world, and I would be proud of it as my debut.
Once I came to terms with that, I had a few options: 1. Query agents 2. Query small presses 3. Self-publish.
Each path has its pros and cons. I decided I would try querying agents for a bit and see if there would be any bites. After a few months, I got a few full requests that eventually turned to passes. Feeling like I queried all agents I thought were a good fit for my story, I actually leaped to the decision that I would self-publish it. Until, randomly on Twitter—or X—someone mentioned an editor they had hired was starting a small press. I had this urge to give querying one last go and sent them my manuscript.
About a month later, Brittany—the lovely owner of Conquest Publishing and editor for Wild Ink Publishing (a sister small press)—was interested in my novel.
After a great call where I knew that Brittany understood my vision, I signed both the books of my duology with Conquest Publishing. Every second since, I have grown more excited at the fact that my book is coming out with such a supportive publisher.
What I Learned About Indie Publishing
I am now two short months away from The Bone Below publishing, and I have already learned so much in my time working with an indie publisher.
An indie press truly allows for such open collaboration—at least if you’re with one who is dedicated to its authors. I’ve heard horror stories about other indie presses, and everyday, I am grateful that mine is truly excited to work with authors and get their stories into the world.Each step of the journey, I am met with an opportunity to provide my input, whether it’s with the editing or cover design or marketing.I never feel like I have lost control of anything.
I think one downfall of indie publishing people mention is the lack of a marketing budget. This is true, and I think everyone wishes they had the funds to promote their book with some paid media behind it, but it doesn’t mean that your book can’t still find its audience. The author has to do extra work to create social media posts or to do outreach to blogs or other outlets, but it does feel rewarding at the end of the day, at least for me, when I am able to create something that resonates with a reader and makes them excited for my book. If you’re someone who loves control (ahem, me), then you might love the fact that you are creating the marketing content. Plus, some indie publishers will create their own assets that they share on social media that you can use too, so you’re never truly doing it alone.
Most importantly, I have learned about the lovely support of the indie community. I was one of the first few authors that signed with Conquest Publishing, and I have loved every second of watching this publisher grow and sign on more amazing authors that are so passionate. We have such a great community of authors between Conquest and Wild Ink that are supportive of each other every step of the way. All of us are learning as we go, and it has created such a tight-knit camaraderie. No question is off limits because there is a guarantee that someone else will have the same question. I highly encourage everyone to check out both of their websites to look into all the other amazing books that are out and are soon-to-be released.
Even outside my publisher, the indie community is wonderful. There is no gatekeeping going on. Everyone is willing to provide their input and resources so everyone can succeed. I don’t feel a sense of competition, but a sense of community with my fellow peers. At the end of the day, it’s about building each other up so we can all succeed.
As my release date nears, I am focusing on how proud I am of the work I put toward my book. This was always just a shot in the dark for me to see if anything stuck, and I am just happy that something did. I’m going to keep writing, mainly the sequel to this duology along with some novellas I plan to self-publish this year under my pen name KC Silver because I have found such joy in the experience. At the end of the day that was my goal when I braved the world of writing.
Sylwia Koziel is a born and raised Chicagoan, spending her days exploring the city, one train stop at a time. She writes all sorts of genres that have strong romantic subplots where the main character is on a journey of discovering themselves and learning to let go of the expectations weighing on them. On top of publishing her debut duology, The Bone Below and The Bone After, with Conquest Publishing, she is also in the early drafting stages of self publishing a series of novellas under her pen name KC Silver. Find her on socials, X @bysilverstories and by the same name on Instagram.
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