Indie Author Spotlight, Episode 38

Another Monday, another Indie Author Spotlight! But first allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sadie Dennis and I am so excited to be continuing this series after Jennifer. I'm a lover of all things literature and can't wait to dive deeper into the literary community with all of you! With ultimately the same goal in mind I am taking every opportunity to meet new and interesting people in the literary community, like today's guest Erik Kitaev.

Something that I truly love to see in the literary scene are young writers. Their passion and hard-working nature at such a young age is an inspiration. Erik Kitaev is no exception, with three novels published at thirteen years old!! Make sure to check out their website and socials, which are linked below, so you don't miss out on any of their future work as I am positive that there will be many more novels to come. I was very pleased with the opportunity to meet Erik. I know you will be too.

Hi Erik! Thanks so much for meeting with me today. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I’m Erik Kitaev, I’m a 13y old author from Russia with three published books. I started writing young - I wrote my first book at just seven, my second novel came at twelve, and I recently published my third novel, at thirteen. I’m also an avid reader and fencer.

Tell us about your writing style.

I’m kind of hopping genres as of now - my first two books are Sci-Fi Fantasy, my third is something completely new - a Medieval grounded historical fiction adventure. I mostly write for Young Adults as that’s the age group I’m currently in, but I think a lot of adults would enjoy it as well!

Tell us about a project you’re proud of and link it. 

My most recent book, Of Mud and Crown, is a carefully researched medieval historical adventure set in 15th century Bohemia. It’s about a peasant teenager that heads out on an adventure across the kingdom, and discovers a lot of interesting people, wayside taverns, villages, walks through forests and has an unforgettable adventure, really.

Every aspect of medieval life, from the layout of peasant homes to real historical sword fighting was carefully researched.

You can find the buy links on my website here: erikkitaev.com

Spill the tea, what are you currently working on?

As of Fall of 2026 I’m mostly busy with marketing Of Mud and Crown, but I am working on a new book, new genre, again haha. All I’ll say is it's a huge grim and gritty fantasy world. Think Elden Ring. 

What is your biggest/best piece of advice for other Indie Authors?

The thing I usually say the most is just write. I see a lot of people wanting to write the book, but statistics say only about 1% ever actually do. I say, don’t worry about “Who’ll read this?” “Who’ll edit it?” “How will I get it published?”. Those are questions for later. For now, write. 

Who is your favorite Indie Author? 

To be honest, I never really got to read indie - probably because they never reached me. But I would love to give it a try one day, support my fellow authors!

Where can someone find your work, social presence, etc. drop some links. 

I have an author website at erikkitaev.com

I’m also on social media, specifically Instagram and YouTube under the handle @erik.author

And you can find my books on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and many other retailers. 

If you want to know more about Erik, check out his 2nd interview over on The Writer's Workout Substack - https://writersworkout.substack.com/p/erik-kitaev-second-interview

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