Vera Kamsha

Vera Viktorovna Kamsha (Вера Викторовна Камша; born November 5, 1962, in Lviv, Ukrainian SSR) is a Russian author of high fantasy and a journalist.

Biography
Kamsha graduated from Lviv Polytechnic, after which she moved to Leningrad. At early 1990s she was involved in politics and worked in Lensoviet. From 1994 onwards she became a journalist.

The turning point in her career was her 2001 meeting with Nick Perumov, already a popular fantasy writer by the time. She interviewed him and the two found many similarities in taste (such as their love to Nikolai Gumilev's poetry). It was under Perumov's influence that Kamsha made first attempts to write and publish fantasy books.

In 2001, Kamsha's first novel, Dark Star ("Тёмная Звезда") was published by Eksmo. The book started Chronicles of Artsia series, a traditional Medieval high fantasy. Kamsha's later books, Gleams of Aeterna series in particular, were heavily influenced by George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, as well as by Alexander Dumas's historical adventure novels. The series is set in a fantasy world resembling 17th-century Europe, with firearms and a strong church influence. The plot revolves around the power rivalry of two dynasties, where both sides have their flaws and neither is idealized. Recently she collaborated with Perumov on their alternate history novel Mlava Krasnaya (Mlava the Red).

The first books of the Gleams of Aeterna series were translated to Polish and released by Wroclaw publisher Wydawnictwo Dolnośląskie.

Awards

 * Mir Fantastiki award for Lik Pobedy as the best fantasy novel of 2005.
 * Sword of Rumata award for Zimny Izlom (2008)
 * Roscon special award (2011)