A Jim Maratty Company
Welcome to World Ash Publishing
Where History, Myth, and Compassion Collide.
Named after Yggdrasil—the legendary "World Ash" tree of Norse mythology that connects the cosmos—this is the center of a sprawling literary universe. Here, we weave deep Nordic mythology with forgotten Christmas lore and gritty historical facts. Discover The Thread of Kindness Chronicles, an epic historical fantasy series where ancient magic, legendary figures, and a singular thread of human compassion survive the darkest winters of our history.
For thousands of years, a single, luminous thread has been woven through the dark tapestry of human history—the Thread of Kindness.
Here at World Ash Publishing, we explore the origins of the world's most enduring legends through Jim Maratty’s sprawling historical fantasy, The Thread of Kindness Chronicles. Follow the eternal journey of Odie (known to the ages as Odin, Veles, and Santa Claus) and his wife Frigg as they traverse time, pushing back the darkest winters to deliver a flicker of warmth to humanity.
Discover the true stories hidden beneath the folklore: the advanced engineering of the Elves, the time-bending flight of an eight-legged horse named Sleipnir, and the heartbreaking loyalty of Bernard "Bearheart"—a giant Roman Auxiliary soldier from the Vistula River who became the immortal protector of Elf Resources.
Coming Soon — Part Four: The Story of Snegurochka A century of walking will teach you how to survive. An eternity will teach you how to listen. Saved from a freezing death by a drop of celestial elixir, Isolde—known now as Sneggy—was gifted with immortal youth, only to be shunned by a fearful world. Forced to wander from the ancient bogs of Dartmoor to the frozen peaks of the North, she has survived for centuries disguised as a frail, mute crone. But her quiet existence in the shadows is about to end. Armed with an uncanny ability to mimic any dialect, Sneggy must step out of hiding to undertake a dangerous diplomatic mission: mending a royal family fracture between the Ice Giant King and his heartbroken daughter, Princess Geo. The silent observer is finally ready to find her voice.
Introducing:
The Thread of Kindness Chronicles
PART ONE:
Santa's Journey Through Time
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In a modern Cardiff pub, an old man in a red jacket reveals a secret: the holidays you know are just the shadow of a true, ancient epic.
He is Odie, an immortal caretaker who has spent millennia—from gritty Roman prisons to the muddy trenches of WWI—protecting humanity.
The Thread of Kindness Chronicles: Part One strips away the commercial veneer of Christmas to reveal the thrilling historical origins behind Santa, Krampus, and the elves in a heartwarming tale of survival and compassion.
PART TWO: Story of the Elves
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The magic behind the holidays has a much deeper, older history.
The Thread of Kindness Chronicles: Part Two – The Story of The Elves pulls back the curtain on the hidden world of Odie’s closest allies.
Explore the tragic past of the Elves, who choose to make toys for the children of a species that once tried to annihilate them.
An Elven military commander named Garzair must embark on a dangerous mission. His target? A fallen Elf who became an eternal prince, known to human history as the Voivode of Wallachia.
PART THREE:
Bernard: A Tale Through Time
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The protector of the Elves finally tells his story.
The Thread of Kindness Chronicles: Part Three shifts the focus to Bernard "Bearheart," the towering, immortal manager of Elf Resources (and the accidental inspiration for the terrifying Krampus myth).
Cruising the winding roads of modern-day Dartmoor on his Triumph Thunderbird motorcycle, Bernard recounts his sweeping "Tale Through Time." From his days as a giant Roman Auxiliary soldier on the Vistula River to his eternal duty guarding humanity's greatest secret, discover the heartwarming truth behind one of history's most misunderstood legends.
Coming Soon:
PART FOUR: Snegurochka:
The Ballerina and the Nutchracker
Immortality can be a deeply lonely gift. Saved from a freezing death but cursed to hide from the warmth of the sun, Isolde—known to folklore as Snegurochka, and often shunned by mortals as a witch—spent centuries wandering the ancient world in silence. But her isolated existence in the shadows changes forever when she is brought into the celestial fold by Odie and Frigg.
The Thread of Kindness Chronicles: Part Four follows Sneggy’s beautiful evolution from a feared outcast to a vital guardian of the Thread of Kindness. Driven by a profound love for children and armed with an uncanny mastery of languages, she steps up as the ultimate diplomat.
Tasked with brokering peace between a heartbreakingly stubborn Ice Giant King, his estranged daughter Geo, and Odie's celestial realm, the wandering crone will finally find her voice, her true purpose, and the peaceful love she always deserved.
About the Author
Jim Maratty
The journey to sharing the Thread of Kindness was not a straight line; it was a path forged through the life of a "forces brat" lived on the move. Born the middle brother to two sisters into a Royal Marines family, the author's childhood was shaped by constant displacement. Moving from town to town throughout the 1970s, he was the perpetual "new boy," forced to grow up faster and harder than his soul ever intended.
In the playgrounds of a dozen different schools, he learned the visceral reality of the "deepest dark." He was a child who wanted to write, yet found himself forced to learn to fight—navigating the shadows of bullying and the rough edges of constant new starts.
His natural gift for storytelling was evident early on when he won a local competition in junior school for a story about a plodding shire horse. However, that creative spark was nearly extinguished in secondary school. In a moment of bitter irony, he was punished and pushed away from reading and writing after being accused of submitting work that was "too good" to be his own. Silenced by those who should have mentored him, he walked away from the pen for decades.
Instead of writing, he lived.
He became a soldier, a scaffolder, a salesman, and a driving instructor, a husband, a father, a grandfather. He worked in the high-pressure environments of fast food and the delicate landscape of mental health. It was in these diverse roles—among the workers, the warriors, and the weary—that he rediscovered the truth at the heart of his books: Kindness lives in us all, when we let it.
Now, over forty years later, the silence has ended. Drawing on the grit of a life spent in the "trenches" of the real world, he has finally put pen to paper to share the Thread of Kindness chronicles. He writes for those who have been silenced, those who have had to fight, and those who still believe that a single luminous thread of compassion can bridge the gap between the ancient and the modern.
