As a special gift from me to you for Valentine's Day, my trilogy is on sale for the entire month of February.
My novels tell a real story. It’s my story. It is funny how it often seems to us that our story does not matter. In the modern world of selfies and the fervent societal cry for attention, it is so easy to feel like you don’t matter. But we do. Every single one of us matters. I learned that a life that seems uninteresting and not very exciting on the surface, comes out magical and full of meaning when typed out, then put on paper, glistening with all the colors of the rainbow.
My first novel, titled My Journey to the Ocean, takes the reader on my trip across the ocean, from a Russian town where I grew up and where I was engaged to be married, to a quaint island in Southeast Georgia, USA (St. Simons Island). When I was a little girl, I always dreamed of truly romantic Big Love, and my favorite book of all was Gone with the Wind. Needless to say, I was very surprised when I found myself in my beloved Georgia that I had read so much about during my youthful days in Russia, and I was even more surprised to find out what my life had in store for me with a British-born Rhett Butler who grew up on the local island beaches and worked at the resort where I spent that eventful summer in America.
This funny yet philosophical novel carries the voice of a young woman who discovers her colorful place in the world, loses herself, only to then rediscover herself all over again, and who has to make quite a hard choice very early on in life. When I was writing this book, I imagined talking to my first son, whose name is Liam Ocean, as if he was already grown. I wanted him to know how his mother and father met. I wanted him to know that we were not just mom and dad - we were Chris and Elena—wild, daring and madly in love. Hence the name, My Journey to the Ocean.
 
The second novel, A Year in the Sky, picks up where the first novel left off. After marrying Chris at the end of the summer of our whirlwind romance, I had to go back to Russia for a year while we were waiting for my immigration paperwork to come through. Uncertainty of the immigration procedures, Chris’s ex in America, my ex in Russia, and me being mugged (with my wedding ring being stolen) first thing upon my arrival back home—and it seemed that Chris and I were kicked out of our romcom straight into a dark criminal drama. Fortunately, Chris had miraculously come into quite a bit of money right after we got married, and we were able to fly and see each other all over Europe for week-long rendezvous in a number of countries. The novel takes readers to Moscow (Russia), Ayia Napa (Cyprus), Prague (Czech Republic), Barcelona (Spain), Carcassonne (France), and London and Bath (England).
A Year in the Sky deals with conquering one’s fears and insecurities and coming out on the other side. It is akin to flying through a dark and turbulent night, wondering if you are going to survive it and then finally arriving at your destination, aglow with the morning sunrise and completely free of fears. I dedicated this novel to our second son, Maximillian Sky, hence the name.
The third novel is called It’s All About Love. In this book, my autobiographical self discovers that love is indeed all you need—including love for yourself and honoring your childhood dreams. The novel also focuses on such topics as how to save your love and passion amidst the normal routine of family life, making career/life path choices and—the most important one— the topic of starting a family. This book is dedicated to our lovely little daughter, Chloe Valentina.
Throughout the three novels, you can see the protagonist (yours truly) change and grow until she is finally ready to come out of her cocoon and truly fly. 😊 And I hope you will enjoy going on this journey with her!