December 2015

It’s been a while since I’ve had my next visitor here.

Now that I think about it, she never actually guest-posted here; I just had a book spotlight of her novel, Answering Annaveta. If you missed that post, you can find it here.

I’m so glad to finally introduce you to her and let you hear what she has to say. So, without further delay, here is friend and fellow writer, Lorna Faith, as she interviews Annaveta Travotsky, the main character in her historical romantic suspense series, the Russia to Canada series.

Interview with the Character ~ Annaveta Travotsky and Lorna Faith

Lorna Faith, author of Anchoring Annaveta, a historical romantic suspense due out in March 2016, was able to track down Annaveta, the female lead of the story. Annaveta wanted to meet Lorna at her small farmhouse just outside of Halifax, Nova Scotia. It’s spring, and only six months after Annaveta and Alex escaped Russia by ship.

Annaveta appears relaxed, but with shadows around her eyes. They sit on the covered porch, each in a wooden chair that faces toward the ocean. Annaveta’s auburn hair hangs in a thick braid to her waist, and she wears a cream coloured shirt-waist and a long, dark brown skirt that touches her brown leather walking shoes.

After offering Lorna a cup of tea, Annaveta sits down and waits quietly.

LF: Thanks for agreeing to talk with me Annaveta. I wanted to interview you for a friend’s blog so she and her readers could hear your incredible story. You’ve been through a lot of trouble in the past couple of years, but you made it through.

AT: Well, I’m not sure how much detail I’ll be willing to share, and I’m not convinced I’m through the trouble you mentioned yet. Since Alex and I got here, we’ve seen some more evidence that we might have been followed by some of the men in the terrorist group, the Black Hand.

LF: The Black Hand has been terrorizing you from the start, haven’t they? Would you tell us a little about your story up to now?

AT: Well, I don’t like to talk about it much, mostly because they are such sad memories. But I can give you the short version.

LF: Sure.

AT: Well, after my family died when our hut caught fire, I escaped from my old village to the German colony where Alex lived with his family. It wasn’t long before Misha—the abusive drunk who I barely escaped marrying—discovered me at Pleve colony, and I had to run again. So I ran to St.Petersburg. That was when things went from bad to worse.

It started out simple and innocent enough as I worked as a nanny for Countess Tashkova, and sometimes would go with her and her husband to parties and bring the children along. But one time when I was asked to come along to help with the children, I overheard Baron Yakov talking to three other men about a plan to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Well, one of the men overheard me, and so the Baron put me in his dungeon for three days so they could carry out the assassination.

What I didn’t realize was that Misha, his cousin, Baron Yakov, and Gavrillo Princep were all part of a terrorist group known as the Black Hand. It was because we reported them to the police that they were put in jail.

LF: If they were put in jail, then why do you feel like you’re still not safe?

AT: When Alex and I quietly disappeared from St.Petersburg—after those Black Hand men were put in prison—we went to Odessa to stay with my Mama’s sister, Aunt Esther, and her husband Uncle Roman. While we stayed there, strange things started happening.

LF: What sort of strange things?

AT: After WWI was announced, the situation all around us went from bad to worse. My uncle suddenly decided he didn’t like Alex and his German background, and my aunt and uncle did their best to keep Alex away from me. So they planned dinner parties with their wealthy friends and their sons.

Hatred for Germans was everywhere. Someone even set fire to the local German Lutheran church when Alex and I went there one Sunday. Then the worst tragedy of all happened, German boats came to the port of Odessa one night in the middle of the night and started shooting their canons and rifles at every house and at every man, woman, and child within shooting range. Many people died—including people Alex loved—and it changed him.

LF: What do you mean it changed Alex?

AT: He went from being fairly easygoing and not wanting to join with the soldiers to being overcome with anger. Right the next day, he joined the Russian Navy. Before he left, Alex asked me to marry him. But it just wasn’t the right time—I could sense he was out of control. I told him no, and we broke up.

LF: What happened next?

AT: We hardly saw each other for a really long time. And both of us were being threatened by members of the Black Hand. (Annaveta’s voice sounds strained. She plays with the ends of her braid, her hands shaking a little). And I almost died trying to find something that my Mama had given me. We barely escaped with our lives, and that’s how I find myself here in Canada.

LF: That’s all you’re going to tell me?

AT: I just don’t want to talk about this anymore. All that we went through was so painful. I’m still feeling the loss of leaving Russia and our family and friends.

LF: Sorry for your loss. I won’t ask you any more deep questions like that. Although I do have one other question I wanted to ask.

AT: Well you can ask, I’m just not sure I will answer it.

LF: Okay, fair enough. You said you almost died trying to find something that your Mama had given you. That must have been something really important to you. Did you finally find it?

AT: Yes, I did find it. It’s a big part of what keeps me strong and anchors me in who I am. I’m tired of talking about this. Can we move onto another topic?

LF: Yes. Sorry if the questions got too deep or personal. I’m just trying to give readers a sense of what you’ve been through.

AT: Well… if they really want to know, they’ll have to read the book. I think you said it’s coming out in March 2016, right?

LF: Yes.

AT: Then they won’t have to wait too long for answers. (Stands and offers a small smile.) Let’s take a walk, and I’ll show you the new olive tree I planted.

LF: (Stands and walks with Annaveta, looking at the small tree in the middle of the farmyard.) Ah, very fitting.

Annaveta has grown in strength, maturity, and grace from all she’s been through. But the interview touched on too many fresh wounds, which explains why she rushed through the last few questions. Her story is captivating, though. I hope you check it out in March 2016.

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Thanks so much, Lorna, for taking the time to introduce Annaveta to my readers. I loved the first book, and I’ve been eagerly awaiting the second, so now I can look forward to March and the next installment.

So, guys, if you have any questions for Lorna about her novels, or about her coaching—just leave a message. We’d both love to hear from you.

About Lorna:

Lorna Faith loves stories filled with suspense, thrills… and of course, romance. She started as a young child telling stories first to her animals, then to her family and friends. She was asked many times if the stories she told were real.

Now, she saves her stories for her novels. Whether Lorna’s writing historical romance or contemporary romance, she always includes character’s dark secrets being exposed, suspense, and most of all love.

Right now Lorna is editing Anchoring Annaveta, Book #2 in the Russia to Canada Trilogy; she’s writing a contemporary romance, in the fictional but beautiful setting of Mulberry Island; and she’s almost finished writing a Historical Romance novella set in the early 1900s at the start of the oil and gas boom in Turner Valley, Alberta.

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