A Rose for Sergei | True-Life Cold War Romance

I always appreciate it when someone takes the time to read my book and write a response/review for A Rose for Sergei.  I’ve mentioned this before—reviews don’t have to be lengthy, they can be just a few words.  Reviews can make a difference, and lead others to discover the last part of Sergei Kourdakov’s story.

* * *

A Rose for Sergei

Thank You Readers for the

Amazon US & Amazon UK Reviews 

True-Life Cold War Romance (4 Stars)

This is not at all the sort of book I would normally read, but as a Russianist I was fascinated by the premise.  It's the true-life account of the author's relationship with Soviet defector and ex-KGB agent Sergei Kourdakov, one of the more unusual figures in the Cold War.  The book is billed as reading like a romance novel, and it certainly does, capturing the giddiness of young love as the two main figures fall head-over-heels for each other at first sight.  I also found it very interesting to read about the author's experiences as a young woman making a career for herself in government service in the early 1970s.  This is a bit of a hybrid book, combining as it does the genres of memoir, romance, and cold war thriller, so purists of any of the genres may not know what to make of it, but I found it a quick easy read and an interesting take on one of the hotter periods of the Cold War.

— Laela Ae

Four Stars (4 Stars)

Liked the book very much.

— Dorene Casey

Truth Really is Stranger than Fiction - and Better (5 Stars)

This will be a book I read more than once and I can't say that about most books.  I lived through the author's story moment by moment, until, like hers, my heart was breaking.  Thanks to the author for sharing her extraordinary, true story.

— Hullaballoo

    

Purchase from Amazon

Sergei Kourdakov | Young, Free and in Love…

Recently I exchanged blog interviews with fellow Indie Author, Kevin R. Hill.  Interviews offer a different platform in which writers can connect with readers.  In turn, readers learn about the author’s character and individual style of writing.  One of the surprising upsides of our interview exchange turned out to be the camaraderie between two authors who have never met.

The interviewee obviously knows the Question & Answer portion of the interview in advance.  Anything else the interviewer writes about you is usually unknown until the blog post is made public.  So when I saw the headline Mr. Hill posted on his blog for his interview with me, I couldn’t hold back my laughter.  From experience I knew what to expect when you mention a certain three-letter-word publicly.  Uhhh oh, I thought, he doesn’t know.  I wondered if I should alert him, but then decided to let it go.

A few days later Kevin emailed me wondering about Russia’s sudden interest in his blog.  “It’s the word ‘spy’,” I informed him.  “It causes the blogosphere to go crazy.”  He lightheartedly emailed me back, “…that was just a wee little bit of info that may have been useful prior to publication!”

Excerpt from the Blog of Kevin R. Hill:

“Young, Free, and in love with a Spy--A real life Romance!”

In 1972, author Kolleen Kidd found herself involved with a Soviet defector, Sergei Nikolayevich Kourdakov, a former KGB agent and naval officer.  I met Kolleen on Goodreads.com, and wanted to bring her on the blog for my readers to experience the intrigue she lived.

A Rose for Sergei - Available from Amazon 

1. Kolleen, please take us to that world of excitement.  You were young and flirting with a defector, a former enemy.  Was it exciting?

Yes, it was very exciting.  I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love mystery and intrigue.  I was sixteen when I found summer clerical employment with the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington DC.  I couldn’t tell anyone what I did or even the location of the building where I worked.  It was one of many secrets I would have to keep.

The Soviet Union was our enemy.  I still remember the practice air raid drills—hiding under my desk in elementary school in preparation for the unimaginable.  When Sergei and I met, at my Federal Government office, we were both twenty-one.  He shook my hand and would not release it.  The heated attraction between us was immediate, in spite of the fact that our countries were adversaries.  We were young, single, and on our own in a beautiful and powerful city.  It was both exciting and frightening…we were watched and followed.  Each thought the other was a spy.

2. Why did you write A Rose for Sergei?

Read the complete July 14, 2016 interview on Kevin R. Hill’s Blog

* * *

I love the newest cover for The Mayan Case!

Available from Amazon