The Ice Swan by J’nell Ciesielski

First off, I want to thank Netflix for suggesting the show Road to Calvary after I finished watching Seyit and Sura. It’s like you know me so well and make sure I’m always aware of the newest and best foreign period dramas to be absorbed by. The Russian Revolution and the sad fate of the Romanov family were nothing new to me, but this show gave me insight into the catalyst of those horrific years, how it affected the Russian people, and how the country was forced to pull out of the Great War in order to fight its own civil war. Thank you for broadening my horizons and sparking the voice for Svetlana’s plight as one of the millions displaced from their home.

Netflix is not alone in deserving my gratitude. Fiddler on the Roof, Downton Abbey season 5, and War and Peace are wonderful visual tellings of this turbulent region and what it meant for people caught in the grinding wheels of prejudice. For a more in-depth study of Russia’s history and how each event piled atop one another like stones until it built into the crushing boulder that was the Russian Revolution of 1917, Orlando Figes’s Natasha’s Dance was an invaluable resource and one I cannot recommend highly enough. Be warned, it is a heavy read, but well worth it.

Thank you to Rick Barry who was oh so patient in helping me understand the Russian language, the difference between ovich and an ovna, and offering suggestions to my vocabulary list. Without you my Russian characters would sound, well, not Russian.

I wouldn’t be sitting here typing this list of thank yous if it weren’t for Linda, my agent, who still puts up with me after all these years and never stops fighting to see me succeed. You’re one in a million, lady.

To my team at Thomas Nelson, who are just as excited about these crazy stories as I am and work so hard to polish them into a diamond. Amanda, Jocelyn, Jodi, Kerri, Margaret, Laura, Matt, and everyone else working behind the scenes. Stories would not be what they are without your zest and commitment, and I’m so excited to be a part of your publishing family!

Last but certainly not least, to my family. Daisy, for your unwavering companionship and never-fail bark to alert me that the Amazon guy is here. Again. We’d be lost without your vigilant protection. Miss S for the rainbow of color you explode into our lives. And to Bryan, my constant. Love y’all.