Thomas C. Almond, author of Goodbye, Kiev is my guest today. Welcome, Thomas, and tell us more about yourself.
I was born in Spokane, Washington. I worked 27 years as a firefighter for the city of Portland, Oregon after serving 4 years in the U. S. Coast Guard. My beautiful wife Olga I met in Dnepropetrovsk Ukraine and we live in the Bend/ Sunriver, Oregon area.
I have had a desire to write for a long time and finally found the time to pursue this when I retired from the fire department.
What are your writing goals?
I want to write books that make people think and feel their emotions. I like to write in a style like I am sitting in your living room telling you my story.
Is there a message in your writing you want readers to grasp?
Goodbye Kiev is a story about love and commitment. I hope readers will put themselves in the place of the main character and think what they might do in a similar situation.
I also wanted to provide the reader with some information about Ukraine, a country I think many people in America do not know much about.
Goodbye Kiev is a powerful story in an interesting setting. All reviews of Goodbye Kiev have commented on the emotion and power of this story which one of my goals in writing it.
Tell us more about your book.
It is a fictional love story that the idea came from some real life experiences. An American man and a Ukrainian woman meet through an international marriage agency, fall in love and plan to marry. But after his return to the States she begins to appear to want to end their relationship. He does not understand why and eventually returns to Ukraine to try to find answers and save their relationship. This return trip will test his love and commitment repeatedly.
How did you develop characters? Setting?
Many of the characters are based on real people I have known. The settings are where I have lived in America as well as Ukraine.
How do you determine voice in your writing?
I like to write as if I am telling this story to you in person.
Where do you write? When? What do you have around you?
I wrote Goodbye Kiev at home and while in Ukraine. I found great inspiration to write Goodbye Kiev while in Dnepropetrovsk Ukraine, which is the setting for much of the story. I often went out to different locations around the city and wrote. I also wrote a small part of it on an airplane coming home from Ukraine.
Any current projects?
I am currently working on a sequel to Goodbye Kiev.
Where can folks learn more about your books and events?
My website is
http://thomascalmond.webs.com/
Here can be found latest information and a pictorial review of Goodbye Kiev as well as some stories about my time in Ukraine. You can also purchase books from my website at some of the lowest prices you will find anywhere.
I am also on many sites such as Books In Sync, Cold Coffee, iFIGO Village and Book Masons.
Thank you for this opportunity to communicate with interested readers about Goodbye Kiev.
You're certainly welcome. Continued sucess!
