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Interview with Marina Raydun, author of One Year in Berlin & Foreign Bride

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This book is a compilation of two novellas—“One Year in Berlin” & “Foreign Bride.”

The novellas are entirely different from each other, with different themes and inspirations.

In that case, maybe you should tell us about them individually.
“One Year in Berlin” is a story of Rachael—a granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor who finds herself having to live in Berlin for at least a year. Though she believes she is strong enough to move on and not be held back by her family’s history, its fears and prejudices, Rachael feels herself growing unhinged on German soil; her new life becomes riddled with nightmares and visions.

Tell us more about Rachel.
Rachael is a strong-headed workaholic who was raised primarily by her grandmother—a Holocaust survivor. Though she doesn’t like to admit it, she is rather traumatized by her family’s history.

What other characters does she share this story with?
Darren is Rachael’s husband. He watches Rachael work herself into exhaustion just to distance herself from her family and takes a job abroad specifically to make her stop and be the wife he always wanted.

Karl is a young German man who becomes Rachael’s German tutor. The two develop an unexpected bond.

Maybe we should talk about Foreign Bride now. What’s it about?
“Foreign Bride” is a tale of two people from different countries who find each other in the context of Moscow’s “mail-order bride” industry. Their feelings for each other seem genuine despite the more or less calculated manner in which they met, but the story illustrates what mistrust and insecurities can do to a potentially happy couple.

Exciting premise. Who are these people?
Bobby is a middle-aged Londoner. Feeling a little more desperate with age, he agrees, on the advice of his friends, to turn to a marriage agency in Moscow to find himself a wife. While there, he succeeds in meeting a woman who catches his eye but he is insecure and suspects that he is settled for. Older almost by two decades and not particularly fit, he is never quite sure why a young and beautiful woman like Sofiya would ever pick him.

Sofiya is eager to marry a man from abroad and leave Russia. She is pretty calculating in her mission but also wants to feel something genuine, instead of selling herself for a visa. Unfortunately, all too familiar with the mail-order bride industry, Sofiya knows her competition well; she knows that mostly younger girls, with stronger, more Slavic features fill the agency’s databases. She is afraid that, once he gets bored with her, Bobby will trade her in for a “different model.”

What genre are these novellas?
I think both of my novellas span a few genres. Generally, the genre is fiction. More specifically, I suppose there are elements of literary fiction, historical fiction, romance and, perhaps, mystery.

What kind of readers will it appeal to?
So far, readers of different walks of life have had positive things to say. Readers who like a good story with, maybe, a bit of a dark tint to it will hopefully find these to be of interest. My books are not the sunniest and I like my endings to be just a touch ambiguous.

We like that in stories. Is there anything out there that is similar?
Well, if I can flatter myself for just a moment, I’d like to say “any book
written by Gillian Flynn.” Also, still in the realm of self-flattery, perhaps “short stories by the Israeli author Savyon Liebrecht.”

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I was born in the former Soviet Union and moved to the United States with my parents, at the age of 11. Sometime in high school, I began writing short stories and essays; I would picture a scene and want to write it down, see where it leads. Unfortunately, I did not study creative writing in college (and actually went on to graduate from law school), but I’ve always continued writing for pleasure.

“One Year in Berlin” and “Foreign Bride” are my first published works of fiction.

My other passions include reading, singing and baking.

Can we follow you on Twitter and/or Facebook?
Yes, please do!
www.facebook.com/AuthorMarinaRaydun
@Author_MRaydun

What’s next?
I would like to work on writing a mystery novel for my next project.

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