WeWriWa—Alla’s accident

Welcome back to Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday, weekly Sunday hops where writers share 8–10 sentences from a book or WIP. Today, to mark the 15th anniversary of a car accident that almost killed me, gave me second-degree burns, and left me unable to walk for eleven months, I’m sharing an excerpt from The Twelfth Time: Lyuba and Ivan on the Rocks, the second volume about my Russian characters (which is long overdue for its final polishing and release!).

Some years back, I posted an earlier part of this scene in a post for the now-defunct Six Sentence Sunday hop, It’s April 1927, and Lyuba’s closest stepsister, Alla, was knocked over and run over by a Bugatti after she ran into the road to rescue Lyuba’s baby Katya. Shortly afterwards, an Essex with Alla’s ex-boyfriend, Daniil Karmov, drove up, and Karmov immediately came to Alla’s assistance.

Bugatti Type 44, Copyright Herranderssvensson

Ivan hands Katya to Lyuba and tries pushing the Bugatti over on its side, the way he’s seen cars flip over in the movies.  Karmov goes to the other side as the driver shouts at them.

“Don’t let him drive off without taking down his license!” Katrin says. “He needs to be reported to the police for running over a pedestrian!” She pulls a pen and a notepad out of her purse and goes around to the back to write down the identification number.

Karmov’s friend in the Essex pulls Alla onto the sidewalk as soon as the car has been lifted up just far enough to give her space to escape.  The Bugatti owner drives off shouting at them and calling them dumb immigrants and agitators.

“He’ll go to jail for leaving the scene of an accident he caused,” Katrin predicts. “What a jerk.”

Hudson Essex Super Six, Copyright Addvisor

Next Sunday, which is a much happier anniversary, I’ll have some good news to share.

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WeWriWa—No shame in imperfections

Welcome back to Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday, weekly Sunday hops where writers share 8–10 sentences from a book or WIP. I’ve been sharing from my alternative history, And Aleksey Lived, which releases 17 July, on my primary protagonist’s real-life 100th death anniversary.

This week’s snippet comes a bit after last week’s, when soon-to-be-Empress Arkadiya began looking at fashion books and magazines with her future sister-in-law Tatyana, to get ideas for her wedding gown. Tatyana has explained each style of neckline and sleeve, and Arkadiya has said she’d prefer not to show her arms. Though the engagement photographs printed all over the world showed the burn scars on her arms, she wants to pretend everyone has forgotten about that.

Arkadiya also references the limp in her right leg, and the additional burn scars on her stomach and abdomen. She laments how she’ll be such a blemished bride.

Tatyana put her hand on Arkadiya’s left arm. “Everyone in this world who’s lived outside of a glass bubble has scars of some sort, be they physical, emotional, or mental.  Many people who appear physically unblemished are deeply scarred where no one can see it.  After what my siblings and I escaped, and what we saw, our hearts, souls, and minds have been riddled by scars we can never get rid of.  These scars make us who we are, and tell stories of survival.  Hiding them and pretending to be perfect gives a false impression.  There’s no shame in having an imperfect body or state of mind.  That’s one of the reasons Sunbeam likes you so much, because you’re not perfect, and have known suffering on a personal level just like he has.”

WeWriWa—Arkadiya and Tatyana

Welcome back to Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday, weekly Sunday hops where writers share 8–10 sentences from a book or WIP. I’ve been sharing from my alternative history, And Aleksey Lived, which is scheduled to be released on 17 July, if all goes according to plan. I’ve been so one-tracked over the past few months, finishing up final edits, and know I haven’t been as prompt as I used to be about reciprocating blog visits!

This week’s snippet comes right after last week’s, when soon-to-be-Empress Arkadiya went to talk about the wedding dress with her future sister-in-law Tatyana after luncheon. Tatyana complained about being featured so often in the fashion books and magazines in front of them, and Arkadiya objected to this deprecating comment by saying Tatyana is so beautiful and always well-dressed.

Tatyana, left, with her youngest sister Anastasiya in 1915, at the infirmary in Tsarskoye Selo

“Photographs don’t do your beauty justice.  I already thought you were beautiful before meeting you in person, but now it’s obvious you’re even more beautiful than I thought.  You have the natural look of a princess, someone who’s very special.”

“Thank you very much for thinking so highly of me, but I’d rather be recognized for my nursing and charity work, not any physical beauty or how finely I dress.  God also deserves all the credit for how I look.  All I did was be born.”

Arkadiya looked through the pictures, featuring both Russian women and famous women from other European countries.  Some of the photographs also featured women from North America.  They were all dressed in the kinds of clothes she’d never imagined she’d someday have the option to wear, both on account of their level of finery and because of the world-famous designers.

Miscellaneous Imperial Family photos

Because I’ve been singularly working on finishing my alternative history in time for its 17 July release, I didn’t have any time left to put together a proper post. Instead, here are some of my photos of Russia’s Imperial Family.

1922 engagement photo of Prince Nikita Aleksandrovich (grandson of Aleksandr III) and childhood friend Countess Mariya Vorontsova-Dashkova. Their oldest son, Prince Nikita Nikitich, appears in my alternative history, as one of the five princes held as ransom by the Eichmann–Kommando in Budapest.

Tsar Ivan V, Peter the Great’s very handsome halfbrother and initial co-Tsar. Though Ivan was very severely disabled, he had a wife and five healthy daughters, and Peter was always so compassionate towards him. He never excluded him from co-ruling, even knowing it was mostly symbolic.

Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich, second surviving son of the rival Vladimirovichi branch of the family. Though he was quite the womanizer and overspender, he was also known as an excellent host, very friendly and cheerful, with gourmet foods and wines by his tables. He and his little brother Andrey were let out of Bolshevik captivity when their captor recognized Boris as the one who’d bought some of his artwork when he was a struggling artist in France.

Grand Duchess Yelizaveta Fyodorovna (née Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine), known as Ella, Empress Aleksandra’s older sister, widow of Grand Duke Sergey Aleksandrovich, in 1887. She later became a nun, and was murdered by the Bolsheviks. In comparison to her sister, she was popular from the moment she arrived in Russia.

Prince Igor Konstantinovich, who marries Grand Duchess Mariya in my alternative history. They have eleven children, ten of whom survive. Had they both lived, he would’ve been a great husband for her, since she wanted so much to marry a nice Russian soldier and have a large family. Knowing she was a hemophilia carrier, and such a sweet person, I gave them eight girls and only three boys. Their second hemophiliac son survives into adulthood and plays a very important role in capturing Hitler alive near the end of the war. Their surprise youngest child, Oleg, is the healthy son they’ve long dreamt of.

Found this among a few blurry pictures while going through my downloads to free up space on my computer, prior to reinstalling and updating my OS. I really hope that photo isn’t what it looks like!

Prince Oleg Konstantinovich, Igor’s favorite brother, said to be the most intelligent of the Konstantinovichi siblings. His death in the war in 1914 devastated their father.

WeWriWa—In the Poppy Red Salon

Welcome back to Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday, weekly Sunday hops where writers share 8–10 sentences from a book or WIP. I’ve been sharing from my alternative history, And Aleksey Lived, which is scheduled to be released on 17 July, if all goes according to plan. This week’s snippet comes right after last week’s, when soon-to-be Empress Arkadiya followed her future sister-in-law Tatyana into the Poppy Red Salon after lunch.

Arkadiya tried not to look too much at the paintings of Tatyana’s parents, which had certainly been brought here by the palace’s new mistress instead of left over from a previous owner.  Other obviously new additions were watercolors of Tatyana, her sisters, and their brother, along with small framed photographs of their family before the catastrophe.

Tatyana motioned to a white and gold satin settee. “Please have a seat, Arkadiya Mikhaylovna.  The fashion magazines and books are right there, with bookmarks in the wedding sections.  I wish I weren’t featured so much in these books and magazines.  Other society ladies should be considered for best-dressed, not someone everyone already knows about.  It feels like cheating to always mention me.”

“Oh, but you’re always so well-dressed, and so beautiful,” Arkadiya said.