Breath of Deceit
Page 23
She’d left a note for her mother, not that it mattered. Paula Volkolva hadn’t cared much about anything Katerina did in years. The older woman spent her days working as a washroom attendant at a private luncheon club before she’d move on to her other job as the second shift housekeeper in the home of a wealthy government official. By the time Paula came home at midnight she didn’t care where her daughter was or what she was doing. And Katerina imagined Paula wouldn’t be terribly distressed she’d run off to America either. Although she’d miss Katerina’s contribution to the rent.
It had all seemed so perfect those first few hours. Katerina and Nadja had been taken by bus to the airport with a group of other young women. There were twenty-five of them and they waited in a special lounge at a private airstrip for a small jet that they were told was owned by the company they’d be working for.
Katerina had never been to an airport, flown on a plane, or lived outside her mother’s neighborhood in Moscow. She had been in awe of the sight of the jet sitting on a darkened runway when they were finally allowed to board late at night.
They’d spent the next twenty hours flying. First to Istanbul where they boarded a different plane, and then to the city that was supposed to be their new home—Chicago. She’d watched the sun sparkle off the mirrored windows of the skyscrapers as their plane had swung over the city on its descent. It had been morning when they’d landed, and even as exhausted as she was, Katerina had felt a surge of hope unlike anything she’d ever felt before.
Finally, she’d thought. Finally her life was going to change. She’d stepped off the plane, taken a deep breath, and opened herself to all the possibilities she’d never allowed herself to consider. A beautiful home, a safe neighborhood, a family that loved her.
Then a large man named Sergei had grabbed her arm and muscled her into the pitch black back of a generic van, and her entire future had crumbled like the bricks of her mother’s apartment block.
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Acknowledgments
I don’t always write acknowledgments, and it’s not because I’m not grateful to all sorts of people for all sorts of things, but really because when you’re writing several books per year your thank yous tend to start sounding redundant.
However, this book is different. It’s the beginning of a new direction in my career, and really a sign of how much I’ve grown as a writer and a person over the last five years.
Because I’ve always wanted to write books like this one—but I didn’t always believe I could. When I started Breath of Deceit I took a huge leap of faith, and there are some people who backed me up in that, and who were kind enough to tell me, "you’ve done well, you’re good at this." (And if I’ve forgotten anyone, please forgive me, writer brain is a terrible thing to have):
Thank you. Thank you to my reader/reviewer group Selena’s Squad; Thank you to my editors Deb Nemeth and Linda Ingmanson; Thank you to my cover designer Lori Jackson of LJ Designs; Thank you to Sandra Owens who gave me my first author quote supporting Breath of Deceit; Thank you to Sadie Haller for being maybe the very first reader and saying you loved it; Thank you to Kendra Elliot, Toni Anderson, and Melinda Leigh for being my romantic suspense idols—you set the bar high, and I will continue to reach for it; Thank you to Jamie Farrell, Nana Malone, Kelsey Browning, and Nadia Lee for being supportive in all ways and for being really exceptional human beings—I’m proud to call you my friends; Thank you to Jennie Marts for the sprints and the talks, you’re one of the funnest people I know and my serious self appreciates that; Thank you to Delancey Stewart for giving me time and patience when I’ve really needed it this year, I will come through for you, just hang in there; Thank you to the Racy Readers for being a super fun place to hang out, a visit to you always cheers me up; Thank you to Everafter Romance/Diversion books for the beautiful paperbacks, promotion, and distribution; Thank you to Audible and Alexander Cendese for the amazing audio edition; and Thank you to Veronica Adams at L.Wood P.R., your advice and counsel is truly appreciated, already I’m starting to wonder how I’ve done this without you all this time.
Finally, thank YOU for reading!
xoxo,
Selena.
About the Author
Selena is an award-winning and USA TODAY bestselling author who writes contemporary romance and romantic suspense as Selena Laurence, and paranormal/UF as Eden Laine. She loves mocha lattes, the mountains in Colorado where she lives, and her goldendoodle. Her favorite city is London, her favorite color is purple, and her favorite shoes are Converse, but really anything that will get her feet from point A to point B works.
Selena’s award-winning Powerplay series was called “a superb mix of sexual and political tension” by Publisher’s Weekly, and her debut indie romance, Hidden, won the Reader’s Crown award for best contemporary romance. Since then, Selena has gone on to publish twenty books, both as an indie author and with traditional publishers. She also coaches writers through her blog and workshops on turning #Passion2Profession.
Selena likes to make it as easy to read her books as possible, which is why they’re in ebook, paperback, and audio formats, in four languages, on the Radish Fiction app, online, on bookstore shelves, and at your local library.
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