While I was in college, I had the opportunity to intern in Kiev, Ukraine. Days before the internship began, a few other interns and I flew into the London Heathrow airport to catch our connecting flight to Moscow and then on to Kiev.
But when we reached London, there was a problem. Russia had changed their Visa laws a few days before, and now, even though we were never leaving the Moscow airport, we needed Russian visas…which we did not have.
We managed to be bumped to a flight leaving the next day, so the next morning, we rushed to the American embassy and shelled out big bucks for expedited visas and returned to the airport…only to discover that our flight out of Russia no longer existed on the airlines records. And the next flight they did have wasn’t scheduled until the next week—long after our new visas expired.
We were left with two options, cross out the dates on our visas and write in a new date accompanied by mysterious initials or fly to Russia pretending we didn’t know our next flight had vanished and hope the airline took care of it. (There was one other option that involved going by land and taking six trains, three buses and a ferry. That one was rejected rather quickly.)
After a some debate, we decided to go with the option that didn’t include international fraud. We got on the airplane that day and landed in Moscow—where we were promptly told our flight didn’t exist. After a lot of negotiation, the airline threw us on a bus and rushed us to another airplane leaving for Kiev in half an hour… from an airport across the city.
By the time we arrived at the airport, the plane was already on the runway, so the airline put us on another bus and rushed us out to the other flight—literally dodging planes on the tarmac.
Finally, we were on the plane to Kiev—our luggage on our laps since there was no space elsewhere on the plane—and we took off.
(And when that flight landed in Kiev? It arrived at the same time as the pope…but that’s a story for another post.)
I had made it out of Russia with a pristine criminal record. Many of my new friends were annoyed at the situation or grumbling about the hassle. But I was in love. Narrow scrapes with jets. Being sent through customs backwards to skip the lines at security. Running through the streets to an American embassy. Russian had given me adventure.
Although I later returned to Moscow and St. Petersburg (with proper visas) to see the historic sights and the exquisite beauty of the country, those memories have always been colored by my earlier adventure, hinting at what Russia was capable of.
So when the heroine of my new release, SINS OF A RUTHLESS ROGUE, is kidnapped by a brutal group of Russian revolutionaries, I knew I couldn’t let them stay in London. My heroine had to go to Russia and experience the same wonders that I did.
Although I am a little jealous that she gets to have even more fun—She gets to do it in the winter!
Learn More About SINS OF A RUTHLESS ROGUE
Revenge never tasted so sweet . . .
When Clayton Campbell shows up on her doorstep, Olivia Swift is stunned. For long ago, Clayton was the boy who stole her heart. He’s also the man her betrayal had sent to the gallows. A man she believed dead, now standing before her, looking leaner, harder, more powerful than ever, his haunted eyes filled with a lust she had never seen—for vengeance . . .
Or burned so hot . . .
He has more than once faced death and escaped unscathed. Yet Clayton Campbell cannot deny that the sight of Olivia rouses in him something more than a thirst for revenge. Or that the bold beauty would lure him once more into a dangerous game. Only this time, Clayton plans to be the victor— with the tempting Olivia in his bed as his prize. But once passion ignites between them, the hard-hearted agent will face his greatest battle yet— for his heart . . .
Anna Randol was raised in Southern California. When she was eight, she decided her diary was too dull and decided to write as if she lived on a raft in the Amazon with her imaginary dog, Cream Puff. At twelve, Anna decided racing down rapids with only a dog for company might get rather lonely. Handsome British heroes began to appear on her raft, and her love of adventure-driven romance was born. Her next novel, SINS OF A RUTHLESS ROGUE, is available March 26, 2013. She loves to hear from readers on Twitter: @AnnaRandol or at Facebook
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