Your novel, THE BUCHAREST DOSSIER, takes place in 1989 in Romania. Why choose that time and place for your story? What’s your inspiration? By December of 1989, the satellite countries of the Soviet Union had transitioned to democracy through their own versions of a “velvet,” peaceful revolution. All except one: Romania. Its leader, Nicolae Ceausescu, was a Stalinist tyrant who held the country in a tight grip through the use of his dreaded secret police, the Securitate. Romania would become the only former Soviet satellite to have a violent revolution, resulting in over 1,200 deaths, though exact numbers are still not available. And to this day, the people of Romania are still asking whether it was truly a popular revolution, or a coup directed by outside forces. Having been born in Romania, that period of history intrigued me. I have visited Romania many times, both during the communist years and afterward. I believe I can provide an accurate depiction of life under a totalitarian regime both from personal experience and through the eyes of relatives and friends who still live there. I think that in today’s world, it would be enlightening for the public to see what a totalitarian regime…