Travels and Inspiration

Since I am one of the first authors to blog, I guess I can start by introducing myself. We moved to sunny Florida five years ago and never regretted the cold and the snow. Over the years, I traveled to over fifty countries for business or vacation and I like to set my stories in the fascinating places I visited. My romantic suspense books, TO LOVE A HERO and FRENCH PERIL are available as ebook and paperback at Cerridwen Press. My medical romances, BABIES IN THE BARGAIN and PRESCRIPTION FOR TRUST will soon be released by The Wild Rose Press.

Of course, I am avid reader. Aren’t we all? Now that I write, I read much less than the book- a-day I was addicted to. But let me tell explain the events that led me to write my first book.

In a previous life, I was a chemist mixing solutions, dipping my gloved fingers in dirty waste, running complicated equipments and declaring your drinking water safe enough to drink. My life became more interesting in 1995 when I won an international contract to refurbish laboratories in Belarus. That’s when I pulled several maps and opened the Internet to discover where exactly Belarus was and to learn as much as I could about this country.

My fear of the unknown subsided when several officials from Washington, DC, announced they were accompanying me and two managers from my lab to introduce us. I was carrying a large purse and two carry-ons, one with official papers, and the other with my supply of drinking water for the week, apples pre-washed with safe American water and a box of crackers I planed to survive on. No wonder I was slim at the time. We landed in Minsk without problems, excitement bubbling through me.

Things deteriorated as the passengers pushed each other toward an old wobbly escalator, my two managers preceding me with as much luggage. My first step on the damn escalator sent me flying and screaming straight into my companions’ back. One caught my carry-on and the other saved my neck.

It was freezing cold in Minsk, but we were so well received by everyone, officers, directors, chemists, journalists. I worked with colonels and generals, was invited to theirs homes and became friend with their wives. I traveled fifteen times to Minsk over the course of three years and appreciated the Belarussian hospitality. During the inauguration of the lab we were featured on their national TV several times. Needless to say, I fell in love with Belarus.

My contract also encompassed business trips and lab refurbishments in Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan. I enjoyed visiting Moscow and Sergei Possad, in Russia, and I didn’t mind a tour of Kiev in the Ukraine. Unfortunately, the lab where we worked was located in Ouman, a small city where running water was available for two hours in the morning and the evening. You had to save water in a pitcher to flush the toilet and store your supply of drinking water in another pitcher. It’s the same water that sat in the rusty pipes for ten hours prior to use, so it didn’t matter if you mixed them up. I also filled an aluminum bucket—they call it tub there—and heated the water with an electric wire for my weekly bath in a freezing room!!! I couldn’t wait to get out of Ouman.

In winter, Kazakhstan looked like the North Pole. A white desert stretching to the horizon. The capital Almati is a modern city surrounded by mountains. The spring offered beautiful sceneries. I have gorgeous pictures of hordes of wild horses running free in the country side. I could have enjoyed Kazakhstan, but Stepnogorsk, the god-forsaken place where we worked, was infested with mosquitoes that delighted on sucking my blood. So I spent more time smacking and squashing the pesky suckers than admiring nature.

Stepnogorsk boasts of one large avenue but very few paved streets. Is it any surprise that I broke my knee while strolling through the so-called streets? I listened to local advice and rubbed my knee and leg with vodka to disinfect and numb the pain, but I refused to be treated by “a good doctor from the old communist regime”. When I almost got arrested at the international airport of Almaty for carrying a lovely little icon I bought in Moscow and still had in my suitcase, I swore to God I would never come back to this place.

It was in Belarus that I learned the many uses of vodka. Shot glasses of vodka were shoved in my hands to celebrate contracts and party. Bottles of vodka were generously passed around when we walked in the freezing cold. When I ran out of apples and crackers, I had no choice but to share the official dinner, sitting at the right of a general who gallantly filled my plate with greasy morsels. My stomach revolted. Before dessert, I excused myself and made a beeline for the nearest restroom and later locked myself in my hotel room, wondering if I was going to die alone in a Belarussian hotel. Not to fear. The general sent two colonels with a bottle of vodka and orders to cure me with as many drinks as they deemed necessary. After four treatments of vodka, I forgot my stomach cramps, my headache and even my name.

People were genuinely nice but totally ignored the meaning of deadline. Patience and resilience were necessary virtues when working in Eastern countries. After so many trips and adventures, we accomplished our mission and I had incredible stories that needed to be shared.

Five years later, I took an early retirement to write my first book, TO LOVE A HERO, The sizzling romance of an American scientist and a Belarussian general, blossoms amid a web of intrigue and a clash of two cultures. Through my novel, I lived again my fantastic trips to Belarus. My fictitious story highlights the hospitality and warmth of the gorgeous and gallant Belarussians officers who sing, toast with vodka and make a woman feel like a goddess.

TO LOVE A HERO is available in paperback at Cerridwen Press.
http://www.jasminejade.com/p-6651-to-love-a-hero.aspx?skinid=13

Short Synopsis:
Admired by men and adored by women, Major General Sergei is a true hero in his country. When a lovely American chemist stumbles at the airport straight into his arms, Sergei has more on his mind than patriotic duty.

On her first international business trip to Belarus, a Russian country dominated by male chauvinism and intrigues, Cecile finds more chemistry than she bargains. Can she betray his trust to save his career? Will her love cost him everything he values?

SIMPLY ROMANCE REVIEW: Outstanding Read. Ms. Risk hits a homerun with this story. I definitely recommend TO LOVE A HERO , and while you're at it pick up a bottle of vodka! Nazhtrovia!!
SATURDAY BLURB SPECIAL, Beyond her Book Blog on Publishers Weekly, June 28, 2008 Read by Joysann I found myself googling Belarus for some of its history, and that means I enjoyed the story a lot.
TWO LIPS REVIEW: Mona Risk tells a poignant yet beautiful and sweet story of two people falling in love, who must fight their attraction...
REVIEW YOUR BOOK: Mona Risk is a talented author. She knows how to weave intrigue and romance into her story. Fans of romance and suspense will enjoy To Love a Hero.
NIGHT OWL ROMANCE BOOK REVIEW : To Love a Hero by Mona Risk is a wonderful & adventurous story of love overseas.

Please visit my website http://www.monarisk.com/
TO READ EXCERPTS AND SHORT SYNOPSES OF MY BOOKS, GO TO mySpace blog.