Thank You Reviewers of Ravenscraig in the UK

On September 20, 2013 By Sandi Krawchenko AltnerIn Ravenscraig Reviews, Ravenscraig Sequel, Rupert Willows, Sequel, Uncategorized, Writing1 Comment

Few things are more gratifying to a writer than to have someone say they like your story. Readers who share their comments about what they like, what they found lacking and what they are recommending to the world is the lifeblood of an author’s career. We learn from the criticism and we are encouraged by the praise.

This may seem like a small thing, but it remains remarkable because there are thousands of books sold before a review is posted. I’m talking about your neighbor, your sister, your co-worker here, not the big time reviewers in newspapers and bloggers who get books in advance of publication. It’s the reader who buys the book or who is given a copy by a friend, or borrows it from the library who matters. A choice is made. A book enters your life to occupy your time for days. If you hate it you will drop it in four minutes. But if you like it, you become invested in the world of the characters. You come to know the people in the story and you develop opinions about them. Sometime you fall in love and it is sad when the book ends and you feel that the story should have gone on, just a little bit longer, or that there should be another book, or an entire series.

Once in a rare while, a reader feels compelled to share their thoughts. That is gold for a reviews writer. For me, this has made all the difference and has created the desire to write the sequel to Ravenscraig. (This next one will be all about art forgery in 1914 being sold to millionaires in New York.)

Next time your book club gets together, ask your members how many books they read in a year, and ask how many reviews they have written in their lifetime. It’s true that those who take the time to post those reviews are very special indeed to the authors. Even the big names are likely to read your words when you post those reviews.

So it is that I send out a big thank you today to the readers that have found Ravenscraig and have been moved to write a review. Writers live off the kind words of people who love our stories. We know that not everyone will get what we are saying, but for those who do, there is no greater joy than a fab review on Amazon. It drives us to keep going, despite it all.

So to Mazza who posted this review in the UK, I can only say thank you so much for your enthusiasm and for sharing your thoughts.

Thank you Mazza!

Happy weekend everyone.

And by the way, if you want to send me a note, I will certainly write back to you. You can write to me at sandikaltner@aol.com. Or connect with me on Twitter @SandiAltner.

Also please see the reviews on Amazon.com

Writing the Sequel to Ravenscraig

On July 18, 2013 By Sandi Krawchenko AltnerIn Ravenscraig Sequel, Sequel, Uncategorized, WritingLeave a comment

I am happy to share the news that at long last I am seriously at work writing the sequel to Ravenscraig. This story is settling into the world of art forgery and starts in 1914.

For me, fiction writing starts with serious research and for this novel, I have been learning about the exclusive world of art collectors, dealers and auctioneers. I can’t believe it has taken me this long to get to such a a fascinating field of study. Rife with scandal, and steeped in tradition, the art world makes for delicious reading. Please feel free to share your reccomendations.

There is nothing quick about my approach to writing a novel, so I am not ready to say when this book might be available. I can tell you that I am at my happiest on days like this when I can wander through history, and in this case luxury to see where the story goes.

800px-Real_Monte_Carlo_Casino

So as not to spoil the fun for the readers who have not yet finished Ravenscraig, I will tell you only that the new novel opens in Monte Carlo just before the Great War. Gambling, luxurious living, and the particular challenges of the world of the fine art market set the path for the new adventures of some familiar characters and some new friends who join the fun.

cn_image_2.size.h-tel-de-paris-monte-carlo-monte-carlo-monaco-106835-3 — Hotel de Paris, Monaco

Like Ravenscraig, the new book will be based on historical truths and will be driven by the appalling yet frequently charming behavior of my favorite imaginary friends.

From time to time I will share some of the images I find inspiring, like these of the Monte Carlo Casino and the Hotel de Paris in Monaco, from a fantastic website on all things fashionable called Zsazsabellagio.

I have a small favor to ask: If you have finished Ravenscraig, please don’t spoil the fun and tell anyone about the ending! I recently gave a talk for a large group and one dear lady couldn’t help but stand up and blurt out some information that should not have been revealed. Ugh. No spoilers please!

cn_image_3.size.h-tel-de-paris-monte-carlo-monte-carlo-monaco-106835-4 — Hotel de Paris, Monaco

cn_image_0.size.h-tel-de-paris-monte-carlo-monte-carlo-monaco-106835-1 — Hotel de Paris, Monaco

Canadian New $20 Can’t Be Laundered

On November 23, 2012 By Sandi Krawchenko AltnerIn America, Canada, History, Uncategorized, WinnipegLeave a comment

So those fancy new $20 bills in Canada are pretty snazzy. I laughed out loud when a grocery store cashier in Winnipeg gave me an impromptu review and a warning. She jabbed a finger at the new bill and stared me down. “Make sure you don’t leave that new 20 in a pocket and put it through the washing machine. It melts in the dryer, you know.”

She thrust the grocery bag at me as I was overcome with the memory of finding an American single in my freshly washed jeans some years ago. It made it okay. As did the electronic key to my husband’s car. Whew! So you can run a high-tech German car key and an American bill through the laundry, but make sure to guard those Canadian bank notes.

I wouldn’t doubt it. The bill is made of a special slippery substance, which is like plastic and features clear windows and some high tech graphics.

I found this background video that explains the choice in the artwork and how this the new bill offers increased security. I think this is pretty neat. And yes, I will always check my pockets before I do laundry.

Family Research Leads to Writing Ravenscraig

On May 28, 2012June 13, 2012 By Sandi Krawchenko AltnerIn Family history, Ravenscraig the novel, Ukrainians in Canada, Winnipeg2 Comments

169794_190812297598395_100000088774007_741355_4465148_o — Mary Krawchenko and her mother Tillie Bachynsky with
Mary’s daughters, Sandi and Margaret, 1958

I have a real fascination with old black and white pictures. I am especially interested in photos of people I know, but can spend days looking into any antique photo collection to learn about how people lived their lives generations ago.

I expect this is a familiar feeling for anyone who has looked through old family pictures and wished that there was someone still around to explain who was in the picture and what was happening on that day. Was it a birthday? A visit to a relative? Or just a walk in a park to share good news? The black and white photos tucked away in shoe boxes so quickly become anonymous faces staring out at us from another century with stories that are rooted in imagination instead of fact.

If I had to settle on a single reason why I wrote Ravenscraig, it would have to be this interest in old pictures.

Ravenscraig is a novel that tells the story of some of the major events in Winnipeg during the height of the immigration boom that began in the 1890s. Two families– one Jewish, poor and struggling to put down roots in the New World; the other rich and resistant to the foreigners among them–together provide a view of what life was like in a booming frontier city in Canada at the turn of the 20th century.

The research for the story was a most gratifying journey that included wide ranging resources from scholarly works and rare books to archived collections of rare documents, private letters and microfilmed court testimony. Online sources included such favourite websites as the Manitoba Historical Society, the City of Winnipeg Department of Planning, Canada Census Records and the online newspaper archives like the Manitoba Free Press.

Mary Krawchenko's pictures0013 — Nikola Strumbicky and Aksana Shmigelsky Strumbicky, 1958, Winnipeg

The inspiration for my desire to learn about the early days of Winnipeg grew out of a fascination with my own family roots. My family came to Manitoba in 1896 from Zalischiky, Galicia, which is now part of the Ukraine. They were “Stalwart Peasants in Sheepskin Coats” as Clifford Sifton the minister responsible for immigration had called them. They came to Canada to farm, answering the invitation for free land in Canada’s determination to populate the prairies.

It is a most gratifying journey to learn about one’s past. What pictures are in your shoebox?

Manitoba Publisher Buys Ravenscraig

On September 24, 2011November 15, 2011 By Sandi Krawchenko AltnerIn Books, Canadian Writers, Ravenscraig the novel, Winnipeg, Writing3 Comments

Heartland and Associates, a Manitoba publishing house, has purchased the Canadian rights to Ravenscraig by Sandi Krawchenko Altner.

The book will be launched in Winnipeg on November 29, 2011, at the McNally Robinson store at Grant Park.

A sweeping epic set at the turn of the 20th century, Ravenscraig reveals the secrets and lies that tie two families together. Rupert Willows has hidden away his past to manipulate his way to wealth and power. Zev Zigman, a devout Jew, mounts a desperate struggle to bring his family out of Russia and put down roots in Winnipeg’s North End.

Tragedies, triumphs, and the Titanic shape the lives of these two families as their futures entwine to illuminate a dark corner of Winnipeg’s past when it was the fastest growing city in the Dominion.

About the Author:

DSCN2621_2_2_2 — Sandi Krawchenko Altner

Sandi Krawchenko Altner enjoyed an award-winning career in television and radio news in Calgary, Winnipeg and Montreal, before she left to follow her passion for writing fiction. She is a fifth generation descendent of the first colony of Ukrainian immigrants to settle in Stuartburn, Manitoba in 1896. Sandi grew up with a keen interest in her roots and a deep love of history. A Jew by choice, Sandi celebrated conversion in 2005. She lives, writes and blogs in Florida where she is active in her synagogue. Sandi and her husband have two daughters and two happy dogs. Ravenscraig is her first novel.

Click on the image below to see the book trailer for Ravenscraig.