Swan Out of Water

Essentially, Swan Out of Water, is a stand-alone sequel to my previous book, Children in the City of Czars, in which Fedya, Elena, and Irina begin their odyssey in St. Petersburg, Russia. That story was dedicated to my adult daughter, Liliana, who was adopted from St. Petersburg at age 15, and experienced the challenges of a Russian orphanage. Both of my sons, now adults, were adopted from a Latvian orphanage at ages four and five. Latvia is my parents' home country and I am a first generation American.

Instead of continuing the Children in the City of Czars timeframe, Swan Out of Water takes place ten years later and exposes the impact of childhood trauma on a young teenager and the difficulty of assimilating into an American culture. Some of these issues I drew from my daughter's experiences here in the States.

My late husband, Mike Brown, and I have long held a passion for the plight of orphans and vulnerable children both in this country and abroad. Inevitably, we discovered many incidences of human trafficking among orphaned children. I am grateful for the many non-profits who work tirelessly to help these girls, boys, and women.

In Swan Out of Water, Annie Spencer thought she knew who she was.

But when a buried secret surfaces, her entire world unravels. Adopted from Russia as a child, Annie discovers the shocking truth-her adoption was illegal, her birth records forged, and her true identity-Irina Lebedev-erased. Even more haunting? She may have siblings back in St. Petersburg who never stopped looking for her.

Desperate to uncover the past and reclaim the truth, Annie makes a reckless deal with a charming stranger named Maks, who promises to help her get to Russia. But Maks has his own agenda. And by the time Annie realizes she's been played, she's on a bus surrounded by armed guards-with no way out.