WWII to Today
Lithuania ~ Russia ~ Eastern Europe ~ the World
Behind the Books
Years ago, I found family papers containing stories and letters about Lithuanian resistance fighters opposing the Soviet occupation of 1944. I challenged myself to validate this information using English language references. It took years. But the result was a collection of books with ‘Amber’ in the title, where I say something about Lithuania and her past in the context of a fictional story.
Amber Wolf tells of the Lithuanians who fought to rid their country of the Soviet occupation brought by Stalin’s Red army during WWII. The characters in Amber Wolf are fictional, but the circumstances are very real. This book, and all the others, has a reading list and an afterward where I explain how the story came about.
Amber Wolf is for fans of ‘All the Light We Cannot See’ and similar books of WWII historical fiction.
Amber War continues the little-known story of post-World War II Lithuania and the continuing fight against the Soviet occupation. The rest of the world is a peace while Lithuania deals with violence and deprivation brought by the communist invaders.
Amber War is for fans of Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and similar books of WWII historical fiction.
The story in Amber Widow is fictional. However, the theft of nuclear material from the Ignalina Power Plant in eastern Lithuania was real. I imagined a Lithuanian partisan with access to nuclear waste who fears imminent Russian aggression and came up with a tale that is uncomfortably plausible.
A mix of historical espionage, Cold War intrigue, and Baltic/Eastern European history, Amber Widow is for fans of The Polish Officer, The Alice Network, and similar stories.
Black Amber goes into a world of political radicals who seek to use cyber terrorism on the natural gas pipeline bringing fuel from Russia into Germany. Inspired by the Nord Stream pipeline, Black Amber asks the question – how far might Russia go if provoked?
Black Amber has elements of Soviet-era intrigue, international energy-politics and more, and may be enjoyed by fans of The Russia House by John Le Carre, and The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer.
Gypsy Amber explores Russian reaction to Chinese territorial expansion and investment into Central Asia – Russia’s backyard. What does that imply for Eastern Europe? The novel is inspired by the bombing of Malaysian Flight 17 over Ukraine in 2014. The rest is an exciting read.
Gypsy Amber is a modern geopolitical thriller involving terrorism as a pretext for state action and Russian territorial maneuvering that may be enjoyed by fans of The Director by David Ignatius and similar stories.
Amber Spy is an espionage thriller with a strong sense of WWII history. Lithuanian basketball coach Nick Banis is caught between the CIA and Russian intelligence services. One flinch could mean disaster.
Amber Spy has elements of Russian politics, Lithuanian history, and intelligence operations that may be enjoyed by fans of The Increment by David Ingatius, The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre and similar stories.
Amber Exile has Baltic Watch think-tank owner Vit racing around the world to find out if the incredible story of a former WWII refugee from Lithuania is true. If it is, Russia may fall. If it isn’t, Vit may die. Amber Exile combines Russian intelligence, the WWII diaspora from Lithuania, and the fall of the Berlin Wall in an espionage thriller for fans of Red Sparrow by Jason Mathews, Damascus Station by David McCloskey and similar stories.
Living with Russia as a neighbor continues in Strategic Deception and Deception Protocol, Grace Urban Spy Thrillers.
Strategic Deception and Deception Protocol combine AI (artificial intelligence) disinformation with hybrid warfare concepts, NATO instability, and intelligence response in books that might be enjoyed by fans of The Expats by Chris Pavone, Moscow X by David McCloskey and similar stories.
