- Paullina Simons
Paullina Simons (born 1963 in Leningrad,
USSR ) is the international best-selling author of the novels "Tully", "Red Leaves", "Eleven Hours", "The Bronze Horseman", "Tatiana and Alexander", "The Girl In Times Square" and "The Summer Garden".Background
Simons dreamed of becoming a writer as a child in Leningrad. At the age of ten, she moved with her family to the United States, and completed an early attempt at writing when she was 12, in English. [ [http://www.likesbooks.com/paullinasimons.html Paullina Simons Interview on All about Romance, 2002] accessed July 8, 2008]
Simons attended colleges in
New York ,Kansas andEngland , graduating fromKansas University with a degree in political science. She worked as a financial journalist on theFinancial News Network , and translator among other various jobs before "Tully", her first novel, was written and released.Simons and her second husband Kevin Ryan live in
Long Island , New York and have four children. From oldest to youngest they are Natasha, Misha, Kevin Jr., and Tatiana (named after the heroine in "The Bronze Horseman )."Books
Although her most well known book is "The Bronze Horseman", many of Paullina's novels have reached international bestseller lists in countries including
Australia andNew Zealand . All of her books have been published with Flamingo orHarper Collins .Tully
Tully has been described as "the epic tale of a girl from the wrong side of the tracks and her emergence into womanhood". [ [http://www.harpercollins.com.au/author/authorExtra.aspx?authorID=50000535&displayType=interview HarperCollins Interview with Paullina Simon] accessed July 8, 2008]
The Bronze Horseman Trilogy
* The Bronze Horseman (published in 2000) is the story of
Red Army officer Alexander Belov and a young woman named Tatiana Metanova against the backdrop of theSiege of Leningrad during World War 2. It ends in 1943.
* Tatiana and Alexander also known as The Bridge to Holy Cross (published in 2003) continues to story through the end of the war and is set in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and the United States (primarily New York).
* The Summer Garden (published in 2005) takes place from 1946 to 1970, and is set in the United States and Vietnam. It also includes flashback sections to Tatiana's childhood and a longer epilogue set in 1999 and the years afterwards.Red Leaves
A suspense mystery, published in 1997.
Eleven Hours
Published in 1998, the story of a pregnant women who disappears.
The Girl in Times Square
A young women's roommate disappears, and an NYPD detective enters her life. She eventually begins to question what she knows about her friend and family. Published in 2004.
Road to Paradise
Simons' latest novel, published in 2007.
Tatiana's Table
A collection of recipes for meals mentioned in The Bronze Horseman, The Bridge To Holy Cross/Tatiana and Alexander, and The Summer Garden, was published in 2007. According to Simons: "I was looking to make it funny and light and cute, and am still trying to, but of course, my melancholy Russian soul is getting the better of me as I remember what Tatiana and Alexander had, what they lost, what they sacrificed for each other, what it took them to get back to the metaphoric Lazarevo (which in itself was a metaphor), and suddenly I’m feeling slightly less chipper. The blockade of Leningrad in 1941 is presenting particular problems as I write with abundance about cheese and milk and butter and flour and beef tenderloin and preheating ovens and buttering casserole dishes. I keep thinking of Tatiana smelling the empty bag that once contained oatmeal when there was no electricity and no heat, no coal or wood, or water on the third floor." [ [http://www.paullinasimons.com/news.htm Simons discusses Road to Paradise and Tatiana's Table] accessed July 8, 2008]
References
External links
* [http://www.paullinasimons.com Paullina Simons' Official Website]
* [http://www.paullinasimons.com/forum Official Website Forum] , where Simons posts updates and information, as well as answering questions from her most dedicated fans.
* [http://www.harpercollins.com.au/author/authorExtra.aspx?authorID=50000535&displayType=interview HarperCollins Author Interview]
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