First-time novelist moves to Umina

First time novelist Ms Lana Kortchik has recently relocated to Umina and released her first book Savaged Lands.

Ms Kortchik grew up in Russia when it was still the Soviet Union.

At the age of 16, she moved to Australia with her mother.

Since then she has lived in Wollongong, South Sydney, the UK and Kings Langley, before deciding to settle in Umina with her husband.

Kortchik became obsessed with historical fiction when she read Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers for the first time at the age of nine.

"It was love at first page and from that moment on, I have read everything by Dumas I could get my hands on.

"Alexandre Dumas remains my favourite author, together with Paullina Simons and Jules Verne," she said.

Kortchik first started writing six years ago at university when her history lecturer suggested she give it a go.

Since then, her short stories have appeared in many magazines and anthologies.

She was the winner of Historical Novel Society Autumn 2012 Short Fiction competition and the runner-up of 2013 Defenestrationism Short Story Contest.

Her first novel, Savaged Lands, was published on January 8 by Endeavour Press.

Savaged Lands is a story of war and betrayal, of love and forgiveness.

It is set in September 1941 and Hitler's Army Group South occupied Kiev.

A young Soviet girl named Natasha falls in love with Mark, a Hungarian soldier of Russian descent.

Trapped on opposing sides of the most brutal conflict to ever engulf the Soviet Union, they are forced to keep secrets from everyone they love.

With everything stacked against them and nothing to hope for, the two characters are compelled to fight for their love and their survival.

Kortchik spent three years living in Kiev as a child and says her happiest childhood memories are those of Ukraine.

"When the time came to choose the setting for my novel, I knew it had to be Kiev because the city holds such a special place in my heart," Kortchik said.

"And it had to be Kiev during war because, like many Russians, I have always been fascinated with war stories.

"My grandparents have lived through the period, and I grew up listening to their reminiscing about those times," she said.

Savaged Lands was inspired by one of the short stories Kortchik wrote a few years previously.

"After it was published in a historical fiction magazine, people would mention how much they liked it and then ask a lot of questions.

"They wanted to know what the political situation was in Ukraine during the war, what life was like for average Soviets, what happened before, during and after the occupation.

"And that's when I knew that there was more to the story than I had first thought.

"I started researching the period of German occupation of Ukraine and reading memoirs and diaries of survivors.

"And that's how the idea of the novel was born.

"Reading about all the places I love as they were devastated by war was an intense experience.

"I hope this intensity is reflected in the novel," Kortchik said.

The book took 18 months to write and another year for final edits and to find a publisher.

"It was a great feeling to finally see it out there and have people read it and say how much they've enjoyed it," she said.

Email, 19 Feb 2016

Lana Kortchik, Umina