The Frieden Trails

MOSCOW, Russia (Nov. 24, 2006) -- As most of my friends back in Chicago were preparing their Thanksgiving meal, I celebrated the launch of my latest spy thriller Tranquility Denied in the bustling Russian capital, Moscow. I connected through Madrid and arrived in the evening.

I was eager to return to Russia, to see the dramatic changes brought about by oil money. The luxury cars, the specialty stores, the traffic jams, the fashionably dressed pedestrians, and the infrastructure of the city center were all clues that prosperity had indeed arrived, belatedly, after a bitter ten-year struggle after the collapse of the Soviet Union. But it was equally clear from my ventures in the suburbs that wealth was not well distributed. And with a tight hand on power, President Putin and his entourage of political elites were securing a path for Russia not necessarily consistent with Western democracies. The future of this beautful and powerful country will be very interesting to follow and will continue to be among the preferred settings of my upcoming novels.

(above) Visiting Red Square

For the book launch, the reception was hosted by Anglia British Bookshop, Russia’s largest English language bookstore. Among the VIP guests attending the event were Russian hockey legend Vladislav Tretiak, currently a member of the Duma (the Russian Parliament) and head of the Russian Hockey Federation. Other VIPs included diplomats from the Swiss embassy and American, British, Dutch and French expatriates living in Moscow. Several local academics and avid mystery readers also attended. My presentation began with a reading, followed by a briefing on current U.S.-Russia relations, including the ongoing political tensions that are rivaling those of the Cold War. I also talked about my observations of Moscow, having studied at the law school of Moscow State University in 1996 and had returned in 1998.

(above) Signing the reserve stock of books at Anglia British Bookstore

(above) Standing with special guest Vladislav Tretiak

(above) In the company of the store manager and diplomat VIPs

Returning to this fascinating city gave me the opportunity to again see many of the sites where my novel's hero, Jonathan Brooks, went to, although my passage was far less turbulent than his! (I didn't get shot, nor was I chased by FSB hitmen or rogue CIA agents)

(above) The Russian State Library, formerly the Lenin Library, and a place from which Jonathan Brooks secretly enters the Kremlin.
(below) The Oruzheynaya Tower near where Jonathan Brooks escapes from the Kremlin.

(above) The Kremlin's Beklemishevskaya Tower facing the Moskva river

See the press release for information.

Also, check out the book launch video, featuring a few clips from this trip to Moscow.

All photos and text Copyright © 2006 A.C. Frieden. No reproduction permitted without prior written approval by A.C. Frieden. For reproduction rights and higher resolution images, send email to afrieden[at]avendiapublishing.com.

ACAPULCO, Mexico (Jun. 14, 2006) -- I'm here again in Acapulco, Mexico, at the Las Brisas resort, which is the spectacular setting for several scenes in my debut novel, Canvas Sunsets Never Fade (Avendia Publishing, 2004), now in its third U.S. printing. Using the resort as his base of operations, the story’s main character, Richard Nash, tracks down the elusive Lina Mundhir, a wealthy woman and sister of the FBI’s lead suspect wanted in connection with the murder of the Saudi Ambassador’s wife. But Nash’s success in finding Lina is short-lived, as both of them suddenly find themselves pursued by killers who will stop at nothing to silence them. They barely escape from Acapulco and head inland in a desperate attempt to stay alive.

(above) I am holding a copy of my first novel on the deck of my casita, in front of one Mexico's most striking panoramas.
(below) Not only are the private casitas and pools at Las Brisas a perfect place to write novels, they are also great spots to include in stories, as was the case for my first novel.

This was my sixth trip to Acapulco (each time at the Las Brisas resort) but my first since Canvas Sunsets Never Fade was published in 2004. I had the pleasure of again meeting several members of the resort’s management and donating copies of his book. I'm also planning to a sequel, which for nostalgic reasons will include scenes from Acapulco.

For details, read the press release.

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