Hi all!

I'm not going to go into great detail here, as I did so over at the Tori St. Claire blog, where it's a bit more fitting.  But getting into Sasha's head was a fascinating experience for me.  She had to both accept her fate so as not to eternally hate Alexei, and she had to be able to understand on levels that I don't think I necessarily would. 

I mean really, when you're betrayed by a neighbor who phones you in for failing to mow your grass while your mower's broken... are you all that interested in talking to said neighbor anytime soon?

I'm not really.  I'm more apt to be plotting how I can transplant a whole truckload full of weed seeds into his perfectly manicured lawn.

But I'm not a secret agent, I haven't ever worked in national security, and I've never been privlege to top secret information.  I've never been in any sort of position where I must lie in order to protect someone or something.

Sasha wasn't an agent, but she did work in top secret channels and had enough connections / training to understand the role of duty above all else.  That helped feed her acceptance of her circumstances.  The other part, however, had to go deeper.  To more or less embrace her fate, she had to have deep reasons why.  And she needed to feel like what lay ahead of her was a fitting punishment for her past. 

Just as I can't fathom personally what place she had to be in mentally when she's sold into slavery, I can't comprehend on a personal level what it would be like to not even be able to trust one's own father.  Which all set up a very fun excursion in exploring that mindset, speaking with a psychologist, and putting all the pieces together until I did, truly, understand Sasha Zablosky.

She's strong, she's true to her personal beliefs, and she knows how to survive in the face of abject adversity.  She's also in a world unto a very few elite, and that training helps her to navigate what she must confront. 

If you'd like to read more about her, check out the Tori St. Claire blog post and the Lie To Me virtual book tour, which is at Riverina Romantics today, and Sasha has been interviewed!  Want to know if Alexei is really that good in bed?  Go see what she has to say!  Remember, follow the tour, comment, and be entered to win an Amazon 25.00 Gift Certificate.  The more you comment, the better your chances of winning!



~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com
www.toristclaire.com

Labels: CIA , Contests , Erotic Romance , erotic romantic suspense , Giveaways , Lie To Me , Russia , spy novel , Tori St.Claire