Kids & Family
San Carlos Native Has Novel Published
Elaine Russell worked as a Resource Economist and Environmental Consultant for 22 years. In 1991, she began writing fiction for adults and children.
Across the Mekong River, (Paperback, $14.95, Createspace) was a finalist in the Carolina Wren Press 2010 Doris Bakwin Award for adult novels, the Maui Writer’s Conference 2003 Rupert Hughes Prose Writing Competition, and the Focus on Writers 2001 Friends of the Sacramento Library Awards.
Russell traveled to Laos several times, beginning in 2006, to research her book and as a member of the non-government organizatio, Legacies of War.
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"Truth is an illusion," she writes in the prologue. "It is only something we create from memories and wishes and fragments of dreams. The truth is what we want to believe. And sometimes lies are so essential they become part of the truth."
Thus the novel begins in the mind of 17-year-old Nou Lee.
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Russell's book may be a novel but it is rooted in the reality of the 1960-73 civil war in Laos, a Communist takeover in 1975 and up to 33 percent of the population leaving the country for refugee camps in Thailand and elsewhere.
From refugee camps to America, it's the story of one family's journey. There's more to it than just surviving and seeking a better life.
Russell is at her best when she's decribing typical scenes of daily life.
"I spun around, my heart beating. Big puffy flakes of snow drifted down, sticking to the window in tiny crystal patterns, coating the sidewalks and cars in a fine white silt, covering over the poverty and desparation."
Her author notes include resources to further understand the country and the plight of their residents, especially the children.
Russell's short story "Sky King," about a Hmong-American family was published in the literary magazines Red Wheelbarrow, Summer 2004, and The Armchair Aesthete, Fall 2004, and won First Place for a Short Story in the WIN-WIN Conference 2003 Persie Writing Contest.
Other published works include several short stories and a children’s middle-grade adventure series:
Martin McMillan and the Lost Inca City and Martin McMillan and the Secret of the Ruby Elephant.
Russell is married with three grown children and currently resides, with husband Roy, in Sacramento and part time on the island of Kauai.
She is scheduled for an appearance at The Avid Reader, on Broadway in Sacramento, on Sunday at 2 p.m. in cooridination with the release of the book.
Her website has more information.
Across the Mekong River
Elaine Russell
Paperback, $14.95
ISBN: 978-1466338104
Createspace (www.createspace.com)
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