Heather’s Bookshelf: Author Interview with Marina Osipova

Book Title: The Drau River Flows to Siberia: The Victims of Victory

Released:  10/25/23

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Interview by Heather L. Barksdale

What inspired you to write “The Drau River Flows to Siberia: The Victims of Victory”?

Osipova: A pure chance! Accidentally, I stumbled upon a video on YouTube titled Последняя тайна Второй мировой (The Last Secret of the Second World War). The first thing I learned was that this subject is one of the lesser-known historical aspects of WWII. It tells about the deportation of the Soviet POW, forced laborers, and Cossacks—many of them not Soviet citizens—from Europe at the end of the war. It instantly spurred me to write about their bleak fate.

How did you come up with the names of your main characters?

Osipova: Names come to me in mysterious and, at the same time, natural ways. They are born in my head with the image of the main character. Somehow, I felt my main heroine’s name must be Anna. For the male’s main character, I chose one of the names Cossacks used to give their boys in the beginning of the 20th century.

Is there anything that you want readers to know about you, your writing process or your book?

Osipova: Of my eight books, of which I published six, The Drau River Flows to Siberia: The Victims of Victory happened to become the most difficult of all. It took me years to summon the courage to start digging deeper into the GULAG subject and to write about what happened there and then (in school and in The Moscow State Institute for History and Archives we were not taught about it). I feel a deep emotional connection to all my books, but in this case, it was not only painful, but it was also shockingly revealing about one of the darkest sides of my country’s not so distant history. But of course, any serious research brings more exposures, and, in this case, they were horrible, unbearable even to imagine.

If "The Drau River Flows to Siberia: The Victims of Victory" was adapted into a movie, who would you like to see cast to play your lead characters?

Osipova:  Thank you for even assuming it could happen (smile). But if . . . definitely some Russian actors.

When you encounter writer’s block, what do you do to break yourself out of it?

Osipova: When I worked on my very first book (not published), I once experienced a devastating feeling of what I didn’t know at that time was writer’s block. What helped me then was an accidental meeting of my Memoirs Writing class teacher when I went to a bookstore to buy HIS book. He said . . . I don’t remember what exactly, but the writer’s block miraculously disappeared. Since then, I have hadn’t any, at least not of that magnitude. Now, if I feel tired of the story or “hit a wall” I just put the MS aside and either read other authors’ books or do more research. Usually, pretty soon, I’m happy to return to my WIP. That unwanted interruption helps a lot in looking at the characters and events described with a fresh sight.

Are there any tips that you would like to share with other aspiring authors?

Osipova: I think, every writer has his/her unique way of approaching the writing. Trust yourself. Write only if you feel you’ll “drown” if you don’t. Write from your soul. If the process, however difficult, brings you joy, it’s a sign you are a writer.

What is your favorite genre, book, and/or author?

Osipova: The most tough question of all. I can be drawn to any genre if the story is engaging. But the closest to my heart are the classics like Leo Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Turgenev . . . Balzac, Dickens, Mark Twain, Hugo, Hemingway, Remarque plus dozens of others, and historical fiction, especially set in WWII.

What are you working on next?

Osipova: With my next book, I’d like to either surprise or shock my fans, who are used to my stories unfolding at the backdrop of WWII. But it’s too early to reveal more details.

Interested in checking out the book for yourself?

Find it for purchase here

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