Secrets We Keep follows a once-renowned tennis star struggling to find happiness in love while trying to achieve success in a dream career that takes her far above her humble Ukrainian upbringing. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

Ukrainians love tennis and I’m a big tennis fan as well. My daughter is now playing junior tennis and I spend a lot of time going to practice and tournaments with her. So, there is no surprise that the heroine of the book is a top junior tennis player. Ukrainian players have been in the Grand Slam quarters and semis, but never won a trophy in singles. I’m excited to see which player will finally bring home the trophy. It’s not going to be Anna Levenko, my heroine, as her life turns out differently and she finds success away from the tennis court. But I’m positive that we’ll have a Ukrainian Grand Slam winner one of these years.

What was your favorite character to write for and why? Was there a scene you felt captured the character’s essence?

I have several favorite characters in the novel and it’s hard to pick. Today, let me talk about Maria Novikova. She is the grandmother of the main heroine, and, in many ways, she is similar to my own grandmother who passed away some time ago. Loving, kind, devoted to her family. Every time I think of Maria, I think of my own grandmother.

Many years ago, Maria married Solomon Malekano, a charismatic African who passed away in a car accident soon after they got married. Her whole life, Maria is looking for a clue to lead her to her late husband’s family in Africa. This is the premise of the book (and the series). The scene which captures Maria’s essence is the one which shows her birthday party at the family country house called “dacha”. The delicious Ukrainian dishes, the festive “vyshyvanka” blouses, the lovely music, the excellent company…In Ukraine, we love organizing such parties and inviting all our friends and relatives.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

Well, since this is my first book, I wanted to include a lot of the themes which I’m passionate about.

Protecting the environment and helping the less fortunate in this world are some of the most important ones. The book talks about clean energy investments, building rural schools, “greening” the hospitality sector, protecting animals and other issues. Both Anna Levenko and Jean Rolland, the main characters in the novel, are enthusiastic about these topics and want to make the world a better place. Jean travels to different war-torn spots of the globe without hesitation, as he believes in putting others’ needs in front of his own. Anna adopts two stray dogs from the market where she works and dreams about leading “green” projects.

I also wanted to include a lot of references to the Ukrainian culture to educate the readers, as there are not too many fiction books about Ukraine in the US market. Ukraine is a beautiful country with a rich history and many unique traditions.

And finally, the theme of Africa is quite prominent in my book. I spent about six glorious years working in Africa, thanks to my job, and I fell in love with this continent. I traveled to many African countries and got to know a lot of wonderful people there. It was in Africa that I got an idea to write this book, which connects Ukraine and Tanzania, the two countries dear to my heart.

Can readers look forward to seeing more from you soon? What are you currently working on?

My book was originally planned as a trilogy, so I still have two more books to write to finish the story. By now, I’m almost done with the second book. You can expect to see some of the familiar characters and also some brand-new ones. The search for Anna’s grandfather will continue. By the end of the second book, we should have enough information to find his family.

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