Cover Reveal | Ariel Lawhon

Cover Reveal for Book Four

2 Comments / Cover Reveal / By Ariel / August 8, 2019

Some books are easier to write than others. Could be the subject or the structure or, quite honestly, the season of life in which you happen to be writing it. Here’s what I can say about my new novel: it was a blur. Truly. I know that it took two years of my life. And I know that it was an all-consuming experience. There were days in which I had great fun. And days in which I (literally) banged my head on the desk. But over all, my memories of crafting this book exist within the fog of daily work. It’s kind of like thinking back on raising babies, honestly. The specifics are swallowed by the dailiness. But that is motherhood. And this is writerhood. We show up each day and do the work, hoping that we will have something to show for it in the end.

With that in mind, I am delighted to present my newest creation: CODE NAME HÉLÈNE, coming April 2020 from Doubleday Books.

About the book:

BASED ON THE LIFE OF AUSTRALIAN SPY NANCY WAKE comes the story of an astonishing woman who killed a Nazi with her bare hands and went on to become one of the most decorated women of WWII.

Told in interweaving timelines organized around the four code names Nancy used during the war, Code Name Hélène is a spellbinding and moving story of enduring love, remarkable sacrifice and unfaltering resolve that chronicles the true exploits of a woman who deserves to be a household name.

It is 1936 and Nancy Wake is an intrepid expat living in Paris who has bluffed her way into a reporting job for Hearst newspaper. She is fighting to cover the disturbing reports of violence coming out of Vienna and Berlin when she meets the wealthy French industrialist Henri Fiocca. No sooner does Henri sweep Nancy off her feet and convince her to become Mrs. Fiocca than the Germans invade France and she takes yet another name: a code name.

As LUCIENNE CARLIER she smuggles people and documents across borders under the guise of an oblivious mistress. Soon enough the Gestapo hears of a female operative with a remarkable ability to evade capture, and Nancy earns a new nickname: THE WHITE MOUSE. But this one carries with it a five million franc bounty on her head. Forced to escape France and leave Henri behind for both of their safety, Nancy enters training with the Special Operations Executive, who transform her into HÉLÈNE. Finally, with mission in hand, Nancy is airdropped back into France as the deadly MADAME ANDRÉE. She soon becomes one of the most powerful leaders in the French Resistance, known for her ferocious wit, her signature red lipstick, and her ability to summon weapons straight from the Allied Forces. But no one can protect Nancy if the enemy finds out these four women are one and the same, and the closer to liberation France gets, the more exposed she–and the people she loves–will become.

I Was Anastasia Cover Reveal and Sneak Peek

Leave a Comment / Cover Reveal / By Ariel / October 16, 2017

There is nothing quite like seeing the cover of your book for the first time. It’s nothing at all like seeing your child for the first time because with a child you have some idea what you are going to get. There is no looking in the mirror or at your spouse and making an educated guess. With a book cover you are utterly clueless. Your words are turned into an image by a cover designer you have likely never met. It is their job to capture the essence of what you have written, to tell a visual story based on your actual story. The whole thing is a wonderful, baffling experience for me. Wonderful because the anticipation is delicious. Baffling because I could no sooner create a book cover than a stained glass window. The only art I’m capable of making is that which you find on the page. I am a one trick pony. I can’t even write poetry much less sing, dance, or paint.

That said, I am besotted with the cover for my new novel. It is perfect. And I think it perfectly captures the mystery found within its pages. Friends, I give you, officially, the cover for I WAS ANASTASIA:

I WAS ANASTASIA unravels the extraordinary twists and turns in Anna Anderson’s 50-year battle to be recognized as Anastasia Romanov. Is she the Russian Grand Duchess, a beloved daughter and revered icon, or is she an imposter, the thief of another woman’s legacy?

Countless others have rendered their verdict. Now it is your turn.

Russia, July 17, 1918: Under direct orders from Vladimir Lenin, Bolshevik secret police force Anastasia Romanov, along with the entire imperial family, into a damp basement in Siberia where they face a merciless firing squad. None survive. At least that is what the executioners have always claimed.

Germany, February 17, 1920: A young woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to Anastasia Romanov is pulled shivering and senseless from a canal. Refusing to explain her presence in the freezing water, she is taken to the hospital where an examination reveals that her body is riddled with countless, horrific scars. When she finally does speak, this frightened, mysterious woman claims to be the Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia.

Her detractors, convinced that the young woman is only after the immense Romanov fortune, insist on calling her by a different name: Anna Anderson.

As rumors begin to circulate through European society that the youngest Romanov daughter has survived the massacre, old enemies and new threats are awakened. With a brilliantly crafted dual narrative structure, Lawhon wades into the most psychologically complex and emotionally compelling territory yet: the nature of identity itself.

The question of who Anna Anderson is and what actually happened to Anastasia Romanov creates a saga that spans fifty years and touches three continents. This thrilling story is every bit as moving and momentous as it is harrowing and twisted.

(Read below to see the first page of I WAS ANASTASIA)

***

FAIR WARNING

If I tell you what happened that night in Ekaterinburg I will have to unwind my memory–all the twisted coils–and lay it in your palm. It will be the gift and the curse I bestow upon you. A confession for which you may never forgive me. Are you ready for that? Can you hold this truth in your hand and not crush it like the rest of them? Because I do not think you can. I do not think you are brave enough. But, like so many others through the years, you have asked:

Am I truly Anastasia Romanov? A beloved daughter. A revered icon. A Russian grand duchess.

Or am I an imposter? A fraud. A liar. The thief of another woman’s legacy.

That is for you to decide, of course. Countless others have rendered their verdict. Now it your turn. But if you want the truth, you must pay attention. Do not daydream or drift off. Do not speak or interrupt. You will have your answers. But first you must understand why the years have brought me to this point and why such loss has made the journey necessary. When I am finished, and only then, will you have the right to tell me who I am.

Are you ready? Good.

Let us begin.

***

What Others are saying about I WAS ANASTASIA:

“A young Tsarina traveling towards tragedy and an aging Grand Duchess penniless and betrayed. Twin stories so gripping you will believe history itself can be rewritten. Told with masterful intensity and moments of true human compassion.”
—Helen Simonson, New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Before the War

“Ariel Lawhon is a masterful storyteller; I Was Anastasia is a wild ride, extravagant with its vivid sensory experiences and page turning suspense. Inspired by history, and infused with imagination and intrigue, this novel satisfies with every twist and turn. I was both captivated and enchanted; I will carry this story—from it’s beguiling opening to its catch-my-breath ending — in my heart and imagination for a long, long while.”
—Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Driftwood Summer and The Bookshop at Water’s End

“The fate of the Grand Duchess Anastasia, youngest daughter of the last Tsar, is an old mystery that never gets old. In the hands of Ariel Lawhon, it springs to life again, challenging everything we believe about what we remember and who we are. Was Anna Anderson really the only survivor of the Romanovs or was she a persistent fraud? Somehow, Lawhon, a masterly writer, not only leads her readers to ponder this riddle, but to care about it as well. This is a deft and deeply moving saga.”
—Jacquelyn Mitchard, New York Times bestselling author of The Deep End of the Ocean

“I don’t know what’s most impressive about I Was Anastasia: the wildly inventive structure, the ferocious heroine (or is it two?), or the dark, twisted questions it raises about the stories we tell—both to others and to ourselves. Ariel Lawhon has written a gorgeous, haunting puzzle of a book that will grip you until the final page.”
—Karen Abbott, New York Times bestselling author of Sin in the Second City and Liar Temptress Soldier Spy

“In I Was Anastasia, Ariel Lawhon vividly reimagines the stories of Anastasia Romanov and Anna Anderson, the woman who claimed to be Anastasia years later. Beautifully written and masterfully plotted, Lawhon deftly interweaves these two women’s lives into a gripping and richly detailed historical novel with the pace of a thriller. I was absolutely captivated.”
—Jillian Cantor, author of Margot and The Lost Letter

“A wildly unique look at the dual mysteries of Anastasia Romanov and her possible imposter Anna Anderson results in a brilliant reimagining of two fascinating lives. Complex, exciting, and beautifully written, Lawhon never disappoints. Her impeccable research and lush prose make I WAS ANASTASIA compulsively readable. A fantastic novel.”

—J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author of LIE TO ME

“I Was Anastasia crackles with authenticity. Lawhon focuses a glittering, sharp-edged lens on the intertwined reality of Anna and Anastasia, bringing the reader closer to their story than any other writer or filmmaker has ever dared. Intimate and heartbreaking, brittle as Siberian ice, yet intricate as a snowflake. A mesmerizing triumph.”

—Laura Benedict, Edgar-nominated author of the Bliss House trilogy

You can pre-order you copy of I WAS ANASTASIA here.

You can add I WAS ANASTASIA to your Goodreads list here.

Cover Reveal for Book Four

About the book:

I Was Anastasia Cover Reveal and Sneak Peek

In Which We Have A Paperback Cover

Book Jacket Reveal