Family ties inspired Robin Bridges’ Russian trilogy

Robin Bridges has been writing since she was old enough to write. She’s always wanted to be a writer. Well, that an actress, and an archeologist, and a midwife, and a marine biologist, and a radio astronomer.

In 2011, she became a published author. But her story didn’t stop there. When she sold her first book, she also sold two sequels. The young adult series is now known as the Katerina Trilogy. The first book, “The Gathering Storm” was warmly received. The second, “The Unfailing Light” was released last week. The trilogy centers around Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, as she learns to use her powers as a necromancer.

Imperial Russia has always held Robin’s interest. Her great-grandparents on her mother’s side owned a bakery in Zhitomir, Ukraine. They came to America in 1912, before the Russian revolution. “I’ve always been interested in Russian history, from the stories about the bakery and about the family samovar,” she explained. “ I fell in love with the late Imperial period- the years of Faberge and Tchaikovsky and Tolstoy- as well as the old Russian fairy tales. I wondered what life in the late 19th century would have been like if tsars had possessed magical powers like the tsars of the old legends.”

Russian culture is teeming with superstition, Robin said. So when it came time to write Katerina’s story it wasn’t hard for the author to imagine a Saint Petersburg filled with vampires and other monsters. “When I reread my favorite Russian fairy tales about Koschei the Deathless and Baba Yaga, I also read about firebirds and bogatyrs,” she said. “Digging into other Eastern European mythology, I discovered veshtizas and strigas. I could see all of these creatures involved in a power struggle behind the scenes of the Imperial Court.”

Beyond the overall story and history in which it’s steeped, Katerina is a strong female character that readers can relate to, Robin says. She’s independent, chafing under the limitations put upon her by society, but quietly fighting to choose her own path.

Robin says she had no idea what to expect once her books were published so all the positive attention has come as a pleasant surprise. Particularly because she’s appealing to fans of the genre (young adult) that she herself loves to read.

“It’s a volatile age, churning with emotions, when you are discovering who you are and who you want to be,” the author told Cracking the Cover. “I remember obsessing about that transition period in my late teens. I was in such a hurry to be a grown-up! I kept waiting for a moment when the clouds would part and the angels would sing and I would suddenly transform into an adult. But it didn’t happen when I graduated from high school. And it didn’t happen when my parents dropped me off at college. It was a subtle, gradual change, and I love reading (and writing!) books that explore the journey.”

A lot of research went into the Katerina Trilogy, and for those who are interested, Robin has been keeping track of all the Russian history books she’s collected on a LibraryThing account.

*Read the complete transcript of Cracking the Cover’s interview with Robin. Read Cracking the Cover’s review of “The Unfailing Light.”

Learn more about the Katerina Trilogy over the next few days:
Oct. 17: A Bookish Libraria
Oct. 18: A Novel Review
Oct. 19: In the Best Worlds
Oct. 20: Tripping Over Books