Product Description

Romantic, Intense, Passionate, Glamourous, International....

With the audience appeal of a Judith Krantz, Danielle Steel novel, this is the Sweeping, Exotic, Romantic A Daughter's Love song to her mother's memory and a deep passionate love triangle. You'll be swept off your feet From Vienna to Prague, Bordeaux, Paris, Istanbul, to New York, Bermuda, and a magnificent, emotion-wrought finale in Rome.

The principal players are Lilliana Karolyi, the Hungarian-American actress turned businesswoman and film-producer, Dorian De Gris, the fabulously wealthy and handsome French Comte, and Eric Becker, the talented and charming but emotionally troubled, American actor.

The novel deals with gritty issues concerning women, from ectopic pregnancy to multiple-sclerosis, and relays the inspirational message: Dreams Do Come True, For Spirited Hard and effort to be the best you can be, bears fruit in the end.

Opening in 1963 France, Waltz With The Wind spans Istanbul, New York, Bermuda, Austria, and concludes in 1985, in Rome, Italy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4242630 in Books
• Published on: 2000-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

From the Author
I wrote Waltz With The Wind in memory of my mother, Kristina Geraldine von Landeck, for her endless love, gallantry and optimism... Born in Vienna, Austria, during the last months of World War I, lost both parents while only four days old, Kristina Geraldine passed on into the light on February 14, Valentine's Day, 1993, in Florida, USA. In her memory, I salute all the mothers who in the end, had only their children's love to comfort them as they floated up into God's embrace. 'til we meet again, beloved Mama, Waltz With The Wind!

About the Author
Born in Rome Italy from an Viennese opera singer mother and Albanian freedom-fighter father, Karina was raised in Istanbul, Turkey. She was an actor, model, poet, and journalist. She has traveled extensively and now has made her home in Florida, USA.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
WALTZ WITH THE WIND -- PROLOGUE: 6 PM, April 30, 1945, Prague, Czechoslovakia.

As a warning of danger trumpeted in her sleep, Roswitha's eyes flew open with dread. Instantly awake, she felt Cameron's reassuringly warm body, heard his steady breathing. Then with a piercing stab to her heart, she was confronted with the realization: The Clock of the Seasons is about to stop running, and Cameron and I have arrived at the end of our road. It was an ironic thought, considering that they had just made love for the first time in the endlessly long months that they had yearned for each other. Icy perspiration blanketed her. Quietly she rose and tip-toed to the open window, straining to listen to the noises outside, careful not to stick her head out and create a target for an errant bullet. She could not detect anything suspicious. The world beyond the thick medieval walls of their hotel room, which faced the ancient Clock of the Seasons in the Old Town by the picturesque river, was still and quiet. Yet the sense of impending doom would not leave her, tightening her throat. Glancing back at Cameron, she shuddered as she imagined the Reaper's gleaming scythe aiming to uproot them: Cameron, American, twenty five years old, and Roswitha, Austro/hungarian, turned twenty one, today. Immediately she felt embarrassed of her cowardliness. Had she not, against Cameron's entreaties, accompanied him on his mission into Czechoslovakia? And did she not believe in him and want to have a part, as small as it was, in the war to liberate Europe from the Nazis? Fluent in Czech and intimate with the land had she not made Cameron's culvert Intelligence mission for the Allied Armies, easier? Squaring her shoulders, she thought: yes, our love for each other and commitment to this cause is too strong to leave room for regrets. No matter what the personal outcome of their venture, she had to go on believing that one day in the future their efforts would end up doing some good, to some people. Nonetheless, presently, the Americans were still far away and the Russians, whom she could not trust as liberators, were advancing towards Prague.... ........... ........... Cameron sat up in bed and reaching for a pack of cigarettes on the night table, lit one up. "I was assigned to recruit you, Roswitha." He continued between clenched teeth, "So even if you had not been motivated by your brother Erno's martyrdom to find me, I was under orders to bring you in. We knew all about your part in the aborted coup and that after they had captured you, that Captain Richter, who was in love with you, had spared your life. His weakness for you and his ties to the Nazi party offered a chance to infiltrate their ranks." A sudden hard rap on the door. Roswitha froze. Cameron's green eyes widened, staring at her. Another rap, an excited male voice shouting in English, "Good news! Just came over the radio! Hitler is morto! The butcher shot and killed himself!"

Disblief, then slowly, inch by inch, relief. They looked at each other, grinning like happy fools. Cameron whispered, "Well, happy birthday to you, my Schatzie." He then shouted back, "How's it outside?" "The news hasn't reached the streets. Not yet. Chances are Prague will officially mourn for a few days. But then the citizens will be out, collecting old debts." Roswitha said to Cameron, " I'm not sure if we should trust the radio. The whole thing could be an evil plot." He shrugged. "No matter." Quickly kissing her lips, "Let's go out and get married." She stared at him. "How can we? You are not free." "In my heart, I am. Yes, let's make this an act of faith." Her lips smiled, but her eyes did not. "In what, beloved?" "Us. Our love. Our future." Roswitha hesitated. Despite her inner optimism, life under extended wartime conditions had made her a realist. Hitler may be dead, but his army was still strong in Prague, and the Russians were advancing, too. Either way, their chance for a tomorrow hung on a frayed piece of thread, precariously swinging back and forth between deliverance nd destruction. Taking a deep breath, Roswitha made her decision. Holding Cameron's hand, she touched it to her burning cheek. "Yes my darling, let's make it an act of faith. In our future."

Customer Reviews

Deeply Passionate Love Story
This is a deeply passionate love story between marvelously described, yet completely believable characters. The love a daughter has for her mother, her father, her husband, her soulmate, herself and finally, for her own child. Lilliana suffers so much to ensure her freedom of creative expression without compromising her values. Waltz with the Wind will inspire you to work hard, have faith, and know that dreams do come true.