COQUITLAM, British Columbia – Author Larysa Plawan Levycky of British Columbia recently released her book “Destiny,” a work of historical fiction that tells the story of a woman born of privilege and her experiences during the Russian Revolution and World War II.
As noted in a press release from Trafford Publishing, the novel focuses on the saga of an aristocratic German family, the von Shtattens, who have settled near the city of Mariupol, Ukraine, in the grape-growing region called “Weinberg.”
As the third generation of the von Shtattens is born at the height of the Communist Revolution, the family loses nearly all its wealth, forcing a series of events that lead the beautiful 19-year-old Lydia von Shtatten to change her name to avoid Communist attention and eventually marry and have children with concert pianist Leonid Leontev. As Hitler moves through Ukraine, Leontev is inducted into the Red Army and goes missing in action. Now Lydia must rely on help from her cousin to survive as the Gestapo terrorizes the innocent and changes her future once again. As Lydia’s destiny leads her across Europe and eventually to Canada, she must struggle to endure myriad challenges amid the chaos of a brutal war.
“Destiny” was released in Bloomington, Ind., by Trafford Publishing (ISBN: 978 1-4907-297-4, hardcover, $38.99; also available in softcover and e-book editions at $28.99 and 3.99, respectively).
The book’s author, Ms. Levycky was born in the city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine in 1938. During the second world war, her mother, being a descendant of a German aristocratic family, had to leave Ukraine with 3-year-old Larysa.
Ms. Levycky spent all of her childhood in Germany, her teenage years in Toronto and most of her adult life in California. Her professional training at the Canadian National Ballet School, The American Academy of Dramatic Arts and Walter Thornton Modeling School provided her with extensive experience in the performing arts.
She speaks, reads and writes several languages. That skill allowed Ms. Levycky to operate her own bilingual radio program on station KTYM in Inglewood, Calif. Ms. Levycky conducted her own modeling school and agency for over 23 years in the San Francisco Bay area. To promote the school, she created her own commercials for newspapers and magazines. She also did a substantial amount of public speaking.
Ms. Levycky’s extensive travel through Europe, Mexico, the United States and Canada has provided her with a deep understanding of human behavior.
“Destiny” is available from the publisher at www.trafford.com, as well as on amazon.com. It won the Gold Seal of Literary Excellence from Trafford Publishing and earned praise from the publishing house’s reviewer Peter M. Fitzpatrick, who noted that “this is a moving an emotional fictional account of a region, class and ethnic identity that has all but disappeared.”