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Lada Ray Blog

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Tag Archives: Siberia

Lada’s Guide to the 85 Subjects of the Russian Federation

29 Wednesday Jul 2015

Posted by Lada Ray in CULTURE: Russia

≈ Comments Off on Lada’s Guide to the 85 Subjects of the Russian Federation

Tags

autonomous republic, Guide to the 85 Subjects of the Russian Federation, Moscow, oblast, Russia, Russian Federation, Siberia, Sochi

Reblogged from FuturisTrendcast

Posts in this series appear under category Ask Lada

For the new Ask Lada episode, I chose the following question.

In response to my latest video, WHO REALLY RULED USSR? The Secret of Brezhnev’s Passport

Question: Is an Oblast comparable to any American governmental subdivision such as a State or County? 

Lada’s reply

If located in the densely populated European part, oblast in size could be between a US state and county. It’s typically bigger than any US county, but usually (not always) smaller than a state. If it’s located in Siberia, it tends to be bigger than many of the world’s countries.

Sometimes oblast is incorrectly translated as a ‘region.’

Russia’s administrative structure is federative, which means that there is a federative agreement between various parts of the country. This is due to the multinational, multi-confessional and multi-cultural composition of Russia. In fact, Russia is the most multi-national country in the world, with about 100 nationalities living on its territory. It is also one of the few truly multi-confessional countries, although the main religion is considered Russian Orthodoxy.

Russian_Regions-EN.svgMany, but not all, federation subjects are oblasts. Oblasts are generally the predominantly and traditionally Russian-populated territories within Russia, directly subordinate to the capital, Moscow. Such as Moskovskaya Oblast (area around Moscow – excluding Moscow proper, which is a separate subject of the Federation), Voronezhskaya Oblast in central Russia (city of Voronezh and surrounding areas) and Novosibirskaya Oblast in Western Siberia.

Another administrative subdivision in addition to oblast is kray. A great example is Krasnodarsky Kray, which includes some of the most fertile agricultural lands in Russia, as well as the famous Black Sea resorts, such as Sochi. Kray (krai) means a parcel of land, or alternatively, ‘the end, edge or outskirts.’ Incidentally, the word Ukraine ‘ u-krai-na’ is a derivative of the word kray.

sochi palms

Black Sea resort of Sochi (Sochi Winter Olympics 2014 venue), Krasnodarsky Kray

Normally, krays are those lands where the cossacks had traditionally settled. They were given land and special rights by the Russian Empire, and later, by the Russian Federation. Their administration was a little different. Kray is often bigger than oblast, although some are comparable in size and population. Other examples are Krasnoyarsky Kray in Eastern Siberia (capital Krasnoyarsk) and Dalnevostochniy Kray (the Far Eastern Kray).

Read the rest of this article!

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Mysteries of Siberia and Amazing Shamanic Singing from Khakassia

03 Sunday May 2015

Posted by Lada Ray in CULTURE: Russia, CULTURE: World, Love/ Kindness/ Inspiration

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Гурудэ, Новая Звезда, Хакасия, energy portal, Khakassia fires, Moscow, republic of Khakassia, Ruslan Gurude, Russia, Russian stonehenge, shaman, Siberia, The New Star singing competition, throat singing

This post is about Khakassia, Siberia – a hidden cultural and archeological gem, full of treasured forbidden history monuments and home to incredible shamanic throat singining. Khakassia is now being rebuilt, while struggling to overcome tragic consequences of the recent forest fire.

khakassia-republic-map

Khakassia is a small autonomous republic in southern Siberia, Russian Federation; population about 500,000. It’s located between the large metropolises of Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk.

russia-khakassia

Map of the Russian Federation – Khakassia is in red

Just like the nearby Tyva and other mystical stretches of Siberia and the Far East, Khakassia is the realm of ancient shamans, famous for its one-of-a-kind throat singing. This land of steppes and forests resembles an open-air museum, the keeper of mysteries of our true past. It is called the archeological Mecca of Siberia, with 30,000 stonehenges, remnants of ancient cities and fortresses, kurgan pyramids as burial sites, and rock engravings strewn all over Khakassian steppes.

rock painting

Khakassia primordial stone engravings

khakassia kurgan pyramids

Sunduki, Khakassia: 16,000 year old stone monuments – kurgans/pyramids

The primordial rocks dotting the landscape are sacred ancestral energy portals commonly found in Siberia, Crimea, Caucasus and all over Russia. The British Stonehenge was made famous, but you could say that the entire Russia is one giant Stonehenge. Some of these ancient portals are still awaiting their discovery.

khakassia stonehenge 2

khakassia stonehenge

Khakassian stonehenges, Siberia, Russia

Recently, Khakassia experienced a terrible tragedy. An unusually dry and warm weather for this time of year resulted in a giant forest fire. This fire was carried by the improbably strong winds, reaching 30 m/second. Since the traditional construction material of choice in the forested northern parts of Khakassia is wood, a number of local villages burned down, leaving thousands displaced.

Meet Ruslan Gurude, amazing shamanic singer from Khakassia.

Ruslan Gurude (Ivakin) is a multi-talented economist, singer and composer from Khakassia. During the first show of the New Star («Новая Звезда») All-Russia singing competition, he amazed both audience and judges with his powerful performance of a Khakassian shamanic song. His incredible throat singing, common for these parts, but interpreted by Ruslan in a fresh and unique way, left his audience in awe.

Gurude (emphasis on ‘e’) showed an equally beautiful and unique singing in Round 2 and in semi-finals, all three times receiving the maximum score of 100.

Just before the semi-finals Gurude received a call from his family that despite all the state and local authorities’ precautions, his native village and his ancestral home burned down as the 30 m/second wind carried fire from the nearby forest.

Thanks to the «Новая Звезда» competition, Gurude’s singing already made an impression internationally. He was invited by UNESCO to sing at the organization’s headquarters in Geneva, as well as Paris and several other European cities.

The New Star is a brand new competition. It is unique and advanced in its own right. Every region of Russia (every subject of the Federation) gets to send one representative. What has especially impressed me is this: a brief film about each Russian region (87 in total) is presented to the audience before singers’ performances, which allows each oblast and autonomy to promote its beauty, treasures and acomplishments, while people from all over the country get the chance to re-discover for themselves various far away corners of their vast and varied Motherland.

The New Star competition has five judges, who are famous singers, artistic directors and composers. Center stage represents a star with five lit rays. Each judge can choose to turn off his/her ray, thus taking away 20 points from a competitor. Citizens all over the country can also vote and thus help their favorite singer to advance, or not. Any genre is welcome, from folk and shamanic, to rock, pop, classic and opera. Singers sing in Russian, but also in languages of their origin, as well as in foreign languages. English and Spanish are popular. This competition allows talented people from all over the country get noticed.

Gurude is one of my personal favorites. I am charmed and impressed with his talent and multi-dimensional, cosmic presentation. There are several singers I am rooting for, but I will be happy if Gurude wins.

The competition level is very high and there are many wonderful singers, including a couple of other smashing throat singers from Chukotka and Buryatia. I’ll post their videos soon.

I think our only salvation from the mindless, mind-numbing pop that is flooding stage and TV screens all over the world is this kind of genuine, authentic folk singing. The future is the kind of singing that is encoded with our genetic memory. This is what the world needs to listen to in order to awaken and recall our real roots. It is up to us to decode it and remember the truth…

Gurude Round 1: Mirage in the Steppe – in Khakassian. “Степной мираж”. Играет на флейте (хобрах) Гурудэ (Руслан Ивакин, республика Хакассия). Новая звезда

.

Gurude Round 2: North Wind – in Russian. Новая Звезда – 2 тур – Гурудэ (Хакасия) “Северный ветер”

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THE EARTH SHIFTER – New Book Trailer. Books by Lada Ray

08 Saturday Nov 2014

Posted by Lada Ray in BOOK: THE EARTH SHIFTER, CULTURE: Russia, My Updates

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

adventure, Amazon, Author Lada Ray, China, chinatown, CIA, earth Keepers, ebook, fantasy, Feng Shui, FSB, geopolitics, karma, Lake Baikal, mind control, Moscow, mysticism, New York, NWO, paperback, Princeton, prophecy, Rasputin, remote viewing, Russia, Russian History, russian intelligence, russian oligarch, secret society, Shapeshifters, Siberia, Siberian shaman, Soviet Union, The Earth Shifter, thriller, time travel, USA

THE EARTH SHIFTER is a prophetic mystical thriller set in Moscow, Lake Baikal in Siberia, and New York.
Secret society and NWO, Russian history, Siberian shaman, mind control, remote viewing, time travel and mystical prophecy.

Lada Ray Books (paperbacks and ebooks) can be purchased worldwide on Amazon and BarnesandNoble.com. Ebooks are also available at Sony, Kobo, Apple, Smashwords.

Watch full screen on YT

******

More in BOOKS    Read excerpts

Visit new site LadaRay.info

EBOOK SALE EXTENDED THROUGH HOLIDAYS!

Paperbacks available too!

More info

New Five Book Trailer

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Books by Lada Ray: Five Book Trailer

20 Monday Oct 2014

Posted by Lada Ray in BOOK: Catharsis, BOOK: GOLD TRAIN, BOOK: Green Desert, BOOK: Stepford USA, BOOK: THE EARTH SHIFTER, My Updates, Writing and Publishing

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Accidental Spy Series, Author Lada Ray, book trailer, books by Lada Ray, Catharsis Legend of the Lemurians, ebooks, Gold Train, Green Desert, Lake Baikal, mystery, mystical adventure, paperback, prophetic, psychic, Russia, Siberia, Stepford USA, The Earth Shifter, thriller

Watch/like this video on YouTube

Video description: A short, dramatic 5 book trailer for 3 novels and 2 novelettes written by Author Lada Ray. Experience books by Lada Ray! THE EARTH SHIFTER – dubbed ‘prophetic’ mystical adventure/thriller; CATHARSIS (Legend of the Lemurians), a cosmic adventure novelette, companion to The Earth Shifter. Accidental Spy Series of adventure/thrillers: bestselling GOLD TRAIN (Accidental Spy Russia Adventure); STEPFORD USA (Accidental Spy Small Town Adventure); GREEN DESERT (Iraq prequel novelette).
Lada’s books are sold at Amazon and Barnes&Noble worldwide.

More info: BOOKS    Read excerpts

Visit: LadaRay.info!

All Lada Ray ebooks are on pre-holiday sale! 

Paperbacks available too!

More info in original announcement and BOOKS!

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Guest Post: GETTING TO KNOW THE BEAUTY OF RUSSIA and ITS PEOPLE

09 Thursday Oct 2014

Posted by Lada Ray in CULTURE: Russia, Guest Posts

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Black Sea, Edgar Cayce, Lake Baikal, pictures of Russia, Russia, Russia's astrology, Russia's ruling sign, Russian History, Siberia

From Lada: Truly, ‘To Russia With Love.’ Amazing in its scope and heartfelt desire for peace and understanding expose of Russia, complete with beautiful photos, by a friend of FuturisTrendcast and Lada Ray Blog, lightworker Nancy Detweiler from Virginia!

Don’t miss it, dear readers! Read/view the entire post on Nancy’s blog… And remember to tweet, FB and click on those likes!

GETTING TO KNOW THE BEAUTY OF RUSSIA & ITS PEOPLE – A PICTORIAL/PROSE DOCUMENT

GETTING TO KNOW THE BEAUTY OF RUSSIA & ITS PEOPLE

Nancy, with Twin Flame Uriel

 You and I are presently experiencing just one brief lifetime within the total span of our ETERNAL SELF. For Phyllis, others among my friends, and I a beloved portion of our ETERNAL SELF was spent as a Russian. The love we feel for Russia and its people is palpable.

 SOMEWHERE IN TIME

As a result of this IHH Conference in Richmond, Virginia, Phyllis has visited Russia 5 times. We will hear more of her journey later in this document.

   

map of western Russia

RUSSIA IS THE LARGEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD

“Covering an expanse of over 6.6 million square miles, Russia is the world’s largest country by landmass, beating out runner-up Canada by around 2.8 million square miles. It includes nine different time zones and shares land borders with 14 neighboring countries. Russia’s origins began with the Viking establishment of Kievan Rus in the 9th century. It expanded under the leadership of Viking chieftain Rurik and his ancestors but was broken up by Mongol invaders in 1237. Beginning with the Grand Duchy of Moscow, which was less vulnerable to Mongol attacks due to its remote, forested location, the remnants of Rus unified and expanded, most notably during the reign of Ivan the Terrible from 1533 to 1584. As its first official tsar, Ivan established the central Russian state and doubled its size by conquering the regions of Kazan, Astrakhan and Siberia. It expanded into the third largest empire in the world by the 1700s, and as the post-revolution Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, it was the largest part of the Soviet Union. With the break-up of the Soviet Union, Russia, also known as the Russian Federation, was officially established on December 25, 1991.”

http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/what-is-the-largest-country-in-the-world

RUSSIA IS RULED BY URANUS & AQUARIUS

URANUS is the planet of Innovation, Intuition, & Scientific Studies – Electric Blue is its color. As you view the photos of Russia, note how often a bluish hue fills the air and how many of the buildings highlight the color of blue in their structure. A sky blue is the color of devotion.

AQUARIUS’s symbol is the Waterbearer to Humanity—the energy of Sister/Brotherhood.  Decades ago, the world renown medical intuitive, Edgar Cayce, predicted of Russia: “Through Russia,” Cayce said, “Not in respect to what is sometimes termed Communism or Bolshevism — no! But comes the hope of the world freedom — freedom! That each man will live for his fellow man. The principle has been born there. It will take years for it to be crystallized; yet out of Russia comes again the hope of the world.”

Waterbearer

Female WaterbearerRussia is a Yin/Yang Country

According to Lada Ray

http://futuristrendcast.wordpress.com/

 lake_baikal_russia_nature_ss

Lake Baikal is justifiably known as the jewel of Siberia. This crescent-shaped, 395 mile (636 km) long body of water – pure enough to drink and filling one of the deepest gashes in the earth’s surface – is hemmed in by mountains and forests teeming with wildlife.

http://huffingtonpost.triporati.com/guides/Europe/Russia/Lake+Baikal/region

 South Russia nature

Russian South boasts pleasant sub-tropical climate with hot summers and luxurious landscapes – along the Black Sea.

http://lingfeastics.com/russia-the-beautiful-southern-nature/

“In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.”

Leo Tolstoy

Read all of it! 

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Writing Bliss, Siberian Shaman and Legend of the Bear Drum

23 Saturday Nov 2013

Posted by Lada Ray in BOOK: THE EARTH SHIFTER, Excerpt Sunday

≈ 19 Comments

Tags

books by Lada Ray, excerpt sunday, fantasy, Gustave Flaubert, Lake Baikal, Mother Earth, Power animal, Religion and Spirituality, Shamanism, Siberia, Siberian legend, Siberian shaman, spiritual thriller, The Earth Shifter, The Earth Shifter excerpt, writing

“You must write for yourself, above all. That is your only hope of creating something beautiful.” ~ Gustave Flaubert

When several years back I first wrote the fantastic legend of the Bear Drum, it was meant as a short story depicting the young shaman Tengis’ adventure in the Siberian Taiga, near the shore of the Sacred Lake Baikal. It was a story I put on paper for myself because it just popped into my mind and because I thought it was, well…beautiful. Little did I know that this short story would eventually become the foundation for the epic novel, entitled The Earth Shifter.

Shaman on lake baikal

Siberian shaman beating shamanic drum by the Sacred Shaman Rock, on the shore of Lake Baikal, Siberia Continue reading →

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I’ll be Donating Profits From My Book Sales to No-Kill Animal Shelter in USA and Siberian Tiger Rescue in Russia

17 Tuesday Sep 2013

Posted by Lada Ray in BOOK: Catharsis, BOOK: GOLD TRAIN, BOOK: Stepford USA, BOOK: THE EARTH SHIFTER, Earth/ Nature/ Animals, Love/ Kindness/ Inspiration

≈ 41 Comments

Tags

Amur tiger conservation, animal rescue, animal rights, Animal sanctuary, Author Lada Ray, books by Lada Ray, Catharsis Legend of the Lemurians, Catskill Animal Sanctuary, Donating, donating book profits, Проект Амурский тигр, endangered species, Gold Train (Accidental Spy Russia Adventure), Ithaca New York, Lake Baikal, no-kill animal shelter, Pet, Russia, Russian Far East, Siberia, Siberian Tiger, Siberian Tiger Project, Stepford USA, The Earth Shifter, Tomkins County SPCA, Ussurain Tiger, WCS Russia, WWF

Each of the books I’ve written is about justice, peace and/or kindness amid the most adverse circumstances. Most of my books feature amazing and beautiful animals, both wild and domestic. I am very passionate about the beauty of our Mother Earth and about her animals being treated with respect and care they deserve.

THE EARTH SHIFTER features one of the miracles of Lake Baikal – its endemic seals (Nerpa), Siberian Bear, wolves, White Eagle, as well as the majestic Siberian Tiger; both STEPFORD USA and GOLD TRAIN feature rescued super-intelligent and heroic cats and dogs; and even my sci-fi novelette CATHARSIS includes a note of warning against cruelty and about the need for animal protection and preservation.

For a while, I’ve been considering donating profits from my book sales to a no-kill animal shelter and animal rescue in New York State, USA and in Siberia, Russia. I’ve done some research, and these are the organizations that clearly stand out.

NEW YORK, USA

march for the animals Ithaca SPCATompkins County SPCA http://www.spcaonline.com/ The first ever no-kill animal shelter in US History! Provides shelter to 3,000 animals annually.

Sept. 28, 2013 March for the Animals, Ithaca, NY

The Tompkins County SPCA was incorporated in February 1902 in an effort to prosecute individual cases of cruelty. In 1999, the SPCA Board of Directors resolved to become a “no kill” shelter, maintaining its no-kill status continuously since 2001-2002. Animal People, a prominent national journal on animal issues, ranked Tompkins County (Ithaca, NY) the safest community for companion animals in the United States. P.S. Ithaca (home to Cornell University and Buddhist Monastery – Dalai Lama’s Seat in North America) has also been voted the most spiritual city in the USA.

Catskill Animal Sanctuary, Saugerties, NY http://casanctuary.org/

atlas-in-sun-crop-150x150

Located in the New York’s Hudson Valley, Catskill Animal Sanctuary (CAS) is a 110-acre haven for horses and farm animals rescued from cruelty and neglect. In addition to emergency rescue, CAS provides innovative programs that educate the public about the sentience of farm animals, and the devastating impacts of agribusiness and institutionalized cruelty on animals, people, and the planet.

HorseCAS offers weekend and special group tours, vegan cooking classes,speaking engagements, a summer day camp for kids, and a host of compassionate programming year round at its primarily solar-powered Sanctuary. Since 2001, CAS has rescued over 2,000 animals, and has worked in tandem with law enforcement to bring animal abusers to justice. Catskill Animal Sanctuary’s mission is to rescue and rehabilitate farm animals and horses, to advocate for the abolition of institutionalized cruelty to animals through education, and to help people adopt a cruelty-free lifestyle.

Buy links for my books (ebooks and paperbacks)

SIBERIA, RUSSIA

Siberian Tiger, aka Amur Tiger, aka Ussurian Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) – IUCN Red Book endangered species. The largest cat and most magnificent tiger in the world, currently, only about 350 adult tigers are left in the wild (about 450 individuals all together), 95% of them in the Russian Far East.

Siberian tiger habitat

Siberian Tiger habitat

I have written about Siberian Tiger in THE EARTH SHIFTER, in the scene where Sasha encounters, and psychically helps, 2 tigers (and their yet unborn baby) dislodged from their habitat.

Victor, the tiger freed from a poachers snare released into the wild

Victor, tiger rescued from a poacher, released into the wild Continue reading →

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Light, Lightworkers and New Earth – Mirabai Devi, Hawaii

28 Wednesday Aug 2013

Posted by Lada Ray in Consciousness/ Wisdom/ Spirituality

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Author Lada Ray, dharma, Dolores Cannon, karma, Lake Baikal, Lightworker, living your life's destiny, Love, Mirabai Devi, Moscow, releasing karma, Siberia, spirituality, Wayne Dyer

This is an awesome interview by Lilou Mace of The Juicy Living Tour. For those who don’t know, Lilou is a wonderful interviewer and a beautiful soul. She has interviewed the likes of Wayne Dyer, Dolores Cannon, Drunvalo and many others. Visit her website: http://juicylivingtour.com/.

This interview is full of light, love and positive energy. Mirabai Devi has practical advice on praying, raising frequency and “roasting out” karma NOW! Why wait? After all, it’s all well within our power! We live at the moment of great quickening on Planet Earth. It is the time when veils between dimensions are thinning, and disappearing all together.

I especially love these gems:

1. The prayers are living words; they are matrixes. You have to plug the healing formula into this matrix in order to clear the dis-ease, the disconnection from the Source. Continue reading →

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THE EARTH SHIFTER Plot Playing out in Real Time: Massive Meteor Rocks Russia!

15 Friday Feb 2013

Posted by Lada Ray in BOOK: THE EARTH SHIFTER, CULTURE: Russia, PREDICTIONS: 2012 & Beyond

≈ 35 Comments

Tags

Asteroid hits Earth, Author Lada Ray, Chelyabinsk, Comet of Karma, eyewitness videos, RT, Russia, Russia Today, Russian Meteor Shower, Russian Meteor Videos, Siberia, The Earth Shifter, Tunguska event, Tunguska Meteorite explosion, Ural Mountains, YouTube

I received a flood of emails and tweets with messages like, “Hey, does this remind you of anything?” and “Is this like The Earth Shifter plot?” Yes, it is like the plot of THE EARTH SHIFTER materializing in front of our very eyes. Exactly as described, just like it happened in Siberia in 1908, or just like it could happen again – but a little ahead of schedule, so to speak…

In 1908, the Tunguska Meteorite explosion in the remote Podkamennaya Tunguska region of Siberia rocked the world. This historic event has become the fantasy/scifi premise for THE EARTH SHIFTER. Read more about it.

And this just happened in the Chelyabinsk region of the Ural Mountains, which is the dividing point between the European part of Russia and Siberia.

According to Russia Today (RT):

“It’s not been quite average morning in Russia. People in the Urals region have seen burning objects raining down from the sky after a meteorite exploded above the Earth.
MORE INFO & PHOTOS: http://on.rt.com/qn2v57”

I’m happy to say that there were no deaths and all the injuries received were treatable, based on reports. That’s a big relief.

Russians have obviously embraced the 21st Century very thoroughly, as a myriad of spectacular videos of the meteor and its aftermath were captured by various web cams, dash cams, cell phones, and CCTV installed in cars, trucks, offices, parking lots, and even schools.

Witness how it happened! Watch these incredible eye-witness Youtube videos, courtesy RT. Click on each video to watch!

Massive Meteor Rocks Russia

Huge Hole as Russian Meteor Smashes into Icy Lake

Apocalypse Now? The meteor report

Russian meteor explosion: Spectacular dash cam video

Skyfall: Hundreds injured as meteorite wreaks havoc in Russia’s Urals

Planet Earth escapes asteroid Armageddon

Tired of characters you don’t care about? Want to read an intensely moving fantasy cleverly intertwined with true historic events? Want to immerse yourself in the new, rich and fascinating world, with surprises and revelations at every turn?

THE EARTH SHIFTER is for you!

The meteor that broke up over the Urals today, hurtling its pieces down on the unsuspecting city, was only the size of the kitchen table. The meteor (or asteroid) that just missed Planet Earth by 17,000 miles (not much by the Cosmic standards), was 155 feet long! See the last video above.

The Comet of Karma described in THE EARTH SHIFTER is much, much larger. It’s roughly the size of the Island of Manhattan, akin to the size of the Comet that ended the dominion of the once mighty Dinosaurs on our planet (what happened to the Dinosaurs would be described in the upcoming Earth Keepers Chronicles: Origins – April release). Watching all these videos, I can’t help but ask the question raised in the book: Will the Earth Keepers interfere, saving the day again? Read Excerpt

Earth Shifter Banner
read THE EARTH SHIFTER Ebook NOW!
Barnes & Noble Nook     Smashwords

Amazon US   UK   CA   DE   ES   IT   FR   JP   BR  

Paperback coming in April!

ES COVER ebook

More about THE EARTH SHIFTER:

Goodreads page    Shelfari page   LadaRay site

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The Earth Shifter Mystical Setting: A Walk Through Manhattan

21 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by Lada Ray in BOOK: THE EARTH SHIFTER, CULTURE: USA

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Author Lada Ray, Greenwich Village, Hell's Kitchen, iPhone, Lake Baikal, Manhattan, Moscow, New York City, photography, Russia, Siberia, The Earth Shifter, The Earth Shifter excerpt

You may have read my post about Sacred Lake Baikal, Siberia. This is post two in The Earth Shifter Mystical Setting series. Last Thanksgiving we took a fabulous walk around Manhattan, NY, visiting The Village and Hell’s Kitchen, where part of The Earth Shifter action takes place. It is the location of Red’s Underworld Club with the secret entrance into the real, honest-to-goodness Underworld. 😉 While depicting Underworld Club I drew on my real Manhattan experiences and observations.

It was dusking, still I couldn’t resist taking some pics with my iPhone since the setting was so right. Judge for yourself!

We are walking towards Hell’s Kitchen. Only in Manhattan! A weird, narrow “wedge” building next to Madison Park. This building is usually referred to as the “Flat Iron” and I think it goes so well with Red’s theme.

IMG_0014

More Madison Park area:

IMG_0026

IMG_0022

I thought this was sooooo Red! This building and the amazing colors as they came out on my iPhone camera reminded me of Red’s Underworld castle as I imagined it.

IMG_0033

In reality, this is a church…

IMG_0040

IMG_0037

A very progressive church. The sign says: “Organ Meditation,” which to me is also soooo Red.

IMG_0035

IMG_0038

IMG_0039

We are walking through Greenwich Village, which we call simply “the Village.”

IMG_0044

IMG_0045

This could be Red’s motorcycle. 😉

IMG_0043

A Village shop.

IMG_0061

IMG_0062

I love the detail on the Village buildings.

IMG_0054

There are so many hidden gems here, which are easy to overlook, but if you have a keen eye, you are in for a treat. Illuminated with the surreal light of the dusk, these pictures remind me of Red’s Underworld castle and garden.

IMG_0053

IMG_0052

Red is one of the coolest characters in the book, and this is her world!

IMG_0047

By the way, I structured the book in such a way that Red’s real identity remains an enigma till almost the very end. I dare you to guess what she really is while reading the book! But no spoilers, please!

IMG_0048

Ah, finally, Hell’s Kitchen!

IMG_0010

These sentinel-like iron guards also remind me of Red’s Underworld Night Club.

IMG_0001

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Hell’s Kitchen is nothing like it used to be!

From The Earth Shifter:

On Friday, Kei met Red at the corner of 47th Street and 9th Avenue. She wore skinny jeans, high heels, and a sleeveless black tunic with sequined accents, which highlighted her dark hair and eyes, and made her look positively ravishing.

“We are going to an underground night club, fittingly called Underworld,” she explained. Kei didn’t care whether they were going to Underworld, or to the end of the world. He was ready to follow her anywhere.

The Hell’s Kitchen area of Manhattan was once where prostitutes, drug addicts and other rather unsavory characters found refuge because it was cheap. Now of course, the entire Manhattan was so gentrified that even here you wouldn’t find a shoe-box-sized apartment for less than $3,500 a month.

It was only 6:30 p.m. and still early by the nightclub goers’ etiquette. Red knocked three times on a nondescript, metal door painted dark brown, which was buried in a walk-down. At eye level, the door had a small window with jail-like grates. There was movement behind the door and the non-smiling face of a burly dude, who belonged in a Pro Wrestling rink, appeared behind the grates.

“We are cl…,” he started. Suddenly, his expression changed and he hurriedly opened the door, muttering apologetically, “Yes, of course, come in, come in—welcome, my Lady.”

“Thank you, Heraldo,” Red replied regally, making her way past the huge bouncer. Kei followed, throwing cautious glances at the towering mountain of muscle guarding the door.

“I am actually not of age…yet,” admitted Kei when they were safely out of the bouncer’s earshot.

“Not to worry,” said Red, smiling. “It’s covered.”

At this hour, the bar was still dark with only a couple of people sitting in high chairs with drinks in their hands. There was no one else—not even a bartender—around. The whole place gave out the air of forlornness typical of nightclubs before patrons pile in and the show begins.

“Light, please,” said Red into thin air, making herself comfortable at a tiny table for two, located not too far from the dance floor.

The moment she finished her sentence, the candles set in whimsical cast iron candle holders burst into flame around them, giving the space an immediate feeling of mystery and magic.

“My Lady, what an honor to serve you!” A slick waiter, dressed all in black with white gloves, materialized in front of them with a bow. “What can I offer my beautiful queen and her handsome prince?”

“You are such a joker, Emmanuel,” murmured Red. “The usual—for two.”

“Of course, my Lady.” He melted into darkness, as if he never existed.

“Wow,” said Kei. “What is this place? They haven’t even asked for my ID, and they treat you like a queen…”

“Do you like it?”

“Yeah, it’s great, but how is that possible? You are no more than twenty, right?”

“Something like that,” said Red, smiling serenely.

“Then, how come they know you so well here? Are you a celebrity of some sort? Should I know you? Of course,” Kei continued his monologue, “of course, how silly of me! You must be a celebrity—just look at you! You are so beautiful. I am just surprised I can’t remember you from a movie or a magazine.”

“Let’s eat, shall we,” replied Red with a mysterious smile, as a whole procession of servers, directed by Emmanuel, brought out their dinner.

Somehow, the table they sat at started expanding to accommodate all the dishes being laid out before their eyes. Kei closed his eyes, and rubbed them vigorously. When he opened them again, everything seemed back to normal.

Meanwhile, Emmanuel was describing the bounty on the table. “Exquisite eggplant caviar—goes wonderfully with the Russian pancakes; fresh vegetarian pate—just in from our French suppliers; artichoke and olive salad; assorted cheeses from Holland, France and Greece; guacamole and rainbow-hummus platter, created by our chef especially for you; Middleastern salad; jasmine basmati rice with pine nuts, and of course…,” with these words Emmanuel conjured a large carafe filled with dark red liquid, solemnly placing it on the table. “Fresh from the vines of Tuscany, just as you like it, my Lady.”

Kei’s eyes widened. Having grown up in a Chinese family, he never tried wine before. At sixteen, he still had much to learn about the world around him.

“Very nice, Emmanuel, you’ve outdone yourself,” said Red approvingly.

The waiter and the servers bowed and vanished into the darkness.

“Let’s begin, shall we?” said Red. “I am starving.”

“Wow, this is quite a spread,” commented Kei. “Wine, my Lady?” He tried to sound mature while picking up the carafe to pour some wine into Red’s goblet.

“Yes, please,” she said with the same smile, pushing her goblet closer to Kei. She had to reach all the way to the middle of the table to do so, and again, Kei got a distinct feeling that the table was actually much larger than it visually appeared.

He chased the thought away, preparing to pour the beautiful dark liquid into Red’s goblet, and hoping—praying—that he’d be able to handle the wine.

“It’s actually not wine—it’s grape juice, from the best vines of Tuscany,” she explained in response to his unspoken fears.

“Oh…” Kei’s hand twitched and he spilled a drop of dark red liquid. The drop kept expanding, forming a blood-red stain on the snow-white tablecloth.

Red glanced at the drop, and then back at Kei. “I’m really not much of a drinker, and you are not of age yet.”

“Right,” said Kei, inadvertent relief spreading through his veins. He confidently poured the juice into goblets. No more spillage.

IMG_0009

In the near future, I am planning posts about other Earh Shifter settings, including Moscow (Tverskaya and Moscow University), Princeton, NJ, Battery Park City and New York Chinatown. I’ll be filming Chinese New Year in Chinatown and will post it both here and on my Youtube channel. Stay tuned!

Read other great posts:

THE EARTH SHIFTER characters/setting/excerpts galore

The Earth Shifter Mystical Setting: Lake Baikal, Siberia

Excerpt 1

There is still time to enter THE EARTH SHIFTER Giveaway! Drawing for kindle formatting/editing/Accidental Spy Adventures ebooks is next Saturday 1/26! Don’t miss it!

Win ARCHOS Tablet     

Win Kindle formatting/Manuscript editing/3sets of Accidental Spy ebooks

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THE EARTH SHIFTER Epic Journey Begins!

27 Thursday Dec 2012

Posted by Lada Ray in BOOK: THE EARTH SHIFTER, Writing and Publishing

≈ 26 Comments

Tags

Amazon Kindle, Author Lada Ray, book excerpt, ebook, geopolitical/spy thriller, Lake Baikal, sci-fi, Siberia, Smashwords, The Earth Shifter, visionary/metaphysical, YA fantasy

THE EARTH SHIFTER official launch: December 31, 2012!

On this date, the ebook will be released simultaneously on: Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, and Smashwords. Other retailers will follow shortly. All buy links will be posted here, on my blog, and on the Book Store page of my official author website LadaRay.com.

On December 31, I will also announce a Mega-Giveaway, with prizes ranging from free ebooks and free editing to Kindle and Smashwords formatting, which I promise, will suit everyone’s tastes.

However, the Grand Prize will be something very, very special! It will be something you’ll definitely, definitely want!

Intrigued? Please join me on 12/31/12, and find out more!

ES COVER ebook 2

ANNOUNCEMENT 1/2/13:

Join the epic EARTH SHIFTER quest, and enter a new world!

PLEASE HELP SPREAD THE WORD!

Yes, it’s finally here!

Priced at an affordable $2.99, THE EARTH SHIFTER ebook is now live at:

Smashwords    Barnes & Noble Nook    Nook UK

Amazon US   UK   CA   DE   ES   IT   FR   JP   BR  

THE EARTH SHIFTER Goodreads page

It is also coming shortly to Apple, Sony, Kobo, Diesel, and other ebook retailers. All buy links, as usual, will be posted at my official website LadaRay.com. For those who have asked me, paperback is planned for 2013, date TBD.

 

Without further ado, introducing THE EARTH SHIFTER!

BOOK STATS:

Category: novel, historical fantasy, contemporary fantasy, YA crossover, geopolitical/spy thriller, visionary/metaphysical.

Word count: 103,889 words; Page count: 400 pages

THE EARTH SHIFTER is a true YA crossover, suitable for most readers, teen through adult.

SYNOPSIS:

Mankind would never know how close it came to annihilation on June 30, 1908. Somewhere in the murky depths of the Cosmos, the Comet of Karma is born. When all hope fades, it is sent to planet Earth, its sole mission to wipe out a failing civilization. It has happened before, and it can happen again. Except this time, the Earth Keepers would not interfere.

The Comet of Karma tasked with destroying a failing civilization…

The Earth Keepers endowed with supreme powers over the planet and agonizing over the ultimate decision…

The Protectors risking their lives to keep the world intact…

A beautiful brunette with hidden agenda, who is infinitely more than anyone knows…

Two ambitious and unscrupulous men, who’ll stop at nothing…

Global secret society bent on usurping power on Earth…

A woman, ready to betray in order to save her son…

Old spy organization with a secret human weapon…

The Shifters, with power over mind, matter, time and space…

And three teenagers, two of whom are destined to become mankind’s salvation—the all-powerful KEY of DESTINY. They will open a new era for Humanity, if they succeed in keeping their souls uncorrupted… and if they manage to come together before it’s too late…

BOOK SETTING:

Siberia, Russia: Sacred Lake Baikal; the site of the 1908 Tunguska Meteorite explosion

Moscow, Russia: Tverskaya Street; Moscow University; NORUS headquarters; Russian Intelligence

Manhattan, NY: Chinatown; Hell’s Kitchen; Battery Park City

New Jersey, USA: Princeton; Secret US government facility in Hoboken

Geneva, Switzerland

Mystical realms of Heaven and Earth: Outer Space; Keepers Realm; Underworld

MAIN CHARACTERS:

(Keep in mind, many here are not what they seem, read at your own risk!)

Sasha Elfimova, a Moscow teenager

Professor Maxim Elfimov, Sasha’s father

Olga Elfimova, Sasha’s mother

Tengis, aka the Old Man of Siberia, Siberian shaman

Win and Kei Lee, twins who live in NY Chinatown

Dao-ming and Chang Lee, twins’ parents

Red, mysterious and all-powerful brunette

Semyon Isayev, famous remote viewer

Boris Konukovsky, Russian oligarch

Aloysius Drakley, Assistant Director of the CIA

Yuun Lin, Feng Shui master, friend of the Lee family

Dasha and Professor Richard Clarke, friends of the Elfimov family

Young Peter the Great

Grigory Rasputin

The Shifters

The Society

Keepers of the Earth

EXCERPTS GALORE!

From the Earth Keepers Chronicles:

 SHIFTERS

There are four types of Shifters. Mind Shifters can access any thoughts, even the hidden ones; Matter Shifters can turn into anything, as well as turn objects into something else; Time Shifters can bend and jump time; and Space Shifters can compress space, appearing at different places at once.

This is how Buddha was able to stop the charging elephant (mind shifting). This is how Jesus was able to multiply bread to feed the hungry (matter shifting). People swore that they saw the famous Time and Space Shifter, Count Saint-Germain, disappear and re-appear at different historic times and places.

The power of the true Shifters is such that they can manipulate events on Earth. To prevent that from happening, the true Shifters are carefully watched from birth and they are never told about the real extent of their powers until they are deemed ready.

The misuse of even one of these powers can be a huge problem. If more than one Shifter power is abused, the consequences can be catastrophic. Of course, despite all precautions, sometimes the Shifters discover who they are on their own, and sometimes they abuse their powers. This is what happened to Hitler, who was a powerful Mind and Matter Shifter, and who misused his powers for evil.

Ever since, the Keepers have been determined never to let this happen again.

PROTECTORS

The Protectors, also called Bogatyrs, are a special caste of gifted and courageous humans, whose entire life’s mission is to assist the Key of Destiny. As likely to be a soldier as an accountant, the Protector can literally be anyone, and you may never pick him or her out of the crowd.

These people may go through life not realizing their true destiny until the moment they are called to service. Then, their real nature becomes their only nature, and they fulfill their soul’s promise.

They are brave and dedicated, and if necessary, they will sacrifice their lives in order to protect Humanity from itself. In the past, many Protectors died to prevent mankind’s annihilation. Most perished in obscurity, as those they saved never found out about their heroism, the only memory of their deeds being preserved in these chronicles.

But no end is in sight for the Protectors’ sacrifice, as Humanity of Planet Earth enters the era of its ultimate struggle.

REMOTE VIEWERS

Remote viewing is a version of space shifting, which can be done without leaving your chair. On the surface, such an exercise appears an expedient shortcut, and easier than true space shifting, therefore, relatively large numbers of humans have been able to perform it.

In the Twentieth Century, intelligence services of then Cold War rivals, USA and USSR, had opened training centers for gifted remote viewers to deploy them as psychic spies. Over the years, psychic warriors, as they were known, managed to glean secret data from their adversaries, which was impossible to obtain any other way.

After the end of the Cold War, remote viewing programs were all but dismantled. However, at the dawn of the new millennium, psychic warriors were again in demand, some working for governments, others for major global corporations, and the rest, for secret organizations. Many remote viewers made pretty good money, exploiting their gifts for profit or someone’s global ambitions.

However, as with misuse of any power, there is always a steep price to pay.

 KEEPERS

Before recorded history, before Humanity, since times immemorial, Earth Keepers have been watching over our planet. Mankind has inherited the venerable institution of Keepers from its ancestors, the Lemurians, who were designated the first Keepers of earthly civilization soon after their arrival from the dying planet Catharsis, located on the outskirts of the Andromeda Galaxy.

Marked at birth and endowed with supreme powers, each new Keeper is called to duty when the previous one passes. The nine chosen ones have always been, and continue to be, Earth’s record keepers and moderators, and when the time comes, ultimate decision makers.

THE EARTH SHIFTER: Now live!

Join the quest: 

THE EARTH SHIFTER Launch and ARCHOS TABLET Mega-Giveaway!

P.S. Want to become one of THE EARTH SHIFTER’s first reviewers? Email @ Lada at LadaRay.com, or leave a comment with your email!

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THE EARTH SHIFTER Mystical Setting: Lake Baikal, Siberia

22 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by Lada Ray in BOOK: THE EARTH SHIFTER, Consciousness/ Wisdom/ Spirituality, CULTURE: Russia, Writing and Publishing

≈ 27 Comments

Tags

Author Lada Ray, Lake Baikal, Moscow, Russia, seals of Lake Baikal, Siberia, Siberian shaman, The Earth Shifter, visionary & metaphysical, YA crossover fantasy

If you had the chance to read my new release, a metaphysical thriller, THE EARTH SHIFTER, you may be curious to learn more about the book’s unusual, exotic & diverse settings, including Moscow, Sacred Lake Baikal in Siberia, New York Chinatown, Princeton, as well as mystical realms of Heaven and Earth. Today’s post is about one and only Lake Baikal, where every view is picture-perfect.

Enter the realm of SACRED LAKE BAIKAL, SIBERIA

Baikal

Baikal 2

(Image courtesy Slavorum: credit, Bankoboev.ru)

“Siberian Paradise at play in Sacred Sea Baikal.” Image courtesy The Atlantic 

 

Seals of Lake Baikal 2

THE EARTH SHIFTER: meet Sasha’s friend, the adorable Filya the Seal!

From THE EARTH SHIFTER

Earlier today, after some hiking in taiga, they performed a shamanic ritual at Tengis’s sacred site, called the Shaman Rock. After that, as golden rays of the warm summer sun started giving way to the coolness of the silvery moon, they decided to camp out in the Bay of the Seals on Baikal’s majestic shore. The seals enjoyed sunning on the gleaming rocks that wrapped the hidden bay. Sasha had just finished having a chat with her favorite local inhabitant, Filya the Seal.

“Good catch today,” Filya informed her telepathically, languorously exposing his shiny wet body to the sun’s fading rays. “You’ve got to dive very deep into the sea to get the best fish. If you want, Sasha, I can bring you some next time,” he offered, looking at her adoringly with that cute, cat-like face of his. As the last ray of the waning sun pierced the water, Filya dove back into the lake, undoubtedly to find a nice, cozy spot in which to slumber.

The sea… Just like local humans, Filya regarded Lake Baikal as the sea. Perhaps it was part of his genetic memory. The endemic population of seals in the land-locked Baikal was an enigma, one of the many mysteries of this place. The scientists postulated that seals probably swam from the ocean during the Ice Age and stayed here. Kind of like American Indians, indigenous Siberians, who in the long by-gone era had walked across the narrow sleeve of frozen water between the two continents, the one we now call the Bering Strait and subsequently made their home in the vast lands now called the Americas.

Baikal seals

One of many local miracles: the endemic seals of Lake Baikal

The majestic Lake Baikal, frozen in winter

From THE EARTH SHIFTER

Both Maxim and Sasha couldn’t wait to get out of Moscow and submerge into Siberia’s untouched wilderness. While packing, Sasha had a persistent feeling that something very important was awaiting her there. Today was June 29, their sixth day on Lake Baikal.

“So quiet.” Maxim broke the silence. “Beats the city every time.”

“It’s another world,” Sasha echoed. “Peaceful.” Just as she finished her sentence, she noticed two gleaming yellow eyes staring straight at her from the darkness of the trees.

The untouched Siberian taiga

Shaman on lake baikal

Shaman on Lake Baikal

More about THE EARTH SHIFTER

Books by Lada Ray at a glance

ES COVER ebook 2

THE EARTH SHIFTER buy links:

Smashwords    Barnes & Noble    Nook UK     Kobo    Sony 

Amazon US   UK   CA   DE   ES   IT   FR   JP   BR (ebook/paperback)

THE EARTH SHIFTER Goodreads page

*********

Join the quest! 

THE EARTH SHIFTER Launch and ARCHOS TABLET Mega-Giveaway!

*******

Immerse yourself in THE EARTH SHIFTER: Excerpt 2 – where Lake Baikal, its shamans and awesome nature rule supreme!

THE EARTH SHIFTER Journey Begins: Read Excerpt 1

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THE EARTH SHIFTER Release Countdown: Excerpt 2 + Moscow Christmas

19 Wednesday Dec 2012

Posted by Lada Ray in BOOK: THE EARTH SHIFTER, Writing and Publishing

≈ 19 Comments

Tags

Author Lada Ray, Earth changes, fantasy ebook, Galactic Center, Lake Baikal, Moscow, Russia, Siberia, The Earth Shifter, visionary & metaphysical, wisdom and spirituality, YA crossover fiction

EARTH SHIFTER MASTER

THE EARTH SHIFTING News:

Dear readers and fans, due to the busy Holiday Season, both my distinguished editor and my fabulous book formatter have requested a bit more time to finesse all the details. Aww, well, since the end of the world on 12/21/12 will be postponed anyway ;), and since the most important thing in any book is quality, I have made a decision to release THE EARTH SHIFTER a little later than originally anticipated.

Therefore, the new ebook release date is December 31, 2012. “Just don’t panic, it’s not the end of the world, so to speak,” as my editor so aptly reminded me. 😉

I did like the original release date of 12/22/12 very much, due to the peak of the Galactic Center alignment on that day. Read more about this rare and fascinating event in my previous post. However, according to my editor, the last week of the year very few people read books; they are more likely to take active vacations. On the other hand, come New Year’s, the readers will be primed and ready to fill with awesome new reads all the Nooks, Kindles and Tablets they’ve received for the holidays. We shall see soon enough how right she is!

Till then, enjoy Excerpt 2:

THE EARTH SHIFTER

EXCERPT 2

Chapter 2

2011, Lake Baikal, Russia

Sasha Elfimova could hardly be called a normal teenager. She always preferred the serene majesty of Lake Baikal in southeastern Siberia to the hustle and bustle of Moscow. What’s more, she had powers—incomprehensible and scary powers. She was a Time and Mind Shifter, yet even her mentor, the famous Siberian shaman Tengis, didn’t know how far her powers would develop when the time came…

Sasha dipped her hand in the crystal-clear waters of Lake Baikal, now gleaming seductively in the light of the full moon, and smiled at her companions: the old shaman Tengis and her father, the Moscow University professor of linguistics, Maxim Elfimov. They were camping out near the lake’s shore, in their secret spot, just an eight-kilometer hike from Polyanka, Tengis’s native village.

Earlier today, after some hiking in taiga, they performed a shamanic ritual at Tengis’s sacred site, called the Shaman Rock. After that, as golden rays of the warm summer sun started giving way to the coolness of the silvery moon, they decided to camp out in the Bay of the Seals on Baikal’s majestic shore. The seals enjoyed sunning on the gleaming rocks that wrapped the hidden bay. Sasha had just finished having a chat with her favorite local inhabitant, Filya the Seal.

“Good catch today,” Filya informed her telepathically, languorously exposing his shiny wet body to the sun’s fading rays. “You’ve got to dive very deep into the sea to get the best fish. If you want, Sasha, I can bring you some next time,” he offered, looking at her adoringly with that cute, cat-like face of his. As the last ray of the waning sun pierced the water, Filya dove back into the lake, undoubtedly to find a nice, cozy spot in which to slumber.

The sea… Just like local humans, Filya regarded Lake Baikal as the sea. Perhaps it was part of his genetic memory. The endemic population of seals in the land-locked Baikal was an enigma, one of the many mysteries of this place. The scientists postulated that seals probably swam from the ocean during the Ice Age and stayed here. Kind of like American Indians, indigenous Siberians, who in the long by-gone era had walked across the narrow sleeve of frozen water between the two continents, the one we now call the Bering Strait and subsequently made their home in the vast lands now called the Americas.

It was getting chilly. This was Siberia; you could get a terrific summer tan in these parts during the day, but the chill of the night reminded you forcefully where you really were. Shivering, Sasha pulled a warm sweater out of her favorite backpack and put it on. The supple black leather backpack was a sixteenth birthday gift from her father, which he brought from his Italian trip, and the sweater was of her very own design and execution, artfully knitted with chunky yarns of the sunniest shades of sky blue—to match her eyes.

Finally, wrapped in cozy softness, she leaned her head on her father’s well-worn, Soviet-era rucksack, which still preserved the warmth of his body, and stretched her long, pleasantly tired legs. She squinted into the slithering flames of the campfire, her eyes following the escaping sparks straight into the sky, all the while inhaling deeply. The aroma was intoxicating—a mixture of pine, fresh water, and an elusive ingredient this place alone possessed in abundance, a scent the Mother Nature herself must have brewed in her secret labs for the few lucky souls to enjoy.

Sasha half-listened as her father and the old Shaman Tengis talked. Maxim wore his usual Soviet-made hiking gear and boots, insisting they didn’t make them like that anymore. He pensively stroked his short, dense beard (he always let it grow out in Siberia—warmer, and a break from shaving, according to him). Tengis, sitting in his usual lotus pose, gazed into the fire with those penetrating Asian eyes that seemed to be able to see into other dimensions. His beard was rare, as Asian beards tend to be, and all white. As Tengis talked, small clouds of puffy smoke issued from his mouth. It was one of his funny habits—he was a virtuoso when it came to talking without taking his pipe out of his mouth.

Sasha let the smell of taiga and the breeze from Baikal wash over her. The sacred lake of Siberia, Baikal, contained more than one fifth of the planet’s fresh water reserves. An average lake on Earth had rarely survived past the age of ten thousand years. There was nothing average about Baikal. Over a million years old, rather then contracting with age, it kept expanding. Scientists believed that Baikal was an ocean in the making, while the locals swore that its pristine blue depths possessed incredible healing and spiritual powers. At the moment, the sacred lake was a gleaming, rippled sheet of silver in the light of the full moon.

The dark taiga—Siberia’s giant untouched forest—loomed silent just behind them. The kettle bubbled merrily on top of the makeshift fire, as Tengis took out three travel mugs and got busy brewing his famous green tea.

“Sasha, tea?” He offered her a steamy cup, which she accepted gratefully. There was nothing better than Dedushka Tengis’s green tea after a day of hiking in taiga. She stretched her legs in front of the fire and savored it slowly.

She called him Dedushka, meaning “Grandpa,” ever since she could remember, because it seemed he was always there, and she had the feeling that he always silently and unobtrusively watched over her. Tengis wasn’t related to Sasha, of course not. He was a small, bowlegged Asian man with squinty dark eyes that pierced directly into your soul, as if it stood wide-open for everyone to see. And Sasha, who took after her father, was tall, with huge blue eyes and flowing hair that was the sunny color of ripe Russian wheat. The color of her hair she actually inherited from her mother, Olga.

Too bad Mama couldn’t make it, thought Sasha. Olga Elfimova had a very important job in Moscow and couldn’t join them for the summer vacation. She worked for Russia’s richest man, multibillionaire Boris Konukovsky, who was a CEO of NORUS, the country’s largest oil company. He was a very demanding man and Olga often kept long hours, because no one argued with Mr. Konukovsky if they wanted to keep their job and a head on their shoulders.

Maxim, being a professor, had summers off. School ended on June 22 and they just gave themselves enough time to pack. Both Maxim and Sasha couldn’t wait to get out of Moscow and submerge into Siberia’s untouched wilderness. While packing, Sasha had a persistent feeling that something very important was awaiting her there. Today was June 29, their sixth day on Lake Baikal.

“So quiet.” Maxim broke the silence. “Beats the city every time.”

“It’s another world,” Sasha echoed. “Peaceful.”

Just as she finished her sentence, she noticed two gleaming yellow eyes staring straight at her from the darkness of the trees.

“Dedushka Tengis,” she whispered. “Look!”

Tengis slowly turned his head in the direction of the gleaming eyes, as Sasha gave a slight gasp. More and more eyes were appearing in the surrounding darkness, and now at least ten pairs stared at them from various corners.

“Wolves,” mouthed Maxim. “Sasha, get behind me.” Maxim started getting slowly to his feet, while at the same time reaching for his hiking stick. “Sasha, behind me—now!”

“No, Papa!” Sasha shook her head. “You won’t achieve anything with your stick against ten wolves. Let me talk to them.” She started getting to her feet, too.

“No, Sasha, no! These are wolves, not seals!” Maxim made a quick move in her direction, as if trying to shield her, and that caused the wolves to growl.

“Papa, don’t,” Sasha whispered. “You are provoking them!”

“Oh, sit down and be quiet, you two!” said Tengis finally in an uncharacteristically sharp voice, carefully setting down his smoking pipe on the nearby rock. “I will handle this.”

Tengis rarely, if ever, got this way, which meant that he was serious. Sasha obediently sat back on the ground, and as she did, her nostrils were suddenly overpowered by the foul stench of a large, sweaty animal that appeared out of nowhere next to her. She turned her head to the right and saw a huge brown bear right where Tengis sat just a moment ago. The bear’s fur was shaggy, and as he got up to his hind feet, his towering form blocked the moon.

“Oh, my God!” yelled Maxim, jumping back to his feet. He threw himself on top of Sasha, attempting to protect her with his own body.

Sasha struggled to free herself. “Papa, it’s okay! It’s not what you think. Let me go, please!”

“Sasha, be quiet,” whispered Maxim frantically. “I will protect you!”

“You don’t need to, Papa. Just watch!”

Meanwhile, the bear didn’t even look at the two struggling humans next to him and made a deliberate beeline for the wolf pack. After taking several steps in the direction of the taiga, he again got up on his hind paws, his menacing claws shining in the light of the moon. Then, the bear opened his mouth, his growl rocking the forest. One of the wolves issued a squeal and started backing up. The others reluctantly followed.

The bear took a few more steps in the wolves’ direction and opened his mouth again. A growl, even louder than the first one, broke the stillness of the taiga. Two of the wolves deserted the field in a hurry; the rest backed up some more. Then, the bear stood all the way up on his hind paws, his giant front paws outstretched, and the third growl rocked the land. It sounded like the final warning. The wolves decided not to argue. The rest of the pack turned around and ran for their lives from this strange and dangerous beast that appeared out of nowhere and for some reason wanted to protect he humans.

The giant bear issued one more growl, evidently to reaffirm his victory. After that, he turned to face Sasha and Maxim…and smiled. His huge body started shrinking, until it was the same height as the tiny Tengis. A moment later, the bear was gone and the shaman was standing next to them, brushing the dust and animal hairs off his clothes.

“Still smell a little like the bear,” Tengis noted, chuckling. “Can’t be helped—residual effect. But no matter, it’ll air out by the time we reach the village.”

End of Excerpt 2

Much more great stuff coming your way! Stay tuned!

 

Large-size cover, book blurb, and other details: LadaRay.com

Also read:

Excerpt 1 & Galactic Center Alignment on 12/21/22

THE EARTH SHIFTING News

Click here for awesome images of the SACRED LAKE BAIKAL, SIBERIA

Baikal

CHRISTMAS in MOSCOW and AROUND the WORLD

(Russian Christmas, based on the ancient calendar, starts 1 week after New Year’s, on January 7):

Check out World’s 12 most beautiful Christmas trees!

Merry Christmas to all!

ANNOUNCEMENT 1/2/13:

Join the epic EARTH SHIFTER quest, and enter a new world!

PLEASE HELP SPREAD THE WORD!

Yes, it’s finally here!

Priced at an affordable $2.99, THE EARTH SHIFTER ebook is now live at:

Smashwords       Barnes & Noble Nook      Nook UK   

Amazon US   UK   CA   DE   ES   IT   FR   JP   BR  

THE EARTH SHIFTER Goodreads page

It will be up on B&N Nook in a couple of days. It is also coming shortly to all other ebook retailers. All buy links, as usual, will be posted here and at my official website LadaRay.com. For those who have asked me, paperback is planned for 2013, date TBD.

Join the quest: 

THE EARTH SHIFTER Launch and ARCHOS TABLET Mega-Giveaway!

P.S. Want to become one of THE EARTH SHIFTER’s first reviewers? Email @ Lada at LadaRay.com, or leave a comment with your email!

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Revealing THE EARTH SHIFTER: Upcoming YA Fantasy Thriller

06 Saturday Oct 2012

Posted by Lada Ray in BOOK: THE EARTH SHIFTER, My Updates, Writing and Publishing

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

Author Lada Ray, Comet of Karma, dystopian, Earth Keepers Chronicles, ebook, fantasy/scifi, Lake Baikal, Moscow, New York, Siberia, spiritual/metaphysical, The Earth Shifter, thriller, writing and publishing, YA fiction

Cover Copyright Lada Ray 2012

A highly anticipated YA fantasy/thriller set in Moscow, Sacred Lake Baikal (Siberia), New York, Princeton, and mystical realms of Heaven & Earth. 

Category: novel, YA fantasy/scifi, thriller, dystopian, visionary/metaphysical

Anticipated release: mid-December 2012

BLURB

From the Earth Keepers Chronicles

Mankind would never know how close it came to annihilation on June 30, 1908. Somewhere in the murky depths of the Cosmos, a Comet of Karma is born. When all hope fades, it is sent to planet Earth, its sole mission to wipe out a failing civilization. It has happened before, and it can happen again. Except this time, the Earth Keepers would not interfere.

TODAY

The Comet of Karma tasked with destroying a failing civilization…

The Earth Keepers endowed with supreme powers over the planet and agonizing over the ultimate decision…

The Protectors risking their lives to keep the world intact…

A beautiful brunette with hidden agenda, who is infinitely more than anyone knows…

Two ambitious and unscrupulous men, who’ll stop at nothing…

Global secret society bent on usurping power on Earth…

A woman, ready to betray in order to save her son…

Old spy organization with a secret human weapon…

The Shifters, with power over mind, matter, time and space…

And three teenagers, two of whom are destined to become mankind’s salvation—the all-powerful KEY of DESTINY. They will open a new era for humanity, if they succeed in keeping their souls uncorrupted… and if they manage to come together before it’s too late…

..THE EARTH SHIFTER page @ official author site: LadaRay.com. 

..You can now read the first 2 chapters of The Earth Shifter FREE!

Here’s how: CATHARSIS, Legend of the Lemurians (prequel and companion to The Earth Shifter), includes it as a bonus. Ebook is available on:

Amazon US for only $.99; for £0.77 on Amazon UK; EUR 0,89 on Amazon DE and other European countries.

Finally, it is presently FREE on Smashwords!

(Coming to B&N, Sony, Kobo and Apple very soon)

To download, please click on links above.

Additional buy links : Lada Ray Book Store

Dear readers, thank you for stopping by and happy reading!

Please let me know what you think – comments and likes are always greatly appreciated! 🙂

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Sunshine Award & Awesome New Photos of Russia

20 Monday Aug 2012

Posted by Lada Ray in CULTURE: Russia, My Updates

≈ 22 Comments

Tags

Accidental Spy Adventure Series, Battleship Potemkin, Black Sea, Blogging, Gold Train by author Lada Ray, green tea, Lada Ray Blog, Lake Baikal, Moscow, Odessa, Russia, Siberia, Sunshine Blogger Award, Travel, World Heritage Site

Image

I received a Sunshine Blogger Award from author and inspiring blogger, Holly Michael. Thank you, thank you, Holly! It is a great honor and privilege!

Here is the link to Holly’s blog, Writing Straight: http://writingstraight.com/2012/08/13/award-time-yay/ Check it out, it’s awesome!

To accept this award, I am required to answer a series of questions and then pass the Sunshine Blogger Award to other deserving bloggers, link my nominees to this post and comment on their blog letting them know of their nomination. Below are my answers and the blogs I have nominated.

1. What is your favorite Christmas movie?

Christmas in Connecticut. It’s fun and funny, has enough intrigue and romance, plus a rare innocence impossible to duplicate today.

2. What is your favorite flower?

Lotus. Check out my recent post: The Divine Lotus

3. What is your favorite non-alcoholic beverage? Green Tea: Jasmine Pearl or Dragon Pearl (Chinese), as well as Sencha (Japanese). I like making tea in one of my traditional yixing teapots, which I collect, and drink it out of a delicate china cup, enjoying the aroma and taste. It’s a very meditative experience. Yum!

4. What is your passion? Imagining cool stories and making them come alive on paper or screen. I like to teach, inspire and open people’s eyes to the obvious and not so obvious through my writing.

5. What is your favorite time of year? Spring, because that’s when nature awakens to new life and because it’s my birthday time. And Fall, because of the beautiful colors and festive harvest.

6. What is your favorite time of day? Night time, when everything out there, in the big world, quiets down and I can sit down at my computer to think and write.

7. What is your favorite physical activity? Walking and hiking. They say, it’s a quintessential writer’s activity as creative juices flow best while walking. 😉

8. What is your favorite vacation? I’ve been to many countries and loved them all. I really miss Russia. I went back to Russia last year to reconnect and do research for my book, Gold Train, Accidental Spy Russia Adventure set in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

One of the golden-domed Kremlin cathedrals, Moscow, Russia (this is real gold, by the way).

I am planning trips to Odessa, on the Black Sea, and to Lake Baikal, Siberia, both to re-visit and do research for my upcoming books.

A beach in Odessa where I grew up. Odessa is a beautiful resort on the Black Sea. Along with several other exotic Black Sea locales, it will be the backdrop of one of the future Accidental Spy Adventures.

The famous Potemkin Steps in Odessa, connecting the historic center above with the seaport. The Potemkin Steps ensemble considered one-of-a-kind architectural phenomenon, was the site of the 1925 silent film, Battleship Potemkin (Russian: Броненосец «Потёмкин», Bronenosets Potyomkin), which has been called one of the most influential movies of all time, and was named “the greatest film of all time” in 1958.

Odessa’s spectacular Opera & Ballet House, located at – where else – 1 Chaikovsky Drive.

The famous grand stares inside Odessa Opera, considered by some architecturally the best Opera House in the world, along with Milan’s La Scala. And in case you were wondering, yes, it is real gold! The Odessa Opera, Potemkin Steps, the unique seaport, along with the entire stately center of Odessa together are a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Sacred Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia, also a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The oldest (25 mln years old), largest and deepest lake in the world, Baikal contains over 20% of the planet’s fresh water reserves, and according to locals, possesses mysterious healing powers. It will be featured in my upcoming YA fantasy/thriller, The Earth Shifter.

These are the bloggers I feel deserve the Sunshine Award because of their positive, inspiring and/or creative blogs.

1. Lori Lipsky http://poetrypatio.wordpress.com/. I love Lori’s poetry and her sunshine attitude!

2. Russel Ray http://russelrayphotos2.com/ Russel is a San Diego photographer with sharp wit and very cool cat, named Zoey. His posts are super-creative and very funny!

3. Francis http://niltsi.com/ Francis writes beautiful poetry and does wonderful photography. His dog, Pumpkin, is a cutie!

4. Maddy Walsh at 1 Earth Now Blog http://1earthnow.wordpress.com/ For selflessly and generously seeking out & reblogging today’s best and most inspired bloggers!

5. Maxima http://hillsofherchastity.wordpress.com/ For beautiful flowers and lovely sentiment!

6. The Blazing Trail http://theblazingtrail.wordpress.com/ For courageous and inspiring posts!

7. Ayanna Nahmias http://ayannanahmias.com/ For caring what happens in our world and speaking out for justice (even if I disagree with some of Ayanna’s views). I especially want to honor Ayanna for the heartbreaking post: Love, Compassion and Ugly http://ayannanahmias.com/2012/08/12/animal-rights-story/

Update: I have just added 3 more well-deserving blogs to my list of award recipients.

8. Benjamin http://prewitt1970.wordpress.com/,  who is fighting Parkinson’s desease, while producing some absolutely stunning art! I especially want to honor Benjamin for his amazing painting and post entitled Angels and Demons http://prewitt1970.wordpress.com/2012/08/18/angels-and-demons-2/

9. Sumithra Sriram http://hearingwiththeeye.wordpress.com/ for beautiful and wise nature photography!

10. Gertie http://fabricatedfables.wordpress.com/ Gertie is only 12, but she writes with maturity some adults could envy. Her stories are imaginative and evolved and I think she has great future as a writer! I especially liked her fantasy short story, Why Should I Save the Universe? http://fabricatedfables.wordpress.com/2012/07/22/stuff/ Keep writing, Gertie!

Congratulations to all winners!

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A Case of Mistaken Identity: Soviet Cars and My Infamy

14 Saturday Jul 2012

Posted by Lada Ray in CULTURE: Russia, CULTURE: World, My Updates

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

Author Lada Ray, AvtoVAZ, FSB, Gold Train by author Lada Ray, Klout, Lada, Lada Classic, Lada Granta, Lada Kalina, Lada Niva, Russia, Russian cars, Siberia, Soviet Union, Twitter

I bet when you saw this title you thought I was mistaken for a thief of some old Soviet clunker, arrested by the scary KGB and shipped off to Siberia? Just as a clarification for those who missed it, there is no KGB any more. It has been replaced by the FSB about 20 years ago, which, much like the CIA and MI6, hardly concerns itself with auto theft, not to mention, they apparently stopped shipping people off to Siberia over sixty years ago (can you imagine that!).

No, my story is nothing as dramatic. It actually is cute and funny. So, if you wandered in here for the wrong reason, sorry to disappoint. But if you are still reading this, chances are you belong.

Want to join me on a fun journey back in time? Then, fasten your seat belt!

In the year 2011, I opened my Twitter account and suddenly was followed by a number of auto dealerships and manufacturers, ranging from Lombardini and Ferrari to Cadillac and Mercedes. My strange popularity among auto makers and distributors continued unabated, despite the fact that I never wrote a single tweet about anything remotely auto-related and never followed back my eager auto-friends.

As those, who follow me on Twitter know, I tweet about Russia, China, USA, world events and cultures, geopolitics, nature, spirituality, music, feng shui, social media, and of course, writing and publishing.

Then, several months ago, I discovered that according to Klout, I was influential in the following topics: Russia, thrillers, Amazon, epublishing and feng shui, to name a few. Which all made sense. However, my No. 1 TOP topic, according to Klout was… cars! For those who don’t know, Klout is the standard of Social Media influence and it rates how influential you are about various popular topics.

I stared at my Klout page. I’d never tweeted about cars. I tweeted about trains a lot, since my most recent mystery thriller, entitled GOLD TRAIN, includes some great train action, and since I happen to love trains.

But cars?

Then, I looked at my tweeter name, @LadaTweets, and knew: this was my answer! My mysterious and unwanted popularity with the world’s auto crowd has been explained!

Huh?.. You ask. But let me enlighten you.

It all started years ago, how many exactly is not important ;), when my well-meaning parents decided to call me Lada. This is a linguist in me talking: Lada is actually an ancient Russian, as well as Slavic, name and it means ‘balance’ or ‘harmony.’ As in ‘living in harmony.’ It’s a very good name and I am very fond of it.

As another example, the verb derived from the noun ‘lada’ – ‘ladit’ – means exactly that: to live in harmony/ peace. The popular Russian name, Vladimir, means living in harmony (peace) with the world. V-lad-i-mir = In-harmony-with-world. Many – even among Russians – think that ‘Vladimir’ means ‘the owner (or ruler) of the world,’ but the ancient root of both notions is the same. It seems, the ancients were much wiser than us as they understood that one can only rule one’s world by being at peace and in harmony with it. What a novel idea!

But back to my story. Here is the clincher: LADA also happens to be the name of the most popular Soviet car. Its manufacturer, the Soviet/Russian automaker AvtoVaz, thought it would be cute to give it a girl’s name, like Mercedes, you know. Mind you, Lada was nothing like a Mercedes. It was a rather simple, no nonsense, solid and reliable car. And cute in its own way.

Check out the general page for Lada on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lada

1500 Estate Evesham.jpg

Lada Classic. Photo courtesy: Wikipedia

Currently called Lada Classic, this is what Lada looked like in the Soviet days.

Lada Classic page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lada_Riva

Lada Classic Estate. Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Lada Classic sedan. Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Excessive capitalist luxury was frowned upon in the good old Soviet Union, so things manufactured in the country were rather perfunctory, but so over-engineered that many became heirloom pieces. Interestingly enough, many of those who grew up in the Soviet Union and other socialist countries have fond memories of Lada, the car. So fond in fact that there is still a cult following of the Lada Classic. Although AvtoVaz makes contemporary cars as well, they still sell Lada Classic practically with the same exact look as in the 1970’s and 80s. It’s sort of like Volkswagen Bug – people buy because of nostalgia.

In 1989, I just graduated from high school and started at the university. My parents had recently bought a Lada and jokes were frequently made about a Lada within a Lada. My fiance at the time wanted to follow in his and my parents’ footsteps and also managed to buy a Lada, after his and my folks chipped in. It was very rare for a twenty-year-old to have a car in those days, although ours was a used one. We were an adventurous couple and that little Lada served us faithfully for a couple of years, until in 1991 we left the country, having sold our well-used car for a nice profit. Such was the power of hyper-inflation that was picking up before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Before we left, we made very good use of our car, having traveled high and wide in it, including a super-tour of Eastern and Central Europe. During our European adventure, we’d visited a number of countries and some day I’ll do a post about that.

Our adventures included a story about two-foot deep pot holes in Western Ukraine, which cost us the steering wheel that cracked in half. We made the rest of the journey to Poland, steering the car without it (I still wonder how we managed it). In Poland, we bought gasoline and the new steering wheel on the black market at a huge premium, along with some very cute boots for me (the only thing that was actually affordable). Then we crossed over to East Germany, only to find that all gas stations were closed because it was after 6 pm. And I mean, ALL gas stations! The orderly Germans loved to go home to their families early and didn’t care too much about any stranded motorists, which were admittedly very few in those days.

To save the day (or rather, the quickly approaching night), we had to cross the border on foot back to Poland under curious gazes of the Polish and German border guards, and persuade the Polish border patrol to sell us some gas from their patrol car, which they gladly did to make an extra buck. In Germany, we had a different problem. Apparently, our car liked it there so much that it refused to leave and it took us a while to convince it to start moving.

Later, the Chech border patrol was so shocked to see a loose Russian car on their little border crossing – apparently the first ever Russian car they’d seen in their lives – that they asked us if we wanted political asylum. In Prague, we settled down for the night in our car (to save money) in what seemed like a quiet courtyard, only to wake up in the middle of the Chech Police headquarters parking lot. In Hungary, we befriended the gypsies, who were… But that is already another story, which I promise to tell one day, along with many, many other funny anecdotes.

Yeah, it was a great little car – a big nostalgic sigh. Some tend to laugh at it, but I’ll always have fond memories of Lada, my first car! Lada was actually considered a luxury car in other socialist countries. Everything’s relative in this world, isn’t it? Kind of like Toyota Camry is considered an impossible luxury in Israel, where it’s unaffordable even for people who make a very good living (as I found out while visiting my Israeli friends).

In East Germany, our friends Anke and Michel were very envious when we came to visit. They also wanted a car. But the only one available to them was a Trabant, an unbelievably tiny and funny looking East German car, made out of either celullose or cardboard. There is no consensus to this day, which material was used to produce that incredible creation, but the comforting thought was that the material appears to have been bio degradable, therefore cows could chew on the remnants after humans were done with it. I am not  kidding! And guess what, the nostalgia for the good old East German days causes people to collect even Trabants.

The infamous East German Trabant. Along with Yugo (Yugoslavia), voted one of the fifty worst cars ever made. Dan Niel, Pulitzer Prize-winning car critic remarked that it  “gave the Communism a bad name.” What where the other 48 all-time lemons? Well, some of them were Western European, but most were American. No Russian cars made the list.

As opposed to Trabant, Lada, properly made out of metal, was the pinnacle of desire in Poland and East Germany. As we drove our Lada through East Germany, the locals shouted appreciatively: “Ohh, eine gute Russisch auto!” – “A great Russian car!”

And so, there you have it. The mystery of my popularity in the auto industry is solved. It’s all about branding, you see. They actually thought @LadaTweets represented Lada, the car, not Lada, the thriller and fantasy writer.

Contemporary Lada: Lada Granta. Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Lada Kalina. Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Lada Niva. Photo courtesy Wikipedia

The trick now is to make the Lada Ray brand name just as – preferably more – recognizable. The little Lada is going strong after all these years. In competition with the Honda, Toyota, Ford and other giants of the auto world, it has outlived lots of brands, both in Russia and abroad. And people still remember that old, classic Lada with warmth. Some even still want to drive it. Whatever you think about Lada as a car, those who made it must have been doing something right!

So, I’ve been thinking: time is the ultimate test. If my books are remembered with warmth and re-read after many years, then I haven’t been writing in vain.

 

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Update: THE EARTH SHIFTER, New YA Fantasy/Thriller

08 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by Lada Ray in My Updates

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

book, BOOK: Stepford USA, Catskill Mountains, EARTH SHIFTER, Gold Train, Green Desert, hiking, Moscow, my updates, mystery thriller, nature photography, New York, Rail Trail, Siberia, thriller, WordPress, writing, YA fantasy

The GOLD TRAIN blog tour, Stepford USA and Green Desert free promos, and life in general, have somewhat delayed the completion of THE EARTH SHIFTER, my new YA fantasy thriller. But I am getting back on track and have every intention of writing through the summer. THE EARTH SHIFTER release is scheduled for mid-September. So if I am MIA, you’ll know where to find me, namely, at my desk, typing away.

Picture

Note: This is only the preliminary cover

THE EARTH SHIFTER is set in Moscow, sacred Lake Baikal in Siberia, New York, China, as well as other mystical realms of this surreal Blue Planet. I will be posting updates of my progress, as well as the book’s synopsis and excerpts throughout the summer. To find out more about THE EARTH SHIFTER, please visit my author website http://www.LadaRay.com/the-earth-shifter.

I am also working on DRAGON GATE, the new Jade Snow Adventure set in Asia. It is currently set for release during the Holiday Season 2012.

The weather has been very nice, and I hope to also find the time to enjoy the great outdoors. We have pretty fabulous nature here, in the Catskill Mountains. I enjoy hiking on the local Rail Trail, a defunct rail road turned nature trail, looking for inspiration.

I’ve taken some fabulous photos, but since WordPress has been pretty uncooperative lately, it’s been difficult to post a lot of pics in one post, evidently, due to WordPress’ servers being overwhelmed. My husband’s verdict: they need more bandwidth. He should know, this is right up his alley. Perhaps, one day I’ll share as many great pics as possible. But today, here are just a few as a sampler. I think you are gonna love them!

Spring in the Catskills:

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