Little Compton Author Publishes Second Political Thriller

Little Compton author Eric Almeida recently published his second political thriller, Minsk Rises, which aims to continue exposing Western readers to the political strife and a citizen's life in eastern Europe.

The book, recently reviewed by The Huffington Post, focuses on the political unrest in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, and the violent oppression from President Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko. During a weekend outing on the countryside, an American businessman stumbles onto something he shouldn't have, which introduces a number of characters, creating a swirl of lust, global finance and power politics. Minsk Rises also highlights the continued tense political relations between the United States and Belarus. For more information, visit Almeida's website.

Almeida was born in Ithaca, NY, but grew up in Little Compton. He maintains a home here, where he resides four to five months a year. Otherwise, since 2002 he has resided the remaining months of the year overseas: first in Minsk, and since June 2011 in Kiev.

Almeida addressed his second book in a recent interview with Patch.

Q. What are your feelings on your second international thriller?

A. "My two books share similar traits; both are fast-moving political thrillers set primarily in the former Soviet Union. Both also contain characters that are neither heroes nor heroines, but rather ordinary people who find themselves in extraordinary political situations, with ramifications beyond their control. However I believe Minsk Rises is particularly well-timed, because it reflects the current pro-democracy movement in Belarus and Russia, and anticipates events that are now in progress. Even Live from Moscow, which I completed several years ago, remains remarkably current, in that it depicts the ongoing struggle against heroin smuggling in central Asia."

Q. What are hoping to convey to your readers in your work?

A. "I've long been fascinated by the complex, often tumultuous history of Russia, including the countries in its periphery."

Q. Why the focus on Russia and eastern Europe?

A. "Russia has always been rife with internal tensions, paradoxes and unresolved questions: the main ingredients that drive fiction, in my view. So it's a rich source of material. And this remains as true as ever 20 years after the fall of communism in Eastern Europe. The core countries of the former Soviet Union—Russia, Belarus and Ukraine—still present many political unknowns. These form ideal contexts for political thrillers, and I hope, compelling entertainment for my readers."