C. Nick Potcovaru was born in Romania, where he lived until age twenty-two.
In 1989 he participated in the uprising which ousted dictator Nicholas Ceausescu
and led to the Communist regime's collapse. These events inspired this debut novel.
Potcovaru had been studying philosophy and history at the University of Bucharest
when the revolution started. "Within 48 hours I found myself fighting on the front lines,"
he said at his book's launch. "Just hours earlier we were living in an almost
totalitarian society,
where the notions of self-determination, freedom and liberty were just alien
theoretical concepts." But soon, he and those he fought beside learned that
what was happening around them was far from what it appeared to be, and ultimately
Potcovaru had to choose between being arrested, which meant sure death, or becoming exiled
and given one hour to leave the country. Potcovaru now lives in Eastern Pennsylvania
with his wife and son.