A NOVEL BORN FROM A PERSONAL DIARY
A story about family, memory, growing up, and living between two homes.
About the way major historical events enter ordinary life — through conversations, photographs, messages from loved ones, and the fear for those who remain far away.
About the way major historical events enter ordinary life — through conversations, photographs, messages from loved ones, and the fear for those who remain far away.
ABOUT THE BOOK
When the Sirens Wailed Again is the story of one family across several generations.
Great-grandfather Nikolai Iosifovich lives through the war and returns home with one hope:
that his children will never have to know what war is.
His daughter Nina grows up surrounded by that memory.
Decades later, his great-grandson Slavic initially knows war only through photographs, medals, and family stories — until it begins to move closer to his own life.
In the autumn of 2022, Slavic leaves for Spain with his grandmother.
A life between two worlds begins: a new language, the sea, and the promise of a future on one side — and Rostov on the other, still present through phone calls, family group chats, and brief messages saying:
“We're fine.”
Great-grandfather Nikolai Iosifovich lives through the war and returns home with one hope:
that his children will never have to know what war is.
His daughter Nina grows up surrounded by that memory.
Decades later, his great-grandson Slavic initially knows war only through photographs, medals, and family stories — until it begins to move closer to his own life.
In the autumn of 2022, Slavic leaves for Spain with his grandmother.
A life between two worlds begins: a new language, the sea, and the promise of a future on one side — and Rostov on the other, still present through phone calls, family group chats, and brief messages saying:
“We're fine.”
READ OR LISTEN
Here you can find the original book as well as the audiobook.
© All rights reserved.
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
I do not present myself as a professional writer.
First and foremost, I am an actor.
This book did not begin because I suddenly decided to write a novel. Its foundation was my personal diary, which I had kept since childhood.
At fifteen, I continued writing about what was happening to me and my family: moving to another country, conversations with loved ones, fear, distance, life in a new place, and my attempt to understand events that felt far too large simply to keep outside my own life.
Over time, those diary entries began to merge with my family's memory — the story of my great-grandfather, who lived through the war, my grandmother's stories, photographs, and the memories of several generations.
That is how the diary gradually became a book.
At different stages of the process, I used artificial intelligence tools to help structure the material, edit the text, explore different forms, and develop the writing.
Some parts of the text were written entirely by me. Other parts were created and revised with the assistance of AI.
But the story itself — its diary foundation, family memories, experiences, and emotions — is mine.
This is not an attempt to become a writer.
It is an attempt to preserve a story I did not want to lose.
First and foremost, I am an actor.
This book did not begin because I suddenly decided to write a novel. Its foundation was my personal diary, which I had kept since childhood.
At fifteen, I continued writing about what was happening to me and my family: moving to another country, conversations with loved ones, fear, distance, life in a new place, and my attempt to understand events that felt far too large simply to keep outside my own life.
Over time, those diary entries began to merge with my family's memory — the story of my great-grandfather, who lived through the war, my grandmother's stories, photographs, and the memories of several generations.
That is how the diary gradually became a book.
At different stages of the process, I used artificial intelligence tools to help structure the material, edit the text, explore different forms, and develop the writing.
Some parts of the text were written entirely by me. Other parts were created and revised with the assistance of AI.
But the story itself — its diary foundation, family memories, experiences, and emotions — is mine.
This is not an attempt to become a writer.
It is an attempt to preserve a story I did not want to lose.
© All rights reserved.
santarojkov3001@gmail.com
santarojkov3001@gmail.com
