Author Judith Welsh spent her first six months of retirement reading as she slowly regained her health after decades of all-consuming work as a clinical social worker. She learned much, including about, Grand Duchess Tatiana of Russia. And she knew that, as she took strength from this incredible person’s story, so too would others. The Bolsheviks shredded the fabric of Russia’s old monarchy. In the first book, Last Waltz, of a new historical novel series, readers experience this tumult through the eyes of Mikhail Yakovlevich Malama, a pilot in the Russian Army who was sent from the front to work directly for the emperor. He ended up marrying Grand Duchess Tatiana and escaped to ensure the true bloodline continued. The four Imperial Grand Duchesses are often portrayed as sheltered from the world. In truth, Tatiana never gave up hope, showing courage in the face of possible PTSD and anxiety disorder, other adversities, and even death.