I received a nice write-up today in the Romanian Times. You can find it here:

Following is a partial text:
Alan Elsner recalls 1989 Romanian revolution in his latest book
Anca Enoiu

Reuters journalist Alan Elsner’s latest book, "Romance Language", takes a step back in time and deals with the Romanian revolution of 1989 that ended the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu.
In an interview with Romanian Times, Elsner said his decision to place the plot of the book in Romania had been the result of his visits to it.
Elsner was US State Department correspondent for Reuters News Service in 1989. He travelled with US Secretary of State James Baker to Berlin, Prague, Moscow and Bucharest and was present during tense negotiations and dramatic street events.
In 2007, Elsner was a Knight International Journalism Fellow in Romania, where he
promoted free media in an emerging democracy.
Elsner told the Romanian Times: "I was transfixed by the events of 1989 and greatly admired the courage of the Romanian people."
"When I had a chance to go to Romania to teach journalism, I thought it would be the perfect time to explore the subject in a novel."
"My idea was to relate a love affair between a Romanian poet and an American journalist – and also to have part of the plot take part in 2007. That way, I would be able to contrast the old Romania to the new."
Elsner taught journalism courses in Romania from October 2006 to the end of summer 2007 in eight cities, including capital Bucharest.
During that time, he interviewed scores of people – "almost everyone I met "– about their lives under Communism and their experiences during the revolution.
For foreign readers, the book is a good opportunity to find out about daily life under Communism.
Alan Elsner explains: "Daily life under Communism meant life in cold, unheated apartments, endless lines for food, constant surveillance by the Securitate, TV under Ceausescu, posters and propaganda and Kent cigarettes used as money."
"Almost all the anecdotes I described really happened. The climax of the book is the revolution, and I worked very hard to create a meticulous and accurate picture of events."
The author remembers his first impression in visiting Bucharest in 1989: "My first impression in Bucharest was seeing the massive Palace of the People and the boulevard leading to it (Bulevardul Unirii) – which in those days had almost no traffic and almost no trees."
"I learned the dictator had ordered a large part of the historic city to be destroyed to accommodate his crazy dream of constructing the largest building on earth."
"Seeing that building still has a powerful impact on me – it is a monument to human folly, cruelty and self-importance."
His presence in Romania also featured some bad experiences. Elsner said: "I was bitten by a dog – which was not a pleasant experience. I had to seek emergency medical care and have rabies shots. I also had my computer and personal effects stolen from my office in Bucharest."
Back to Romania in 2006-2007 to teach journalism, the changes in the former Communist country were obvious.
"All the new construction, the terrible traffic jams and lack of parking, the casinos, the sex stores, the fancy stores and many restaurants and cafes. The city is very lively with a vibrant youth scene."
" The young people I met no longer lived in fear. But of course, there were new problems – corruption, pollution, crime and so on."
The experienced Reuters journalist says Romania has changed a lot since the Communist period: "I believe Romanian democracy is secure and the country has a bright future, but there is still a psychological legacy from the past, especially among older people."
Still, more changes are needed: "Fight corruption, restructure the economy so that the inefficient agricultural sector moves into the 21st century and invest in education and new technologies to create jobs for the future.
"Politically, the country should sort out its confusing constitution and more clearly define the powers of the president vis-à-vis parliament."

I received this message from a Romanian-American reader:
Thank you for writing such a wonderful book about Romania. You wrote it with so much love as if you were Romanian as well.It is hard to believe that you have only spent nine months in the post-communist Romania and you have been able to understand it so clearly and to describe the life before and during the revolution. It was extremely hard for each of us to make sense of the chaotic way in which events took place.

You did understand what is particular about the way we think and feel, and behave. The parallel description of the two love stories were so captivating and I recognize my daughter in Petra in every aspect, from her dorkiness to her unexpected (from an american ) timidity.

The intellectual humor, the verses from Eminescu, the translation of Shakespeare's sonnets, make me feel that I am in the presence of a great writer!

I just hope that I will be able to reach a lot of Romanians and other readers who would appreciate this exceptionally well written book.

I'm sometimes asked what it's like to write a novel. It's like running a marathon.
I began my latest effort just about a year ago and I've now completed 100,000 words. I guess I have maybe another 10,000 to go but it's hard to say. I've got the end worked out in my mind but I can't tell how many words it will take until I've written them. A whole year of work; I can hardly believe it.
People have asked if I have the whole plot figured out before I begin. Some novelists may work like that but I can't. I started with a vague idea and two characters. The characters were strongly etched in my mind but the plot was nothing more than a shadow. It's come more and more into focus as I'v gone along. I keep changing it. Even now, I'm changing the ending in my head.
It's a thriller which revolves around the State Department press corps (which I was a member of for five years). I tried to include as many details as I could remember about what it's like to travel with the Secretary of State, what kind of food do they serve aboard the plane, what are the onboard briefings like etc etc. I hope this lends the book authenticity and interest.
How do you get to 100,000 words? I try to write something every day. Sometimes I can't manage but most days I do. I've written in the office, at airports, on planes, in cafes and restaurants, in hotels -- wherever. I tend to work in short bursts. I write a couple of hundred words, then stop to think about them, try to imagine the scene more fully, speak the dialogue. I edit myself incessantly. Sometimes I go over the same short passage a dozen times. I write a lot in the middle of the book, going back to add details.
I said I began with two characters in my head -- my protagonist and the villain. Since then, a whole cast of lesser characters have sprung to life in my imagination. It's miraculous to look back on all those words, all the scenes and incidents I've created. I've brought characters to life and then ruthlessly killed them, then decided to let them live after all.
When you're writing a book like this, you think of little else. I carry around a notebook with me in which I jot down ideas, phrases, descriptions. I imagine conversations between characters and with them. I'm at least half thinking about my book almost all the time. I fall asleep most nights thinking about it.
Soon I'll finish the first draft. It's been hard but I know I'll miss the daily writing. Next comes the hard part. I'll send it to friends and colleagues to read and criticize. The first draft is followed by a second and then a third. My agent will have comments. Eventually it will go out to publishers. And then maybe, with God's help, you will be able to read it too.