The Story Behind the Story with Author Eve Koguce of Jurmala, Latvia, Europe.
Let’s welcome our first guest from the beautifulcountry of Latvia.
I met Eve through mutual author friends and wasdrawn to her stories.
She has accepted our invitation to share thegood news about her novel. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.
Read on my friends.
I’ve been blessed to be born in the best place on the planet. Myhometown, Jurmala in Latvia, is a seaside town on the coast of the Baltic Seawith an endless sandy beach. Riga, the capital of Latvia, is the city rich withhistory and extraordinary architecture. Riga has the largest number of splendidArt Nouveau buildings in the world.
I guess that living surrounded by the beauty of nature and historyignited a creative spark in me. But still, it lay dormant for a long time. I’vebeen an avid reader since the age of five. My parents didn’t have to read to mebefore bedtime for too long, for I quickly snatched the book from them andasked them to leave me alone with reading. I started writing poetry when I wasa teenager and also attempted to write a novel. But being a ‘good girl’, Ididn’t pursue my passion for writing after school graduation. I spent fifteenyears trying to fit into the office work pattern. And although I was feelingmiserable and out of place every day of that climbing the ladder process, Imanaged to build a relatively successful career after an ambitious shift fromthe private to the public sector. The job I had wasn’t boring. It was actuallypretty exciting. I worked with internationally funded projects and met peoplefrom all over the world every day.
After my son was born, I had a unique chance to stop and rethink notonly what I’d achieved so far, but what I really wanted from life. I made adecision to leave my old life behind, and I’ve never regretted it.
Since then, I published six books. Pleasevisit my website to discover more about my novels. Link is below.
Title: “The Accidental Cop”
Synopsis:
What if to havefood on your table every day, you have to cross the line? Cheat, take bribes,and grovel before people in position of power and influence? Welcome to the“savage 90s”… A personal hell of Roberts Bergs.
To succeed you must play by the rules. Roberts learns the rules quickly. Thesystem run by the Soviet-era ex-militia officers is a good teacher. Who youknow counts for more than your abilities, qualifications, and knowledge. Thesystem also doesn’t tolerate disobedience.
Roberts Bergs had to start making difficult choices early in life. With few optionsto choose from, he settles for available ones. Beggars cannot bechoosers, is his motto.
His coursemates at the Police Academy dip their toes into adulthood while stillliving in the cocoon of their parental homes. For them, life is about parties,new experiences, and searching for their true self. For Roberts, it’s aboutpoverty, hunger, and not being killed by a crazed drunkard with an axe during apatrol shift.
A patrolman of the Public Order Police patrol battalion isn’t Roberts’s dreamjob. But it is better than not having one. Trudging through the grim slums ofthe city, his interest in arts, history, and literature is what sustains him.
He believes in human dignity and freedom of choice. He wants to become alawyer.
Despite the resistance from his superiors, Roberts keeps climbing up the careerladder. The contrast between those who play by the rules and those who believein honesty and justice becomes starker. Luxury and self-indulgence for thefirst, and dragging out a miserable existence for the latter.
Is it worth it to remain true to his principles? Or is succumbing to thecorrupted and merciless system the only way to survive?
Set in Latvia at the end of the first post-Soviet decade, named bypop culture as the “savage 90s”, “The Accidental Cop” is a blendof noir crime and police procedural with psychological suspense elements.
The ”Accidental Cop” has won several literary awards:
- Honorable Mention award in the 2023 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards contest/ Fiction Novel category;
- Finalist award in the Pacific Book Awards contest 2023 /Best Thriller category;
- Finalist award in the Readers’ Favorite Book Award contest2024 / Fiction Crime category.
The Story Behind the Story:
"TheAccidental Cop" is set in Latvia at the end of the first post-Sovietdecade. The decade branded by pop culture the ‘savage 90s.’ In Latvia, many remember that decade as thecraziest time of their lives. Some managed to grab the chances to start makingmoney through all kinds of illegal schemes. Not all of them got away with it.Still, those who did climbed even higher. By the arrival of the new millennium,they were respected businessmen, and their influence spread wide. Even into thelaw enforcement authorities.
In 1998, the population of Latvia was2.41 million people. More than half of them lived in poverty. Dry figuresprovided in official reports hide family tragedies and countless lost andwrecked lives.
At times of transition, old rules don’t apply whilenew ones aren’t yet established. Because of that, the 90s were the decade whencriminals flourished. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, people were freeto start private businesses. But due to holes in the legislation and theoverall chaos, you had to pay for “protection” to keep your business running.And the guys who collected the money had effective persuasion methods for thosewho refused to agree to the rules.
Once, the bell at our door rang. My aunt – Mom’solder sister – and I were in the kitchen. Mom went to see who came. We heard anunfamiliar man’s voice. My aunt went to the corridor in case Mom needed help. Itrailed after her.
The man stood at the doorway – Mom didn’t let himin. Before leaving, he looked at my aunt and me and turning back to Mom said:“Bring the money or I’ll cut off your kid’s and your mother’s heads and bringthem to you.”
At those times, it was incredibly difficult to keephope that life can change. And a lot of people didn’t live long enough to seethat it actually did.
“We never knew what it was like to be hungry.” Mom once dropped thisphrase, years after the worst time had ended. She added that it was thanks tomy aunt – Mom’s older sister – and her extraordinary, almost magical, landcultivation skills. In good years – harvest isn’t the same every year – we hada ton of apples and a ton of cucumbers. And this apart from all kinds ofberries, potatoes, carrots and I don’t remember what else. I never knew hunger. I never thought about usnot having enough food. So, Mom’s words hit me like a bullet. Mom said that becauseof Aunt’s excellent cooking skills, we didn’t even notice that for months, ourmenu consisted almost solely of four ingredients: potatoes, carrots, beetroot,and zucchini.
Roberts in “The Accidental Cop” knows what hunger is. And what it doesnot only to your body. Still, he doesn’t give up. This is what a reader saysabout Roberts in their review: “He crawls untilhe can walk, and walks until he can run. He shows the immense and unimaginablecourage it took to survive his circumstances, by taking things one hour, oneday at a time, surviving one hour, one day at a time. He clings to hope, andhis personal integrity and honour, like a drowning man, until he canpotentially surface into a brighter future.”
“The Accidental Cop” gives readers the chance to get a glimpse of whatit was like to try to survive in the savage 90s in post-Soviet Latvia. In away, this book is a tribute to those who either hadn’t lived to tell theirstories or, after the grim times ended, preferred to leave them behind.
When I started writing “The Accidental Cop”, I was certain it would bethe only story set in the savage 90s that I’ll ever write. Those were dark andsad times for many, including my family. Still, now, after the book ispublished, I realise that the material I’d collected while doing research isenough for a few more stories. People shared their memories about the mostcontroversial decade of Latvia’s modern history with me. And I feel theinspiration to interweave these memories with fiction to draw a picture of thatwild decade on the pages of my books.
Website: Please go HERE.A question before you go, Eve:
Scribbler: Where is your favourite spot to write? Are you messy or neat? Your beverage of choice?
Eve: I can’t answer with a description of a picture-perfect, Instagram-style, cosy nook where I can write in silence, enjoying the free flow of inspiration and creativity. Alas, the reality, as it is so often, is a little harsher than retouched images on social media. Having said that, I won’t deny that I like my practical arrangements for writing. I usually write in the kitchen, and my laptop – with a huge monitor my husband brought me so my poor eyesight doesn’t suffer more than it is absolutely necessary – sits on the table hand-crafted by a dear friend of my beloved late Mom especially for her.
I am boringly neat, and my working table is never messy. Yet, it isn’t due to my high standards, but rather because, as I mentioned earlier, my worktable dabs as a kitchen table – or it’s probably the other way round – and it’s impractical to spend time clearing the mess several times a day when my family gathers for a meal.
During the day, I drink copious amounts of tea – Rooibos with orange and cinnamon or with honey and vanilla is my favourite choice of late. I have a cup of coffee after waking up and also after lunch.
An Excerpt from "The Accidental Cop"
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They found a gruesome scene. Still, if it was a crime scene or anaccidental tragedy display remained to be determined.
The operational group got to work, and soon, the place resembled astaged movie set ready for filming a detective story. Everyone moved aboutefficiently, performing the actions according to their duty list just as actorswould play their roles.
He mumbled while doingwhat he was supposed to do, not trying to suppress a whistle of surprise, achuckle, or a hiccup – whichever impulse was appropriate to demonstrate areaction of his body or mind.
“What a waste, what a waste,” he muttered under his breath, fussing overthe dead bodies it was his job to examine and identify the reasons for theirturning into such, “isn’t it always a waste? Of course, it is. Even if you werea poor bastard whom no one would miss, it’s still better if you had lived. Yes,yes, life is sacred…Life is a gift….”
Roberts entered the basement that the police had been called to checkafter he, Edgars, and the forensic team ensured the place was marked as a crimescene and the interest from neighbours ran dry. Edgars refused to go down tolook at the bodies saying it wasn’t his job and he wasn’t interested.
It wasn’t the adrenalin from the macabre sight that drew Roberts in. Hedidn’t feel any looking at the remains of what used to be a living creaturewith hopes, dreams, and people who cared about them. His interest wasn’t purelyprofessional, either. He didn’t see himself examining yet another crime scenein five years. Still, his life was now connected with crime and investigation.He had recently passed a Criminal Forensics exam successfully. It was a uniqueopportunity to compare theoretical knowledge with practice, even if the subjectwouldn’t have been his first choice for testing if he had one.
“Koha kungs,”Roberts greeted the forensic medical expert respectfully. He didn’t have tofeel the smell to know Zalamans’s breath betrayed alcohol consumption. Thenot-so-faint vodka aroma was an inalienable part of Zalamans Kohs’s image, andone which he did nothing to distance himself fromSo,nobody ever thought of complaining, and Kohs’s permanent inebriated state wastreated more like an oddity rather than a protocol violation.
“Oh, good day, young man!” Kohs raised his head from the dirty tabletophe was examining with absorbing intensity. “What a pleasure to see anintelligent face among this…,” Kohs cast a glance around the dirty, sordidspace, his face incredulous as if he had just seen it for the first time,“…chaos.”
“I hope I’m not disrupting your work.”
“The fact that you’ve thought about it at all means you aren’t.” Kohsturned away and made a wide gesture with both hands. “Tell me, what do you see?Never jump to making assumptions before you’ve looked at the crime sceneproperly. Never mix the order. First, watch carefully. And only then – think.”
Roberts looked around the basement.
Thank you for being our guest this week, Eve. I now have a copy of this book and am looking forward to reading it. We wish you continued success with your writing.
And thank you to all our amazing visitors and readers.
Don’t be shy. Leave us a comment below. TY.
