“Blackshirts!”
Everyone looked up, startled, their expressions frozen into whatever they’d been thinking or reacting to, but as they took in her presence, Annamarie saw amazement, surprise, shock. She had them right where she wanted them.
With each punctuated word or phrase, her hand moved like an orchestra conductor’s baton or a hammer, as did her voice. “Rome! Will not become an empire. Until we have smashed. The naval power of Carthage!” She paused, head held high, and fiercely scrutinised the party. She waited, swaying on her left, then her right foot. Some still looked astounded. Lisi was breaking out into a smile. In either case, all had been stunned into silence.
“Because the Mediterranean!” She hammered her right fist into her left palm three times. “By the way,” she said in her normal voice and posture. She held the can on her head steady. “That is not an ocean.”
And though Franz erupted into laughter, joined by the majority of the table, she went straight back into Mussolini. “Because the Mediterranean! For. The Mediterranean! We cannot allow others. To own it! For others! To administer its ports. Is a humility. To. Our. Vigour of life!” The can slipped forward, as if on cue, from her head and landed straight into her hands.
Shouts and whistles, and now everyone was laughing and applauding, some standing, Franz with them, a cigarette dangling from his lips. Lisi clapped with great enthusiasm, and even Veronika was beautiful now with her laughter. Only Sepp, in his green scarf, too bright for the room, stared critically at her. She’d have some explaining to do, but for now, as Annamarie’s head cleared, she knew how to manage it.
She bowed deeply, and the applause grew. When she came back up and tossed the can into the air to catch it again, Lisi sprang from her chair and rushed to her. She shook Annamarie by the shoulders and nodded at Franz.
“Annamarie, that was fantastic! We’re going to the cabaret tomorrow.” She stood next to her, arm around Annamarie’s shoulder, and faced the crowd. “You’re with your people now. Welcome!”
D ear Reader,
Thank you for choosing to read this book. Bolzano was especially fun for me to write and to bring Annamarie to life. She has been one vivacious character for me, and I knew, after I wrote that first chapter with her, what would become of her. It is a journey I hope you plan to take with me in the next two books.
A reader has requested that I list what is fact and what is fiction in these novels. I have taken this a step further and have decided to also list the most common foreign words used in the book as well as other “behind-the-scenes” titbits. You can find them on my blog on www.inktreks.com.
I hope this will help dispel any further confusion, and I have also provided links to maps for the location of this series.
Two more books are planned for this series. The Option will continue directly from this point onward. The historical backdrop is the agreement that Hitler and Mussolini made to provide the Tyroleans a “choice”: either become citizens of the Third Reich or choose to be Italian. The chaos that followed was mostly due to propaganda and misinformation (fake news, if you will), and it tore entire families apart. If there is one open and gaping wound left exposed in today’s South Tyrol, it is this, caused by the terrible choices presented by two tyrannical governments.
After The Option, I will be writing The Rising, which will be solely Annamarie’s story. The historical backdrop will include a terrorist cell that took to blowing up pylons and—once again—causing conflict in the little-known history of South Tyrol.
Both books are planned for a release in 2019/2020. Follow me on www.inktreks.com, on Twitter (@ckalyna), or on www.facebook.com/inktreks for updates on new releases, special promotions, and fascinating blogs about the history of twentieth-century South Tyrol.
Servus!
Chrystyna LUCYK-BERGER
August 2018
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank my mother, Lesya Lucyk, for once more taking on the task of providing feedback on the things I write, and this with great honesty. To my superfans who have read advanced copies: Marta Aldighretti, Lynda Currey, Patricia Miner, Dr. Harriette Buchanan, Ilona Bannister, Su Lynch, Fiona Eggelstone, and the rest of the team at Faber Writing Academy. To Tom Bromley for your early inputs. To my husband, Manfred, who—without a doubt—is one of my biggest supporters and cheerleaders. And to the communities in 20Booksto50K as well as Mark Dawson’s SPF Community. A writer can never go it alone, and those communities are the best things that Facebook has ever made possible. Last but not least, to Dori Harrell, whose professional eye and talent help to make this book ever better with each pass.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CHRYSTYNA LUCYK-BERGER is an American ex-pat living in Austria with her amazing husband, sweet and funny dog, and royally possessive cat. She has won prizes and acknowledgments for her short stories and flash fiction. She travels for inspiration and is inspired by what she encounters. On her first journey to South Tyrol, she drove over the Reschen Pass and discovered this story for you.
The Option: Reschen Valley 4 continues the story directly after this instalment (tentatively set to release in spring 2019). If you want to learn more about the characters from the Reschen Valley series, sign up for the newsletter or check out the blog on the www.inktreks.com website. Extracts from the series as well as character depictions are also there.
By Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger
The Smuggler of Reschen Pass, a Reschen Valley novella
http://mybook.to/Smuggler
Reschen Valley 1: No Man’s Land
http://mybook.to/NoMansLand1
Reschen Valley 2: The Breach
http://mybook.to/TheBreach2
Reschen Valley 3: Bolzano
http://mybook.to/Bolzano3
Reschen
