Paullina Simons (born 1963) is a Russian-born American writer and the international best-selling author of the novels Tully, Red Leaves, Eleven Hours, The Bronze Horseman, Tatiana and Alexander, Lily and The Summer Garden. Background Simons dreamed of becoming a writer as a child in Leningrad. At the age of ten, she moved with her family to the United States, and completed an early attempt at writing when she was 12, in English. Simons attended colleges in New York, Kansas and England, graduating from the University of Kansas with a degree in political science. She worked as a financial journalist on the Financial News Network, and translator among other various jobs before Tully, her first novel, was written and released. Simons and her second husband Kevin Ryan live in Long Island, New York and have four children. From oldest to youngest they are Natasha, Misha, Kevin Jr., and Tatiana (named after the heroine in The Bronze Horseman). Publications Although her most well known book is The Bronze Horseman, many of Simons's novels have reached international bestseller lists in countries including Australia and New Zealand. All of her books have been published with Flamingo or HarperCollins The Bronze Horseman trilogy The Bronze Horseman (2000) It follows the Metanov family as they try to survive the siege of Leningrad, and the relationship that forms between the youngest, Tatiana Metanova, and a Red Army officer called Alexander Belov. Tatiana and Alexander also known as The Bridge to Holy Cross (2003) Tatiana has left the Soviet Union, and has left Alexander behind, who now awaits trial, and most probably, execution. As she tries to build a new life in America, she is haunted by the possibility that Alexander might still be alive. The Summer Garden (2005) Tatiana and Alexander have suffered the worst that the twentieth century had to offer. But now, reunited after years apart, they must learn how to live together. And as dark forces threaten to tear their family apart, they must protect their son from the ghosts of the past. Tatiana's Table (2007). A collection of recipes for meals mentioned in The Bronze Horseman, The Bridge To Holy Cross/Tatiana and Alexander and The Summer Garden. According to Simons: "I was looking to make it funny and light and cute, and am still trying to, but of course, my melancholy Russian soul is getting the better of me as I remember what