Josef Stalin's daughter dies at 85 in southwestern Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. - Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's daughter, whose defection to the West during the Cold War embarrassed the ruling communists and made her a best-selling author, has died. She was 85.

Lana Peters - who was known internationally by her previous name, Svetlana Alliluyeva - died of colon cancer Nov. 22 in southwestern Wisconsin, where she lived off and on after becoming a U.S. citizen, Richland County Coroner Mary Turner said Monday.

Her defection in 1967 - which she said was partly motivated by the poor treatment of her late husband, Brijesh Singh, by Soviet authorities - caused an international furor and was a public relations coup for the U.S. But Peters, who left behind two children, said her identity involved more than just switching from one side to the other in the Cold War. She even moved back to the Soviet Union in the 1980s, only to return to the U.S. more than a year later.

When she left the Soviet Union in 1966 for India, she planned to leave the ashes of her late third husband, an Indian citizen, and return. Instead, she walked unannounced into the U.S. embassy in New Delhi and asked for political asylum. After a brief stay in Switzerland, she flew to the U.S.

Peters carried with her a memoir she had written in 1963 about her life in Russia. "Twenty Letters to a Friend" was published within months of her arrival in the U.S. and became a best-seller.

Upon her arrival in New York City in 1967, the 41-year-old said: "I have come here to seek the self-expression that has been denied me for so long in Russia." She said she had come to doubt the communism she was taught growing up and believed there weren't capitalists or communists, just good and bad human beings. She had also found religion and believed "it was impossible to exist without God in one's heart." LINK

I Have CFS But I Don't Look Sick

Pamela Kidd, the author of "I Have CFS But I Don't Look Sick" talks about the content of her newly-published book. LINK: Youtube

50 Famous Author Interviews That Shouldn't Be Missed

If you're interested in what makes authors tick, you'll love reading what they have to say in interviews. You can learn about how they got started writing, what they enjoy about books, and more.

Here you'll find 50 interviews with famous authors that you just can't miss. LINK: The Presurfer

J.D. Salinger dies at 91

From the Associated Press:

J.D. Salinger, the legendary author, youth hero and fugitive from fame whose "The Catcher in the Rye" shocked and inspired a world he increasingly shunned, has died. He was 91. Salinger died of natural causes at his home on Wednesday, the author's son said in a statement...

'Catcher in the Rye' author J.D. Salinger dies [AP] Photo: Tatteralan. LINK: Boingboing

Indie comic pioneer dies young

Barry Blair, the publisher, author and artist of a vast mountain of indie comics, is dead at 52 of a brain aneurysm, reports Publishers Weekly. Successes included Samurai, Warlock 5, Elflord, and, as publisher, Men in Black. Blair was also infamous for his non-mainstream work, which often featured weird twink porn and women with unnecessarily large nipples: should you wish to save yourself before heading to Google Images, just imagine Don Bluth's Salo and you're all set. More from Bleeding Cool's Rich Johnson and CBR. Former boss Richard Pini offers a eulogy. Via: Boingboing

Authors as Drawn by Artists

(L) Neil Gaiman by Leigh Gallagher (R) Jules Verne by Ted McKeever

Steven Gettis of Hey Oscar Wilde! It’s Clobberin’ Time!!! website has been collecting artists’ interpretation of their favorite literary figure/author/character since 1998. So far he’s got over 300 drawings done (wow!). I particularly like the drawings of Neil Gaiman and Jules Verne above.

Not to be missed: Link, Via: Neatorama