Local author debuts in

Katie Aune is a White Bear local and the author of “Finding Katya,” a memoir that focuses on her years spent in the former Soviet Union. She will have a signing on Sept.1 at the bookstore during the White Bear Lake Farmers Market and her book can be found at Lake Country Booksellers in downtown White Bear Lake. For more information on Katie Aune’s latest projects, her website is katieaune.com and she can be found on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Q. Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from? How did you get to where you are today?

A. I grew up in White Bear Lake and graduated from White Bear Lake Area High School in 1994. I went to the University of Iowa and studied Russian & East European Studies before graduating with a degree in political science and economics in 1998. I returned home to go to the University of Minnesota Law School before moving to Chicago in 2001, where I spent about six years working as a tax attorney. In 2007, I left the law for a career in alumni relations and development. In mid-2011, I quit my job to spend the next 13 months traveling and volunteering in the former Soviet Union, which was the inspiration for my book. I’ve been in Washington, D.C. for the past eight years and currently work at the University of Maryland as the Chief Development Officer for the Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

Q. What drew you to being an author?

A. I’ve always enjoyed writing and when I decided to take a career break to travel, I launched a travel blog to document my entire journey. I also took on freelance writing assignments writing for a variety of travel websites.

Q. What inspired you during the creation of “Finding Katya?”

A. I was inspired the most by a desire to inspire others. I got such great feedback from readers to my blog posts while I was traveling and I’ve heard so much from friends that they live vicariously through my travels. I wanted to write something more in-depth that could inspire other people in a way that I’ve been inspired by travel memoirs I’ve read.

Q. Tell us about the process of creating this book. How long did it take?

A. I worked on it off and on for about ten years! I published a blog and kept a journal while I was traveling, so those were the starting point for the book. Indeed, anyone who followed my blog back in 2011 and 2012 may recognize a few of the anecdotes that appear in the book. When the Covid pandemic started and I started working from home, I used my extra free time to start working on the book in earnest again and in fall 2021, I hired a developmental editor who was instrumental in helping me pull it all together. I also enlisted a friend to design the cover and found a group of beta readers to read my manuscript and provide feedback before I did the final edits. The final step was getting everything formatted to upload to Amazon and another book distributor so people can actually buy it!

Q. What do you hope to leave with your readers after they finish your book?

A. I hope readers leave with a few things. First, I hope they’ll read my story and find encouragement to get off the beaten path, whether while traveling or in life in general. Society places so many expectations on us and I think it’s important for people to see that you can find success and fulfillment by taking a different path.

I hope readers will also take away that you don’t have to be limited by your insecurities or struggles you may have faced in the past. It’s up to you to set your own course.

Finally, I hope readers will leave with an inspiration to travel to, or at least learn more about, some of the places I visited. With countries like Russia and Ukraine in the news all the time now, I hope reading about my travels in those countries and my interactions with people there can give people a perspective they won’t hear in the news. And countries like Georgia and Armenia aren’t on the radar of most American tourists, but they offer fascinating historical sites, natural beauty and incredibly friendly people.

Q. Do you plan to create anything in the near future?

A. I am finishing up a course to be certified as a Travel Coach. Once I’ve completed that, I plan to launch a coaching business, working with people interested in getting off the beaten path in life and in travel. More details will be available at katieaune.com soon!

Merrina O’Malley Press Intern