A friend asked me, “Do you have a story?” When I said I did, she encouraged me to take a screen-writing course, which I did. That started my writing life. I took lots of film courses, but then met a woman who was a line-producer for John Malkovich. She advised me, “Never write a screenplay. A screenplay is never your own. Write a novel. The best films come from novels.” That changed my direction. She added that a novel is like a painting, no one can change it, even if they want to. The story is yours. The screen play can be constantly changed.  But that is only half of the story.

Because of my screenplay learning, my novels are often said to be “filmic.” Being so, I wanted to still learn more and I took a three-day course from Tom Schlesinger and learned so much

That is why my last published novel, “Dos Gringos” is said by all to be so visual, like you are really there, so “filmic,” that it moves, so entertaining, With all that support, I am reminded by my film friends that the main cause of death in Hollywood is “encouragement.”  But, still, “Dos Gringos” would be so much fun as a film.  I will not be deaf to such encouragement. In fact, the ball is already rolling.

Buy a copy of “Dos Gringos”  here.

 I have been asked to join a panel discussion on October 30 at The El Paso Central Library, part of their celebration of the Mexican Revolution centenary. The host of the discussion will be David Dorado Romo and that is what this post is about. He is a very interesting man, author of “Ringside Seat to a Revolution: An Underground Cultural History of El Paso and Juarez, 1893-1923.”

The fascinating thing to me is Romo’s approach to uncover the underside of the Revolution, the characters who made a difference, but seldom make it into the history books. That is what I like to do and what my book, “Dos Gringos” does in its own way. And Rome focuses on El Paso, my hometown, and its critical role in the happenings in Mexico. I very much look forward to the meeting and the panel discussion.

 For more on the book and the author see http://www.sergiotroncoso.com/essays/eptimes/05-1113/index.htm and a youtube NPR interview  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGm61qvnAI0

Buy a copy of “Dos Gringos”  here.

From the review for “Walking on Ice. An American Businessman in Russia” from Russia Profile magazine, by its editor, Andrei Zolotov, Jr.  

Of the legion of Western entrepreneurs who came to Russia in the early 1990s in search of opportunities, many came here guided not just by greed, but by a quest for adventure. But there were few who had become infatuated with Russian culture built their businesses as a cultural matchmaking of sorts. They had the inquisitive minds and open hearts of cultural interpreters, which helped push their projects in the land, where, as one such person, Frederick R. Andresen put it, “everything is difficult—and everything is possible.”

Andresen put his insightful observations into a tenderly written, concise book, which is neither an academic study, nor a memoir; neither a business manual, nor a cultural history. Yet it somehow manages to serve all these purposes and can be recommended as an easy and highly educational read for aspiring Russia scholars and people preparing for a tour of duty in Russia.

One part of the book is structured in chapters on Russian geography, demography, culture, business and politics, while the other is simply called “An Essay Collection.” These pages bear an openly Chekhovian description of a weekend spent at the dacha with an extended Russian family next to a carefully worded account of the role of crime and corruption in business practices and how they can be worked around; a tribute to Boris Pasternak next to a report about the October 1993 revolt and the shelling of parliament from an unusual perspective of a businessman whose operation was headquartered in the Comecon building at the very center of those dramatic events.

The author analyzes the role of the Orthodox Church in shaping the Russian psyche and identity, and categorizes Russian women in types which would make some of them blush. What brings these essays together is a transpiring love for both the strengths and weaknesses of this country and its people.

Andresen was clearly intrigued by the “Russian soul” and made an unpretentious and humorous contribution to unwrapping the “mystery inside the enigma.” It rings true even to a skeptical Russian reader instinctively ready to catch factual or contextual flaws in a “naïve foreigner’s” reflection on his country.

One of the book’s high points is the account of how the author applied Dostoyevsky’s “The Grand Inquisitor” chapter to business management. Three things are generic to the traditional Russian character, Andresen wrote, referring to Dostoyevsky: “the idea that good, if any, will come from some unexpected outside source (miracle); that man is not ordained to be responsible for his own welfare and progress (mystery); and that guidance and protection come only from constant dependence on and obedience to someone else (authority). There is a reversion to this in today’s Russian government. That situation is pressing to be changed by the young, but it seems always there under the surface.”

For business people without a background in Russian studies embarking on a Russia-related project, Andresen gives a short reading list: “The Icon and the Ax” by James Billington, “The Brothers Karamazov” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and “The Castle” by Franz Kafka. “Walking on Ice” would certainly complement the list—it can be consumed in one trans-Atlantic flight.

 Buy here  “Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia”

I have seen all of Anton Chekhov’s plays, some several times, and read many of his stories. I wondered why I was drawn to his writing and especially to his unique character development. I saw the Russian film “Ward 6” based on his story. It was the most depressing film I have seen. It’s all set in a 19^th century Russian insane asylum. How depressing can that be, right? But, the dialog was amazing.  It took me a time of quiet introspection to come to terms with all this. I came home and read Richard Pevear’s introduction to the book of Chekhov stories and that helped a lot.

 Chekhov was a doctor, but chose the human’s thought and not his body to dissect. His stories extol no cause, no political or social principle. He only demonstrates through his words, what each character thinks about all these issues, about life. Like any really great artist, he only represents his picture, and it is up to the observer, the reader, what is meant. And that may mean one thing to one and another thing to another. He was not a pessimist. He wrote about pessimistic characters.  ”Man is what he believes,” said Chekhov.

 Having lived and worked in Russia for the last almost twenty years, I understand the challenge to define what a Russian may really mean, the centuries of fatalistic orthodoxy so deep.  Chekhov so sensitively dissects each character’s thought and his relation to others, I feel like I am fly on the wall, just observing. A plot is hard to define. There are just the characters, interacting as their thought or events move them. It’s so real. The irony so clever. I love the last lines of “The Lady with the Little Dog: ”And it seemed that, just a little more—and the solution would be found, and then a new, beautiful life would begin; and it was clear to both of them that the end was still far, far off, and that the most complicated and difficult part was just beginning.”

Buy the book here  “Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia”

My writings are mainly historical novels set in various times and places. However, my first was non-fiction and based on seventeen years business experience in Russia, six years in residence. I founded (1992) and managed a leading telecommunications company in Russia expanding globally. I enjoyed working with the Russians, finding them intelligent, dedicated, and resourceful.  I am presently on the board of a Russian orchestra and president of the Los Angeles/St. Petersburg Sister City committee. 

Books include:

“Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia” (2007) based on over seventeen years in Russian business. Realistic and humorous.

“Dos Gringos” (coming in Dec 2009) based on a true story of my Norwegian immigrant father’s escapades in the Mexican Revolution

“The Lady with an Ostrich Feather Fan” (2010) the story of the famous Yusupov Rembrandts and those who sought them, and those who protected them.

“The Fabergé Clock” (2010) a action/romance novel set in contemporary Russia.  

An enjoyment of literature, classical music, and art is reflected in all this work.