Elaine Russell

In the process of writing my first historical novel, Across the Mekong River, I became deeply immersed in the history of Laos. The more I read, the more I wanted to know. I loved finding black and white photos from the early French colonial days on through the post-WWII era. The French occupied Laos for fifty years, playing a critical role in shaping the future of the people and country. This resulted in two wars—one in the early 1950s in the fight for independence from Franc