Secrets, Spirits, and the Stories We Inherit: Olesya Salnikova Gilmore's The Fortune Tellers of Rue Daru

Bookwild · Mar 24, 2026 · 1h 2m

This week, I talk with Olesya Salnikova Gilmore about her historical-suspense The Fortune Tellers of Rue Daru. We dive into: Her writing process as a "plantser" Why she's drawn to dark genres: historical fiction, gothic, fantasy, mystery How blending genres creates tension and unpredictability How she has experienced and writes about the “in-between” feeling of not fully belonging to one culture How she processed grief through this story Her research of Slavic folklore and Western spiritualism movements The Fortune Tellers of Rue Daru Synopsis Spirited twenty-something Zina and her secretive…