"Storied Existence" Backstory (Russians)

The first story in the book, "Russians", is a fantasy/love story about two, um, Russians, Alexei and Katia, who are frozen at nineteen years of age in 1899 after they kiss in a magical forest. Katia ruins the moment after the kiss when she tells Alexei she is engaged to their mutual friend, Anton.
The idea for the story kind of came to me in a dream I had a few months before I wrote it. In my dream, there were two young people walking around in a village. Then the guy was watching the girl get married from some sort of tower.
I like the fanciful idea that there could be people who are immortal walking around among the rest of us. I wanted to tell a story about that. I decided to take what I saw in my dream and make it into a story of three friends whose lives are transformed, moving through time. Their lives are impacted by the sadness that immortality cannot circumvent, and the longing that it intensifies.
The nationality of the characters was something I randomly chose. I had planned to include a character named Dimitri (because I like that name), but I couldn't find a place for him in the story. I just think of it as Alexei's father's name. I also tried to inject a little bit of humor. And I called the story "Russians" for the simple reason that I couldn't think of another title. 😏

The Story of "Storied Existence"

It started with an idea. A light bulb over my head. I always wanted to be a fiction writer, and thanks to the magic of self-publishing, I was able to create my first book of short stories this year. With a combination of old ideas I was working on years ago and more recent ones, I sat down and began writing. Getting in touch again with characters I created back then was like seeing old friends. I picked up where I left off, and everything just came rushing back. The newer ideas just seemed to flow too.
I've always had ideas for stories, but just couldn't make them work in longer formats. I was too easily distracted. Then there was an MS diagnosis. And bouts of depression. Sometimes it was just me having too many ideas and not being organized. Or just being too busy to write. At the end of last year I wanted to get back on the proverbial horse, and it occurred to me there was a way - short stories. 
I wrote some stories, thought of a title for the book, prepared it for publication, and in August, I finally accomplished the goal of writing and self-publishing my first book of short stories, "Storied Existence." I chose an old photo from my family's collection for the cover. I just always loved the photo, and I figured it has its own storied existence. I don't know who the woman in the photo is, but she made the cover of my book.
So, the short story format and self-publishing allowed me to finally finish and tell the stories I thought of back in the day. And the new ones. And there will be more to come. I have become an author.