Controlled Conversations Provides Rare Peek into Life Under Authoritarian Oppression
Ohio Pen/10270567

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - OhioPen -- Milford House Press, an imprint of Sunbury Press, is set to publish Controlled Conversations, a literary thriller set in Poland under martial law and the debut novel by prize-winning author Karol Lagodzki, on August 20.

Set in a rarely-explored place and time, by a Pole who witnessed martial law first hand, Controlled Conversations hews mostly to historical reality and asks readers to ask what they would do in situations when each choice carries real, life-or-death risks.

Emilia, a telephone operator under orders to monitor the calls she connects, overhears a mysterious conversation. The conversation continues to distract her, but not as much as the realization that she's falling in unsanctioned love with her best friend, Kalina. Meanwhile, outside the city of Frombork, Antek, a shipyard engineer and Solidarity treasurer, escapes from prison and works to recover the labor union's money, a task which in time leads him to Emilia's town. In the metropolitan city of Gdańsk, Roman, secretly a police major, wants the money for himself so he can fulfil his dream of escaping to the magical beaches of Rio de Janeiro. The only daughter of a local Communist Party apparatchik, Emilia has enjoyed a sheltered life, but with the advent of martial law, her mother's influence can no longer shield her. She faces choices she never expected to make when she discovers her best friend and lover is involved with the resistance. With new allies and enemies in town, the time to choose a side is now.

More on Ohio Pen

• Tailored Events Unveils Rapid-Launch Pilot Package — Go Live in 14 Days with Weekly Conversion Scorecards
• Tobu Railway Group Will Host the Fourth Annual "Take-Akari" Bamboo Lantern Festival in East Tokyo, November 7, 2025 – January 31, 2026
• New Article by Roy J. Meidinger – Examines Hidden Hidden Healthcare Kickbacks
• Why Generic Platforms Fail in Emerging Markets: Bettorify Exposes the Gap Between Promise and Reality
• Blogging Pioneer Sherry Bennett Celebrates 29 Years Online - Sharing the Secrets Behind Her 7-Figure Blog Empire

"At this time of threats to democracy in Poland and globally, Lagodzki's novel reminds us of the precariousness of personal liberty," Lee A. Feinstein, President Barack Obama's Ambassador to Poland, says. Steve Yarbrough, the acclaimed author of The Unmade World, Stay Gone Days, and many other novels, says: "The book is riveting, and I loved reading it. I seldom find a contemporary novel this engrossing."

Controlled Conversations is available to book trade from Ingram Content Group or directly from Sunbury Press (https://www.sunburypress.com/). Readers may preorder the book before the August 20 publication date from most outlets, including Sunbury Press, Bookshop.org, Amazon.com, and Barnes & Noble.

Karol Lagodzki, a native of Poland, is an exophonic, English-language author of fiction. His stories have appeared in literary journals, and he has won Panel Magazine's Ruritania Prize for Short Fiction. Controlled Conversations is his debut novel. Karol lives halfway down a Southern Indiana ravine with his family, including a large dog.

More on Ohio Pen

• Koplon Dentistry Elevates Implant Expertise with Advanced CE Course
• i2 Group Acquisitions and Investments in Innovations Deliver 40% Increase in Year-on-Year Bookings
• New Book Release: The Tree That Could Not Change
• BayWa r.e. Solar Trade and WHES Announce Distribution Partnership for the European Market: Delivering Smarter Energy Storage
• Fleet Mining Cloud Mining Platform — Latest Guide: Making Bitcoin Mining Safer and More Convenient

For more information, please visit https://klagodzki.com.