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Soon after finishing her graduate studies in history, Luba landed on the doorstep of Canada\u2019s largest museum, the Royal Ontario Museum where she worked for more than 20 years. Moving from positions in the education and programs departments to the museum\u2019s consulting branch, she concluded her career in the office that managed the museum\u2019s recent controversial architectural renovation. After leaving the museum, Luba worked for several years in an administrative and research capacity for a private museum consulting firm with offices in Toronto and London. She currently works in the educational sector and teaches yoga in her home town of Toronto.<\/p>\n Theft by Chocolate<\/em>\u00a0is Luba\u2019s debut novel though she has been amusing people with her writing since the age of eight. Her love of chocolate precedes this age and she has been in and out of chocolate rehab for most of her adult life. When not writing or looking for her next chocolate fix, Luba can be found in dance classes, trekking to remote waterfalls in the mountain rain forest in Puerto Rico, running through the streets of Paris or any other number of calorie-burning activities that help offset her chocolate intake.<\/p>\n GUEST POST<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Inspired by True Events \u2013 Really!<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I had long completed the first draft of Theft By Chocolate <\/em>when I had a chance encounter with an individual that would send me back to my computer to completely reconfigure the plot of my sassy museum mystery about a capricious woman of a certain age looking for chocolate, love and an international art thief in all the wrong places. While working as an executive assistant at a city college in an office that was managing the construction of a new campus, I happened to mention my writing to a security consultant working on our project.<\/p>\n In particular, I brought up the fact that I had worked for the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto for the greater part of my career and that I had drawn on my experiences at the museum for inspiration for the story that revolved around a heist. The consultant\u2019s eyes widened almost to the size of saucers and he whispered to me, \u201cWe need to have a chat about this.\u201d Somewhat taken aback, but intrigued to the max, I suggested we get together sooner than later to have our \u201cchat.\u201d I was already a third of the way into a major rewrite of the novel and I did not want to delay our discussion.<\/p>\n Within a week we sat down at a table of a retro diner where \u201cmy informant\u201d proceeded to tell me his family had worked in the security industry for decades and that he had insider information about the infamous opal collection theft that had taken place at the Royal Ontario Museum in the late 1980s (my employment at ROM started after the theft had taken place). It was common knowledge that the thief was never identified nor apprehended and that the jewels had eventually turned up in a black market in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n What was not common knowledge, as the security consultant continued to share with me, was that the thief had used an ingenious technique that stunned the security industry around the world. The culprit managed to circumvent what was considered state-of-the art technology in its day, a technology that was being used universally, not just in museums and art galleries, but in banks and businesses. International law keepers realized it wouldn\u2019t be long before thieves around the world heard about the daring robbery and how it was executed. Basically, the planet\u2019s riches, both great and small were suddenly at risk.<\/p>\n It was this piece of information and some additional material gleaned from rare newspaper articles about the theft that formed the crux of the final version of Theft By Chocolate. <\/em>My work is fiction and includes characters derived from my imagination, but the real events provided a strong backbone upon which I was able to add imagined flesh. Still, the mysterious and unique real-life theft continues to haunt me. I may just have to put on an investigative journalist\u2019s hat some day to determine whether, after more than three decades, some new information might be uncovered which could shed new light upon the events that shaped Theft By Chocolate.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mystery, Mayans and Mayhem: looking for chocolate, love and an international art thief in all the wrong places.<\/p>\n Chocolate addict Kalena Boyko wasn\u2019t prepared for this. Heading to work at Canada\u2019s largest museum as an administrator, she hoped for quiet and uninterrupted access to her secret chocolate stash. Instead she\u2019s assigned to manage the high-profile Treasures of the Maya exhibition with her loathed former boss Richard Pritchard.<\/p>\n With no warning, her life is turned inside out and propelled into warp speed as she stumbles across an insider plot that could jeopardize the exhibit and the reputation of the museum.<\/p>\n After hearing about a recent botched theft at the museum and an unsolved jewel heist in the past from security guard and amateur sleuth Marco Zeffirelli, Kalena becomes suspicious of Richard and is convinced he\u2019s planning to sabotage the Treasures of the Maya exhibition. Her suspicions, and the appearance of the mysterious but charming Geoffrey Ogden from the London office, don\u2019t help her concentration. The Treasures of the Maya seem cursed as problem after problem arises, including the disappearance of a key artifact – the world\u2019s oldest piece of chocolate…<\/p>\n THANKS TO AUTHOR, LUBA LESYCHYN, I HAVE ONE (1)<\/strong><\/span> CLICK HERE<\/span><\/a><\/span> TO BRING YOU TO THE<\/strong><\/span> \u2666\u2666\u2666\u2666\u2666\u2666\u2666\u2666\u2666\u2666<\/span><\/p>\n GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY SPONSORED BY ATTICA BOOKS:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Theft By Chocolate\u00a0Giveaway at Every Blog Stop<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Please leave a comment below\u00a0and your email address\u00a0<\/strong>to be entered to win an ebook copy of\u00a0Theft By Chocolate<\/em>, the new release by Luba Lesychyn. In five days, a winner will be chosen at random and notified via email. Available in any ebook format. Remember to write your email address in the comments so that you can be contacted if you win!<\/p>\n $150 Gift Certificate Giveaway of Grand Prize on July 31st<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Do you love chocolate as much as Kelana, the heroine in\u00a0Theft By Chocolate<\/em>? Here\u2019s your chance to indulge in $150 US worth! The Giveaway Grand Prize is a gift certificate to a delectable chocolate online retailer. Winner chooses from one of three sites:\u00a0http:\/\/www.chocosphere.com\/<\/a>,\u00a0http:\/\/www.hotelchocolat.co.uk\/<\/a>\u00a0, or\u00a0http:\/\/www.dlea.com.au\/<\/a>.\u00a0To be eligible for the Grand Prize, enter the Rafflecopter below. Remember to sign up for Luba\u2019s email announcements (worth five entries). On occasion she\u2019ll send out exclusive announcements for special events, blog posts, giveaways and free swag! On July 31st<\/sup>, the winner will be chosen at random and notified via email.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i833.photobucket.com\/albums\/zz257\/mash1195\/GUEST%20AUTHORS\/Luba_Pic.jpg?resize=201%2C167\")
LUBA LESYCHYN<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i833.photobucket.com\/albums\/zz257\/mash1195\/GUEST%20AUTHORS\/Theft_By_Chocolate_Image.jpg?resize=115%2C184\")
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