Maribeth Joeright/MJoeright@News-Herald.com Algis Ruksenas of Willoughby Hills recently published his new novel, “Devil’s Eye,” and has won the Ohioana Library Associations’s “best non-fiction” award for a previous story.
Algis Ruksenas has always wanted to write. And while the published author had a burst of success in the early ’70s, life, family and responsibilities put his passion on the shelf for a couple decades. A few years ago, the Willoughby Hills resident and father of three decided to revisit his love for the written word; however, he found himself in a much different environment. This discovery led Ruksenas to the world of self-publishing, only with an edge — the Internet. “I recently published my novel ‘Devil’s Eye’ through the new trend in publishing, namely Internet-based … like through
, Barnes & Noble, Kindle, Nook books and so on,” Ruksenas said. This route came as a result of all Ruksenas’ previous, more traditional paths having been closed off. “Julian Bach (my agent), was bought by IMG, the sports management conglomerate. My first publisher, David McKay Co., switched to travelogues and my second publisher, Citadel Press went bankrupt,” he said. David McKay Co. published Ruksenas’ first book, “Day of Shame” — a book about the Lithuanian sailor, Simas Kudirka, who attempted to defect to the United States on Nov. 23, 1970, but was returned to the Russians — is still required reading in the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Ruksenas said. Ruksenas, who was a reporter for the United Press International when he was invited to Boston to write about the Kudirka incident, said the book was instrumental in getting Kudirka out of the Soviet concentration camp. “I was thinking that I wanted to go into writing, so here was my chance. So I quit my job and wrote the book,” said Ruksenas, who also has a master’s degree in political science. “I was born in Lithuania myself and came here as a refugee child with my parents during World War II,” he said. “I was a very active lobbyist, which is why I went into Political Science. But it’s been my mission to get freedom for all the Baltic States. They were the trigger that helped collapse the Soviet Union.” After meeting rejection after rejection, David McKay bit the bait and published the book, which later won the Ohioana Library Association’s “best non-fiction” award. “So I’m proud of that and the book actually helped save a man,” he said, adding that in the 1980s, Alan Arkin starred in a TV movie based on “Day of Shame.” Ruksenas’ second book, “Is That You Laughing Comrade — the World’s Best Russian Underground Jokes,” prompted President Ronald Reagan to take up underground Soviet humor as a hobby. Some of his jokes were incorporated into the late president’s speeches, Ruksenas said. Reagan’s speech writer, Dana Rohrbackher, told him that in a letter. Ruksenas then went on to start his work on “Devil’s Eye,” however, his pursuit at a third book gave way to helping raise three kids and support his family. But after working as administrative assistant to Cuyahoga County Commissioner Virgil Brown and then as executive director of the International Services Center in Cleveland for 18 and a half years, Ruksenas retired early. “It was a financial sacrifice to leave, but my family believed in my book,” he said. Ruksenas didn’t anticipate having to start from scratch. “I thought, ‘Do I really have to sell myself again when I have a record as an award-winning published author?’ ” Ruksenas said. “I didn’t have that kind of time … and now there’s this phenomenal way of publishing online and self-publishing.” So upon completing “Devil’s Eye,” — billed as a historical suspense, nuclear conspiracy novel with an occult backdrop about the legendary curse of the Hope Diamond — Ruksenas decided to self-publish. “Only now, you’re plugged into this distribution system,” he said. “(My family) formed our own boutique publishing company, Meridia Publishers, and published my novel. It’s published through Lightning Source, which is owned by one of the largest distributors in the country. They distribute it through standard means.” Ruksenas said his company basically mimics the larger publishers. “Two to three years ago, 11,000 new publishers registered in the U.S. because this trend is just phenomenal,” he said. “I think that every author is thinking their first book is going to be a best seller. If they really believe it’s going to be a smash, they should try the traditional route. It’s a long haul, but they are powerful, no question about that. I should add, however, that there is a continual increase in books appearing on best seller lists that have been self-published.” Ruksenas said for authors who want to just have a book out for expository reasons or for self satisfaction, self-publishing is definitely the route to go. For Ruksenas, self-publishing has turned into a family adventure. “Me and a business partner started up our own company that deals with production in different areas,” said Paul Ruksenas, Algis’ son. “We’re branded and we partner up with area businesses. So when I knew dad finished the book, I read it in 10 hours and thought it was basically the best thing I’d ever read. So I’ve helped him publish it and it’s turned into a nice family thing.” Paul, along with his sister, Nijole Laura Juska, who is editor-in-chief, and his brother, Michael Ruksenas, who helps do outreach for publishers, had wanted his father to fulfil his dream. “The family wanted him to finish it because we knew it would be a good story,” Paul said. “I think it’s absolutely amazing. I think it’s great that he took an early retirement to pursue that.”