Q: In one sentence, tell me something that describes you as a person?
I’m crazy. Seriously. I talk to my characters a lot more than to real people. One day they’ll put me in a madhouse.
Q: How many books have you written? How many of those are published?
I’ve written 13 novels in sum, and I’m on my 14th. Seven of my books are published in a traditional way (in Russia). I’ve self-published two novels written in English through Kindle: Crimson Hills and Double Lightning.
Q: Tell me about how you come up with your titles for your stories. Do you create the title before or after you write the book, and does it ever change from the initial title?
Yes, I have a working title when I start to write. Sometimes I change this title lot more than once by the end of the book (as to titles, I’m very high-maintenance).
Q: Out of all your characters in all of your books, who/what (sometimes a setting can also be an important “character”) do you think is the most interesting and why?
It’s gotta be Pharaoh from the Double Lightning novel. The idea to write about a criminal boss having supernatural abilities came to me several years ago. This man has been living in my head for so long, begging me to let him live – for real, on paper – that I finally gave in. I am so fond of him, and I want to know his secret so much that I’ll definitely write a sequel.
Q: Without quoting your back cover synopsis, tell me about the last book you published.
Double Lightning is about a girl who comes across a group of people with supernatural powers. Every each of them has it, but she doesn’t know what powers each man has, which is so confusing to her. And she is like: ‘Is he the one who can read my mind?.. Or maybe this guy, not that guy…’ She always has to control her thoughts and her feelings. And on the other hand, there is Pharaoh, their spiritual leader, who likes staying incognito and who is capable of God knows what. She doesn’t know what supernatural abilities he has; she just knows he is more powerful than the others, that’s why he is their boss. So there is a mystery here. Who is he? Did he kill any of those people FBI suggests he killed and how, if so? And what is he going to do with her if he gets to know who she is?
Q: Tell me something about yourself that is separate from writing.
I was born in Russia, in a small town near Moscow. I’m kinda a nerd: I’ve always been an A-student and already have two degrees. I love to travel. I’ve been to France (twice), Spain, Germany, Czech Republic, Belgium, Poland, Belarus, and recently the United States. My dream is to see the whole world!
Q: Who is your favorite Author?
Being Russian, I’ll pick Mikhail Lermontov. I adore his poetry, and I adore his novel A Hero of Our Time. It’s deep, it has so many levels, you can reread it twelve times and never get bored. Despite dying young, Lermontov had learned people well (especially women), that’s why his works contain so much psychology. He was a great writer with such a horrible fate.
As regards non-Russian writers, I choose Oscar Wilde and John Fowles. I love the way they drew their characters.
Q: What is the last book that you read?
Little Women by Louisa Alcott.
Q: When writing, do you have a system or something you plan, or do you just write?
When I start to write, I see the beginning and end very clearly. I never start writing without knowing how I would end my novel because, for me, the end is the most important part. It’s what gives readers an aftertaste and what helps them decide whether they liked the book. The middle is the most flexible thing which is mostly being developed in the process.
Q: Why do you write?
Because I can’t not to. It’s the most important thing to me in my life.
Q: What is your favorite type of music? Is there one genre (or song, band etc...) that brings out your creativeness more than others?
I love hard rock and metal; it gives me energy I often have a lack of. There’s no exact song or band that brings out my creativeness, but sometimes I use music when I can’t put myself in the right mood. For example, when I have to write a scary scene, I open my playlist and listen to some creepy music, like soundtracks from horror movies, etc.
Q: As an author, I find that the hardest thing to write (for me) is the synopsis that will be on the back cover or book’s description. When you write, what is the hardest line to write, the first line, the last line or the synopsis for the book?
I’ve never had problems with blurbs for the books’ covers or the first lines. For me, the hardest aspect of writing is editing the finished novel. As English is my second language, this part is getting even harder now than it was with my Russian books.
Q: If you could sit down and have a coffee (or whatever beverage) with anyone, living or dead, from any era, any time, who would it be and why? (You can pick up to 3 persons).
It would be the three persons I named in the ‘favorite writers’ question. I’d love to know what worked for them in their creative process. Also I’d just die to know their personalities.
Q: Any final thoughts that you want to give to future authors?
Never ever give up. I know it’s a banal thing to say, but it’s true. If you failed seventy three times, give it a seventy fourth try. It’s my credo.