A Tricky Game, by Seraphima Bogomolova,
is a mystery psychological thriller, published by Souliris UK Ltd, released on
July 15, 2013.
In Russia, an aluminum magnate, Kazimir Stankevitch, enters into an unwritten agreement with Angela Moreaux, an enigmatic and seductively attractive woman that he secretly desires. Later that night, as she returns home from a nightclub, a shot is fired at her. At the same time, in the Ritz, her unsuspecting associate has a meeting with an elderly Swiss gentleman, Jacques Moreaux, who delivers to him a mysterious letter signed by Angela. In a game of genuine intents, secret longings and seconds agendas, the seemingly unconnected yet mysteriously intertwined events unfold on the pages of this compelling psychological novella. As the stakes in the game go higher, the young woman finds herself confronted with life choices that will challenge her on unexpected levels.
In Russia, an aluminum magnate, Kazimir Stankevitch, enters into an unwritten agreement with Angela Moreaux, an enigmatic and seductively attractive woman that he secretly desires. Later that night, as she returns home from a nightclub, a shot is fired at her. At the same time, in the Ritz, her unsuspecting associate has a meeting with an elderly Swiss gentleman, Jacques Moreaux, who delivers to him a mysterious letter signed by Angela. In a game of genuine intents, secret longings and seconds agendas, the seemingly unconnected yet mysteriously intertwined events unfold on the pages of this compelling psychological novella. As the stakes in the game go higher, the young woman finds herself confronted with life choices that will challenge her on unexpected levels.
EXCERPT
Through
the crowd of clubbers and dancing strippers, she walks toward him. Approaching,
she stops, her eyes fastened on his profile. Instantaneously sensing her
presence, the man turns round. Her hand extended to him, he grabs it and,
parting his lips, impresses them on it, leaving a flaming trail on her skin.
She pulls it away. He looks up.
"Are you playing with me?”
“I think you enjoy being played with."
"It depends."
"On what?"
"On the game."
She sits down. His eyes on her mouth, he watches her light up a cigarillo, her lips encircled around its chocolate tip. She draws on it, releasing a blow of smoke. Motioning at a waitress, he orders a bottle of Krug. Champagne's poured into their glasses, he raises his glass.
"To our agreement."
"As you wish."
"Do you think it really matters what I wish?"
"It depends."
"On what?"
"On your wish."
"Are you playing with me?”
“I think you enjoy being played with."
"It depends."
"On what?"
"On the game."
She sits down. His eyes on her mouth, he watches her light up a cigarillo, her lips encircled around its chocolate tip. She draws on it, releasing a blow of smoke. Motioning at a waitress, he orders a bottle of Krug. Champagne's poured into their glasses, he raises his glass.
"To our agreement."
"As you wish."
"Do you think it really matters what I wish?"
"It depends."
"On what?"
"On your wish."
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
What is your name, where were you born and where do
you live now?
My name is
Seraphima Bogomolova, I was born in St Petersburg, Russia, and currently reside
in Dubai, UAE.
What is the name of your latest book, and if you had
to summarize it in less than 20 words what would you say?
The title of my
latest book is A Tricky Game. It's a story of a young enigmatic woman and her
ways of dealing with the tricks life plays on her.
How long does it usually take you to write a book,
from the original idea to finishing writing it?
For me there seems
to be no specific rule of thumb when it comes to writing. For example, the
first version of my debut novella, A Tricky Game, was written in 9 months, and
the second version of it took me only 2 months to re-write and edit. Now that I'll be starting work on my second
novella I cannot even say how long it will take to complete it, it maybe one
month or a year.
Do you have plans for a new book?
There is this one story that I'd love very
much to tell and share with the readers, the only dilemma I've got with it is
that it's a true one, and I have to be careful in not disclosing too much about
the main character but at the same time enough for the story to be interesting.
I'm planning to start writing it in August/September 2013 and hopefully will
finish by next spring. Once finished I'd love to turn the book into an
interactive digital one, as an experiment.
What genre would you place your books into?
I would categorize
my novella, A Tricky Game, as psychological thriller with suspense and mystery
elements in it. I find thriller genre the most interesting one, offering many
tools of creating an intriguing story and communicating with readers. To my
mind thriller genre is the most engaging one, both from writing and reading
points of view.
What made you decide to write that genre of book?
I didn't think of the
genre when I was writing A Tricky Game book, but it happened so that it turned
out to be a psychological thriller. This, perhaps, happened because of my
interest in psychology and love of mystery, which I unconsciously expressed in
the book. I'm a Scorpio and Scorpios are all about mysteries and secrets.
If you had to choose to be one of your characters in
your book, which would you be?
I'm already. The main character of A Tricky Game book, a young
enigmatic woman, Angela Moreaux, is partly drawn from me. Her predicaments are
very much my predicaments and lots of traits of her character are the ones that
I display. The predicaments and dilemmas she faces during the story are the
ones I have faced in my life on numerous occasions.
Where do you get your book plot ideas from?
From my own life,
which is full of mysteries, interesting events, and unusual people.
Do you have anybody read your books and give you
reviews before you officially release them?
Yes, I do. The
first version of my debut book A Tricky Game was read and reviewed by my friend
from London. She witnessed the creation and editing of it from the beginning to
the end. She gave me very good advice in terms of writing, comparing it to
music: the story, she said, should flow; if readers stumble while reading then
the composition failed.
The second re-written
version of the book was partly curated
by another friend of mine, a young man, whose love of perfectionism and an eye
for detail helped me polish certain episodes in it, making sure the message is
delivered in a comprehensive way.
Do you read all the reviews of your book/books?
Yes, I do. They help me understand how readers view my
work, which in turn helps me improve my storytelling techniques.
Would you ever ask a reviewer to change their review
if it was not all positive about your book/books?
No, I wouldn't. I
think there is no point in doing so, since everyone is entitled to their own
perspective and point of view, no matter whether they are fundamentally wrong
or right.
How do you come up with the Title and Cover Designs
for your book? Who designed the Cover of your book?
'A Tricky Game'
book cover was designed by an Italian graphic designer, Ivan Listo. We have
worked on many other designs and projects together. In this case, I described
the symbolism and the major points of the book to him, and based on my
description and his creative intuition he came up with an idea for the
cover.
Do you choose a title first, or write the book then
choose the title?
I write the book
first and then decide on the title. In the process of writing a book some draft
titles for it can come to my mind, but the final decision is normally made at
the very end, once I finish writing the book. In this way, I make sure that the
title reflects the main notion of the story. Otherwise, it might happen so that
the story will be led by the title, which can be very limiting.
Are character names and place names decided after
there creation? or do you pick a character/place name and then invent them?
Character names
are decided as I write. They just come to me naturally, as if the characters
introduce themselves to me. The same applies to places. They come out of the
story itself or are inspired by a character and his/her personalities and
actions. Certain types of personalities call for certain scenes and locations,
which enhance their image.
Have you ever based characters on people you know or
based events on things that have happened to you?
The events and
situations described in 'A Tricky Game' book are taken from the real life and
are based on my own experience. Therefore all the characters are real people I
know or have come across at some point of my life. For example, an aluminum magnate, Kazimir
Stankevitch is based on my business partner, whom I used to do business with in
Moscow; a Swiss gentleman, Jacques Moreaux is partly based on my grandfather
and partly on a Swiss acquaintance of mine, who lives in Montreaux,
Switzerland, he owns an extensive collection of Soviet art and used to produce
an underground art magazine during Soviet times; a character of a young
billionaire, Dmitry Voronov, has been inspired by an another acquaintance of
mine: a young French wanna-be musician from Cote d'Azure; and finally, Angela
Moreaux is the woman I know the best because she is partly drawn from me.
Is there a certain Author that influenced you in
writing?
There are two
authors in particular who have influenced me, if not in writing then in
approach to writing: Anton Chekhov, one of the greatest writers of short
stories in history. He used to say: 'Brevity is the sister of talent'. And an
English author John Fowles, a master of mystification in modern literature.
Are there any New Authors you are interested in for us
to watch out for? Why should we watch
out for them?
There is one new
author in particular, David Wallace Fleming, whose recent book 'Growing Up
Wired' I very much enjoyed reading. I loved his modern approach to writing and
of course I really liked the main character, Victor, who reminds me of Holden
Caulfield from The Catcher in The Rye by J.D. Salinger.
Is there anything in your book you would change now if
you could and what would it be?
Yes, there is, or rather,
there was as I have re-written the first version of my debut novella. In
particular, there was a certain character who had too loud a voice and took too
much space in the book preventing other characters from acting out their roles.
In the second edition of A Tricky Game I diminished his role as well as drew
clearer links between the events and explained certain mysteries better as for
some readers it appeared too hard to draw conclusions since the information
presented in the original version was not sufficient enough.
If you could invite three favourite writers to dinner,
who would you invite and enjoy chatting with?
I would invite
Alexander Pushkin (1831–1837), a Russian young genius poet; Somerset Moem (1874
– 1965), a British playwright and a short story writer; Oscar Wild (1854
-1900), an Irish poet and writer; and Honoré de Balzac (1799 – 1850), a
French novelist.
The Book Website:
http://atrickygame.com/
Personal Website:
http://seraphimabogomolova.com
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