with Seraphima Bogomolova
We are delighted to welcome suspense author Seraphima Bogomolova to Omnimystery News today.
Seraphima's debut novella is A Tricky Game (Souliris UK; July 2013 ebook format) and we recently had the opportunity to ask her a few questions about it.
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Omnimystery News: Is A Tricky Game one of a series or a stand-alone?
Seraphima Bogomolova: For me books are stories of the fleeting moments of life. I consider each such moment complete and therefore don't see the need of having the characters of one such complete moment/story to recur in the next one. Each moment/story/book is unique contributing to the mosaic of life/story telling. I see the characters of one book connected to the characters of another book but not in a direct way. They can be connected indirectly even remotely, like in the six-degree separation law where everything and everyone is just six steps away. So, even though I prefer stand-alones I believe that each of my characters or books is just six steps away from each other and therefore connected.
OMN: Into what category would you place it?
SB: I would categorize my debut novella 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.
Generally speaking I am very skeptical about "labeling" anything or anyone as the life is much more complex and sometimes there are things, events, and people that are very hard to place a label on. To my mind genre classification is done more for readers' sake rather than authors'. It helps readers to sort out their preferences and classify their tastes and choices.
OMN: Tell us something about the book that isn't mentioned in the publisher's synopsis.
SB: Sometimes it is not about playing and winning the game, but about not engaging into the game at all or once in it, knowing when to withdraw from it. This is a quintessential summary of A Tricky Game book.
OMN: How much of your own personal or professional experience did you include in the story?
SB: 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. 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.
OMN: What is the best advice — and harshest criticism — you've received as an author? And what advice would you give new writers?
SB: The best advice I've received was from a friend who simply said: "Don't think about what and how, relax, imagine whatever you wish and write away."
The harshest criticism I've ever received was: "I kept reading the story trying so hard to make sense out of it but still couldn't and gave up."
I've learned that creative process is more intuition than mind led. And, though, some planning and structuring can be helpful in putting the story together it is not a must, at least in the draft versions of the book. Writing is very much about self-expression, which shouldn't be controlled or repressed. On the other hand, once the draft is complete it's essential to step back from one's creation and allow oneself some time and space away from it before the final editing takes place.
OMN: Complete this sentence: "I am a mystery author and thus I am also …"
SB: I am a mystery author and thus I am also an explorer of human hearts and souls, an adventurer in the land of the unknown and an innovator in the land of the known.
OMN: Describe your writing environment for us.
SB: I have got a lovely "office" in my apartment in Dubai on the 31st floor of a glass tower that stands on the JBR promenade and overlooks the sea. In my writer's office there is a big glass desk with things that either inspire or delight me: for example, there are always some fresh flowers, colorful crayons, my diary with daily quotes from Paulo Coelho books, two big Swarovski crystals, and a Bedouin sculpture from Sicily.
OMN: The cover of the book is quite striking. How did it come about?
SB: 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. The title of the book came to me once I finished writing it. I had several draft titles while writing it, but the final decision was made once the story was complete.
OMN: If you were to adapt A Tricky Game for screen, what would you leave in and what would you take out?
SB: This is a very interesting question since I regard my writing style as more of a script writing one than novel writing. There are some readers who have already pointed out that A Tricky Game book can be easily adapted for a film due the visuality of its scenes and engaging dialogues that give the reader a feeling of watching a movie rather than reading a book. For this reason, I think if I were the screenwriter my job would be easy one: most of the characters and scenes would stay. Perhaps some characters in a movie could be even expanded on such as Pavel Nekrassov, an OMSN officer, and Maria Alekseevan, Angela's housekeeper.
OMN: How true are you to the settings in the book?
SB: Geography wise, A Tricky Game book is set in real places, the ones I've been to and know well. However, for the sake of making the story more visually rich and intriguing, I did take liberties with settings within specific locations, adding to their descriptions certain elements that aided in relaying emotions in certain situations.
OMN: How have readers responded to your work?
SB: I enjoy constructive feedback that highlights the good bits of the book/story and also suggests improvements. This shows to me that the reader is an intelligent and at the same time a considerate individual rather than a person who wants to be noticed giving feedback that attracts attention but carries no value or depth for the author or other readers. I also enjoy answering thoughtful and thought provoking questions.
OMN: What kinds of books did you read when you were young?
SB: I grew up reading classics, Russian ones at school and English ones at the University. My favorite Russian author is Anton Chekhov, one of the greatest writers of short stories in history. He used to say: 'Brevity is the sister of talent.' And my favorite English author is John Fowles, a master of mystification in modern literature.
I cannot say that the books I read as a child influenced my decision to become an author. I've always loved books and writing and becoming an author was a natural step for me in realizing my creative potential and recognizing my talent. It just happened one day: I felt a need to self-express myself through this media and I started writing. But of course the books I read and the authors I admired set a certain standard that as the author I'm aspiring to.
OMN: And what do you read now for pleasure?
SB: I predominantly read modern literature, classics and mystery thrillers. I also like experimental writing and short stories. In fact, I believe that any story unless it is a research on philosophy, history, culture or any other serious topic should not be longer than 150-200 pages. It is very easy to write pages and pages without saying much and very hard to write short, clear, concise books that tell you the story in a few meaningful words, the words that will leave a deep mark in your heart and will excite your mind. For that reason, I love Anton Chekov, who was a master of short stories and novellas and who used to say "brevity is a sister of talent".
OMN: Do you have any favorite literary characters?
SB: I cannot name particular characters of the mentioned genres but I can say that I love characters that possess magnetism and charisma, I also favour unusual, unpredictable, and mysterious characters. Anything, but mundane and cliché.
OMN: You recently wrote on your website about seeing Now You See Me in the theater. What other types of films do you enjoy?
SB: I enjoy watching beautifully shot movies with intelligent and thought provoking plots. I love Roman Polanski films for the mystery and psychological twists in them: for example, The Ninth Gate, The Pianist, The Ghost Writer; I appreciate Alen Woody ones for humour, intelligence, and memorable characters: my favourite ones are Scoop, Midnight in Paris, Vicky, Christina, Barcelona; I also enjoy watching Alfred Hitchcock movies; he was a real artist, experimenting and innovating with the sets and shots in his films: for example, The Birds, Rear Window, Psycho.
Films don't inspire my books, my own life does. But watching movies gives me an extra perspective into how a story can be told, especially so that my writing style is very visual, close to script writing than traditional book writing. I "see" my books as scenes and images, which I describe stringing them into a story.
OMN: What's next for you?
SB: 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. Apart from this, I'm in the process of helping my husband to develop and launch a very innovative digital project, a books-related one. I'm sure it will be a big hit, but that's all I can say about it right now without leaking too much info.
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Seraphima Bogomolova was born and raised in St Petersburg, Russia. She received a degree in English and American Literature in the private Institute of Foreign Languages. Her studies had a big influence on her literary preferences with her two favorite authors being Anton Chekhov, one of the greatest writers of short stories in history, and John Fowles, a master of mystification in post modern English literature.
For more information about the author and her work, please visit her website at SeraphimaBogomolova.com.
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A Tricky Game
Seraphima Bogomolova
A Novella of Psychological Suspense
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.
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