A Tricky Game is a psychological novella telling the story of a young enigmatic woman, who finds herself involved in an edgy game of three men, whose genuine intents, second agendas, and secret longings become closely intertwined with her own destiny, creating unexpected twists that place her in front of challenging life choices.

We’re guessing, from the font on the cover, that its got something to do with Russia. Are we right? Tell us more.
In Moscow, Russia, an aluminium magnate, Kazimir Stankevitch, enters into an unwritten agreement with an enigmatic young woman, Angela Moreaux, whom he secretly desires. Later that night, as she returns home from a nightclub, a shot is fired at her. While in the hospital she receives a visit from a silent masked incognito, whose true intentions she is yet to discover.

At the same time, her unsuspecting associate meets in the Ritz with an elderly Swiss gentleman who delivers to him a mysterious letter.

As the stakes in the game go higher, the young woman is confronted with life choices that will challenge her in unexpected ways.

What genre is this book?
A Tricky Game is a psychological novella written using thriller and mystery techniques.

We’re curious about these four central characters. Tell us about them please.
The main heroine, Angela Moreaux, is partly based on myself, as some of her predicaments resemble my own and lots of traits of her character are the ones that I display. The dilemmas she faces during the story are the ones I’ve faced in my life on numerous occasions. Angela is a strong, enigmatic, intelligent woman with a kind heart and some disposition to romance.

And aluminium magnate, Kazimir Stankevitch is based on my business partner, whom I used to do business with in Moscow, Russia. Though slightly rough, very tough and crude, this man holds a certain fascination for me, and I hope will do so for my readers. Kazimir is a complex personality: on the surface he appears uncaring or even selfish, but deep in his heart he longs for acceptance, love, and understanding.

Jacques Moreaux is a combination of personality traits of the two people I love and admire: my grandfather and a Swiss acquaintance of mine, who lives in Montreaux, Switzerland.  An old school gentleman, romantic and suave man, Jacques sees the world in a sort of chivalrous way, attempting to help and protect yet failing to win against tougher players.

And finally, a young billionaire, Dmitry Voronov. This character has been inspired by an acquaintance of mine: a young French wanna-be musician from Cote d’Azure. Soft, romantic, dreamy personality that finds himself a bit lost in his current environment that honours crudeness, shrewdness, and a tough attitude, all the things he is not. His longing for love and romance finds its outlet through a mysterious romantic game he plays with Angela.

What kind of readers will it appeal to?
The book will appeal to readers who like contemporary writing with a cinematographic feel to it, also to anyone who likes learning about other perspectives and cultures as well as using their imagination a bit to fill in some gaps, as though many things are explained in the story, there are some that are veiled in mystery, so readers can draw their own conclusions.

If you like witty dialogue, intrigues, mystery, secrets, psychology, unusual characters, lush settings, learning about other cultures, travelling, thinking for yourself and believe that life is a game then you’ll love my book.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I was born and raised in St Petersburg, Russia. My degree in English and American Literature received in the private Institute of Foreign Languages had a big influence on my literary preference with my two favourite 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.

I love travelling and exploring, and this passion of mine has brought me to many cities and countries including London, New York, Moscow, Dubai, and Geneva. In Moscow, I had an opportunity to run a cigar magazine, Hecho a Mano, the first glossy publication on tobacco in Russia.

In 2006, the publishing experience I gained in Moscow helped me launch my own rich media publication, Avantoure. It was an innovative, ahead of its time project that made a stir in the digital publishing world and was produced in its avant-garde format until late 2009.

My debut into literary world started in October 2010 in New York, where a certain sequence of events prompted me to begin writing my first novella ‘A Tricky Game‘. The first draft of the book was finished by the end of 2011. In 2012 a pilot version of it was released. Based on the feedback of the readers I reworked the novella and published the final improved version of it in July 2013.

Currently, I work on my second novella and also help my husband on the development and launch of an innovative online platform related to books.

Do you have a website where we can keep up with your work?
www.seraphimabogomolova.com

What about social media?
I don’t have Twitter or Facebook accounts, but one can follow me on Tumblr or
Pinterest.

What’s next?
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.