A London-based author with a Ukrainian grandpa, a Siberian grandma, and a Belarusian dad—basically, my family tree looks like the cast list of a very complicated historical drama.
Back in school, my Literature teacher told me I’d never become “the next Dostoevsky.” Honestly, that was fine—I never dreamed of being Fyodor Mikhailovich anyway. My secret ambition? To be a little more like Stephen King (minus the haunted hotels, hopefully).
My books tend to wander between genres, but there are a few things you can always count on: a pinch of horror, a dash of romance, and a healthy scoop of folklore and history.
I wrote my first detective stories in school—handwritten, stapled together, and passed around like contraband. Later, I flirted with histo
