Многие люди часто с пренебрежением говорили о моих...

Many people often spoke with disdain about my interests: video games, comics, science fiction books and films - even Coca-Cola! - “You can’t grow up in any way”, “It's time to grow up”, “This is all for morons”, “This is not patriotic” and the like. I myself did not fully understand why I did not lose interest in this. And I, in turn, do not like talking about cars and watching sports channels, discussing women with friends, I am indifferent to status accessories like expensive clothes, watches, and mobile phones. But writing helped me figure out who I was and why. If the first novel (“Do-What-You-Wish Country”) was an unfortunate result of sublimation (as the name implies), then the second, quite adequate and mature (“Blessed Islands”), turned out to be a lengthy introspection. Only by writing a book and putting the last point in it did I understand what I was writing about. “Islands” is a story about a family, all characters are revealed through relationships with relatives. Tolstoy wrote that every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way, while all happy families are alike. This is not entirely true: to be unhappy in a family means to lose the most important thing - a feeling of unity, a sense of support and friendship. And in this, all unhappy families are alike. Family misfortune is a barrier; it is the loneliness that one experiences in the presence of family people. I know this firsthand. From the earliest years, I contrasted the world of adults with my lonely little world, which had certain attributes - my interests. And this feeling of corruption of the adult world I carried through my whole life. The unsuccessful first marriage also did not contribute to the triumph of the idea of ​​a family. Just now, having written a couple of novels and having met a girl with whom I am happily and mutually in love, I have become less likely to play video games and now I only drink “Colo Zero”. But I still try not to grow up very much, because, as Stephen King wrote, all good writers are distinguished by a dreamy look, like a little boy.
While I am working on the third novel, our comic with Julia (my childhood dream) is nearing completion. This year, I fit into everything that I can fit into. Soon (I think, at the beginning of March) I will give a lecture on Russian comics on Winzvod, and it will be delivered a little later, in St. Petersburg on EpicCon. And on April 30, Yulia and I will present a comic in Moscow at VDNH as part of the IWC. Everywhere I will be with my books. So, as they say, you are welcome.