I’m grateful for the opportunity to be featured at Authors’ Lounge and talk more about my books.

“Neglected Merge” is the first book in the Neglected Merge trilogy. It is a fantasy futuristic romance set in a utopian-style world. Although the main plot revolves around the love story between two main characters, the book is also about the concept of happiness and people going through significant changes. It explores the challenges of universal happiness rather than those hardships we envisage to befall on us after some kind of an apocalyptic event. Limitations are always suffocating, even if they’re intended to limit your choices to make yourself miserable.

The idea of the book actually came as a movie to me. I was sitting in the office where I’d been working at that time – almost 10 years ago! – and I “saw” the events of the first chapter unfolding in front of my eyes. I simply had to write everything down – the scene was so vivid.

When I started writing the story down, I heard the characters speaking. Some of their conversations were rather heated and they kept repeating in my head, so I was in a hurry to write them down as soon as possible.

According to editorial review from Readers’ Favorite, the book is intended for an adult reading audience due to its high concept content. The full editorial review text can be found at https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/neglected-merge

I hope that the readers will enjoy the story, and maybe they will draw some parallels with the nowadays trends in society. I also hope that they will be open to dive into the story where two people meet and instantly feel the connection between them.

“Neglected Merge” has won two awards in book awards contests:

• Award Finalist in Fiction Fantasy General category of the 2021 Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Contest,

• Silver Medal in Science Fiction/Fantasy category of the 2021 Global Book Awards.

I hope that “Neglected Merge” will gain more recognition from the market professionals. Still, my greatest wish is for the trilogy to find its readers.

I have a confession to make. I don’t read fantasy. I guess the main reason for that is that books in this genre tend to be rather grim, but since life has shown me all its faces, not only light and carefree, I seek additional emotional stirring neither in literature not in movies/TV series.

I’ve been in love with books for as long as I remember myself. The typewriter my first attempts at writing had been made at still sits proudly on its shelf in the basement, and when I go down there, I always have an urge to save it from its exile.

I’d spent fifteen years, trying to fit into the office work pattern. I even managed to build a relatively successful career after an ambitious shift from private to public sector. And only after my son was born, I had a unique chance to stop and rethink not only what I’d achieved so far, but what I really want from life. I made a decision to leave my old life behind, and I’ve never regretted it. Changes in the daily routine led naturally to changes in my way of thinking. I finally allowed myself to be who I really was. And I was always a bookish person. Books helped me to go through thick and thin. After a couple of years that I spent living in South West England, I came home dragging a huge luggage bag full of books I’d bought there. Books were my anchor when my world wasn’t an easy place to live in. Books taught me to overcome losses and difficulties. I had a story to tell, and finally allowed myself to tell it.

You can buy “Neglected Merge” on Amazon. It is available on Kindle Unlimited too.