For readers: Tell us a little bit about The Medallion of the Three Serpents and its characters?

This is currently my favorite story that started a few years ago. This is a kind of mixture of dark retro fantasy and adventure, where everything is in abundance. The plot is divided into two branches: one describes the city riots caused by the assassination of the Tsar Viennese governor in order to restore rights to Ukrainians and reduce pressure from other national groups,and when on a real cruel enemy appears on the streets - mysterious mythological monsters - the battle turns into a real struggle for survival; another plot branch will tell about the interlevel life of the world from the inside, into which by chance our main character falls.I decided that it's time to experiment with genres and finally write out characters, about which you want not only to read, but also with whom you would not mind meeting in real life. Edmund is the main character, a teenager and a beggar almost all his life. In the course of the story, he has to experience almost the entire range of emotions - from the most difficult to dreamy hopes. He becomes part of a team of museum workers whose task is to find alchemical an artifact created by an ancient brotherhood.In the team you will also meet the cheerful Mechanic, the scientist Mechyslav, the protector of three-level creatures Anna, the blind boy Vlad, who is helped by the elixir to see silhouettes of the future, and formidable, but wise leader Ferdinand. All together they will go through the fire, the maturation of the personality, riddles and will find answers only at the end of the world.

This book is also special in that multi-instrumental compositions have been created for each important chapter (soundtracks, if you want) by Yehor Grusheny. I hope readers will appreciate such a novelty :)

Will there be a continuation of the story?

Necessarily. Right now I am working on the second part of "The Law of Third Blood". The story itself will continue as a trilogy under under the name "Book of Changes". When I sat down to write, I understood from the beginning that it was impossible to describe all the events in one book even voluminous.

Were any of the characters in the book inspired by people from your real life?

Almost every character has bits of character and history of real people in them, however, unlike The Last Legacy, in "Medallion" almost all are assembled characters. Nevertheless, I tried to make them so vivid that readers, after reading the book, they did not believe the answer to this question :)

Who was your favorite character to write? And who is the opposite?

At first, the beggar Edmund was my favorite, I put a lot of my soul into forming him as a personality, but with the appearance The government has changed everything. It's hard not to fall in love with such a kind, free-spirited and cheerful boy!

As for the non-favorite, there probably isn't one. I prescribed everyone with interest, even the antagonists. First for everything is really interesting, and most importantly - views on life that everyone can understand.

What is your favorite passage/scene from The Locket of the Three Serpents?

Undoubtedly, the fight in the Arena on the grounds of Emanuel Franz's residence and its aftermath. It is this scene that becomes the impetus for confrontations and the first sentences of the viceroy's "Book of Changes".

This is partly a historical novel, did you have to study history books to write it?

Most of the events of the book take place in Lviv in 1908, and in order to best reproduce everyday life and other details of that time, I turned to the writer Bohdan Kolomiychuk. He is a master of retro novels and was happy to help me with literature and archival documents. In addition, I had to look for real photos and maps of many European cities, which would corresponded to the beginning of the 20th century, interesting references and stories of the locations and even individual buildings that I needed.

Of course, in addition to non-fiction, I also had to read a lot of fiction. Peven, all this was not in vain.

Do you have idols among authors?

Undoubtedly, there were once (Ukrainian and foreign). A few even tried to imitate. I remember it as 2017 I went to Warsaw for the presentation of Dan Brown's new book, I was just crazy about meeting my idol.All of them influenced me as a person and an author, but later I realized that it is necessary to remember their lessons, but improve yourself. It can be said that the idols gave an impetus, and I have to move on myself, which I am doing now of the start of work at Medallion.

What prompted you to write The Medallion?

Everything is too complicated here. The story has matured over the years: from the first trip to Prague and the secrets of the Portuguese dungeons to enthusiastic reading of works of classics of past centuries.I wanted to combine an interesting story, cool unconventional ones heroes, riddles over which it is necessary to think carefully, and at the same time to show the horrors of war, the causes of which are far from wealth, and human envy and lust for power over the "inferior".In one day, all this gathered and exploded in mine head I will not lie if I say that I want "Medallion" to be read, to be loved, and above all - that after the last sentence, they put the book down and just thought for a few minutes.

Lightning questions

Text or phone call?

A phone call.

Which superpower would you choose?

A journey through time.

What was the last thing you watched on YouTube?

If asked yesterday, it would have been video editing lessons. It would sound more solid :) Today, the last thing is a review football matches of the English Premier League.

Facebook or Instagram?

Probably Facebook, but both networks are already fed up.

Tea or coffee?

Coffee.

Where would you like to go in the near future?

Iceland.

What makes you laugh even on a bad day?

Friends and family - they are crazy to me:) And also the series "Brooklyn 9-9"