Slaves to Desire is a collection of short stories that tells provocative stories about the world’s great writers, literary characters and artists. What was your inspiration for the stories in this collection?

I have translated erotica bestsellers, wasn’t particularly thrilled with them and wondered why nobody writes erotica that I would like to read: stories that would move me or make me think twice about something, stories that have something to say instead of only offering a romance with steamy bedroom scenes. And then I concluded that there must be more people like me and decided to write that kind of book so we can enjoy it.

These stories explore complex issues that are inherent to the human condition. What were some ideas that were important for you to explore?

Does unconditional love exist or is it only a myth ‒ I tried to explore that in the story of George Sand and Frederic Chopin. Does easy access really kill romance and inspire deviations, as Rasputin muses during his existential crisis during an orgy. Is free will an illusion and everything that we think and feel is actually ancestral heritage, as Hamlet and Ophelia try to find out when they escape Shakespeare’s scroll? Can loneliness be a blessing and a curse at the same time, as Van Gogh struggles to find out? Can a relationship between two headstrong partners who don’t want to make compromises, like Dostoevsky and Polina Suslova, work? What would a man facing death think about, as Lorca does in his final moments?

How did you decide what historical and literary figures to include in your collection?

That one was easy, I included my favorite figures, Charles Baudelaire, Antonin Artaud, Salvador Dali, Van Gogh… They are fascinating and their lives were equally fascinating. I really enjoyed researching their lives since I tried to portray the background of all historical figures as accurately as possible. As for the literary figures, Anna Karenina and Romeo and Juliet made me think the most in high school so I wished to honour them in my first book.

Do you have plans to publish future works of short stories?

I am writing my second collection of short stories, equally dark and thought-provoking. Harry Houdini and Antoine de Saint-Exupery are among my new characters.

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