Vanishing Bodies received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Moses Yuriyvich Mikheyev.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Vanishing Bodies. It’ll be published September 26th, 2023.
What’s the book’s first line?
Miss Anne-Marie Reneux walked toward the French café wearing her bright-red trench coat to order her usual.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
It’s about a young man who discovers he is a vanisher. When shot or killed he simply disappears and rematerializes elsewhere with little to no memories of his past.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
Originally, I wrote the book as a modern romance. I was about 43,000 words into the first draft when I realized I wanted to turn it into a science fiction novel, mostly because I get bored writing anything else. I have a very hard time not writing science fiction. My mind just wanders and goes into sci-fi mode most of the time. I know this will sound crazy, but the original text was modeled on The Great Gatsby. However, the book was rewritten countless times in the seven or so years that I spent working on it. After so much rewriting, it’s very confusing even to me to be able to pinpoint when a certain change was made or when a character was deleted or introduced.
A few people inspired me to write the book. Some of the early scenes with Mr. Beloshinski are modeled on the father of a girl I once dated in Atlanta. The novel is dedicated to her.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
The book deals with universal themes such as romantic love, depression, meaning of life, suicide, et cetera. In my authorial opinion, the main theme is the meaning of memories. What are human memories? How precious are they in the grand scheme of things? If you did something but forgot it, did you really do it? As we come close to the end of our lives, this is an issue all of us humans will have to wrestle with. And the book tries to deal with this very human theme by looking at it from a science fiction angle.
I’d like to think my novel is original. I don’t think there’s a comparable book quite like it. I haven’t heard readers or critics compare it to anything. It is its own thing. And I’m proud of that.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who—real or fictional—would you say the character reminds you of?
I think the character is a younger, more romantic version of Joseph Cooper (played by Matthew McConaughey) in Christopher Nolan’s science fiction film Interstellar.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
When I was twenty-one, I graduated nursing school and became a nurse. I’ve been travel nursing for years now. So, travel nursing, in general, is what pays the bills until my art takes off. Fingers crossed, of course! I’ve also been in numerous rock bands over the years. Currently, I’m an alternative rock musician releasing music under my own name, Moses Mikheyev. My producer is Brandon Zano of the Hollywood-based rock band Zaano. I also work a lot with David Gavrishov, an audio engineer out of Vancouver, Washington. Together, we’re recording my debut album I Only Have a Hundred Years to Love You. I’ll be doing shows later this year with a planned live debut at Hotel Café in Hollywood.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
I’ve always been a huge fan of Kierkegaard. A bunch of the philosophers—I’m a huge fan of, in general. As for fiction writers, I really enjoy F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, Margaret Mitchell, Marilynne Robinson, and William Goldman. My favorite book is The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Make what you will of that! As a rule, I don’t read science fiction writers mostly because I don’t enjoy reading science fiction. I enjoy writing it. But—here’s the funny part—I love reading nonfiction science books. So, there’s that!
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
That’s a tough one to answer. It really depends on what they bring to the table. I’ve been able to do everything they do thus far. There’s really no need for record labels or publishers anymore. We’re living in a different world. Of course, if you’re Taylor Swift or Stephen King, then, yes, go ahead and have record labels and traditional publishers handle your PR campaigns, ad campaigns, and all that jazz. But for most artists and writers (think 99% of them), there’s simply no need for traditional publishers or record labels. They don’t serve a purpose. It’s a better world without the gate keepers, in my opinion. So much music—music especially!—wouldn’t exist if they had the final say. I mean, like, all my favorite bands are independent. All of them. So, yeah, I don’t think we need them.