First of all, huge thanks for birthday wishes on Facebook! I’m aware of them, but can’t log in and answer because FB is still blocked in Russia. I’m more or less active on Tumblr, but I use it mainly for fanfiction, fanart, and fangirling about things that I like (mostly about Korean and Chinese dramas), as an outlet from what’s going on in the world right now. Come find me there if you’re interested! That’s one of my recent fanart drawings. If you watched The Devil Judge, you might recognize the models 😉

Now, something less pleasant. It might be not the worst among the current news, but still, a rather depressing one: Russia bans any positive public discussion of same-sex relationships. According to the new anti-LGBT bill, any event or act deemed to ‘promote’ homosexuality—online, in films, in books—could incur a considerable fine. It might outlaw any display or mention of LGBT relationships in positive context on public platforms. Lawmakers say they are defending morality against un-Russian liberal values promoted by the decadent West.

We’ll see how the law will work and what exactly will be deemed as propaganda (it’s not exactly explained what will be considered as such and who will be the judges of it), but it seems I won’t be able to officially publish translations of The Sons of Gomorrah in Russia. Which I was going to do, since I can’t get royalties from my books in English at the moment, due to money transfer restrictions between Russia and other countries. It’s totally not my publisher’s fault, just force majeure, so I’m leaving my books with them anyway, but I need to figure out how to publish my stories in the future—with self-publishing, the problem might be the same. Hopefully, I’ll find a way. Advice on the matter is most welcome 🙂