Russian Roulette: Family secrets [2021 version]

Introduction

Hi, my dear Wattlings.

For those of you who've read Russian Roulette - Family secrets in the previously posted version, you might have noticed shorter chapters and a lot of them. It was not how the book was initially written and intended to be published. The many smaller chapters happened because I was told to do that for app-reading and it said so in the Wattpad guide. It never sat well with me, but I was new and didn't know any better.

Now that RR: FS is completed, I thought it would be nice to publish the original version as it was made to be read. I'll keep the other version with shorter chapters as I won't abandon the readers who took the time to read, vote, and comment on that.

This version will be edited and be in the form of the original chapter lengths. That means some will be long and some short. They were written that way because that's how the story needed to be told.

While editing, some dialogue may have been changed and little tweaks done here and there. I had to remove some transitions and cliffhangers that were made for the shorter chapters, so some things may be different.
The story and the characters will stay the same, though.

I need to stress the content of the book is dark at times. It's a romance with suspense and mystery. But it does hold topics that can trigger some. I don't do trigger warnings in the chapters. You decided to read the book knowing what the blurb, disclaimer, and tags said. I'm not responsible for that decision. I fully respect if somebody doesn't want to read the book, for whatever personal reasons, but you've been informed and warned beforehand.

Topics in the book include but are not limited to: Mafia affiliation. Murder. Torture. BDSM. Non-consensual sex/Rape. Violence. Abuse. Psychological terror. Most described in graphic detail. I need to point out, I don't condone nor practice illegal acts. 

It's a work of fiction.

Maybe to some, it's important to mention that I write American English, though I live in Europe. That's because my father's family is American. I've had a few people comment on spelling and word usage. And I know it can be confusing. I write American English, but with a European mindset. Bear with me.

I'd like to add, that this is a slow-burn book. This means I won't let you know if 'the butler did it' in the first few chapters. It's not a fast-paced 45K word Bam-finished-everything-wrapped-up-neatly kind of book. The love story is built slowly, the character's history needs time to unfold in the present. All the subplots of mystery and secrets have to be woven in with little hints here and there. The side characters, who play a massive part in this story, needs their time in the sun.

So, please keep that in mind. 

Readers, but especially judges in awards. Slow-burn books rarely do well, because those few chapters read reveal nothing of the long-term story. Those chapters present the main characters, they don't give enough of the story, sadly. Of all the awards I've entered this book in it's only placed very few times. But I'm immensely proud of each award this book has won.

🥇 The Amby Awards 2023, Romance
🥇 Future Banned Writers Awards 2023, Best words/quote, Chapter 66 - Gareth's monologue
🥇 The GrandLibrary Awards, 2022, Romance
🥇 The Writer's Recognition Awards, 2021, Romance
🥇 1st in The BooksAndBeyond 2021 Awards, Romance
🥈 2nd in The Candle Light Awards 2020, Romance
🥉 3rd in The Black Cat Awards 2021, Mystery/Thriller

If you want to read a review of the book from somebody who's read over 100 chapters of this book in its original form, then please go ahead:
https://www.wattpad.com/997769888-skyline-reviews-open-savvy-russian-roulette-family

I do hope you'll show your continued support to this book. RR:FS is my baby, I've cared for it unending and the three months it took to write it was a rollercoaster of epic proportions. I love the end result and can never explain what it means to me that it's being read by so many.

I know, I've been overwhelmed and blown away with all your votes, comments, and private messages in the six months of uploading it - and every day ever since. How you engage with me and with the characters and their lives is amazing.

So much so, that I've begun publishing the sequel. Russian Roulette: Flashbacks, which can be found on my profile.

For that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I might need to tell y'all why this is especially emotional for me.
I've spent years of my adult life slowly going blind. To the point where I had to give up work and writing and live in a protected little cocoon in my home. I had people do everything for me, shop, clean, drive me places, and read my emails and texts for me. I lived in a world of darkness and my dream of writing was lost in that darkness.
In the summer of 2019, i was 93% blind when I got eye surgery to get two new lenses put into my eyes. It was a whole new lease on life. I saw colors as I've never done before, and I was able to navigate traffic without stumbling into intersections because I couldn't see if the light was red. I could see what I bought at a supermarket and read the menu in a restaurant without assistance. And I was no longer afraid to eat in the company of others because I could actually see the food going towards my face, which for years had ended down my shirt half the time.

It was mind-blowing.

The first six months, I spent just doing everything I had not been able to for years. Then in 2020, I decided to start writing again. I began with an old short story I polished up a bit. Into darkness - Damian Whitemead stories. Then I wrote Nobles and Taming the Hellbeast for fun. And during the summer of 2020 when locked in my home, again, because of COVID I wrote Russian Roulette: Family secrets.

I can never explain how blessed I feel to be able to write again. And the way RR has been received will forever fuel my little writer's heart. It might not be perfect and I certainly am not. Still, it means everything to me that it's being read and every vote and comment y'all make, adds to my desire to provide more and better stories.

Please all remember, that the votes and comments are important for me to know how the story is progressing and the characters are developing. How you read the book and interpret the character's behavior is paramount for me to know because that will give me a chance to improve my writing. So, please keep the comments and votes coming.

A follow to my profile is greatly appreciated too.

And, seriously, I'd love to know what you think and interact with y'all.

Please, enjoy the book.

Love always,

Alix