I, Vasilyev Vladimir Nikolaevich, announced myself
with a loud cry in the morning, around eleven a.m., on Tuesday, August, 8, 1967,
and never died ever since, although I had a dozen of chances to do so.
When I was three and a half years old my father taught me to read
and I was lost for the progressive humanity, because since then I read science fiction,
science fiction, and nothing but science fiction.
I don't have much memories from my childhood and youth:
studied somewhere, learned something, remember nothing now. Somehow I graduated from
school, my only attempt to enter a college (Kiev college for civilian aviation
engineers) was fortunately a failure. Mysteriously I found myself studying
"adjusting of computing equipment"at Nikolaev vocational school 21.
Then I spent three years and a half in Turkmenia, at southern
border, was demobilized on February, 29th, 1988, one of the last in the district.
After army service I graduated from vocational school, received a diploma
for some reason as a «regulator of radio equipment and devices», worked
for a year and a half at railroad automatic telephone system, and then took up
wandering. In the period between the summer of 1990 and autumn of 1997 I have lived
in the following cities:
Nikolaev, Kiev, Moscow, Petersburg, Riga, Eupathoria, Yalta, Vinnitsa, Kharkov,
Magnitogorsk, Volgograd, Sverdlovsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Novosibirsk, Ivanovo,
Tiraspol, Odessa, Kerch, Minsk...
Carried sugar from Moscow to Magnitogorsk. Loaded books in Kiev and Moscow,
In Moscow also sold books at Olympiysky. Worked as a computer specialist in a
firm that is now known as "Excimer". Since summer of 1996 have been
earning my living by writing.
I started to write (sci-fi, of course) in eighth grade or so. My first publication
happened when I was in the army - my colleagues from Nikolaev club of science fiction fans
managed to publish a short story in a local newspaper.
My first book was published in 1991 by Boris Zavgorodniy at his own risk. He
was even able to sell it - only "House in the centre [Dom v centre]" by Leonid Reznik sold better.
My first publication abroad was provided by the late Ivailo Runev - in 1992
in Bulgaria a doublet of me and Henry Siers.
My first «real» book was published by the TP publishers; then for some time
cooperated with "Lokid" publishing house, and since the beginning of 1996
I joined the writers' crew of AST, where I remain till now. I wrote ten novels (and
one is on the way) for AST; thirteen books are out and some more are on their way.
Not married. Have a daughter born in 1997 (a very rowdy being, must have taken after me).
The usual hobbies: music, football, dogs and YACHT (although, honestly, it is a centerboarder equipped with a bermuda sloop).
By the beginning of 2002 I have twenty four author's books and
several publications in anthologies; moreover, Max Kachelkin issued a
multimedia CD with texts, photos and
tracks of amateurisly recorded songs — both mine and by other good people.
I plan to — record a hard-rock album sometimes.
I play the guitar, both acoustic and electro, bass and percussions.
Like red-haired and green-eyed girls. I am a fan of Kiev "Dinamo", and
"Manchester United". Love fried potatoes. Alas, I have Windows on my
computers, but I am generally hostile to Windows. My notebook is DELL Latitude CPi300XT
I am not a vegetarian. My nationality is hybrid. Father is Russian from near Vologda,
mother is Ukrainian from near Zhitomir. I support the integration of ex-USSR
countries, because I'm fed up of custom-houses on the railroads, you can't
normally carry any equipment. Since 1994 I'm in FIDO. Have been abroad only once,
in Bulgaria. The dream of all my life is to bathe in all oceans and trample all continents.
Will not believe in aliens until I see them. My favourite SF&F writers are
Lukianenko and Gromov, and among Western ones -
Tim Powers and Sapkowsky. Favourite non-SF writers are Japrizot, Westlake, Jeno Rejto and Farley Mowat. I hate Castaneda.
My height is 183cm [6 feet], weight is around 80 kg [200 pounds].
Once I played football and basketball fairly well. My eyesight is really lousy - minus two.
I consider myself a Russian cyberpunk and still a fan, not a writer.
