Smoking With Tobias Amadon Bengelsdorf by Beth Thomas Epilogue by Joaquin Villaverde via Creative Commons license Where did the character Dmitri come from? Dmitri (and the narrator in the first section) is based on a frightening man who wanted a tennis court I was using. He was a great big man, with a thick but well trimmed beard, and a tight t-shirt that showed his enormous barrel chest. He came up to me and said, with a thick Russian accent, "How long are you play?" I was pretty sure he was in the Russian Mafia. So I stopped playing. Who is the narrator in each section? 1) The frightening Russian mobster, tennis player, short story advice giver, read with a Russian accent. 2) A plumber, read with an Irish accent. 3) A detective, read with a film noir accent, whatever that means. Was the organization (3 self-referencing sections) part of the plan, or did it come naturally with the telling of the story? It just happened naturally. I wanted these siblings to transcend time and place, so I set them settings in 3 places, and at least 2 times (the first section doesn't really have a time). There is a lot going on here. Can you point out something we might have missed, a secret in the storytelling? Dmitri's sister Svetlana is named for Svetlana Kuznetsova, who is a Russian tennis player, to continue the theme. What other projects are you working on right now? Just trying to finish my damn novella. Read The Life and Times of Dmitri Kulikov. Issue Twenty-Eight (July 25, 2010): Young Waitresses by Steve Almond «» Frank by Matt Baker «» The Life and Times of Dmitri Kulikov by Tobias Amadon Bengelsdorf «» Scapegoat by Thomas Cooper «» What You Could Catch Me Bumping by Craig Davis «» Complicit by Gay Degani «» What You See When You Think of Home by John Mark DeMoss «» In the Attic by Murray Dunlap «» A Flower Thing by Jen Gann «» Seahorse Sex by Molly Giles «» Gertie by Kyle Hemmings «» Vertigo by Ann Hillesland «» Rock by Stephanie Johnson «» A Shot of Whatever by David LaBounty «» Palo Alto by Paul Lisicky «» The Lake House by Michelle McMahon «» Hell Is a Headline by Emily McPhillips «» How I Liked the Avocados by Wendy Oleson «» Regrets by Bridget Pelkie «» What Passes for Normal by Michelle Reale «» Avalanche by Joseph Scapellato «» Last Seen Leaving by Laura Ellen Scott «» Explicable by Sabrina Stoessinger «» A Fistful of Buttercups by Nancy Stebbins «» My Maggie by Eugenia F. Tsutsumi «» The Ghost by Russell Whitaker «» The Strain of Collusion by xTx «» Interviews: Steve Almond «» Matt Baker «» Tobias Amadon Bengelsdorf «» Thomas Cooper «» Craig Davis «» Gay Degani «» John Mark DeMoss «» Murray Dunlap «» Jen Gann «» Molly Giles «» Kyle Hemmings «» Ann Hillesland «» Stephanie Johnson «» David LaBounty «» Michelle McMahon «» Emily McPhillips «» Wendy Oleson «» Bridget Pelkie «» Michelle Reale «» Joseph Scapellato «» Laura Ellen Scott «» Nancy Stebbins «» Sabrina Stoessinger «» Eugenia F. Tsutsumi «» xTx «» Cover Art "Wall Street Must Be Tripping" by Marty D. Ison «» Letter From the Editor Interested in subscribing to SmokeLong's weekly newsletter? Click here. An email should be created. Send it as is, and you'll be subscribed. If the link does not work for you, send an email to imailsrv@smokelong.com with Subscribe slq-info in the body of the email (no subject is necessary). You'll receive updates detailing the release of new issues, new reading periods, contests, etc. We do not make our mail list available to anyone else.