Publisher's Synopsis
A young American man named Kyle Wilson arrives in Budapest to play games, but a chance encounter with a dazzling Hungarian woman chess player, Hanna Kiss, sweeps him into an underworld of pleasure, a nightclub unlike any other in Budapest. Laszlo, the enigmatic proprietor, makes fantasies come true for his customers. Kyle, Hanna, and their friends are shaped by their relationships with each other as well as the hedonistic environment of the club and the mind-blowing pleasures it offers. In a setting where old-world charm meets libertine decadence, this romance, based on a true story, recreates the Budapest of 2001 where these lovers and friends found themselves sharing in and transformed by a sensual feast beyond their wildest dreams.Interview with the AuthorQ: How did this story come to you and what intrigued you enough to write a novel about it?Dr. Monique Holland: I'm bound by a promise never to reveal the identity of the man on whose experiences my novel is based. Let's just call him Kyle. It was during a trip to Berlin that Kyle mentioned his affair with Hanna, just in passing. My curiosity was piqued, and the more questions I asked, the more fascinated I became.Q: How closely do the characters and events described in the book follow real-life events?MH: Most of the main characters, although fictionalized, are closely based on real people in Kyle's life at that time. The others are loosely based on people he told me about or products of my own imagination to drive or embellish the narrative.Q: Can you give any examples of events in the book that are particularly close to actual events that may surprise the reader?MH: Very few aspects stray far from what actually happened to Kyle, including Laszlo's club and his methods of indulging his clientele with customized scenarios, Hanna's dark past and her insatiable appetites, and the public and personal crises faced by the characters.Q: In the afterword, you mention this was a collaborative effort with the real Kyle. What were his contributions to the book?MH: Kyle acted as the editor-in-chief of the project. Everything I wrote was approved by him in order to ensure the fidelity of the novel to the spirit of the actual events and to manage the emotional tone of each scene. It was a pleasure to work with a top poker player with such a brilliant, perceptive, and analytical mind. The finished product owes so much to his vision.Q: The abuse in Hanna's past is very difficult material for the reader to absorb. I found myself gut-wrenched right along with Kyle and overwhelmed with sympathy for Hanna. Are you at all concerned about presenting such dark material?MH: No. I think it's important to present all aspects that bear on the composition of a character. An awareness of the abuse Hanna suffered is integral to understanding her thrill-seeking and addictive nature. Without it, Hanna's character would ring false.Q: The romantic scenes in the book strike me as rather unique. They are more explicit than a Harlequin Romance, yet they are far more tasteful and leave more to the imagination than much of the material out there in general romance and erotica presently. Were you conscious of this balance?MH: The "open door" scenes in the novel all contribute to characterization and the advancement of the narrative. While sufficiently explicit to involve the reader in the physical aspects of Kyle and Hanna's relationship, they're far from gratuitous. I think the inclusion of such scenes adds reality value to a romance. Q: Did you find it difficult to understand Kyle's male point of view and write a book in the first person from his perspective?Dr. MH: It was an interesting exercise to put myself in the shoes of a 20-year-old man, but I actually found that reaching across the gender boundary wasn't such a stretch. One thing I did confirm is that at their core, men will always be, in some way, a mystery to women-and vice versa.