THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
The Ivankov Brotherhood
Get a behind-the-scenes all-access pass to Sabine Barclay's The Ivankov Brotherhood Series!
***Synopsis***
The Ivankov Brotherhood is a six-book series that tells the love stories of six members of the New York bratva. It centers around the four Kutsenko brothers and their cousins. Two cousins are from their dad’s side, and two are from their mom’s. Family is everything to these heroes. Their parents play small secondary roles but show the intergenerational connection the Russian Mafia.
After surviving
tortuous training to rise to their positions as the leaders of their
organization, these men are bonded by more than just blood. Most people would
describe them as morally black because of their roles in the Russian Mafia, but
to them, honor, duty, loyalty, family, and love are absolute.
The women are no
wilting flowers. They’re assertive, independent, and self-reliant. Their
intelligence helps our heroes combat and outmaneuver their rivals. They may
prefer a more sexually submissive role, but they aren’t equals to the heroes
outside the bedroom.
These books are all
explicit with light BDSM, the use of Daddy/baby girl (NO age play at all—not
DDLG), profanity, and power exchange without being a Dom/sub relationship. If
this content isn’t a reader’s preference, this wouldn’t be the series for them.
What is the sub-genre and trope? Did your characters lead you to this genre or
was that decided before the story began?
This series is dark Mafia with the recurring themes of honor, duty, and loyalty; revenge; instalust; opposites attract; soulmates; and family.
I’m a discovery writer, or planster, so I have a general idea of the story arch before I start. Sometimes I have ideas for particular scenes. But I generally discover the plot and character development as I write.
Are you more character or plot driven?
I cannot separate these as they’re intrinsically linked in my style. They drive each other.
Because I don’t have specific and detailed outlines before I start, I haven’t focused on one more than the other. They feed each other as I write.
With many main and secondary characters, how do you keep them separated in your mind? Do you have a story/vision board above your workspace?
Part of it is that I have a good memory, and the other part is each character develops into their own identity with quirks, habits, and nuances.
I know from previous interviews that characters take on a life of their own. Were any of the characters in this series determined to take their own direction instead of where you initially wanted them to go?
Mine certainly take on a life of their own, but only in so far as the depth I try to bring them. Since I know what the recurring themes are and that I need to redeem the morally gray hero, they don’t venture too far afield.
Are any of the male POVs based on anyone you know?
Not in this series. I don’t know anyone who fits the men I created.
Are any of the female POVs based on anyone you know?
None specifically, but I think some of their traits come from a variety of women I know.
Often, my heroines have the traits I wish I had or that I think many readers wish they had.
Was there any one character/scene that was harder to write about than the other?
Not particularly. I made the male characters’ backstory pretty rough and challenging with a lot of emotional and physical tests to their survival. But that’s also what binds them so closely as a family. It gives the heroes a chance for some vulnerability too, so some parts are a little sad.
But they weren’t hard to write. I haven’t made myself cry with this series, which I’ve done with others.
What is your favorite book in the series?
The one I’m currently writing. I love all my book babies equally.
I know that we aren’t supposed to have “favorites” as far as our children, but seriously, who’s your favorite character and why?
I don’t have a favorite human character. In this series, there’s a pet in each book.
I put Sebastian the Mastiff in Bratva Darling, the first book, because I have an absolute soft spot for Mastiffs.
I also love Sammy the Cussing Parrot in Bratva Treasure, the third book, because he’s hilarious.
Series question - Who is your favorite couple and why did you decide on their dynamics?
I don’t have a favorite because while there are fundamental similarities across the series on purpose, each couple has a special dynamic that brings them together. I like all of those.
How do you get inside these characters’ heads to find their perfect HEA?
To develop any character, I think about how I would handle the situations if I were actually that person. That doesn’t mean it’s my method as Sabine. It’s if I were the person I created and thought and behaved the way I want the character to, then what would I do.
What scene in this book/series sticks out the most for you? Why?
In Bratva Beauty, the newest book, I really like the scene where the hero tells the curvy heroine that he knows what he likes, and it’s her just as she is.
She’s on vacation with two beautiful friends that men usually make a beeline for. Our hero, who’s the “pretty” one in the family—in other words, the hottest—only wants her. He makes it clear he’s attracted to all of her.
Series - Were any of the books harder to write than others?
This is my first contemporary series after writing Historical Romances as Celeste Barclay for four-and-a-half years. I found the switch really easy, and the books flow really fast. None were harder than the others.
This question is if you write in MULTIPLE POVs not just the hero and heroine - I love the multiple POVs in a book. It’s not just the hero and heroine, but we get inside the heads of multiple characters throughout this series. I feel that it gives the story further depth. Do you think you will write another book or series following this multiple POV outline?
My Mafia books will always alternate MC POV by chapter.
However, all of my Historical Romances written as Celeste Barclay have alternating POV.
I’ve discovered I love both styles. Though I have to be careful when I’m writing my Mafia books not to accidentally switch POV mid chapter. I’ve had to revise a couple parts a few times to get it back into the correct POV.
How long did it take you to write this book/series?
As I said before, the books flow really fast. Four hundred pages or so is written in about two weeks.
How did you come up with the title for your book and series?
The series title came from some research into the real bratva in New York, which at one point, was run by a man with the last name Ivankov.
Each book in the series starts with “Bratva” for consistency and to let readers know what type of Mafia book it is. Then the second word is something unique to the heroine and how the hero sees her.
If you met these characters in real life would you get along?
I’d like to think so. I don’t know that I have too much in common with the heroes other than their core traits about family, honor, duty, and loyalty.
I think I’d be friends with the heroines, some closer than others.
Series question – Did you know in advance that you were going to write this as a series or did one of the characters in book one demand their own story?
Originally, the series was going to be four books, just the four Kutsenko brothers. But I decided to expand it to six, so I created two more cousins.
I already knew it was going to center around a family, as will all of my Mafia books—brothers and cousins. Then it was a matter of giving each one their story.
If your book/series were made into a movie, which actors do you see as playing your characters?
That’s getting harder to answer as I get older. I’m in my early 40’s, so the actors and actresses I think of immediately are my age or older. That doesn’t work for characters in their 20s and 30s.
The best I can say is the actors would have to be rather brooding but believably kind and generous in private. The women have to be self-reliant in public but plausibly submissive in private.
Can you give us a hint as to what we can expect next? Whether a new book and series or a sequel to an existing series? Can you share a small tease?
Bratva Darling, Bratva Sweetheart, Bratva Treasure, and Bratva Beauty are all available now in The Ivankov Brotherhood.
Bratva Angel releases on Dec 13th, and Bratva Jewel releases on Jan 24th.
Bratva Angel is a grumpy meets sunshine story. Aleks, the second oldest Kutsenko brother, is the most reserved of the eight guys in the family. I have his family nickname him Eeyore. Heather, the heroine, is a high school theatre teacher with purple hair when they meet. They’re at the grocery store, and their carts almost collide because she’s riding the cart to entertain her five-year-old nephew. He discovers his funny isn’t broken when he jokes with her, which is out of character for him. Her father is an NYPD officer, so you can imagine how that might complicate things, and her father's history is far more sordid than either realize in the beginning.
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She just got me to pay three times as much as I wanted for a company I’ll buy and destroy.
She knows who I am. The bratva doesn’t scare her.
Intelligent, brave, and unstoppable.
I’ll make her mine.
She doesn’t know it yet, but we’re soulmates.
I’ll take her to her limits. Then give her all her heart desires.
She thought it was only for one night…
I’ve never let anyone into my life.
At least not like her. Not until her.
She sees a side of me that isn’t the bratva monster everyone else believes.
Now that she knows, she’s mine.
Mine to keep and protect. Mine to please. In return, it’s her love I crave. She’s my soulmate.
Every kiss, every touch will take her to her limits, and I’ll be the one to catch her.
Bratva Sweetheart is an interconnecting, standalone Dark Mafia Romance with a HEA and no cliffhanger. It contains extra-steamy scenes that will make your toes curl and your granny blush. This is book two in The Ivankov Brotherhood, a six-book series that’ll keep you warm at night.
Visit the author’s book page on her website for a content notice.
My printsessa thinks she’s taken a regular job for a regular lawyer.
She doesn’t know the devils that lurk below the surface now that she’s in my world. The bratva world.
Innocent, sweet, and trusting.
All the things I am not. All the things I never knew I wanted.
But I do now. And she’s mine.
Let someone try to take her. I’ll burn the world down around them to keep her. She’s my soulmate.
She doesn’t know her limits yet. I’ll take her there, then bring her back with my touch and my love.
They say I’m the best looking in my family. I couldn’t care less.
But her…She takes my breath away.
Not everyone sees her the way I do. That’s fine by me because she’s mine.
I pity those who think they can come between us.
I won’t stop until she’s at my side. Mine to touch. Mine to love. Mine to push to her limits then bring her back.
She’s my everything. She’s my soulmate.
BLURB:
Our worlds couldn’t be further apart…
She’s light. I’m dark. She’s an angel. I’m a devil.
I’ll never walk away from my life with the bratva.
My only choice is to bring her in.
She’s mine and always will be.
Maybe she doesn’t know we’re soulmates yet, but I have since we met.
I’ll do anything to protect her. No one’s foolish enough to stop me.
And if they are…
I’ll take her to the limits of what she thinks she can handle, then I’ll please her any way she wants.
Bratva Angel is an interconnecting, standalone Dark Mafia Romance with a HEA and no cliffhanger. It contains extra-steamy scenes that will make your toes curl and your granny blush. This is book five in The Ivankov Brotherhood, a six-book series that’ll keep you warm at night.
She’s tried to leave our life behind, but no one walks away from the bratva.
She can run, but she can’t hide.
I’ll be the one to catch her when she falls. And she will because she’s walking a fine line.
I’ll be there because she’s mine.
I’ll go to the ends of the Earth for her. She’ll discover her limits and realize only I can please her.
She’s my soulmate, and I’m hers. Heaven help anyone who gets in the way.
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