April–May Novel Essential Information

Novel Title: Upheaval

Time Setting: 2018

Genre: Life/Thriller

Minimum Word Goal: 120,000

Timespan: September–October

Location: Toronto, Ontario

Main Character: Leon Bogomolov

Background Information:

All Leon has known in his entire life is within the confines of the City of Toronto — and he hasn't even seen all of that either — he and his mom have never travelled outside of the city, although he well knows that there is a world out there.

In fact, the majority of his life has been spent at one of four places: his home, academic school, ballet school, and the Russian Orthodox Church cemetery at the end of the street he lives on.

This is mostly because of his mom, who maintains an iron-fisted control over his life, having enrolled him in ballet lessons since he was seven and maintained a rigorous practise schedule at home that is even more particular and persnickety than that of his teachers.

She also doesn't allow him to visit what few friends he's managed to acquire over the years — even the ones from his ballet classes — and even though he's nearly an adult she still confines him to his room after dark.

This restrictive lifestyle frustrates him, but yet he finds himself more often than not quite frightened at the prospect of trying to get away from her, mostly because of her mental volatility that can have her weeping and helpless as a child in one instant, but then viciously angry in the next.

Her mental volatility seems to be tied to a girl named Natalia. He's never seen a picture of this girl, and he knows nothing about her, other than that the one locked bedroom he's not allowed to go into was hers, and that she occupies a grave in the cemetery of the Russian Orthodox Church that they visit with a greater regularity than people attend the Sunday services.

These strange behaviours both strengthen his desire to leave his mom, but make him afraid of what might possibly happen to her if he leaves, as he wouldn't want her to get hurt or anything; so he's left in a horrible limbo that he doesn't see any way out of.

Pronunciation:

Bogomolov: bŏgŏmŏlŏv

ŏ: short vowel sound of O