When it comes to life’s random surprises, everyone has had his share.

When it comes to Stanimir Kiskinov, he writes a book about them. And then he names the book – an autobiography of sorts, if one could write an autobiography before the age of 40 all while having no known threats of death – and calls it Living in 3(somes), because things just happen to occur in threes, and gives it the subtitle "The ‘Esoteric’ Enquiries of an Eternal Enthusiast", because, well, that answers at least some of the five essential W’s that every child is taught in writing class, or because it just describes Stanimir to a T.
Or so he would have us think.

Because while it is a story of his life, it is still a novel. Stan, as he styles himself, originally wrote it in four months in 2006 (he was camping in Rila, and was inspired); the first Bulgarian edition came out in 2007, published by Iztok-Zapad. Then he applied for a grant for translation through the Culture Ministry’s National Culture Fund, and received it, having found two friends – Brent Sanders and Matthew Brown, both Americans long-time resident in Bulgaria – to translate it.

The English edition, published by Pax Publishing, was officially presented on January 29 2009 at Sofia Library.

But what is it all about? "It’s hard to say," he tells The Sofia Echo. "It’s partially about me – a first novel is always somewhat autobiographic – but it’s delicate to write about these things, particularly about the inside. It’s a glance at my life. It’s a serious/not serious story, both sad and funny." Yet overall, its tone is positive, while dealing with romantic relationships, job situations, and problems of values and choice.

Various triples surface, a theme seen in love triangles, bonds among three friends, opportunities, opinions, and the "big" troika – the trinity – of truth, freedom and love...
Until recently, Stan worked in the cultural department of the US embassy in Bulgaria. This past summer, embassy policy and direction changed, he said, and staff were let go. He had been there since 1993, when he was fresh out of university and had only worked stints as a puppet theatre actor and as a journalist.

In addition to holding a PhD in political science, he also has a bachelor’s in astrology, something rarely met in this country. He believes that the stars offer guidance and explanations to many things.

"I am in the process of searching for myself at the moment. This summer, I did not have a job, a car or a woman. So I’m writing a second book – it still needs a title. You cannot just go from one good job to another," he said. Currently, he travels around Bulgaria teaching grant writing seminars and writes grants himself.

This is not to say that Kiskinov has all doors closed before him: he has US citizenship, the result of winning a green card lottery in 1998. He does not share why he applied, but says that he had a good embassy job and was hesitant to leave it.

The embassy gave him a year’s leave. He also got a research scholarship for the New School of Social Research in New York City, which required him to teach a course (public aspects of political life) at Sofia University once returned. But in between, he worked at a classy shop on Madison Avenue selling shirts and ties for three months. He was able to obtain US citizenship, despite having come back to Bulgaria, thanks to his job at the embassy being considered as if on American soil.

But he does not want to live there, in the States. "I’d have to start from the beginning, to scratch out everything accomplished here; to start over there, there is no reason," Stan says.

Yet his character does not let him rest. He is from Gabrovo, a city in the Balkan range. "The Balkan gives birth to people, the plains give birth to pumpkins," he says, reciting an old adage. "We are freedom-loving. The harsh life of the mountain skyline is reflected in our souls" – he makes curvy cutting motions with his hand – "and that is why I like people who are more serene, in contrast to my fieriness."