1. Of all the books you’ve written, which one would you hand to someone who has never read your work before, and why that one?
Dear AI, I Killed Her. It’s cruel, entertaining, and ends somewhere you don’t expect.
The idea of a serial killer talking to an AI fascinates me: a biological reckless human and a digital reckless, each trying to optimize the other, though in very different ways.
2. Was there a particular scene, character, place, or real-life experience that first sparked the idea for the book?
The book first came to me more than twelve years ago, after I finished Dexter. I was so disappointed by the final season that I decided to write my own story, with no guardrails.
The first draft was built around Chester’s diaries, which he sent to me for reasons I was trying to understand. Simulacrum—the fictional AI chatbot—entered the book much later, about eight months ago, when I was looking for a way to transform it.
The idea came accidentally through a long conversation with Opus 4.6, which is why I named the chatbot Simulacrum 4.6.
3. What part of writing comes naturally to you, and what part still makes you stare at the screen wondering why you ever decided to become an author?
What comes naturally is writing without guardrails. I write about whatever grips me, disturbs me, or interests me.
I feel like an explorer, always trying to step into new territory, which is why my books are often out of control and disturbingly violent.
I don’t regret becoming an author. I only wish a few more people would buy the books.
4. When someone finishes one of your books, what do you hope they remember about it a week later?
That people who have toxic tendencies are still people—and that you are one of them, whether you like it or not.
We are much closer to evil than we’re comfortable admitting. That’s one reason we write and read books like this.
And I don’t think people who finish Dear AI, I Killed Her will carry it with them for only a week.
Much, much longer.
About the Book
Dear AI, I Killed Her
16 Sessions About the Dead Girl in a Blue Dress
Author Website: kirillkhrestinin.com
Book: amazon.com/dp/B0GRC5QBH5