Frédéric Grut

Hey there, dark souls. If you're looking for sunshine and rainbows, you might want to click away now. I write the kind of stories that make people uncomfortable – and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I grew up in France surrounded by classic literature (yeah, I was that kid with his nose always stuck in a book), but the stories that really grabbed me were the ones that explored the shadowy corners of human nature. The ones that made you question everything you thought you knew about right and wrong. After years of working in finance (trust me, you want to talk about morally gray characters? Try spending time with investment bankers), I finally decided to put my own dark tales onto paper.

My books? They're not for the faint of heart. I write about broken people doing broken things, about revenge and redemption, about the kind of love that bleeds. My "Dollars" series explores the twisted relationship between wealth and power, while "Les Écorchés" (The Flayed Ones) digs into the psychological scars we all carry. And yes, both series have made more than a few readers throw their Kindles across the room. (Sorry about that. Kind of.)

What can you expect from my stories? Raw emotion. Complex characters who probably need therapy more than they need romance. Plot twists that'll keep you up at night. And love stories that are beautiful precisely because they're damaged. I don't do perfect heroes or innocent heroines – my characters are scarred, complicated, and sometimes morally questionable. But isn't that more interesting than perfect people living perfect lives?

When I'm not writing about damaged souls finding their equally damaged other halves, you might find me wandering the streets of Paris (usually at night, because that's when the city shows its true face), drinking too much espresso (it's not an addiction, it's a lifestyle), or contemplating the fine line between madness and genius. My cat, Victor (named after Hugo, naturally), often judges my life choices from his perch on my desk.

I believe the best stories are the ones that make us uncomfortable, that force us to look at the darker parts of ourselves and question what we'd do in impossible situations. That's what I aim for in every book I write. If you're looking for safe, predictable romance, I'm definitely not your guy. But if you want stories that'll haunt you, characters that'll get under your skin, and love stories that are as destructive as they are passionate? Well, then we might just get along.

To my readers: thank you for being brave enough to walk these dark paths with me. Your messages about staying up all night to finish "Dollars" or crying over Zoya's story in "Les Écorchés" mean everything. You're my kind of crazy, and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Fair warning though: I never promise happy endings. I promise real endings. Sometimes they're happy, sometimes they're bittersweet, and sometimes they'll rip your heart out. But they're always honest.

So if you're ready to explore the darker side of love, to question everything you think you know about good and evil, and to fall in love with characters you probably shouldn't... welcome to my world. Just remember: you can't say I didn't warn you.

(P.S. - If you see me at a book signing, feel free to bring me coffee. Black, like my soul. And my stories.)