A Cold War Adventure
Date Published: 03-01-2026
Publisher: Bim Bom Books
When the first privately owned Soviet circus arrived in 1990 America as the Soviet Empire unraveled, its elite performers expected to build cultural bridges through spectacular shows. Instead, this prestigious troupe faced a perilous journey through Cold War America.
Circus director Yuri had to navigate treacherous waters where American mobsters, Soviet agents, and political forces circled like predators. Young aerialist Anton dreamed of becoming a clown against his family's wishes, while forbidden romances and unexpected connections bloomed between Soviet performers and Americans who saw past the ideological divide. As high-stakes conspiracies threatened to tear the circus family apart, they had to choose between the authoritarian chains of home and the uncertain promise of freedom.
As The Ringmaster reminds us, "The best Soviet stories are like vodka—they burn with suffering, intoxicate with conflict, keep you stewing in reflection, and yearning for your heart's desire." This genre-bending tale explores whether human connection can transcend ideology—and whether storytelling can bridge the divides that separate us.
1. What is the hardest part of writing your books?
Getting
started. I carried this story in banker’s boxes for over thirty years. Who was
I to write a novel? I’d spent my career as an entertainment lawyer—negotiating
contracts, not crafting prose. Imposter syndrome hit hard.
Then came the
isolation. Law is collaborative—negotiations, conference calls, war rooms.
Writing is you and a blinking cursor. No one to tell you if a scene works or
falls flat.
Once I settled
on The Ringmaster as narrator and captured his voice, momentum took over. But
summoning the courage to begin after thirty years of “someday”? That was the
hardest part.
2. What are your most played songs?
I’m a Classic
Vinyl devotee. Give me Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, Steely Dan—the
music I grew up with in the ’70s. There’s a reason those songs have endured:
they’re storytelling set to music.
But writing
Circus Bim Bom hijacked my playlists. The novel has over forty-five embedded
links to period music and historical footage, and curating those tracks became
an obsession. “Entrance of the Gladiators”—the iconic circus march—played on
repeat while I wrote the circus’s arrival at Hershey Arena. “Dorogoi Dlinnoyu,”
the haunting Russian folk song that became “Those Were the Days,” underscores
scenes of nostalgia and loss. And Reagan’s “Tear Down This Wall” speech—I must
have watched it a dozen times getting the chapter right.
I wanted
readers to hear what the characters hear. The music isn’t supplementary—it’s
part of the storytelling experience.
3. Do you have critique partners or beta readers?
Absolutely. I
had about fifteen loyal and dedicated beta readers, and I relied on
StoryOrigin’s beta reader management system to coordinate the process. Hats off
to Evan Grow for building a supportive author platform.
The feedback
loop was invaluable. Each reader caught something different—an inconsistency I
missed, a character moment that didn’t land, a historical detail that needed
more grounding. I made substantial improvements based on their input.
Here’s one
example that changed the entire reader experience: multiple beta readers told
me they were struggling to keep track of over two dozen characters. That
feedback led me to create the animated character avatars on my companion
website at bimbombookclub.com. Each avatar introduces their character without
spoilers, giving readers a fun and entertaining way to refresh their memories.
What started as a problem became one of the story’s most distinctive features.
I’ve learned to embrace reader feedback rather than defend my original choices.
4. What book are you reading now?
I just picked
up Gavin Newsom’s Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery. I’m interested
in how political figures use storytelling to frame their personal
narratives—the craft of memoir overlaps more with fiction than most people
realize. You’re still making choices about what to include, what to omit, and
how to structure revelation.
And as someone
who writes about a period when empires crumbled and ordinary people had to
navigate forces beyond their control, I’m drawn to stories about the
intersection of personal identity and political power. That tension—between who
you are and the systems you operate within—is at the heart of Circus Bim Bom.
5. How did you start your writing career?
As an attorney,
I’d been writing my entire career—contracts, legal memoranda, briefs. But
fiction? That started with a compulsion I couldn’t shake.
In 1991, I was
the lowest attorney on the totem pole at an entertainment law firm in Atlanta.
I got the clients no one else wanted. In walks this long-haired road manager
named Bobby Liberman, telling me the unlikely story of a Soviet circus he’d
road-managed—a hundred and twenty performers from behind the Iron Curtain. It
was the sort of fantastical story I would have made up, except it was true.
I collected
everything for three decades—newspaper clippings, performance programs,
interviews. My late friend David Rams badgered me to write it. He was diagnosed
with stage four pancreatic cancer and he urged me—no, insisted—that I finally
put the story on the page. When the pandemic arrived, I had no more excuses.
6. Tell us about your next release.
Circus Bim Bom:
The Great Escape arrives late 2026. Book One ends at a critical turning point—I
won’t spoil it, but readers will understand why the story demanded to be told
in two parts.
The Great
Escape picks up where we leave off. The stakes rise, choices become harder, the
forces circling our characters grow more dangerous, and the question posed in
the first book—can human connection transcend the barriers that divide us?—is
put to the ultimate test.
About the Author
Cliff Lovette is a father, storyteller, and dog lover living in Sandy Springs, Georgia. For over 40 years, he practiced entertainment law, serving as Senior Vice President at LaFace Records and representing artists including Usher and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. His passion for bridging historical divides led him to co-produce a groundbreaking reconciliation event between descendants of Buffalo Soldiers and Lakota Native Americans. In 1990, when Bobby Liberman—road manager for the first privately owned Soviet circus touring America—became his client, Cliff discovered the true story that inspired this debut duology.
TikTok: @ringmaster606
YouTube: @TheRingmaster-n7y
Author's Edition
The Author's Edition comes with:
• Signed bookplate
• Digital circus poster
• Charter Bim Bom Book Club Membership
• Exclusive access to "Rabbit Hole" chapters
eBook and Paperback
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