Q.1 Tell us a little about yourself?
A. I am a strategy professional for a living. But I seek
introduction as an author, a poet, and a storyteller.
Q.2 How many books have you written? Which one is your favorite?
A. I have thus far authored three books- Three Halves, #MeToo
Brutus, and Trinity by the Horns. Though #MeToo Brutus is my most topical work with a message to the
society, my personal favorite is Three Halves. This book took me two years to
finish writing. I let the characters develop and the plot firm up by giving it
the time. It has been unanimously appreciated by all the readers for both
character depth and the last few chapters of twists and turns.
Q.3 What is the modus-operandi of your writing process?
A. I put my thoughts together on Google Keep to capture the idea
and execution. Then I develop it on Google sheets (very nerdy, I know) because
I can always move the plot points back and forth. Then once I believe I have a good
outline; I start writing in Google Docs. Then based on the flow, I change the
outline too. I prefer to write during breaks, commute, in the mornings, etc.
Q.4 What’s the name of your upcoming book or latest release?
A. Yes, my most recent one is available as a Kindle-only version.
It is called Trinity by the Horns. It's a blend of sci-fi with mythology.
Q.5 How did you come up with the title of this book?
A. The term Trinity has always had a religious or spiritual ring to
it. The phrase Taking the Bull by its Horns also is a way of saying that a
person is taking up a highly challenging task. Trinity by the Horns is an
allegorical retelling, with the context of Gods running a space exploration
start-up, creating AI-enabled bots that have initiated life on a planet.
Q.6 Wow, that’s an interesting and intriguing plot. What motivated
you write Trinity by the Horns, a mix of mythology with sci-fi?
A. We often tend to look to the west for superheroes. No doubt that
Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman, Black Widow, and Mystique are interesting. But our
own mythology has a lot of superheroes - male and female - that don't get their
due. Trinity by the Horns is a retelling of a few excerpts from the Hindu
mythology to make it an interesting read in today's world of startups, robotics
and artificial intelligence.
Q.7 Among all the protagonists of your three titles, who's your
favorite and why?
A. I love Shakti from Trinity by the Horns. She displays the
essential attributes of the ideal corporate czar. She is adept at the resource
utilization, be it man or machine, isn't hesitant to ask for help despite being
ahead of her game and is far-sighted to deliver results that were above expectations
of her stakeholders.
Q.8 What about the supporting characters? Who do think is dearest
to you?
A. I've always believed that the hero of any story is good only if
the villain gives a tough fight. With that in mind, I think AK Bhatt from Three
Halves are my favorite. He knows he isn’t preferred by many yet he’s
unapologetic about his ways. He follows the rules per his advantage but he is a
go-getter and a stickler for protocol. Such traits may not be ideal but I've
seen them help people in the cut-throat corporate world.
Q.9 Both Three Halves and Trinity by the Horns have some comic
elements, but on the contrary, #MeToo Brutus is very serious. What inspired you
to explore this serious issue?
A. Our society is suffering from an epidemic of abuse. I doubt if
we’ll know any woman who hasn’t faced any form of harassment throughout her
life. Many incidences go unreported owing to, ‘what will people say’!!! Additionally, it isn’t just about
rape that’s questionable. Catcalling or Pay Gaps among genders are examples of
abuse too.
Unfortunately, we easily forget such instances as we forget to drink
water sometimes. My friends and family members have often opened up about the
injustice that they’ve faced. Through #MeToo Brutus I’ve tried to highlight the
multiple forms of abuse that countless, nameless, faceless women experience
regularly. I chose to write about this issue because I personally feel that
unless we talk about and fight it, this will continue to haunt the women in our
society.
Q.10 Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with good or
bad ones?
A. Feedback and reviews are the most powerful tool of the end
consumers of any product. As an author, I unquestionably seek reviews from my
readers to gauge what they liked and what they didn’t. I read all my books’ reviews that I see on
Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, and Goodreads.
Good reviews give me a sense of relief. Bad reviews motivate me to write better. If and when I do get the chance, I usually ask the reviewer what s/he didn't like much about the book. Also, I've received honest feedback from my beta readers, which helps me in more ways than I can say.
Good reviews give me a sense of relief. Bad reviews motivate me to write better. If and when I do get the chance, I usually ask the reviewer what s/he didn't like much about the book. Also, I've received honest feedback from my beta readers, which helps me in more ways than I can say.
Q.11 Do you also face writer’s block? If so, how do you deal with
it?
A. I think writer's block is like a child who does not want to do
homework. Sometimes one needs to coax the child or be strict. I do some similar
things. I either relax and do something that I like (coax myself) or I move
away from that section and focus on another aspect of the story so that I stop
myself from working on that aspect and return to it later.
For example, it took me two years to complete writing Three
Halves. There were times when I wasn't sure about certain specifics about a
character. At times I was frustrated or unsure. I stopped and channelized my
energy into doing something else. On one such occasion, I ended up drafting a
poem, which I tweaked to present it as the one written by Aisha for Samir.
Q.12 What do you consider to be your best accomplishment so far?
A. With Trinity by the Horns, I have three titles to my credit
within six months. While this is a great accomplishment by itself, #MeToo
Brutus was written in a record time of 45 days. Another feather in my cap is
that I had sent copies of my #MeToo Brutus to Honorable Lt Gov Kiran Bedi, and
she has graced the book with a foreword that will be included in the upcoming
edition.
Q.13 Most fiction authors that I've come across specialize in a
sub-genre (ex. Mythology, young romance, family drama, etc.). What is your
niche?
A. Ensuring variety is what I believe is my niche. MeToo Brutus is
halfway a story about women’s issues and then it becomes a vigilante story with
a strong social message in the end. Three Halves is a novel that starts out as
a love-triangle in-the-making and gradually transforms into a more intriguing
plot. Trinity by the Horns is a sci-fi novel with names and snippets inspired
by Hindu mythology. I suppose my niche is about involving strong women
characters in all the plots. To me, the world or life, as such, is incomplete
without a woman. Most women are strong, more than we realize. So, why not have
them represented in our stories, too!
Q.14 Have any of your characters, across the three books, been
chalked out on the basis of someone you know?
A. I prefer not to base my characters entirely on people I know in
real life. In some cases, of course, I rewrite certain instances I have
experienced as long as it blends well with the plot. Characters such as Sunny and Narad (Trinity by the Horns), A K Bhatt (Three Halves) and Hira (MeToo
Brutus) is based on my observation of real-life incidents and experiences.
Q.15 If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what
would it be?
A. I will quote what another artist said: "Don't let your art
have to beg for validation". While it sounds simple, it's a very deep
thought.
Q.16 In your opinion, what is the most unethical practice in the
publishing industry?
A. The unending problem of piracy. As it is bookshops are dying,
publishers are operating at lower profits and new authors are coming up every
day, all to cater to the same set of audiences. When piracy makes the books
cheaper, it hampers the profits for everyone, causing revenue leakage.
Q.17 Which famous person, living or dead, would you like to meet
and why?
A. I'd love to meet fashion designer Ritu Kumar and thank her for
re-introducing the mantra #NaariTumShaktiHo, which resonates very well with all
my three novels.
Q.18 What is your favorite book by other authors and why?
A. I'm a huge fan of the book Arms and the Man. It was very
inspiring. Bernard Shaw is an amazing author and playwright who has inspired me
to conceive all my ideas as realistic as I could so that if it were to be
staged as a play, it should invite applause.
Q.19 What advice do you have for other aspiring authors?
A. Please chalk out a good outline. A well-articulated outline is
by itself the first draft. It’ll save you the additional effort required in
giving quick fixes or reworking on months' worth of creative effort.
Q.20 Share the experience of your journey so far?
A. Compared to the great writers of our times, I feel my journey
has just started. With each step that I’m taking, I’m adding something new to
my treasure of experiences. Each of my books is different from one another and
as I continue, I look forward to sharing more figments of my imagination with a
wider audience.
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