1. How did the plot originate? Was it an iterative process – finalizing the idea? Was it inspired by any particular thought – the Hindu trinity? The current state of affairs in our country and the whole world at large?

It all began as a pure philosophical discussion while I was watching a TV program with my family. In the program it was shown that in ancient Persia, Gods were known as Ahuras and Demons were called Daevas, contrary to what Indian mythology is based on. Obviously, if the ancient Indians and the ancient Indians had met, they may have called each other evil, because one person’s God was another person’s Demon.

While having a discussion over this topic, the first obvious question arose – ‘Who is right?’ – Both? Neither? The answer is neither are evil. Its just that the thinking is different. Which then led to other questions – ‘What is evil?’ and ‘How to identify the evil?’ This triggered the idea to write on the philosophy of evil. But later, following the suggestions of my brother and sister-in-law, I transformed the philosophical writing into an adventure, a thriller. The hope was that along with an engaging story, I may be able to better communicate the philosophy as compared to a pure philosophy treatise which may be boring for many.

While writing, there were instances when I felt that it was going nowhere but a timely sane advice by my wife – ‘Don’t approach it with the arrogance of a creator but with the humility of a witness‘ brought peace in my mind and I started experiencing the story coming to me rather that mesearching for it. I could feel the blessing of Lord Shiva while progressing on this journey.

2. What all research went into this project?

For the historical parts, I did not specifically read any book. But I have been a voracious reader throughout my life,so another way of looking at it is that I have been doing the research for the past 25 years. I love to read history books, even the ones which people find very dull and drab.

For the mythology and religious parts, I learnt mostly from my family. My grandfather was a pundit and a teacher in BHU, my parents are very religious people. My family has always encouraged very liberal perspective on issues – religious or non religious. The interesting discussions & debates inmy family educated me a lot about religion and the logic and reasons behind many beliefs.

3. What prompted you to pick Shiva and not any other God? What about Shiva influenced you to make this choice?

I see it as Lord Shiva picking me rather than the other way round. I wanted to write on the theory of evil and who better to be the hero than the destroyer of evil Himself – the Mahadev, Lord Shiva.

4. There are many instances in the book when the readers experience the ‘Wow!’ feeling and personally for me one of those was – Har Har Mahadev episode. I am sure you must have received great appreciation for this particular part. Could you please share your experience of writing that scene? Did it invoke similar kind of euphoric feeling when you were penning it down?

Thank you! I was searching for a good war speech, something that could convey the philosophy of Lord Shiva and at the same time, be rousing. Nothing apt was coming to my mind. One day while taking a shower, the Har Har Mahadev idea occurred to me and I actually started crying. I came out and immediately wrote it down. And this part was not written sequentially in the book when it actually happened. The idea just came to me and I wrote it down and I knew this conveyed the essential message of Lord Shiva – Har Har Mahadev – Har ek mein Mahadev – All of us are Mahadevs.

5. The second book of this trilogy is already in the market and I have read some very nice reviews about that book too. Which of these two has been more fulfilling and satisfying experience for you and why? In your opinion were there any lacunae in the first book which you tried to improve in the second?

For me – both the books were satisfying. It is essentially one story and just for the convenience of the readers, it has been separated into three parts. The books are not independent by themselves. But I hope I have improved in the second book.

I have no qualms in accepting that the portions which are satisfying for readers are the ones which are blessed by Lord Shiva and the ones which are not upto the mark are due to my inability to do justice to that blessing. So I hope I have been able to overcome some of my shortfalls, which would make the second book, perhaps, a better experience for readers.

6. Some people have natural flare for writing, in your opinion how much of this skill is acquired and how much is it a derivative of the basic nature of an individual? (I love to ask this question to the authors and enjoy varied takes on this aspect)

I believe that every skill can be learnt. But there are two parts to it:

The ‘What’ part – the idea/philosophy that you want to convey. This is not in the hands of the author. He doesn’t control it. It’s a blessing. Some authors call it the product of their muse, some call it the generosity of a superior force. In my case, I call it the blessing of Lord Shiva.

The ‘How’ part – which can be learnt, the words, the phrases and the language that are used to give form to the ‘what’ part. The mode of conveying the idea can certainly be polished and refined. This is certainly in the hands of the author and regular practice will help him improve.

I think, specifically for fiction writing, no author can be so arrogant to claim that everything is a result of his genius/creativity. Because if that were so, we wouldn’t have cases of writer’s block.

7. Who does Amish want to be recognized and remembered as – an accomplished author, a mythologist, a historian or any other title?

As a Shiva bhakt and a good family man. That is the core of who I am. I am lucky to have a good family and should do all to keep them happy. Everything else is secondary.

8. What was your reaction when you came to know that your first book is among the shortlisted books for Vodafone Crossword Awards 2010. Which is your favourite book among the competitors?

It is nice to have a book shortlisted for the Crossword awards. I am quite happy. Personally, I really liked Chanakya’s Chant by Ashwin Sanghi and Connect the Dots by Rashmi Bansal.

9. What next after trilogy?

I have many ideas. I want to write on Lord Rudra, Lord Manu, version of Ramayana, version of Mahabharata, on Akbar, on Egyptian mythology, on Anatolia.

I enjoyed reading Banker’s version of Ramayana. He has gone to the source and has narrated it with modern perspective in an engaging manner. Jaya by Devdutt Pattanaik is an interesting commentary on Mahabharata too.

It is an honour to be interviewing Paul McDonnold, the author of ‘Economics of Ego Surplus’ (reviewed here), one of a very few books that impressed me in recent past. You can read more information about the author here. But one of his statements which I must reproduce here is - “In an age of sound bites, tweets, partisan rants and uninspiring vanilla content, quality writing is not dead. It simply stands out more”. I cannot agree more on this. There has been a deluge in the number of books which are being published and are available through multitude of reading tools but there is no denying the fact that the quality writing earns its own respect and recognition competition or no competition.

Sharing his views with all the readers…

1) How did the idea of ‘The Economics of Ego Surplus’ occur and the thought of combining education with a thriller?

Several years ago, I was teaching an economics course and wrote a homework assignment about a fictional attack on the U.S. economy that the students had to figure out how to stop. The students really liked it, so I started thinking about more ways to combine entertainment with teaching and it grew from there.

2) Do you think these kind of threats are really possible or a country’s economy is so big and strong that such attempts are too trivial to bring it down?

I think it’s possible, but a bigger danger than a terrorist economic attack might be one that comes from another nation, or maybe from computer hackers. There are a lot of possibilities that I hope governments are thinking about and guarding against. If a successful economic or financial attack happened on top of an already weakened economy, like what the U.S. has now, the result could be really bad.

3) What all research did you do before writing this book?

Getting the economics material nailed down was important, of course. I also did some research on the settings in the novel. I have been to all of the places except Dubai. I would have loved to go there but it was a little more time and money than I could budget for. Fortunately I was able to do detailed research on Dubai through books and the Internet. So I sort of visited there in spirit!

4) I understand that you take writing workshops, what are the writing fundamentals that you teach through these workshops?

I am still in the process of creating the workshops. My plan is for it to focus on business writing. I would go to a business and do a four-hour class to improve the employees’ writing skills to help them do their job better. So it will focus mostly on business concerns like writing persuasively and concisely.

5) Which new project are you working on now and will it be in the financial/economic sector like the previous one?

I have a new novel in mind, but it is just in the very early stages of thought. I can say Kyle Linwood will be the protagonist again. It will probably have a little economics, but not as much as the current novel.

6) Which new genres of writing do you want to explore and which would be the first one in the list?

I like combining fiction with non-fiction, and especially combining entertaining, genre-type fiction with educational elements. So I expect to keep going in that direction in the future.

7) Which category of books do you like to read? Who is your favourite author?

I read both non-fiction and fiction from pretty much all different genres. My favorite authors are probably from the classics of American literature, like F. Scott Fitzgerald. In the last couple of years I have gotten really interested in Flannery O’Connor, a female Southern (U.S.) writer, who I somehow missed out on in school.

8) Would you please suggest some basic guidelines for the budding authors and how they can improve their writing styles?

One thing that has been important for me, which I never saw in any books, is teaching your mind to slow down. Take time to consider how each word, each sentence is fitting together. Take time to think about or research details when you need to. I think the modern world has gotten so fast that people’s minds are moving at a rate where they miss out on a lot. A writer needs to overcome that and start picking up on the details!

9) Some people have natural flare for writing, so in your opinion how much of this skill is acquired and how much is it a derivative of the basic nature of an individual?

That’s a tough one! What’s amazing to me is how much work it takes to learn how to write a book that reads well. I don’t think you necessarily have to be a genius or some freakishly talented person. But you do have to have a passion for words and be willing to work and be alone with your thoughts for long periods. There are probably only certain types of people willing to do that.

10) Your final comments, views, suggestions or any addition you like to make to this interview.

Just that I appreciate the chance to connect with your readers, and hope they enjoy the book and tell their friends.

It is a pleasure to be sharing with all the readers, an e-interview with Parul Sharma – the much acclaimed and appreciated author of ‘Bringing Up Vasu’(reviewed here) and ‘By the Water Cooler’ (reviewed here).

Do you think you were destined to be an author or did the writing happen by chance for you?

Well, I have always loved writing but the way things were going, it seemed unlikely that I would ever make a profession out of writing. I did the usual thing – studied Economic (not Literature) in college, got a diploma in communications, worked for brands – before I finally decided to reach out for that elusive book. It was a risk, a huge one in fact but it paid off.

When did you realize, you have enough content to start on a big project like ‘Bringing up…‘? What all preparations went into writing your first book?

I did not have content to begin with. The content appeared as I sat and wrote. I am not a very structured person and that reflects in my writing. I don’t have ready chapter themes or even characters before starting out. They come about once I commit myself to sitting at my desk everyday and putting in the hard work.

Which piece of writing turned out to be more fulfilling for you – ‘Bringing up Vasu’ or ‘By the Water Cooler’ and why? Are you satisfied with the end products?

I think I am a very long way from being fulfilled by any of them. Honestly, I can’t bear to read them without cringing. That’s just the way it is. Hopefully this means that I will attempt to improve on them in further books.

What is your dream project? What other things are you working on right now?

I’d like to write a funny travel book. I have a feeling I’d enjoy that. I am working on a novel right now and editing another script too.

How has been your experience so far in the literary world? Any highs or lows being a part of this space, that you would like to share here?

Oh I don’t know how much a part I am of the literary world. I don’t know many authors or people who work in the industry. It’s liberating to be your own boss and do the one thing that you are good at but it’s a lonely sort of place to be in.

There have been a lot of budding authors on the Indian literary firmament. Who among them are your favourites? What significant changes do you see in Indian literary scene?

Yes, you are right in that but I haven’t been doing too much reading other than my old favourites. I plan to rectify that at the earliest.

I think there is something of a genre-creation happening in the Indian literary scene and publishers are open to books that don’t fall into traditional genres.

Both your books are contemporary fiction, do you want to continue in this space itself or would you like to diversify in different genres as well? Which would be your preferred one if you think of doing so?

I am open to writing everything – mysteries, travel, non-fiction.

Who among these – the one protagonist in ‘Bringing up Vasu’ and two in ‘By the water cooler’, defines you closely as a person ?

None and both, I would say. There is a bit of me in each and every character that I have written about but they are not all me.

Would you like to share any potential pitfalls of this world with the aspiring authors ? Any suggestions?

Oh but I don’t think I have reached a place where I can offer advice to others. I’d say, read ‘On Writing’ by Stephen King. He says it all.

I had met him at about 9pm to take the book and I finished reading it the first time but 10:30pm. The first time when I read the book what hit me was the force in the book the sheer directness. No beating around the bush. The book is thin the graphic story gets covered in about 24 pages but by no means it leaves us wanting for more.

The book is about Maya a girl who is sexually abused by her own father and how she turns to violence and suicide when she has nothing else to do.

Hush is a story without any words and yet it captures things which many many words wouldn’t have been able to. It almost stands up to its name and also the taboo idea that the book is trying to portray

However because its wordless I rushed through the book the first time I read it. I don’t know whether it was just me or the book wants you to rush so I read it again the next morning absorbing even more than I did in the first read. The shades of pages do speak a lot.

The book makes me sad yet gives me hope that may be we are ready to talk about CSA finally.

According to me its a must read

Rating 4/5

We also did a small interview with the writer and illustrator of the book. Read below to what they had to say about HUSH

Q& A with Pratheek Thomas (the writer and partner at Manta Ray) and Rajiv Eipe (the illustrator) behind the graphic novel Hush, from Manta Ray Publishing which deals with the topic of CSA.

How the concept of Hush come to you?

Hush is a story my brother Vivek told me in early 2009. He wanted to make it into a short film, and I told him that I’d like to adapt into a comic book, which he could use as a pitch to producers when he looked for funding. I approached Rajiv Eipe who studied with me at NID (National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad) to collaborate on this comic and he readily agreed. As I began to write the script, it changed in certain degrees from the story that Vivek told me…

What was your primary aim in taking on such a dark and taboo subject in India?

The origins of Hush & Manta Ray are intertwined, in fact, Hush led to Manta Ray’s inception as a publishing house. The way we saw it,Hush was a real story, though it takes its own fictional liberties. It’s a story that no one talks about, and we wanted to break that silence… and then, to break that silence with a silent story… it was a perfect book for us to debut with. With Hush, we were also trying to show that comics can tell different stories and not the usual mythology, superhero, personal history kind of stories that one usually finds in Indian comics.
How has the book been received? How are children reacting to it? Parents?

The response to the book has been overwhelming positive! Almost all the major newspapers in India have covered the book, The Hindu, Mint’s Cult Fiction, Hindustan Times, Indian Express, Mid Day, Open Magazine… Hush has been featured in all these and more. Even in terms of sales, the response to the book has been very positive. For Manta Ray, Hush was an experiment, and it paid off.
Hush is meant for a ‘mature readership’, which would technically mean an 18+ audience, though it’s something a 16 or 17 year-old may also happen to pick up. But, it’s definitely not for children. We also don’t know how many of our readers are ‘parents’. But overall, we have had a hugely positive response and feedback from our readers. Many readers said they read Hush 5-6 times to grasp the story in full and each time they noticed something new.Faculty of a certain prestigious college also has indicated an interest to include Hush as part of their visual narrative coursework. But one of the biggest recognitions for Hush is the fact that people working on the field, like subscribers of this blog have noticed Hush. We want as many people to read Hush and it’s great to see it go beyond a normal comic book and being used as a tool to spread awareness.

What, according to you, is the biggest stumbling block that Child Sexual Abuse Awareness faces in India?

The biggest obstacle is the silence that surrounds CSA. There is a huge culture of silence, of taboo around CSA – that a child who has been abused has no one to go to – not her parents or relatives, not her teacher… there is almost no adult in whom a child can confide. Our society would rather pretend that CSA does not exist.
The other obstacle is the shortcoming of our own legal system. I was horrified to read recently (in an article on the Open magazine website) that India’s legal system does not recognize a crime called child sexual abuse! We’ve clubbed it under some archaic law from our British-rule era, and no one’s made an attempt to change it.

Are you planning any more books on CSA?

Manta Ray is not exactly an issue-based storytelling company. We are an entertainment company. But we want to tell realistic stories, stories of real people living real lives speaking in real voices. While we do not have any upcoming stories about CSA specifically, if there is a compelling reason to tell a story from a CSA perspective, I’m sure we will.

U can buy HUSH at flipkart

Cross Posted from here

We have with us, Priya K, a 19 year old author from Chennai. Her first book,  The Rise Of the Sword was published recently, it is part of the Prophecy trilogy. 

Well actually, I’m planning it to be only two parts.

Interviewed by Vishesh, Picture courtesy Deccan Chronicle

 Q: Congratulations Priya. Personally, I loved the book. Tell us about how the book happened.

A: Thank you!  

I’d been hoping to one day earn my living by fiction, and I knew that the first step towards that was writing a book It involved choosing a theme and a story, making sure the plot fit, and then sticking with it until I had a book I could read. 

Q: Lemuria, Atlantis- not something which we come across everyday. Where did you get the idea?  

A: I wanted something that was a blend between fantasy and reality. This worked. No one is certain whether Atlantis and Lemuria existed – however, they could have been exactly the places, times and philosophies I’ve recorded. To my knowledge, there’s nothing in any records to disprove my novel. Equally, the novel is supposed to be fiction. It works as fact, fiction and fantasy. I love that about Lemuria and Atlantis. 

Q: You are 19 and already an published author. How do people react to this?  

A: It varies quite widely, actually. There are some who are quite condescending, who treat me as a kid. Then there are others who treat it as something incredibly impressive. But the truth is, I’d rather not dwell on my age, either way. Pick up the book, read the blurb and glance at random chapters to judge the style, just like you would any other book. That’s the dream! 

Q: We go to Delhi, Dwaraka, Goa, Singapore etc in the book- did you travel a lot?  

A: I do enjoy travel, and I’ve been all over the country and to a couple of cities abroad, including Singapore. We had an amazing holiday a few years ago, when inspiration for tRotS actually struck, where we drove from Chennai through central India to Manali, HP, and back down south via Udaipur, Goa and Bangalore, among others. But I didn’t travel specifically for this book, no. 

Q: You must have done a lot of research while writing the book. How did you go about it?  

A: How we all do our research! Google is my friend It’s important to find the academic sites, of course, rather than jump at some of the sensationalist ramblings you can find online when you search for Atlantis. 

Q: You were in the science stream in school. Was it hard to jump ship from science to literature? 

A: No, not really. I’d always preferred fiction, and I think it might have helped that there’s a good portion of science fiction in this novel. When I was in school, too, I was mainly researching how to set up my underwater colony, trying to find actual practicable ideas that scientists could have perfected. That bit of transition helped. 

Q: Which is your favourite part in the book? 

Chapter 42, Jagnerk, and the Neha-Ajay interactions. They flowed best. 

Q: How much of Neha Sharma is you? 

A: Very little, really. The way she talks, sometimes – that over-fast patter, when she’s excited – that, maybe. Other than that, no. 

Q: Who are your favourite authors?  

A: Wodehouse, Terry Pratchett, Robert Jordan, Ayn Rand. 

Q: What role did your family and friends play?  

A: Support! It’s not like I broke down everyday and they had to console me. But that my family let me do what I want is I think one of the more important reasons I actually have a book in print. My friends care. That’s all I need from them. 

Q: When is the next book coming out?   

A: This year, I hope, though I can’t be sure yet… 

Q:Apart from writing, you are also interested in theatre and poetry. Tell us more about it.

We have with us Amish, the author of the book “The Immortals of Meluha”. The book has been very well received by everyone, infact the only complaint seems to be that he has published only the first part of the trilogy!  

Thank you for your compliments. Book two of the Shiva Trilogy, The Secret of the Nagas, will release by mid 2011.

(2) Meluha, Suryavamsha, Chandravamsha, Shiva etc – mythology or history?

Well Meluha is certainly historical. Modern historians believe that is what the Indus Valley Civilisation was called in the ancient past. Suryavanshis and Chandravanshis are mythical concepts that have been converted to reality – there are many Kings (even modern former rulers) who draw their lineage from the Sun and the Moon. And  Lord Shiva- For some people, he may be mythical. But for me, He is real- as real as the Earth we live upon and the Sky that looks down on us.

(3) What made you choose this particular topic.

Actually I didn’t chose the topic, it chose me. The book began during a conversation between my family and me. We were watching TV together and there was an interesting historical programme being broadcasted.

 We all know that for ancient Indians, Gods were called Devas and Demons were called Asuras. What we don’t know is that for ancient Persians, Gods were called Ahuras and demons are called Daevas – the exact opposite of the ancient Indians. This triggered an interesting conversation. Maybe if the ancient Indians and the ancient Persians met, they would probably be calling each other evil – because one person’s God was the other person’s Demon.

 Now both the groups cannot be right, can they? So who is evil? Both the groups? Neither? But what can’t be denied is that evil does exist. It rises again and again. And it has to be destroyed. So I started writing a philosophy book on it. Then my brother and sister-in-law gave me some good advice that readers will be more interested in a grand adventure where the philosophy happens to come across with it rather than a pure philosophy book. And hence I started writing the present novel with a hero whose journey conveys the philosophies I want to talk about. And since the story is about the destruction of evil, who better to be the hero than the destroyer of evil himself, Lord Shiva!

(4) You must have done a lot of research to write the book, tell us about it.

I didn’t do any specific research for this book. Or another way of looking at it is that I have been researching this book for 25 years! I love history and have been a fanatical reader of the subject for many years – and my sources of knowledge for The Immortals of Meluha range from Graham Hancock and Gregory Possehl to the Amar Chitra Katha series!

On the mythology front, I relied largely on what I learnt from my family. My grandfather was a pundit and both my parents are deeply religious, with good knowledge of our mythology. So, more than the books written on Indian mythology, I trusted what I heard and understood from my parents and grandparents.

(5) In the book, you talk about right and wrong being relative. Infact, the protagonist is shocked when he realizes that he might have committed a mistake by supporting and participating in the war. Will the next book justify his actions and the war?

The next book will take the journey forward in terms of unravelling evil.

(6) Shiva, is a very powerful and inspired character. Did you base it on someone you know?

Yes and we all know Him! Lord Shiva!

(7) Which is your favourite part in the book?

The Har Har Mahadev speech. I had tears in my eyes when the concept came to me. I think it conveys very simply what Lord Shiva’s lesson to all of us is. Trust yourself. There is a God within you. You don’t need to look up at the sky for help. You have it in you to help yourself and all of those around you. Just listen to the God within.

8) Was it hard to find a publisher/an agent for your book?

It’s wasn’t easy. My manuscript got rejected by at least 35-40 publishers and it took almost two and a half years to see the light of day. However, I can understand the plight of publishers too. With the large number of manuscripts they get for examination every day, it is really difficult to expect complete understanding on their part.

9) You have a ‘day job’ as well, what do you do? And how did you manage your time?

10)What Inspired to start writing? When did you start writing?

My inspiration is Lord Shiva. I had never written anything creative before this book. Absolutely nothing except for some very bad poetry. So The Immortals of Meluha is my first serious piece of writing!

11) What role did your family play?

My family is the bedrock of my life. I am what I am thanks to them. There is tremendous value in having a home that is calm and peaceful. It gives you the strength to handle anything. Also, my family is my first sounding board for my ideas and the stories that I write.

12) Who are your favourite authors?

I read all types of books and so, my favourite authors also are of vastly different genres. I just completed ‘Jaya’ an illustrated retelling of Mahabharata. I also like reading fiction by P.G.Wodehouse, Robert Ludlum, Dan Brown, Wilbur Smith etc. I also read a lot of history. In the recent past, I liked a book called ‘1492’, which describes the world events around that year and how they influenced world history and in effect created the modern world. I’m presently reading the first book of the Millennium Trilogy. I know I’m late in reading it, but better late than never!

13) Can you give us any hints on what to expect in the next book? What is it going to be called?

Sorry, my friend. I can’t tell you too much because it may spoil the book for you! But book 2 of the Shiva Trilogy, The Secret of the Nagas, will begin from the exact same moment where book 1, The Immortals of Meluha ended.

14) Anything else you would like to tell our readers?

I guess all I’d like to say is that I’ll try my best on the book 2 of The Shiva Trilogy. And I hope I don’t disappoint you guys.

Thank you Amish for your time and this wonderful interview. We are looking forward to the release of your next book! All the best!


P.S:- Follow the author on twitter at twitter.com/amisht

“I had completed “The Rozabal Line” in 2006 and spent the next one year looking for a publisher. I ended up with almost a hundred rejections. That’s when I made up my mind to self-publish it.”