Author Story Article Release
Hello author, on behalf of all the readers, we would like to discuss something about you and of course, your book as well. This conversation will help reader to know more about you and your debut book. Please give answers in brief.
Most welcome to Criticspace Journals, Author. We heartily congratulate you for being a published author. It’s really a great achievement. First thing, we would like to know about your basic info as a person, daily life, career so far and anything you would like to share about you with your readers.
Your Answer: Thank you very much. I am a very passionate person. I studied electrical engineering and this study made me a very structured person for some time, approaching situations in my life in a scientific way. For my own good, I also realised quite early that not all situations can be tackled with that approach; one also needed to be creative and look at life passionately. I love life and live in the present. I worked in the railway services, then government company, private company and then turned entrepreneur – which is what I always wanted to be. I enjoy daily brisk walks twice a day, where I enjoy nature in its splendour; then I spend time looking at my enterprise and also writing – my next book of fiction, and also socially relevant articles.
That’s really great; please tell us something about your journey of becoming an author. When you actually started writing and how was the circumstance? Did any person or situation influenced you to write your debut book or was it your childhood hobby of writing?
Your Answer: I was not a writing person. I did write a short story and a poem in my teenage years and sent them to the newspapers for publishing; these were promptly rejected, and I gave up. Then about three years back I started writing on my social media pages which was appreciated by my friends and they started looking forward to more writing from me. This encouraged me and I wrote my memoirs in my debut book.
Do you think someone could be a writer if they don’t feel emotions strongly? Be descriptive please so that our visitors know about you little more.
Your Answer: I am a highly emotional person and events in my daily life influence me a lot. It is very easy for me to laugh with joy and also to cry with sorrow with those that I interact with. I look at people around me or read about some event in the newspapers and I start thinking as those people or as the people in those events may have been thinking which resulted in the particular events. That brings out the creative me and I start writing my story. I strongly believe that one has to feel the joy and pain to write a story.
How do you come up with the titles to your books?
Your Answer: The titles of my books come out of the story that I am writing. My debut book ‘The Life and Times of a Common Man’ is a story of the life of a ‘common man’ over a time span of 60 years and how he made his life less common. My next book to be published over the next few months is titled ‘The Street Performers’. This is a work of fiction and inspired by an almost everyday event of looking at poor children on traffic intersections doing cartwheels or singing to make a little money for their families and what extraordinary feats they can attain if their talent is nurtured properly.
What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?
Your Answer: Writing is all about going into the skin of your characters when you are working on a book. The first draft has to come out of all the emotions that you experience as you move along the story. Having said that, once the first draft is ready you need to get it edited and checked for grammatical mistakes. Even as an author, I need to look at my draft a number of times and maybe edit it further to make it more readable.
What comes first, the plot or characters? How do you develop your plot and characters?
Your Answer: A very difficult question. The first inspiration for my book comes from looking at a or reading about a character in a particular event. Thereafter, I develop a plot and other characters around that character and event. Thus, plot and characters come simultaneously.
Are you on social media and can your readers interact with you?
Your Answer: I am happy to interact with readers on my various social media handles https://www.facebook.com/sanjay.chandra.549 on facebook, https://twitter.com/sanjay030359 on twitter, https://www.instagram.com/sanjay03031959/ on Instagram. I am also on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjaychandra1959/.
Please tell the reader something about your book. What is your message to those readers who have still not read the book. Why they should pick it up for reading?
Your Answer: The book is a story written out of incidents in my life over a period of 60 years. The story reflects the changes in society and the way our thinking has changed towards different sections of the society. The book is also a testimony to the fact that if you dream with open eyes and have the determination to pursue your dreams, you can attain your dreams and elevate your life beyond the routine. It has interesting anecdotes which will leave the reader smiling at some passages. There are also poignant passages about death of loved ones. The reader will find resonance of own life in the book. The message that I want to convey is that one must always have dreams and the courage to pursue those dreams.
And yes, the most important thing we would like to hear from you is what is your message to those new writers who have not yet started their journey of becoming an author? You have been their source of motivation, please convey your thoughts with them.
Your Answer: Story writing is all about putting to paper your own sentiments and passions. Follow your heart when you are writing and your story is bound to be a winner.
THE BELOW SECTIONS CONTAINS SOME IDEAS FOR INJECTING A BIT OF FUN INTO YOUR INTERVIEW
Would you rather
Would you rather be in a room full of snakes or a room full of spiders?
Your Answer: Spiders because they spin a web like I do through my stories.
Would you rather have an endless summer or an endless winter?
Your Answer: Neither. I love all the four seasons.
Would you rather have constant nagging pain or a constant itch?
Your Answer: Both – pain felt for others and an itch to write about the pain.
Would you rather always be an hour early or be constantly twenty minutes late?
Your Answer: Neither – I will like to be Just in Time – but impossible on our roads.
Would you rather live in a haunted mansion or live in a un-haunted cottage?
Your Answer: Un-haunted cottage – I am scared of ghosts.
Either Or
Tea or coffee
Your Answer: Tea – love the flavour
Hot or cold
Your Answer: Hot – I am
Movie or book
Your Answer: Book – lets my imagination roam with the story
Coke or Pepsi
Your Answer: Coke – that is the original one
Morning person or Night owl
Your Answer: Morning person – guess that is an age related thing
Social Media or book
Your Answer: Book – lets me give wings to my imagination
Paperback or ebook
Your Answer: Paperback – love the smell of paper
All the best for your future and this book too! Thanks for answering my questions.