Author Highlight: Souvik Roy Discusses his New Book ‘Abhinash Chakraborty’ and Stories from his Life
We are back
with another author interview. Today, with us, we have very young Indian author
– Souvik Roy. His recently published crime thriller novel, Abhinash
Chakraborty, has begun creating buzz in the town. In this interview, he talks
about his writing aspirations, and the route to getting his books published,
and inclination towards crime fiction, and much more. Stay on...while we chat
with him.
How do you feel as an author – being so young and ambitious? How do people around you react to that?
Well, I have
been congratulated by my teachers and friends and even those friends who had
never read a novel or any other book out of their course syllabi have also
bought my book. Well, I am actually a conservative person, so I had very few
friends. My juniors in school and my college seniors have also done what they
could to support my enthusiasm. I’m really grateful for their support.
Well, you
can’t deny the fact that reading books out of course content has become a rare
habit especially if you consider the case of students. However, a writer does
get a lot of respect just for his hard work, as that alone can inspire many
young achievers. This newfound respect and admiration and love are some things
that I would never dare to lose.
What inspired you to write this book? Any tales to tell…
As you have
already speculated in your review, Hollywood films have inspired me. The story,
as you’ve read is purely original, and at the same time heavily influenced by
the Hollywood catchphrase think Out Of the Box.
I used to
write great essay, thanks to my teachers I acquired the ability to portray my
thoughts on the papers. When, I started writing short stories but never thought
about pursuing it.
My mother
wanted me to follow my dreams and after she passed away two years back, I felt
that she can stay alive in my dreams. Dreams that we shared. So, why not give
impact and existence to that dream in the best way possible! And here I’m. A student by day, a tutor by evening and a
writer at night; currently working on his second novel.
What message would you like to convey through this book?
This book is
dedicated to the true patriots of our country. The brave and selfless people
who don’t care about fame or repute.
This book
deals with the root cause of brain drain; exploitation of young minds and the
deception this world offers with ease.
The book also shows the true form of ‘cold war’ and the superiority of a
laptop over a nuclear arsenal.
What else drives you other than writing fiction?
I like theatre
and drawing. This book also has two of my drawings followed by the cover that I
designed myself. I’m also a good cook!
How did you find your writing chord, or were you a born writer?
I never really
thought about that. Well, I guess that I just loved to write and when my teachers
and friends asked me to take this seriously, I became serious.
How do you handle the response of this book, especially from your friends and relatives?
Well, since
this book has just been released and I’m not good at marketing owing to my
lower finances, I’m far from becoming a bestseller right now. So, I’m not
having any autograph issue, but would definitely love to reach such status one
day.
What are some of your favourite novels and authors?
Angels and
Demons by Dan Brown, All books of Sylvia Day, All book of Amish Tripathi
(especially the Shiva Trilogy).
What was your biggest learning experience throughout the publishing process?
Three things:
1) Don’t be hasty, learn to keep patience 2) Be careful with punctuation and
typographical errors (I’ve learnt my lesson in that, will do my best to avoid
these small yet crucial faults and 3) No good thriller is complete without a
strong female character.
Looking back, what did you do right that helped you break in as a writer?
Maybe my
stubbornness and self-confidence along with pragmatism. Rest was all luck.
Where do you write from? Do you go to some specific place, like beachside or into the hills?
Yes, my
bathroom is my place of meditation. I know that’s crazy, but then again,
writers are rarely sane.
Something personal about you people may be surprised to know?
Well, if I
ever be successful in my life, then I guess my biopic would stun everyone. It’s
not that my life was full of
struggle at the beginning, but now it is. When my mother passed away due to
cancer on August 15, 2015; my father had a stroke owing to anxiety. He was a
tutor and thus our family income ceased there. I was in my 10th standard then.
I started doing home based typing work, part-time tuition, and applied for
scholarships. I managed to keep up my studies and have still been able to.
Thanks to Mister Sitaram Shaw of Star Classes, I was able to pursue my dream.
Now, I teach over there as a Computer tutor for classes x-xii, under his
guidance and mentorship, thus managing to earn for my studies and other
expenses. My school teachers namely Mousumi Chatterjee Ma’am and Monoshij Sir
have been the fuel to my ambitions. My friends who deserve credit for raising
the spark of writing in me are Shubham Yadav, Manish Yadav and my father. My
mother Nandita Roy is someone whose worth can never be explained in words and
thus I would refrain from doing so.
My father is
supportive, but what can he do if fate has written such torture for him. I
study, teach, do theatre, drawing and household work. Sorry, I just became a
bit nostalgic; I’m just too proud of my struggle.
We always
consider our struggle to be the greatest overlooking others who are leading
lives much worse than ours. That’s why I believe that “Our choices and
struggles never matter until we prove our worth to the world.”
Any future books that you would like to discuss now?
A book that
I’ve been working on is titled “His Last Words”. It’s going to be another
thriller and I hope you’ll like it. I will keep in mind your advice and will
rectify in my fields I’m required to.
Connect with Souvik Roy:
Website/Blog: https://www.facebook.com/divinedigits69/
Comments
Post a Comment