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Author Highlight: Tapan Ghosh Discusses his New Book ‘An Anglo-Indian in Love’ and Stories from his Life

We are back with another author interview. Today, with us, we have Tapan Ghosh – the author of ‘An Anglo-Indian in Love’. In this interview, Tapan Ghosh talks about his writing aspirations, and the route to getting his book published. Stay on...while we chat with him.

What motivates you to write?

Life has taught me that life itself is the greatest motivation a writer can have. Key incidents in my life and the lessons I have learnt from my mistakes are two major sources of material I use in my writings.

How do you handle the response to this book, especially from your friends and colleagues?

Any honest opinion is good to understand the reader’s viewpoints and expectations. It serves as a guide to what’s working and what’s not. At a deeper level, it’s a two-way process. They get to know me through my writings, and, strange as it may sound, I get to know myself better from the feedback I get. What this really means is, a reader may interpret something you have written in a manner completely different to what you had in mind when writing it. The feedback makes you sit up and discover a facet of your personality you never knew existed.

What kind of research did you do to pen An Anglo-Indian In Love?

This novella is based on real-life incidents I was witness to as a school boy in Calcutta and inputs from friends from those days. The characters are based on real people. In that sense, the story is a fictionalised version of fact.

Can you name some of your favourite authors and novels?

Earnest Hemingway (all his writings), DH Lawrence (Lady Chatterley's Lover, Women in Love), George Orwell (Animal Farm, 1984), Charles Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities) and Robert Lewis Stevenson (Treasure Island).

Do you think writing a book from the comfort of a bedroom is possible?

The best thing about writing is that you are not limited by location or time. A thought can occur anytime, anywhere. I key down my thoughts on my cell phone as soon as they strike me. Sometimes, these take the form of a quote. I then work on these thoughts and weave them into a story. Earlier, I used a BlackBerry; now an iPhone.

Do you have a favourite place to write? Such as a beach or the hills?

I write wherever my work takes me, though writing is not my work, it’s my passion. And a passion is powerful enough to make the creative juices flow, regardless of place or time.

What inspired you to write this book? Any tales to tell?

All the tales to tell are in the book itself. And the other tales are not to do with the book, but with me. I live life to the fullest, and to do so, I live on the edge all the time.

What was your biggest learning during the publishing process?

On a lighter note, you may have conceived the baby, but it is the publishing process that delivers it to the world.

Looking back, what did you do right to break through as a writer?

Patience and perseverance. Writing is one of the loneliest professions in the world. You have to keep at it.

Any advice for budding writers?

Stick to the truth! The words will flow automatically.
Something personal, readers don’t know about you?
I hold an engineering patent.

Any books in the pipeline?

Yes. Flirt With Life (a compilation of my quotes), Speak A Lie To Tell The Truth (fiction) and Engineering Doctor (non-fiction).

Connect with Tapan Ghosh:

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TapanGhoshTheWriter/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TapanTheWriter
Website/Blog: http://www.tapanghosh.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tapanghoshthewriter/
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