A Sunday Evening with Dr. Nikhil

Hello friends!

Passion is such an amazing thing, isn’t it? It’s blind- just like love. It comes in any form to any person. Saif Ali Khan, the son of a cricketer, had the passion towards acting. Passion often makes us do things that we ourselves often find crazy, let alone the people around. Worse, it even makes us compromise with our basic tasks! I know a boy who, unable to write much in his answer paper during one of his exams, spent the time drawing the sketch of the exam-hall. The drawing was so decent that the teacher simply could not fail him. He ended up with the passing mark.

But the truth is- it is the passion that is life. It is the passion that is dream. And it is the passion itself that ultimately helps us reach the heights!

Today, we have one such person whose passion for writing had always been a hindrance to his studies- so much so that it affected his academic performance to such an extent extent he even had to prepare a fake copy of his marksheet in order to pacify his parents. Today, the same passion has won him laurels! It’s time to meet the 5th interviewee of this blog, the 22-year-old college-dropout-turned-author-cum-filmmaker, Dr. Nikhil Chandwani, and see what he has in store for us!

Hello Dr. Nikhil! Welcome to The Insight. Thanks a lot for giving us a portion of your precious time!

To begin with, please tell us something about the book that has got you the ‘Conspiracy Novel of the year Award’. 

I was awarded this honour an year back for my novel, Coded Conspiracy. The book was sent to the American society that secured this highest honour in the particular category. The novel is a crime fiction that circulated about the false propaganda of hacking.

Fine!

Please tell us what you do at present, and where you write from.

I’m currently working as professor at KL University Vijayawada. I write from my home here but I started from my college days in VIT Vellore.

Could you please tell us something about your childhood?

Single son of parents, I found writing to be my better friend than other children around. Writing and photography motivated me towards my goal of reaching out to masses.

A college dropout to an award-winning author. Please describe this journey in brief. 

I was granted a PhD from White Lake for receiving international honours and writing award winning documentaries. The journey as I look back was funny, full of humour and sarcasm. Travelled major places, wrote poetry round the clock, directed some travel TV shows and ended up producing an upcoming Hindi movie titled SHE. I became the youngest professor and producer in the world.

That's really an awesome thing to know!

Dr. Nikhil, could you please tell us what incident or event you believe to be the turning point of your life?

Failing. I wasn’t afraid of failure. The capacity to open my eyes every morning after failing the night before taught me not to commit same mistakes again and again. 

Apart from writing books, you also specialize in filmmaking. Could you please describe your journey as a filmmaker?

Yes I directed travel show escape from Kenya and amazing amazon adventures. I m a firm admirer of nature and so, I usually travel and shoot wildlife.

Please tell us something about your other fields of interest.

I enjoyed commercial success as a director, author, photographer but the only field or probably the only passion that drove me is poetry. I found everything, even professorship, poetic in nature.

Who is/are your role model(s)?

Paul Heyman, my role model and the person I look up to. And of course my parents have played a major part in my success story.

Please name the writers you love to read. 

Nature. No one else. I read and follow nature.

How would you best describe the word ‘success’ in one sentence?

A random bottle of scotch without caring about money available in pocket is success for me.

Wow! I loved your answer!

What advice would you love to give to the youngsters of today who are struggling for success in their respective fields? 

You cannot achieve success if you fear failure. If you’re not afraid of failing, you have a chance to win. But you are never gonna get there until you risk it all the way.

Once again, I simply loved your answer! Hope your words continue to inspire the readers!

Well, last but not the least, you are the fifth author whose interview is to become a part of ‘The Insight’. Please give your feedback on this blog as well as this interview session.

Beautiful and innovative blog concept. Wish you the best for all your future endeavours.

Thank you Dr. Nikhil! We wish you the best for your life ahead! You indeed have a long, long way to go!

To know more details about the author, please click here.

Couple of hours with Mr. Gary

Hello friends, how are you all?

You must have read the interview of Mr. Ravi a few days back. We have, for a short time, felt and lived the experiences he has had in his over-sixty-year-old life. We also have come to learn many things from him.

Well, today we are lucky to have another such senior writer with us who has readily accepted to share a part of himself with us. Come, join me in my journey into the world of Mr. Gary Starta, the writer from Florida, USA, whose books have remained bestsellers over time, and whose latest book Dead Market has recently been released. Together let's see what Mr. Starta has in store for us.

Hello sir! Welcome to ‘The Insight’! It indeed is a great, great pleasure to have you here.

To begin with, please tell us something about your latest book.

This is a crime thriller which tells us about the history of a younger Det. Carter, who was popular in my bestseller Kindred Killers.

 I see. Could you please tell us how you came up up with the idea of this topic?

 I guess reading and watching a lot of crime stories, mostly geared towards forensic investigation.

Wow!

Sir, please tell us something about yourself.

I am former journalist who began writing fiction about 11 years ago

Please tell us something about those whom you found by your side while writing this book.

Hmm. That would be tough, I find writing a solo process.

That's great!

Well, Please tell us about your interaction with the publisher.

This book is self published on KDP so I can control content and pricing. I wanted to price it as a bargain for readers.

Sir, please let us know of your other works as well.

I do a variety of crime novels including SCI-FI crime: The Caitlin Diggs series as well as the Camden Investigations.

Please tell us about the writers who inspire you, or who you love to read.

Wow! That would be Dean Koontz, Patricia Cornwall, Stephen King, and Jim Butcher.

Wow! They indeed are a great choice.

Well, I had been thinking over this question of late. These days, apart from printed books, we also find e-book readers that help us read soft copies of any book. What do you personally have to say about this second option?

I believe I have been able to reach my audience solely through kindle ebooks. For a new writer, it allows readers to test you out without committing to a higher priced print book.

You are one of the senior interviewees of this blog. What message do you have for the young and budding authors of today (myself included :P )?

Persistence and patience are always the key! If you believe in yourself and your stories persevere and never give in or give up. Be yourself and don’t be afraid to break formula.

Thank you sir! Hope your words continue to inspire us.

Well, last but not the least, You are the fourth person to have been interviewed in this recently made blog. Please give your feedback regarding this entire interview session.

I appreciate any chance to get my characters and books exposure to all the great readers out there who validate why we do this for them, because most of us are readers ourselves who want to produce a book we would want as readers.

Thanks for being with us, sir. We wish you the best for your book and your life ahead!

THE PREQUEL TO BESTSELLER KINDRED KILLERS

Now in Top 100 ‪#‎Amazon

 Kindle ‪#‎Murder ‪#‎Books

‪#‎99cents or ‪#‎free ‪#‎unlimited ‪#‎KINDLE

- 5.0 out of 5 stars must have, suspenseful and well written novel

‪#‎NEW ‪#‎thrillerjunkie, ‪#‎police,‪#‎crime, ‪#‎procedural ‪#‎mystery

By P.S. Winn ‪#‎sale ‪#‎bargain, ‪#‎summerread, ‪#‎bestseller

This review is from: Murder By Association: A Stanford Carter Prequel (Stanford Carter Murder Mystery Book 2) (Kindle Edition)

A serial Killer dubbed the 'plunger' killer is on the loose. Standford Carter is back along with Caitlin Diggs and her partner Geoffrey McAlistair. This book takes readers into first the speed dating craze and then into politics and forensics as the search for not only the serial killer but a copy cat is looked for. The author does a great job combining police procedure and suspenseful adventure in yet another great work. Reading a Gary Starta book is a pleasure and a heart pounding adventure. No matter which book by this author you choose you will be thoroughly entertained. I suggest you try all.http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0118UC74C/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_tmb

Enjoy the first three Caitlin Diggs books now all at $.99….

BLOOD WEB - Caitlin faces a killer controlled by a crystal via biological internet ‘riveting’.

http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Web-Caitlin-Diggs-1-ebook/dp/B00LR3YXDO/ref=la_B0043L6YK2_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405341835&sr=1-3

EXTREME LIQUIDATION – Caitlin must stop an occultist who tempts with magic ‘pulled me in’

http://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Liquidation-Caitlin-Diggs-Book-ebook/dp/B008FO1M5A/ref=pd_sim_sbs_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0K8M4QM0Q4ZJ3HXE49ZR

DEMON INHIBITIONS – Caitlin crosses realities into a demon world and meets her other self

http://www.amazon.com/Demon-Inhibitions-Caitlin-Diggs-Starta-ebook/dp/B00BVAYAVI/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1CPHW5A947C3AVYQ8RPE

Coffee with Akarsh

Hello friends! As usual, I am back with a new interview session. Today, we have with us, as the third interviewee of this blog, the young and budding author Akarsh Raker, whose book "The Unknown Freedom" has recently hit the markets. Come, let us look into the life of Akarsh and see what he has in store for us.

Hello Akarsh, welcome to The Insight. Please tell us something about ‘The unknown freedom’.

See actually it has become like a trend to use words such as freedom but it is sad that people of our country have forgotten the basic freedom. It is almost non existent. When I came across certain incidents in my life and lives around me, I wanted people to know about this forgotten freedom after which I started to write which eventually became my debut book. The book basically is a collection of four short stories written by me which speaks of different issues which we come across everyday. Some part of it is true and some are dramatized version of actual facts.

I see.

Well, according to you, what does the term 'freedom' actually mean?

Freedom... Ahh! According to me its a way to develop yourself. Freedom actually doesn't mean to do whatever you want. Freedom is a commodity which helps you to develop and discover the inner talents and inner demons respectively. For example, a filmmaker has the freedom to shoot what he wants but he can't do it. There is some ethics to be followed. So as I said freedom is a commodity, people should utilize it for their betterment.

You call your novel a ‘ride to reality’. Could you please elaborate it?

Yes. There is some interesting story behind this. After I was done with writing part and my publisher asked me to give a title to it, the first thing came to my mind was “The Unknown Freedom” but when I thought about what would be the tagline I was unable to find one. One fine day I was riding to a friend's place in Bangalore where I saw some incidents on the street which exactly happens in my book. At that moment of time I thought about “A Ride to Reality”.

  Any special reason behind your choosing this particular topic as the theme of your book?

Yup, as I said there were some incidents which happened around me after which I chose to write this. I never thought I would be a writer in the first place and I  didn't choose “The Unknown Freedom” , it chose me.

Wow! I loved your answer.

Could you please, now, tell us something about yourself?

Yeah. This question is frequently asked to writers as people in our Country only recognize stars and sportsmen. I just turned 19 , I study engineering in Dayanand Sagar college. I write. I have a company “Raker films”. We do movies. Basically I love creating something in my life which people remembers even after I live this planet.

 Please tell us something about those who helped you from behind the curtain in this project.

There is lot of people who helped me in shaping up this book. Firstly my parents- for their unconditional support. My brother Adhish, my cousin Anush and Meghana, these three people have supported me no matter what. And of course my friends- Sumukh, Srikanth, Sudhanva, Shashank and others.

Please tell us something about your interaction with the publisher.

First I approached them by sending my manuscript. Within a week I got the response and later the contract was signed and followed by other activities.

Wow! So your work was selected by the very first publisher! It, indeed, defines the quality of your work.

Well, did you face any hurdles in this entire project? Please describe them.

My biggest hurdle was to trust myself if I could write it. But I must say, if you believe yourself and your work, nothing can stop you.

Please name some of your favourite books. 

Firstly, Ravinder Singh's I too had a love story, Mario puzo's Godfather, Sudeep Nagarkar's You're the password to my life and latest inclusion is Durjoy Dutta's World's best boyfriend.

 What are your passions other than writing?

Other than writing my passion is to create moving images on screen that is to make films. That is why I have a production company of my own where we encourage budding talents as much as possible. Films and writing are my only two passions.

What message do you want to give to the young and budding writers of today?

The simple formula for success is no matter what comes your way, bend your head and just do your work, success is destined for those people.

You have been the third person to have been interviewed in this blog. Please tell your experience of this entire interview session.

It always feels nice to get interviewed. I had a great time chatting and Thank you for having me here.

Thank you Akarsh! I too had a great time with you! Thanks for being with us. We wish you the best for your book and for your future.

A talk with Mr. Ravi

Hello friends, your old pal Souvick is back with a new interview. Today, the author we are going to meet with, is somebody who is in his early sixties. Of late I have read the first few lines of his non-fiction, and they have influenced me a lot. It indeed gives me pleasure to interview such a person. So come, let us look into the world of Mr. N. S. Ravi, the author of 'Those were the days', and see what he has to share with us.

Hello sir, thanks for becoming a part of this blog. To begin with, please tell us how you came up with the idea of this book.

As I have mentioned in the book itself, the idea for the book took shape on the basis of various discussions I had with my colleagues many of whom were younger than my own son. Here was a group of youngsters who had got engineering and or management degrees but not sufficiently conversant with the tremendous changes our country has undergone over the last fifty years after independence. I knew it was not their fault and thought I should do something from my side to mitigate it- which resulted in this book. I do know that it is small step but then it is step in the right direction.

We have gone through the synopsis of this book. It really is impressive. But we would love it if you yourself say something about the book.

When you meet an American or Japanese you fill him very proud of his country and they all want to do something for their country.

We in India have this issue of wanting everything in platter and not willing to do anything for the country. Many Indians on whom the country has invested lots of money have just left the shores. I have no interest or right to criticize them since whatever has happened has happened and let us leave it behind us.

 I am interested that we Indians should know how much we as a country have progressed and once we know about it we all will be so proud that we would like to do something for this great country. No other country in this world with so much diversity and population growth has managed to reach where we have safeguarding the democratic fibre of the country. We do have a long way to go but if we understand and appreciate how much we have achieved,the way forward would be a cakewalk for all of us.

I have in this book attempted to show how much we have traveled so that we lose whatever fear we may have about future.

Do you believe the much needed change will come about in our Nation?

This is a dynamic world and changes will happen whether we like it or not. It is the responsibility of every Indian to do their part for the country and ensure that the changes are for betterment of the country since there can be good or bad changes. We all love to expect others to do their bit for the country but forget to examine within ourselves what we are doing for the country.

I had recently read over social media some letter written by people who said they would not forego the gas subsidy since our MPs are getting more benefits than they deserve or something to that effect. I do agree that everyone has the right to his opinion .This is the beauty of democracy. As far as I am concerned what you can do and what others do not do should never be linked and is childish. I do not wish to quote President Kennedy but would only recall the village story where people were asked to contribute Milk and pour their share in the urn. Everyone thought his contributing only water will go unnoticed. Unfortunately the urn at the end of the day had only water. This is what will happen if we leave things to be done by everyone else except us.

To expect much needed positive changes without our own contribution is not going to happen. Whatever the country requires be it cleanliness, women safety, social justice will only happen for good when we all understand our role and make an effort to fulfill it. We all are intelligent enough to know what we have to do and honestly do not require someone else to tell us what we have to do.

Wow sir! I hope and play your message reaches every Indian.

Please tell us something about yourself.

I am now in the early sixties. These years have been one of learning( the process is continuing) in various parts of our own country and abroad. I had my entire education in a cosmopolitan setup like Delhi. I worked in different parts of the country like south, north and west with east being the exception. I was lucky to have lived abroad in Europe and Africa which gave me international exposure. I did many short trips to countries in the east and West Asia besides US which enhanced my international experience. All in all I was blessed to have had firsthand experience in different -, social, political, linguistic, economic and climatic conditions.

I worked in both private and Government companies to have a good insight into how things moved in each sector.

I have friends cutting across linguistic and religious lines.

To put it in simple words I am a typical cosmopolitan Indian very proud of his country and its heritage.

Behind every successful person are a number of souls. Please tell us something about the people who have helped you in this entire project.

I would give the entire credit for allowing this project to germinate in my head to each and every colleague of mine who were with me in a country called Gabon, where we were doing an infrastructure project. The list of names is too long since they number more than eighty and my young friends will understand if I do not mention them by name.

Allowing me to take care of the germination process was my wife who accepted that I wished to write the book at all cost and unhesitatingly gave me the freedom required to fulfill my dream. Freedom from worrying about what I will do once the project was over, and not be worried about whether the project will be taken to its logical conclusion and so on. She was and is truly a pillar  of strength for me.

Today, we see, the publishing industry is flooded with chic-lits and other such works. Amidst all this, what is the place of such a non-fiction written for a noble cause?

It all depends of how you measure acceptability and place. If revenue, which is a function of number of copies, sold, one such measure then may be nonfiction books are in the lower rung. Again, not all so called Chic lits sell well or widely read!

Books are for everyone and tastes and habits vary. As long there is interest in reading there will be a place for all reading materials. I used to read comics, graduated to fiction and non-fiction. Even now a good comic always tempts me and I unashamedly read it.

That's indeed a great thing to know! Well, Please tell us something about your future dreams and aims in this field.

I have plots for few more books in my mind .Over the next three years I am confident of  developing three plots into readable books.

Please tell us something about your publisher.

Leadstart, the publishing house, has been promoting lot of Indian authors and I am reasonably satisfied with their treatment.

You are among the first persons to have been interviewed in this blog. Please give your feedback.

I am happy with the tenor of questions and wish you all the best in this endeavour.

Thanks a lot sir! We also wish you the very best for your book and for your life ahead!

An evening with Arpita

Hi friends, it is a great pleasure for me to announce that today we have with us, as the first interviewee of this blog, the author of ‘Are you magic, or am I a trick’- the young and beautiful  Arpita Chipkar. Come, let us look into the world of Arpita and see what she has to share with us.

Hello Arpita, congratulations for your debut book, and thanks a lot for becoming a part of ‘The Insight’.

To begin with, please tell us something about yourself.

Hello! It’s a pleasure to be a part of this interview session.

Well, I am from Karwar, Karnataka. I have a B.A in Psychology and have always been keen at it and Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism.

Accidently landed into professional writing. But writing has always been a part of me. I would often scribble on my books and dairies.

I am an active blogger at http://arpitachipkar.blogspot.in and ‘Are you magic or am I a trick?’ is my debut novel. 

I see. So how did you come up with the idea of this novel?

I have contributed to various magazines and newspapers. There was always a problem that my stories exceeded a word count. I always had to limit myself with shorter stories.

I think I was meant for longer stories. That’s how I thought I must write a book. Perhaps, something with five stories or so in one. Then, I finalized one story which later happened to become my debut novel.

When I set myself to write something, I believe that some other power takes over me and I start writing about which I would have never thought very consciously about.

Even now, I haven’t figured out as what was that particular Eureka moment when I thought okay this is what I want to write.

It just happened!

How would you best describe the book in one sentence?

She wrote a book and the Protagonist walked out of her book!

Please tell us something about your entire journey of writing this book.

Interesting question. I had to think of many ideas. Romance, college stories, the stories for mature people, children and what not?

I somehow ended up finalizing this plot in which the author’s protagonist walks out of her novel. It is a fantasy novel. Something which Indians concentrate less about.

I completed my book in 20 odd days. I believed in going with the flow. What a restless person was I while writing it! It was as if I was possessed and wanted to write it as the thoughts flew in my mind.

It was a beautiful journey. But it took one and half years for the book to finally be out as a final product for the readers to read.

I had to pitch in my book to various publishers. That’s is when I simply posted on a famous literary page, that I have finished penning down my debut novel and wish to get it published.

I started getting suggestions from the established authors.

I have faced a lot of rejection too. It was sad to read the ‘Sorry your work doesn’t fit in our schedule’ kind of replies.

Most of them didn’t even reply. That is when I got a reply from Authors Press Publication. It was a ‘Yes’ from both the sides and then rest is a history.

The strange thing I did while writing my book is that I stopped reading as I didn’t wish to mix up styles.

I get nice feedbacks and they call it peppy style of writing.

Everyone has to face rejections during the initial days of anything they wish to do. It depends on how we take it. How we react to it. Do we move on no matter what? Or quit it?

That’s what can make us wither successful or losers.

Please tell about the persons without whose presence, you think, this journey would have been impossible.

I would like to acknowledge my mother, Madhuri Chipkar. Without her, I would have never even dreamt of all this. I am not telling for the heck of it. Well, she is a Kannada Writer. I have grown up reading her stories and only she inspires me. I can always count on her for everything related to my work.

Wow! That's a great thing to know!

Well, please share your experience of working with the publisher.

 It has been a great experience. Yes without their faith in me, I wouldn’t have been a published author at all.

The experience is been good as well as disappointing.

Your book is a modern-era fairy tale. Do you personally believe that miracles happen? What is your take on it?

Yes, I believe in miracles. I wouldn’t write something which I personally don’t believe in. A shy book worm ends up been a published author, is a miracle in itself.

Years ago, I would have never thought of anything as such. This was not even my distant dream. I am a hard working person. But I was more in to academics. If I can change my track and get into commercial writing, anything can happen!

Name some writers who you love to read.

Franz Kafka. I am a big fan of his writing. I also like E.L James, Emily Brontë, Preeti Shenoy and many more.

Who is/ are your role model(s)?

I wish to have an identity of my own. Just like Preeti Shenoy.

Apart from writing, what do you do?

I am a full time writer.

What is your aim in life? 

I wish to be a well-known author of India.

Great! Well, do you harbor any dream or secret wish that you want to be realized one day?

I wish to excel in my field. There are very few recognized Women writers in India. I wish to change that and inspire many more women.

Oh I also wish to be a teacher.

What is your next work going to be?

I am working on multiple projects. The details will be revealed soon.

What is the place for ‘writers’ in today’s era?

I think writers are no more the people who live very isolated and anti-glamorous. Hahaha. I feel there is a lot of scope of writing these days.

There is a new wave which is taking the people of India in to more and more reading.

You have been among the first ones to be interviewed in this newly made blog. Please tell us your experience of this entire process of getting interviewed.

I enjoyed myself. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

Thank you Arpita! We also wish you the best for your future!