1.
What drew you to the specific themes of identity and mental health in your
book?
I
wanted to explore the question “What if our very own deep dark desires are
given the chance to venture out?”
The
frustrations we had pushed back, the anger we suppressed, the needs that we
didn’t voice out, the lust that went unfulfilled, the injustice that went
unpunished – all in the name of law or morality or societal norms or being
judged or public shame or embarrassment. All of us have these in one way or
other. And we would carry them within us without letting them out. But what if
we got the chance to let them out? And what if we could let them out and not
have to face any of the consequences that we were afraid of? What would we do?
This
is what is explored in the book. This is what the main character goes through.
2.
Can you describe a character or scene from the book that was especially fun or
rewarding to write?
The
book’s content is not light. It has a mature subject. We travel along with the
mind of a person (Adithya) who slowly gets decimated by a sinister power. To be
able to flesh out this character to my satisfaction was quite rewarding for me.
I
wanted the readers to be in his mind all the time. I wanted them to understand
what he goes through and at the same time I wanted to establish who Adithya is
and why he descends into such madness. I think I did this well.
Regarding
a scene – I’d quote the scene between Adithya and Aadvika when she visits him
in his apartment – scared to death of what was waiting for her – and her
subsequent sufferings. This was quite a
challenge for me. I wanted to explore Adithya’s mental state and his madness in
parallel. And I think I managed it very well too.
3.
How do you stay motivated and inspired throughout the writing process?
I
guess the motivation comes when you have the right idea. An idea that you think
will work and that you are excited about what you could do with it even before
you sit and start to type.
I
have attempted long fiction before and all of them ended up unfinished. I lose
the motivation or soon I start to think myself that the idea is dumb or I’m
just lazy.
But
with the core idea of The Ferryman, I was pretty excited throughout on what I
can do with it. I had lot of doubts that kept me discouraged – often telling me
what I’m writing was unreadable. But despite that the idea itself had always
been exciting for me.
4.
What kind of research, if any, did you undertake to ensure the accuracy and
depth of your story?
Apart
from the usual you need to just get your facts right – like the size of a
pickup truck or the details of drug taken by the main character – I didn’t do
much. That’s the interesting part. When it comes to the horror genre, I had
always been inspired by Stephen King and the beauty of most of King’s work is
that they do not need meticulous research. It is an idea that is expanded as
best as the author could and just the necessary research & tools that the
author needed to achieve such an expansion.
You
do not have the need to do the same kind of research that is there in works of
Michael Crichton or Dan Brown.
5.
How do you handle writer's block or creative hurdles when they arise?
Well,
I haven’t had one, yet.
6.
What is one thing you learned about yourself while writing this book?
That
I could be consistent when it comes to writing.
7.
Do you have a favorite passage or quote from your book? If so, why is it
special to you?
I’d
not say favorite, but one thing I wanted to do and succeeded was to start all
the chapters of the book (except the first and the last) with a person waking
up from being unconscious.
8.
How do you connect with your readers, and what kind of feedback has touched you
the most?
The
book is just few months old. And right now all I have are the reviews in
Amazon. Most of them seem to talk positively about the pace and the eerie
atmosphere that the book sets up. But I like the reviews that actually point to
the ‘What if?’ I had answered to your first question.
When
the reviewer talks about it I know for sure I managed to convey what I had
wanted to.
9.
What role does humor play in your writing, and how do you incorporate it into
serious topics?
I
haven’t. I personally think ‘humor’ is very difficult. The laugh bones aren’t
the same for everyone.
10.
Can you share a behind-the-scenes detail or fun fact about the book that
readers might not know?
Well,
in addition to the fact that I made it a point to start all the chapters with a
person waking up, one other thing would be the events in the first chapter.
They kind of partially happened to me in real life.
