Interview Transcript with the Author of the book " THE FERRYMAN " ,

 

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.