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Showing posts with label deepak kripal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label deepak kripal. Show all posts

Sunday 12 April 2015

On interviewing debut authors

 
I have interviewed a lot of debut authors on my blog. They have spanned various genres: self-help, thrillers, non-fiction, romance, mystery, fantasy, among others. 

They have been from various professions, while some of them have written books that suit their profession (see: Shama Patel, a psychiatrist who wrote 21 ways of being happy) while some others have taken a plunge from professions like medicine into writing a fiction piece with a cat and a dog as the protagonists. (Deepal Kripal who wrote The Devil's Gate)

Being an aspiring author and an avid reader, it has always piqued my interest to know what makes the authors take the call, and finally have the transition from their profession into the field of writing.

Here's what I found: they seek inspiration from whichever source they can: it can be their own profession, it can be their workplace, the eccentric people they work with, their own fertile imagination, or a gap in the published market they want to tap. 



So, RV Raman penned Fraudster, a thriller/crime fiction which was a product of his experiences in the corporate sector, as he remarks, "The corporate world is a fertile ground for stories – both inspirational and fictional. It has a fascinating interplay of every emotion one can think of, and every kind of conflict. Fiction, after all, is about emotive conflict. I saw an untapped potential for crime fiction there, and decided to give it a go."

 I have observed that all these authors share one common thread: they had been looking for inspiration, which means that they already knew they would write one day. Just like you and me, they had an itch to write, they just needed the right idea and plot. Saurabh Garg, author of The Nidhi Kapoor Story, confirms my belief, "There was no epiphany per se. But, there was this inkling that I had for almost ten years that I want to write a book. And rather than just one blinding flash of lightening striking my head from up above, a lot of things came together to make this book possible."
During one such interview, an amusing concept of an alter-ego comes up. I had seen so many authors with professional jobs in the corporate sector, which means that they obviously did not get much time from their work deadlines and other pre-occupations. I was naturally curious to know how they managed to go through the herculean and emotionally taxing task of writing and getting published. In her response, Shikha Kumar, author of the romance novel He FIXED the match, she fixed him, told me, "We all have an alter-ego which we at times even keep away from the world with fear of being mocked up. But I decided to embark an journey in unknown terrain with just one funda “I have nothing to lose”. Time management was certainly a challenge, but when the self-drive is so insanely lethal I think even odds starts working in your favor."

These were all lessons in writing, marketing and taking the plunge. However, there has been one very very important lesson I learnt in all my formal/informal conversations with the authors : never give up. I realised that all the authors were writing about the subject that was dear to them, that they felt the most passionate about: Lee Van ham wrote about the environment because that is where his mind belongs. Someone descended into a fictional world because because it was his/her escape just like it was the readers'. 
Yet another positive soul wrote a book on happiness because that's her goal in life: making more and more people happy.
You don't write for the sake of it. You write because you feel.



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Saturday 9 August 2014

Author Spotlight and Interview: Deepak Kripal


Interview


Q. Tell us something about yourself ? How did you decide for a transition from a doctor to a writer?
I am sort of an explorer. I like to hear good stories, travel into the wild with my friends, spending quality time with my family, play cricket in spare time which I haven’t had for 6-7 years! I am proud to be a doctor. And I am ambitious in a strange way. I mean not in the material sense. I have a spiritual side, apart from 5-6 more sides I am yet to discover!

Q. What does writing mean to you?

The 3-4 months I spent visualising and writing this story was one of the most fascinating period of my life. I got to explore different world never had visited ever. I got to live lives other than mine. Is anything more adventurous than this! Writing, for me, is a medium of exploring the things and ideas that fascinates me, both known and unknown. It is both a passion, as well as part of my spiritual journey. It is a lot  more than I can ever explain to you.

Q. The book you have written, The Devil's Gate is a never-before-seen form of fiction. How did this really unusual idea strike you?
Just like that – out of nowhere! You ask me the most fascinating place in the world, and I’ll say it is – Nowhere! For it is from here most innovative ideas emerge into the consciousness. Creativity is a strange process. You think more, you get less. You go into the state of shoonya – a brilliant idea may be just around the corner!

Q. How did you go about planning the peculiarities and character sketches in the novel? We are pretty sure Dug and Katy have demanded a lot of your attention!

Not actually. Katy and Dug, somehow, came very naturally and easy to me. I had cat and dogs as pet during my childhood. May be, this made it easy for me to demarcate their characters. The most difficult part was creating a story which was unique, engaging as well as emotionally appealing at the same time.

Q. Your novel is getting nothing less than superstar ratings. You must be basking in the glory of your success!

I am overwhelmed, to say the least. I knew that readers would like the story. But I was a bit sceptical about the response of critics, since it was an out-of-box story. So, in a way, it was a huge confidence booster for me, which will help me in taking risks in the future too.

Q. So, do you plan on continuing this story, or would you rather narrate a new story altogether?

I think I’ll write a drama or a drama/mystery/thriller next. I am churning some ideas at the moment, but nothing has taken shape as of yet. About the sequel, I may write it at a later point if enough readers ask for it.

Q. What do you have in store for your increasing reader base?

As I told you I am playing around with some ideas of different genres. Only thing I can say at this moment is, you can expect what I think is the best thing in the world - A Good Story!

Thank you for such a wonderful Interview!

Like his facebook page: Author Deepak Kripal

Check out my review of his book The Devil's Gate: An Impossible Journey






Saturday 21 June 2014

Book Review: The Devil's Gate by Deepak Kripal

About the book:

SIDELINED BY MAN, ANIMALS TURNED TO DEMONS. Plundered by humans of their habitats, animals take a drastic step when they decide to send a team of a cat named as Katy and a dog named as Dug, to an invisible island known, as the Island of 'Five Hundred Graves'. The island becomes visible only for a short time on the night of the full moon. Legend has it that the island is inhabited by the demons. Katy and Dug are supposed to negotiate a deal with the demons, convincing them to allow the animals inhabit the island. Majority of the animal community believe that tinkering with the other world could bring their wrath to the animals. The team is sent to the island nevertheless. But can a deal with the dead be materialized? Are there really demons on the island? Is there any conspiracy involved? Will Katy and Dug be able to negotiate, or will survival remain their only question in the deadly island?


About the Author:

Deepak Kripal, 29 years, was born in the God country, Uttarakhand. He is a doctor by profession and a writer by passion. He completed his MBBS and internship from Kanpur in 2009 and currently lives in New Delhi. He believes in dreams and tries to live one day at a time. A known name in the blogosphere, he loves to blog, and to interact with people with varied interests


Book Trailer:


My Review:

Supreme imagination just transcended all limits. The whole idea of fiction just acquired a whole new dimension. This is helluva unique piece of fiction, and considering the story and plot, it is so refreshingly different from most of the contemporary novels. 
The unraveling mystery, the tricky plot, the unpredictable story line, these are just a part of the treat that the novel is. Faintly reminiscent of Orwell's Animal Farm, this story is sure to exceed your expectations and beyond. 
One, it keeps you hooked till the end, and even in the end it keeps you on tenterhooks. 
the story traces the journey of a cat and a dog, who overcome their initial hostility towards each other, and are later joined by an owl, and then a couple other creatures. The theme has an eerie feel to it, and the descriptions have the precision of classics. The book is not just peppered with witty dialogues and monologues but rather these are the stuff the novel is made of. Katy's initial hostility is so real and well-crafted and manifests in her interactions, that is something that makes you begin the novel, its continued presence in the plot makes it interesting and then it keeps you engrossed.
This is perhaps the best way to give the message, and the author has done a commendable job of bringing some insightful discussions to the table, in a way that is simultaneously thought-provoking and humorous.
Depending upon how long you savour each detail, it finishes in reasonable time, all the more reason to read it by seizing a few moments from your busy day. 
The book is replete with instances of brave exhibition of leadership qualities, or team work for the larger cause. 
Then, if you are a fiction lover, it has everything you might crave for. If you are a fan of reality, it shows reality too, in a way that it gets imprinted in your mind as you read, in the most satirical way possible.
I believe that the expressions used, and the meticulous descriptions made, add to the beauty of it all, and it is so balanced that the author carefully keeps a hold on both the story as well as the expression, never once going overboard with either. Although the climax seems a bit forced, it manages to convince you somehow.

Overall, it reeks of intelligent and clear plot, and emanates humour in the most hilarious and endearing manner. 

Best Lines: 

Death isn't the worst thing that can happen to you. It is hopelessness

Dying for the world is better than dying with the world.

You have to lose an emotion to gain a perspective.

My Judgement:

If you get skeptical about the theme of the book, or are suspicious of the writing because of the debut or for that matter, the calm dull cover, or maybe the seemingly kiddish perspective, please don't : mark my words, go ahead and buy it, there's no way you are gonna regret this! This is much more sensible a novel than many of those we have out there.

Find the book here:



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