An interview with Jaydeep Banerjee, the author of “Serving You”

Jaydeep is a working professional with a voracious appetite for the written word. He is amoral and agnostic and believes only in simplicity of thinking. He lives by simple maxims and keen observations and often reiterates one of his favourite quotes; “Leave no answer unquestioned”

He understands relationships closely, especially pangs of growing up, as he is still undergoing them, in this confused and over complicated world. 

‘Serving you” is a tribute to simplistic thinking, eternal love and creative business thinking.

 

1) Tell us something about your book.

“Serving You” is a coming of age novel about breaking mental models and accepting life in it’s entirety

2) From the blurb, I can tell that your story is character driven. How did you craft Johnny’s character?

Johnny’s character is shaped on one fundamental premise — “Leave no Answer Unquestioned”. 

3) You could say that the book is a journey in character development. How did you plot this journey? Did you go with the flow or was there a specific guideline that you set before starting to write?

As the character progressed in life, he challenged established dogmas in an effort to cut the noise around and get clarity in simplicity.

4) What is that one thing that would attract readers to your story?

Unconventional wisdom. I hope through layers of narrative I am able to kindle conscious living among my readers. I want my readers to find the simplicity of life.

5) Tell us about your publishing journey, where there any hurdles? How did the book finally get published?

I learnt that each rejection is not necessarily a commentary on my talent. Often it did not suit the plans of the publisher. It is the classic “right time, right place” syndrome. I had my fair share of rejections until I finally found Leadstart who were willing to publish my book along with expert advice on cover design, editing, pagination, and printing. From there on it was smooth sailing. However till date marketing and sales remain a huge challenge. I wish publishers would create many platforms for indie authors to sell their works. It kind of keeps us our writing aspirations high.

7) Are you a reader? If yes, which books inspire you?

I am a voracious reader. When I can’t read, especially during travel, I listen to audiobooks. I read almost anything but prefer fiction to other genres. I am biased towards British authors and English as compared to American. Americans murder the beauty of English language and spoil its poetic flow. It’s like shopping at a store versus buying online. No amount of convenience can beat the experience of personal shopping. British English completes that experience. 

Some of my favourite books and authors, without any order of preference, are

Mahabharata – a spiritual epic beyond fantasy. , Fountainhead — Ayn Rand, Satyajit Ray — Adventures of Feluda, Apur Panchali, Agantuk and many others. Rabindranath Tagore — almost all stories, Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay — creator of Byomkesh, Alfred Hitchcock — Any book, Agatha Christie — Hercule Poirot series, Arthur Conan Doyle — Sherlock Holmes, Victor Hugo and millions of others, The Name of Rose – Umberto Eco, Novels by Murakami – all are lovely, J. K. Rowling — Harry Potter till the Prisoners of Azkaban and many many others

8) Any advice for aspiring writers?

Set aside time everyday and write at least 500 words a day. Don’t edit, don’t re-read, just write. And read good quality literature constantly. 

9) How can readers get in touch with you?

I would love to hear from readers on jaydeep.banerjee@me.com 

Click here to buy the book.

You’ll Do Anything for Her: Book Review

A New Relationship Perspective

Authors:  Maureen E Hosier and Berta Hosier Conger

Publisher: Inkwater Press

Book Blurb:

Dearest,
What I want most is to feel cared about and loved by you.
I’ve tried everything, but it’s not working.
What more can I do?
I love you so much, but I don’t feel like there are two of us in our relationship.

When you fell for her, were you so crazy in love and happy to be with her that you did whatever she wanted, so she’s happy with you?
Do you feel your relationship isn’t working for you, but it sure seems to be working great for her?
Are you exhausted from trying so hard to please her?
Do you sometimes think that there is something wrong with you?
Would you like someone to tell you why you’re so unhappy and why your relationship isn’t working?
Would you like to learn something new about yourself and learn what you have to do to get what you want in your relationship?

My Review:

I came across this book as it was an OnlineBookClub.org Book of the Day. The title of this book interested me as the dynamics of the new age relationships are always changing. Increasing number of couples are separating, and it is always great to understand and read about different perspectives on relationships.

The book basically has a bit of a Freudian perspective on relationships, which means that it states that the issues that stem in relationships (especially the ones where one person feels that they are the only one invested in the relation) stems from how their parents treated them as kids. While I do not agree with the concept in its entirety, I do agree that a certain part of what we expect from our relationships can be attributed to our upbringing. But there are many other factors that can contribute to a partner feeling alone or that they are the only one in the relation.

I liked the way the concept of upbringing is related to relationships by presenting the contrasting ideas of one person relationship and two people relationship. It helps the readers understand how their partners and themselves are handling themselves and their expectations in the relationship.

There is another book “You’ll do anything for him” which is for those who are in a relationship with men, so when you are reading, you would be able to relate more if the writing is about the gender you are in love with. This, I feel, was something that really differentiates this book.

The language that is used is non-clinical, so even those who are not that comfortable with the language would be able to understand the crux of the matter. On the whole I give this book a 4 out of 4 and would recommend it to those who feel that their partners are not as interested in the relationship as they are.

Click here to view this book on onlinebookclub.org

Click here to buy the book if your partner is a man

Click here to buy the book if your partner is a woman

It Ain’t College, It’s War!: Book Review

Author: Subhodeep Mukherjee

Book Blurb:

What happens when an engineering college fresher:
• confronts his violent seniors on the first day of ragging?
• tries to woo a beautiful senior who has a nasty boyfriend?
• is heart-broken when his past causes his break-up with the girl he loves?
• goes boozing for the first time?
• is involved in a bloody inter-hostel rivalry with dire consequences?
In his debut novel, It Ain’t College, It’s War! (Book 1 of the It Ain’t trilogy), Subhodeep Mukherjee tells the story of Rahul Arora, an outspoken Delhi boy with a devil-may-care attitude that always gets him in trouble.
Amidst the politically charged atmosphere of his college and his many adventures, Rahul seeks true love, friendship and a job. Will he manage to find balance in his life? Will he make peace with his teachers, classmates, seniors and father and find what he is looking for or will his attitude get the better of him?
Loosely based on true events and also touching on various social issues, this book explores the meaning of love, friendship and career as seen through the eyes of the narrator and protagonist, Rahul Arora.

Book Review:

This book is the same old engineering college stories that have flooded the market. The average engineering student to falls in love with a beautiful girl without even talking to her and is unattainable in some way or other (here she has a senior boyfriend) along with the best friend and solving their issues…the entire plot has been done to death by now.

The narration has been done in the first tense, so we find ourselves looking at the world from Rahul’s point of view. While the overall writing style is good, it would have been better had the author chosen to write something unique.

Coming to the characterization, just like all other books in the genre, the female characterization is restricted to the praising of her beauty. There were mildly sexist dialogues and statements that could have been avoided as they did not really add to the overall narrative.

The book has no unique plot point to separate itself from the millions just like it. I rate this book 1 out of 4.

A Confession: Book Review

Author:  William F. Aicher

Book Blurb:

How far would you go to clear your own conscience? Would you destroy another’s integrity purely to ensure your own absolution? In ‘A Confession,’ we are confronted by a man who’s reached the limit of what even he can rationalize as within the limits of his own morality. Having reached his breaking point, he reaches out in desperation to purify his own conscience, spilling the secrets of his life that have formed the man he has become – even if doing so means destroying others in the process.

In this modern tale of amorality, William F. Aicher takes us through the memories of a man who, while having lived a life of confident righteousness, now questions the very fiber of which he is made. Taking inventory of a life defined by substance abuse, love, sex, politics and a newfound ease of inflicting public shame with the help of social media, ‘A Confession’ invites the reader to take a seat and listen to a man come to grips with his own secrets.

As these truths are exposed, the rationality and logic behind them begins to unfurl, leaving both the narrator and reader ultimately questioning if indeed any of us can claim to be truly good.

My Review:

It was a unique experience to read this book, simply because the narrator speaks directly to the reader. Initially, I wondered what was the point of all this rambling, but the end took me by surprise. In the book, the narrator opens up in brutal honesty about his life and asks us if we would find it in our moral compass to forgive him. While reading this I kept asking myself what exactly was free will and how much of it was acceptable to me?

While some parts had me empathizing with the author, some had me questioning his sanity. The author raises some pertinent questions on life, marriage, and the overall purpose of each action that we take in life.

If you want to look at a book that is brutally honest, makes you question your thoughts, and an interesting narration style, pick this one up!

I rate this book 4 out of 4. 

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An Interview with Sanchit Gupta, the author of “The Tree With A Thousand Apples”

 

Sanchit Gupta/ via Facebook

 

1) You have chosen an unconventional setting for your book. Everyone knows that the situation in Kashmir is precarious, but there is little, or no, conversation surrounding it. What made you choose this setting?

I chose this precisely because there is no conversation surrounding it. I have seen that be it the Kashmiri Pandits, Kashmiri Muslims, the Indian Army, or the Indian population living outside Kashmir, everyone has their own side of a story and their own opinions, which are all different from each other. Not everyone is right and not everyone is wrong, but when we only tell one side of the story we do injustice to what Kashmir actually is. This book talks about human sufferings rather than that of a particular religion or role or ranks of a person in the world. I wanted to strike the reader hard that could shake their misconceptions and remove the bias they may have so one can see Kashmir not just as a piece of land but what truly matters…its people.

 

2) Your characters grow up through the span of the book, how did you develop these characters?

A lot of inspiration has come from meeting common people from Kashmir- be it the civilians or the army officers. Two of my very good friends are Kashmiri Pandits, who helped immensely throughout the book and whose names I have mentioned in the acknowledgements as well.

 

3) What was your writing process like? Did you make a plot or did you just go with the flow?

Both. There are two types of authors- the gardeners, who go with the flow and architects, who have a clear blueprint before they write the first word. I am first an architect eventually become a gardener. Keeping the theme and the core premise in mind, I start with a clear beginning, middle and an end, and then the story takes shape where the characters take it. E.g. A little secret I would reveal- the character of Kamal was not there in the first blueprint, it took shape as the story moved forward with respect to the already defined milestones.

 

4) What about writer’s block? Did you face it, if so how did you overcome it?

Writer’s block is a fancy term for laziness.

 

5) What were the steps that you had to take when researching for the book?

As I said, meet the people in Kashmir for the pulse of the book, lots of discussion with my Kashmiri friends for the cultural nuances and dig through all the material available on the net, especially for the historical context.

 

6) Was there any hurdle that you faced while publishing the book?

Where can there be a journey without a hurdle? The most common response was that it’s  a mid-grade fiction, which means its both commercial and literary, or in other words, neither completely commercial nor completely literary. Honestly, the hurdle I faced was also my intent, to begin with. I have seen a lot of good Indian fiction that does not have commercial appeal and lot of bad ones that has. I wanted to write quality literature that also has commercial appeal, and hence the final product. Eventually, the book found a good home in Niyogi Books who understood it and am happy about it.

 

7) Which are some of the books that inspired you?

Train to Pakistan, The Kite runner, Half of a Yellow Sun, Hundred years of solitude, Disgrace, and A Farewell to Arms, to name a few.

 

8) What next?

My next two manuscripts are ready. One is on quarter life crisis in a man’s constant struggle between passion and profession, while the other is a tale of magical realism in a fictional town. They shall hit the bookstores in due time, one by one.

Right now, I am working as a full-time screenwriter. My first film titled- ‘Behen Hogi Teri’ starring Rajkummar Rao and Shruti Hasan shall hit theatres on 2nd June while there are a few more projects in the pipeline.

Thank you, Sanchit Gupta for taking time to answer all the questions! You can buy The Tree With A Thousand Apples here.

The Girl Who Knew Too Much: Book Review

Author: Vikrant Khanna

Publisher: Penguin

Book Blurb:

Can true love bring someone back from the dead?Akshara is left devastated by her mother’s death and spends most of her time in solitude at the local park. One day, as she is sobbing uncontrollably, a young man named Harry approaches her. They become friends and Harry recounts to her a story about the miraculous reunion of a young woman and her dead boyfriend to help ease some of her pain. The story makes Akshara hopeful that she can perhaps see her dead mother again. But she soon realizes that Harry isn’t what he seems to be. Even the characters in his story seem dubious, almost unreal. So what is he hiding? And why? Is there any truth to his story at all?In this darkly suspenseful romance mystery, Akshara is left facing a truth that will make her doubt not just Harry but herself as well . . .

My Review:

This is the second book of Vikrant Khanna that I read, the first one was Love Lasts Forever, only if you don’t marry your love. The author continues to live up to delivering unique stories. In terms of narration, I found a lot of improvement in language, general readability and narration.

Although the story line is quite simple, as seen in the blurb, the author manages to handle it quite well. The story changes from present to past tense quite simply, in fact, it was this change that made it all the more exciting. Also, the way the author handled the ending is quite commendable.

The only issue I had with the story was that the dialogue delivery between Harry, Yama and Chitragupta felt a bit forced. Especially as the way Harry spoke changed drastically when in their presence, and the way they adapted the lingo made it look a bit too much.

But, this in no way undermines the rest of the book. The pace of the book is perfect and the characters, not just the main characters but even the side ones, are lifelike.

So if you are looking for a short, unique and a feel good book, be sure to pick this one!

I rate this book 4 out of 4.

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My Faith to Live in Your Name but Not As Yours: Book Review

Author: Harsha Babu

Publisher: Blue Rose Publishers

Book Blurb:

First love. People says that its never got, or never forgotten. Still ! its not impossible to conquer. One fine day, you wake up and realize that he is no more in your life, as yours. Do you still have the guts to live in his name for the rest of your life? I bring to you, the story of Payal and Karan, who met each other within the college boundaries. Payal falls for Karan. She decides to speak up her feelings and know his verdict, if he had similar feelings for her or not. But, the entry of a third person changed the rest of their life. Will Payal be able to express her feelings to him or destiny have something else for them with the entry of a third person?

My Review:

My Faith to Live in your name but not as yours is a debut work of the author. The story focuses on the lives of its two protagonists, Payal and Karan. Payal gets attracted to Karan, who is her senior, because of his idealism and the two form a great bond. But life throws a curve ball at them and they find themselves grappling to understand how external factors could affect their lives so much. The story line is quite unique and manages to keep the readers engaged at all the stages. The twists and the turns are quite unexpected and we find ourselves wanting to know more.

Initially, I did not understand the title, but after reading through the book, I felt it did justice to the work. The main storyline makes you question the role of destiny in your life and what you can do in order to change your destiny.

The pace of the story is quite good. The main characters are sketched out quite well. My personal favourite was Anjali, the way she has been sketched made her parts really fun to read. Although I felt they become a bit predictable after we get to know them and their motives. I also felt that there was excessive use of Hindi language, and the sudden change in the language made the reading quite jarring. It would have been better had the entire work been written in any one of the languages, i.e. either Hindi or English.

My rating is as follows:

Cover: 2 out of 4

Story originality: 4 out of 4

Characterization: 2 out of 4

Pace: 3 out of 4

Overall: 2 out of 4

The Smelliest Day at the Zoo: Book Review

Author: Alan Rusbridger

Publisher: Puffin

Book Blurb:

Slap bang in the middle of the hottest day of the year, the zoo’s drains have blocked up and there’s nowhere for the animals’ poo to go!

Mr Pickles the zoo keeper (who is looking distinctly green) must decide what to do with it all . . .

Before the naughty chimps beat him to it!

My Review:

This book is for six-year-olds. The narration is quite entertaining, there were some parts that were funny. Although I am not a fan of toilet humour, the author’s overall take on the subject is quite good.

The book is full of cute illustrations that make the reading experience quite entertaining.

Although, I would have liked the story line more had the author focused less on the “poo” part and more on actually moving on with the story. The middle part seemed a bit dragged unnecessarily. Also, if we look at the overall structure of the story, it was more suited to the comic style than the illustration and text style.

Overall, this book could give your six-year-old a couple of laughs. I rate this book 2 out of 4.

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An interview with Harsha babu, the author of “My faith to live in your name, but not as yours”

 

 

1) Tell us something about yourself.

I am Harsha Babu T from Kerala. Presently, I am pursuing my final year of schooling from one of the Kendriya Vidyalayas.

2) In your words, how would you describe your book?

My book is all about pure love. Often we get mislead by what actual love is, and everyone has a different definition of love. This story is my definition of love and true friendship.

3) Your book weaves complex emotions, is the book inspired by real life?

No. It’s pure fiction.

4) Your characters grow over the years, what were the efforts that you took in terms of character development?

I didn’t find it difficult to make the characters grow old or set their life in their young age. Character development was an easy task for me as the characters just grow older but their personality or attitude does not change.

5) On the surface your story can be termed a “love story”, but in a way it is more about emotions, so did you research on things or did it all come naturally to you?

It all came naturally to be. I didn’t have to do any research. My heart was pulling my hands to pen down the words and all I had to do was to go with the flow.

6) How is writing a story based on emotions different that writing any other genre?

When you write a story on emotions, it’s important that the readers can get the words and the feelings that are stated in the book and it goes straight to their hearts. It’s all about deep expression.It’ss really tough.

7) Any advice for writers who wish to tell unique stories but are afraid it might not be accepted?

I think if you have a plot in your mind, just don’t think twice. Pen it down. Publishing is the next step. But first, pen it down in the best manner. Then make the choice whether to publish or not. If it worth publishing then don’t hesitate. Just listen to your heart and go for it.

8) Are you a reader? If yes, who are your favorite authors?

Yes. I am a reader. My favorite authors are Paulo Choelo, Ravinder Singh, Chetan bhagat, Durjoy Dutta, etc.

9) How can the readers get in touch with you?

You can find me on my Facebook page, gmail (harshalakes1@gmail.com) and as well as on instagram.

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