Interview with Nisha Thakur on her debut novel: First You Plz

 How did you manage to zero-in on the subject and how long did you take to finish it your debut novel – “First You Plz”?

First You Plz is about today’s generation mindset that they wait for the opposite person to propose. They want their lover to take the first step. Many of my friends discuss a lot about who proposed whom or should they be the one taking first step and that’s how this topic came to my mind. It took me a year to finish writing this book.

 What age group have you targeted and what is the kind of response that you are getting?

My target audience is anyone who is eagerly waiting for their first love proposal, either to propose or to get proposed. The initial response of the book is very good. My readers liked the story line, they liked the simple language of the book, they liked the characters, they liked and many girls could relate to Avanti and the funniest part is many boys could relate Avanti to their girlfriends. They admitted that even their girls were as immature as Avanti.

 Can you describe the nature of some supporting characters? Which one is your favourite?

Supporting Characters are Meenakshi and Rachana. Meenakshi is a true friend who is always ready to help Avanti. Rachana is marketing pain and she relates every situation to various marketing jargons. Rachana is my favorite and she is a favorite character of many readers as well.

 Which scene did you have to really have to struggle to pen down?

I find it difficult to write about boys in love. I really don’t understand how they feel when they are in love. For me boys in love are a myth.

 Which scene is close to your heart?

Scene close to my heart is when Avanti, Meenakshi and Rachana are back from the trip. Meenakshi talks about Aaksh’s girlfriend and Avanti starts crying and scolds Meenakshi to stop. And Meenakshi and Rachana are shocked to hear this.

 Why do you think people should read your book – “First You Plz”

Girls should read First You Plz because there is a bit of Avanti in every girl. Surely while reading First You Plz they would meet themselves and feel she is just like me or she is just like my friend. Boys should read to understand the mystery about the girl’s behavior. Probably next time they would know a girl better.

Interview: A story of better late than never Author, Prem Rao!

Author, Prem Rao

1. Tell us something about your novels, “It Can’t Be You”, “He Sees Everything” and “Lucky For Some 13”.

“It Can’t Be You” was my debut novel published by Cedar in November 2010. It is a psychological thriller about the life and times of an officer in the Indian Army, Colonel Belliappa who is found dead one night. It takes the reader back to events in  his past and how they triggered a spiral of vengeance.

“He Sees Everything & Other Short Stories” was my first attempt to publish an ebook. It is an anthology of short stories set in contemporary India. Wherever there are people, there is greed, there is sacrifice; ingratitude and indebtedness; hatred and love; humor and poignancy. Woven around these emotions are these seven short stories set in contemporary India.

My second thriller was “Lucky For Some, 13” which was published by Mahaveer in December 2012. It’s again set in contemporary India and covers a terror plot which brings out various dimensions of terror as we face it now and in the future. It has for its main character, a lady officer in the Indian Army, Major Mohini Nair and is her story of battling the odds culminating in a three day climax where she has to rescue hostages including the man she loves.

2. How and where did you hit upon the subjects for these unique titles?

Most of my books sit at the intersection of two major interests, human psychology and the military. It is not unexpected therefore that both the novels had large elements of these in them. I loved thrillers as a kid and this abiding interest led me to write them myself, many years later.

3. What prompted you into writing novels so late? How has your journey been so far? What are your future plans as regards literary world?

For over 35 years, after my MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur where I specialized in Human Resource Management and Organizational Behaviour, I led a professional life specializing in these subjects. I was a corporate executive for nearly 30 years and an independent consultant/entrepreneur of the next decade. I didn’t have the time to write when I was in this profession.

In 2010, I was on the verge of retiring from a full time occupation so made the switch to become a full time writer, to return to a childhood passion I could not fulfill earlier. In fact, as a young man, I was very keen on becoming a journalist but that profession was not as popular then as it is now and I missed the opportunity in a sense. My plan is to keep writing, focusing largely on thrillers, as well as short stories capturing vignettes of life in contemporary India.

4. Which book was the toughest and which was the easiest to write? 

All were tough and all were easy. I shall speak of some cardinal differences. In my debut novel, I write largely using the first person narrative. This enabled me to burrow deep into the minds of my characters as it were and this helped bring out the best (or worst) in them. In “Lucky For Some, 13” the climax comes in the space of 36 hours, so the writing style had to be very different. In both novels, I have made extensive use of flash backs and back stories to build my characters and describe them as best I could.

5. Any special connections with any of the characters of either of the books?

No special link, really. I have already explained my interest in psychology and military history and this is reflected in my writing. As a kid growing up in the 1960s, I was exposed to a lot of writing on the Second World War and this influenced me to a large extent.

6. What do you do when you are not a writer?

I have a strong presence in social media with four active blogs and a Twitter account. Apart from my on-going writing projects, I spend a lot of time researching for my future writing. I am currently on the verge of completing my third novel, again a thriller, called, ‘ Let The Dead Stay Dead.”