What inspired you to write The Orange Hangover? Where did the initial spark come from?
(Ans.) - I was shifting cities - after a good decade I was going to my home town. I think the initial spark for The Orange Hangover ignited somewhere in that process. I was experiencing what some people call a ‘reverse culture shock’ and I was observing and understanding everything around me at a new level. I think that is when it all started.
Did you include some of your own experiences in this book?
(Ans.) - Not directly, no. Some things were happening around me and mind constantly used to jump and think ‘what if this happens and then that happens?’ So you can say my own experiences were the raw material that I twisted, minced and mashed to create The Orange Hangover.
Was it difficult to let go of the main characters in your book? Do you plan on writing a sequel of sorts?
(Ans.) - (Smiles) it’s always difficult to let go of the characters that one creates. For this story it was Rishabh and his mother. I feel that Rishabh is too jumpy and energetic to end his story with one book. I do have an urge to write a sequel with the characters but I have not planned anything as yet.
What do you think is the most important part of a good book: the story i.e. plot, the character development, the quality of writing or the philosophy or moral it propounds?
(Ans.) - A good book happens only when a writer handles all these elements well. I think one can’t put any of these in the back seat if one wants to write a good book.
Books we read end up becoming an important part of our identities, and influence us constantly. What are some of the books that have inspired you? What are some of the books that helped shape The Orange Hangover? Any favorite authors? What were your earliest literary influences? What are your favorite books as a reader today?
(Ans.) - My earliest exposure to reading was Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators and The Hardy Boys. The first book that left me with an overwhelming feeling of awe was David Copperfield. I feel Charles Dickens still does not read dated. After I grew a little older I was reading Robin Cook, Ruskin Bond and Eric Segal, mostly. After that I guess I graduated to Shakespeare and was reading almost anything that I came across. These days I am reading Neil Gaiman, George R.R. Martin among many others (Game of Thrones ROCK!!!). Both George and Neil I think are super awesome. My friends keep saying that the books that I write are nothing like the books that I read so I am not too sure about the influences.
What was the biggest challenge you encountered while writing The Orange Hangover?
(Ans.) - They say (and quite correctly), that writing your first book is very easy. Writing your second book is difficult and writing your third book is even more difficult. And I very much experienced this when I was writing The Orange Hangover. If you ask me the biggest challenge that I faced while writing this story, I would say it was developing the plot. That was something that I really had to struggle with.
Are there any other books you are working on?
(Ans.) - There are three other stories that I have in my mind but I am still to start putting them on paper (or in my laptop you may say).I loved the pop culture references in The Orange Hangover. They made it so much more relatable and fun. So I must ask, all those TV Shows, books, and movies mentioned, were they things you watch/read?
(Ans.) – (Smiles) I am a child of the pop culture. My education began with A for Anil Kapoor, B for Bobby and C for Chandani. So you would always find pop culture references in my work – that’s how my mind works – can’t help it. And yes, I live on most of the books, TV shows, Movies and Music I mention in my books, so I have seen and read them all. And I am really glad to know that you enjoyed that, thank you.
Rishabh Suri comes across as slightly neurotic and paranoid. He actually really, really reminded me of one of my favorite characters (Mia Thermopolis) from a Meg Cabot book. Even your writing style, pop culture references were similar. Have you ever read any of her books? Were they an inspiration? And, are you as paranoid as Rishabh?
(Ans.) – I have read some of Meg Cabot’s books. They were quite fun. I am really glad and take it as a huge compliment that you are comparing my work with her. I have not read The Princess Diaries series but I have seen the movies and they were very funny. And about me being as paranoid as Rishabh – no, I am not always as paranoid as Rishabh.
Child labour, abuse, neglect, and Illiteracy are heavy themes. What was the motivation behind tackling them?
(Ans.) – Living in India, these are the ills that we see around us all the time. Living in the society that we live in, with your eyes open, you can not miss them and it’s hard to kill the urge to do something about them. And all these problems have been told and talked about in serious tones so many times before. I wanted to state these issues in a light manner and make the reader realize that one does not need to kill oneself to do something about it – it’s not all that tough, one just needs to make up one’s mind and make a little effort.
All your books, including The Orange Hangover have been comedies. Is it just a coincidence or was it intentional?
(Ans.) - I believe that when we are happy, we are nice to most of the people around and feel like doing good things and make others happy. But when we are upset or irritated, we want to break and burn everything around us and make others feel miserable. I write comedies because I want to make people happy so that they do good things. That is why I always try to put a feel good factor in my stories.
Any comments on the publishing trends in India? How difficult is it to get a first book published?
(Ans.) - The Indian publishing industry is undergoing a change, I believe. With the evolving trends of the media; the narratives, the writing trends and the readership is also evolving. It’s not easy to get published, for sure. But then I believe that nothing – no work or job is easy; one has to struggle to achieve.
What advice or tips would you give aspiring writers?
(Ans.) – (Smiles) don’t stop believing, hold on to that feeling. Be true and do not copy or imitate. What comes from within would only reach somewhere. To gain any skill, one has to learn, and to learn, one has to work hard. So never fear hard work coz it always pays. And in the end, if its destiny, it would be. So never fear.
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