Interview With Rohit Sharma - Author of Te Amo...I Love You

Born in Amritsar, and brought up in Faridabad, Rohit Sharma is a Senior Software Engineer by profession. Working with one of the world's top MNCs, Rohit has successfully represented his organization in USA and England. Apart from being a Gold-Medalistin Engineering (Honors), and earning the title of the Hall of Fame of his college, Rohit successfully represented his college at various dancing and sketching competitions.

His debut intense romance fiction, Te Amo...I Love You began in 2009, after an extensive research on the Spanish culture, which enchanted him completely. After India, Spain is Rohit's favorite country, which can be easily attributed to his passion towards the Barcelona FC.  

In a candid conversation with Aman Jakhar, Rohit Sharma speaks about his life and experiences of journey of literature world.

Congrats Rohit, Your debut book “Te Amo… I Love You” is now approaching reader’s doorsteps. How are you feeling? Are you excited?
Honestly, I am very calm and composed. I know I should be excited, but I think the satisfaction which I am feeling, after a 3.5 year long wait, has overcome my excitement. I am happy, content, and feeling blessed by the response I am getting.

Tell us briefly about your book for our readers?
‘Te Amo… I LOVE YOU’ is a Romance-Thriller fiction. It is the story of Isabella and Aryan…story of their true love, story of their sacrifices, efforts and hope to always stay together. It is the story of honest friendships, ruthless animosity and beautiful bonding between parents and children.

When did you start writing? And, how long did it take you to complete writing the book?
I have been writing since my college days. I started writing with simple poems and songs, but I was never confident enough to share them with the public. It’s only when I started working on  my book, I gained some confidence about my writing. I started working on my book in August 2009.

What was the inspiration behind “Te Amo… I Love You? Love stories have become a favorite topic among the first time writers. What different are you going to offer to your readers?
There are two big reasons behind ‘Te Amo… I LOVE YOU’. 
1. My love for writing. 
2. My passion for Spain. I am big Barcelon FC fan, and my love for Barca eventually converted into my love for Spain. We all have some favorite countries, apart from our own motherland. Mine is Spain, and when I sat down to work on my book, I had only one thing in my mind – Spain. Rest just followed. 
Yes, Love stories have become a favorite topic of debut writers, but my novel is not a chiclit, with due respect to all chiclit writers. ‘Te Amo… I LOVE YOU’ is not my own love story. It is not a college romance. It is not a love breakup kind of a story. It is a matured love story, which tries to convey some strong messages. Moreover, it is based outside India, and highlights different cultures, makes it a lot different from other love stories. Hopefully, readers will feel the difference.

Tell us how much Rohit is smiliar to Aryan?
Those who know me have found similarities between Aryan and me. I always wanted to be a choreographer. I can sketch (a bit), and I can write. I have shown all these qualities in Aryan. And yes, to some extent, I too feel that the culture and ethics which I have shown in Aryan, matches with mine.

Are there any plans afoot to make a film out of the book?
The book has just released, and I, as a writer, have no idea about this. It will depend upon the success of my book. 

What are your promotion strategies for “Te Amo… I Love You”?
I have been promoting it for the last 6 months. I have my group and page on Facebook which is getting a good response. Apart from this, I am promoting it on other social networking sites. I am also doing offline marketing like flex-boards, leaflets, and events.

Can you share your experience with the publisher?
It is satisfying. Mahaveer publishers are very supportive and cooperative. 

Tell us in brief what kind of support you are getting from your parents, relatives and friends?
I think I am blessed to have some really good friends. They are supporting my book a lot, especially on social networking sites. My parents and relatives are happy, and supporting me in the marketing.

Apart from writing, what interests you most?
I love to read, dance, sketch, exercise, cook, drive… I am a man with many hobbies.

Are you working on your next book? Is it also based on romance?
I have finalized a script, after scrapping 6 synopses. I will start the research work from Jan 2013. Romance is an integral part of my writing, but I would love to try Crime Thiller or a Suspense Thriller.

What kind of books do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors?
Sidney Sheldon and Nicholas Sparks. I love to read Romance (not chiclits), Romance-Thrillers, Crime Thrillers and Suspense Thrillers.

Last but not least, any message or suggestions for readers of TheTeenMag?
Write good books, read good books, don’t run for quick fame, don’t run for any best seller tag, simply struggle hard to think and write a good story. Best wishes and love to all.

Thank you so much Rohit .Best wishes to you from TheTeenMag for a refulgent career ahead. May you win heart of millions of readers. 

-Aman Jakhar
(for The TeenMag)

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INTERVIEW: Study tips to crack GMAT

Mihika Yadav scored 690 in her GMAT.  She is now studying PGP at IIM Indore. Mihika shares her study tips with us...

Tell us about yourself? Which course are you pursuing at IIM?
I am an accessory designer and currently pursuing a 2 year full time PGP course from IIM I.
Being trained from NIFT, Creativity is an integral part of my persona. I have always had an inclination towards fashion and dream to build my own Global Fashion retail chain. To fulfil my entrepreneurial dream I have chalked out a career path for myself, which entailed gaining requisite knowledge and experience. I realized to build a brand along with creativity one needs to have business acumen too. And thus, I decided to do an MBA course..

How did you prepare for GMAT?
Having decided to do MBA I started preparing for GMAT. I took a 2 month sabbatical from my job. I started with brushing up basics of quant and verbal through Official Guides.
For verbal I referred to Manhattan Sentence correction and Powerscore Critical reasoning. Quant is fairly easy for Indians and one should focus on solving faster the easier questions rather than cracking hard questions and wasting a lot of time.
As far as IR is concerned one should not fret about it as it is just a warm exercise before you hit the real goal. Though it is widely known but I still want to emphasis on the fact that in any case do not leave the last questions unanswered. There is a huge penalty for it.
Another tip I would like to share is that when you are running short of time and you have to trade off between time and accuracy try the “alternate correct answer” style.
It is self developed style but works wonders. Say you just have 5 minutes and 10 questions to solve. Our tendency is to solve the first 5 questions accurately and then for last 5 just mark randomly. Instead solve alternatevly one accurately and next random guess. This way you don’t end up 5 consecutive wrong questions which again fetch huge penalty.


 *Thanks to India.com

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An Interview With The Author of Love, Me and Bullshit

Firstly, I would like to begin with the most basic question, how did your journey with the pen begin? 
It began with writing and it continued with more writing and would end the day i am unable to write which I fear is every second minute.

When did you first consider yourself a writer, far from a blogger?

I guess the day I got published. And I never saw myself as a blogger as I blog little, sporadically and very few read my blog.

 

What inspired you to write your first book?

It looked like a cool thing to have done. I guess I was fascinated with profiles of these young guns who almost always wished that someday they would write a book. I too started thinking that it would look good if I could say, 'I am writing a book' or 'I have written a book' or something along those lines. Then at certain moment I began to feel I have a story to tell. And I decided to give it a chance. It took over 5 years to be able to grasp what that story was that was building inside.

 

What books have highly influenced your life?

None in a remarkably positive way. I used to mostly read comics and suspense novels (Agatha Christie / Sherlock Holmes). if anything they screwed my head and made it full of fanciful imaginary items which don't exist.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

That's a real tough one. But it would be really nice to associate one and see how they think, work, approach their craft etc. But can't think of a particular name.

Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?

On and off. But nothing has kept the interest for long.

 

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in you latest book?

Either it would be rewritten completely with a new underlying emotional understanding or left as it is. There is unlikely to be minor changes.

 

Can you share a little of your current work with us?

Its a novel called, 'Love, me and bullshit!' It has a regular small town youth as its central character. The story is set against an MBA college. It explores the dimension of fate, duty and ambition and conflicting choices between them.

Do you have to travel much concerning your books?

Not much. Not as of now. No.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

Getting started. Telling yourself to keep going and overlooking that small voice telling you its not up to it. Once its done editing and pruning it down is the toughest task.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Nothing in particular. Advices seldom work.

Finally, Do you have anything specific that you want to say to our readers (The TeenMag)?
Make the most of yourself and your life. Love your family. Pray for everyone. Cheers.

Promotional Video Of Love, Me and Bullshit: 

 Love, Me and Bullshit On Flipkart, Grab Your Copy At Just Rs 87

 

 

 

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StepOut.com - Coolest Platform For Better Social Experience

An Interview With Adam Sachs, Co-founder & CEO of StepOut.com 

What is your definition of an entrepreneur?  

To me, an entrepreneur is somebody who exhibits the agency to have control over their own professional destiny.
 

How do you motivate yourself?

I'm motivated by where we are today and where we can get to tomorrow. It's extremely motivating to see that we have millions of users using our product and that we're hopefully changing some people's lives for the better. But even more motivating is knowing that we can continue to learn from our customers, continue to scale, and ultimately have an even bigger impact on India and hopefully the world. 

Why did you choose the type of business you are presently in?

I always had an entrepreneurial, risk-taking mind. But I never imagined I'd be running a site that helps young adults in India meet each other. It's fate!

When did you first decide you wanted to work for yourself?

In my first job out of school, it didn't take long for me to realize that while I enjoyed the company and my coworkers, the work itself didn't feel meaningful to me. It was hard to really get a grasp on what impact my work was having outside of my little cubicle. That's when I knew I wanted to try to work for myself. 

From the current records, we found that Step Out is a hit among its users, how do you find this? 

I find it to be awesome! We try really hard to create a community where our users have fun new experiences and feel safe doing it. 

If you had to choose a mentor, whom will you choose?

Mentorship is one of the cornerstones of the Startup world. I have a number of companies whom I mentor and I still very frequently get mentorship from my own personal mentors. There aren't many widely available curricula for starting a web company. Therefore, the best way to learn is from people who have already done it before. 

Finally, do you have anything to share with our readers?

In addition to identifying and engaging great mentors, another contributor to success is persistance and dedication. The notion of an "overnight success" is over hyped. It just doesn't happen often and if you're starting a company, you should temper your expectations. It's most likely going to take a lot of time, trial and error, and tons of hard work. But if you keep at it, you'll give yourself a chance for success. 

Wanna Know More:

 India's Best Social Networking Site : Coolest Experience, Funnier People

Adam Sachs and his co-founders Dan Osit and Kevin Owocki launched StepOut.com
(formerly known as Ignighter.com) in early 2008 in an attempt to create something they
very much WISH existed in their own lives. ;)

• Founders: Adam Sachs (29), Dan Osit, (30); Kevin Owocki, (28)
• Company: StepOut (formally Ignighter)
• Year founded: 2008
• Location: Mumbai, India and New York
• StepOut Statistics (August 2012)
• Monthly Active Users: 4 million users (Approximately)
• Monthly New Users: 125000-150000
• Monthly Activities: 7 Million chats messages exchanged
• Male:Female Ratio: 80:20
• Monthly Male:Female Ratio: 75:25
• Demography: 60% users from  Top 6 cities in India (4 Metros + Hyderabad and Bangalore)  
• Approximately 1 Million unique visitors to the site each month
• Over 30 Million monthly page views

According to founders, they were making a website envisioning the
demographics as themselves. “When they started the company, they were 24-,
25-year-olds.
 

Why India?

After a year of success in the States, the founders noticed a puzzling trend that
has completely reshaped the company's business strategy: They were becoming
incredibly popular in India! So they took the next logical step and started paying
more attention to the Indian Market. By August 2011, StepOut had crossed a million
Indian users (the number has been increasing since)

What is StepOut all about?
StepOut is a platform of around 3,805,308 people who interact, have fun and are
a part of the StepOut community meet new people day in & out. While 95% users in
the age bracket of (____18-30_) are from Indian sub continent, the Women ratio on
the site is around 20% of the total.

In 2011, Ignighter closed a $3 million Series A round of funding led by Point Judith
Capital, a Rhode Island-based venture capital firm. Other investors include Founder
Collective, GSA Ventures Partners, and a venture firm called GTI, which stands
for "Gateway To India." Through a combination of subscriptions and ad revenue, the
company brought in about $500,00 in 2010, and Sachs expects to nearly double that
figure in 2011.

Who is Adam Sachs? (CEO, StepOut)
Adam Sachs is the 29 year old Co-Founder and CEO of StepOut.com (formerly known as
Ignighter.com), a social dating website based in Mumbai and NYC, India. StepOut's mission
is to provide a safer, less awkward, more fun approach to online dating. The team went on to
participate in TechStars Boulder in 2008, and the company has since become one of the fastest growing websites in Asia. StepOut has recently been named one of the "15 Most Brilliant New Ideas" by Business Insider. Adam and his co-founders were named to Inc.'s list of 30 Top Entrepreneurs Under 30. Prior to StepOut, Adam has worked for Sony Pictures Entertainment in both their Marketing and Ad Sales departments. Adam holds a BS in Radio/Television/Film and History from Northwestern University.

Sachs spends his days consulting with marketing and branding experts who are familiar with
Indian culture. Rajan Anandan, head of Google India, for example, serves as an advisor to the company, helping the founders navigate the Indian cultural—and business—landscape.
 

LinkedIn: Adam Sachs
Twitter: @arsachs

Who is Dan Osit?
Dan Osit is the President and Cofounder of Stepout. He along with his team mates cofounded
Stepout (FKA as Ignighter) in 2008 with the dream of revolutionizing the way Americans use the internet to meet new people.

Dan created a wave in India, focusing on Internet as a medium to meet new people.

Dan has led all product development and marketing at StepOut and he is an expert product
manager and online marketer. Prior to StepOut, he was also the co-founder of Glenpoint
Captial Partners - a proprietary equity trading fund, where he served as a senior equity trader. He graduated from Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois in 2004.

In 2010, StepOut began to see immense user growth in India. Dan and his team decided to
make the Indian market their focal point. Since then StepOut is considered to be India's
largest platform for meeting new people.

Linkedin: Dan Osit
Twitter: @danosit 

---

StepOut Team : Know More About Them  

Stay Tuned With StepOut Updates 

Interview Exclusively Prepared For The TeenMAG. Copying Is Prohibitted Without The Prior Permissions. Scopes Beyond Reproduction Contact info@theteenmag.net

 

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An Interview With Authors of Status Updated

Firstly, I would like to begin with the most basic question, how did your journey with the pen begin?

My journey with Pen begins from school but real inspiration came in college. I had written many dramas and other stuffs at school level but never went professionally. It was idea of my Co- Author and good friend Sandeep Jain as he always praised my writings. It was probably what destiny had for me and blessings of my lord that I am an Author today. I had been reading many Novels , but never planned to write as such. But it’s true “Behind every creation there is an accident” and so happened with me. So, this is where my journey with pen begins.

When did you first consider yourself a writer, far from a blogger?

I have always loved to write. It’s such a great outlet. It’s a great way to keep track of where You’ve been, where you want to go, and what you’re feeling. It’s a great release or a great escape. Anyone can write. I grew up with great parents and lots of encouragement. I wanted to be able to give some of that upbringing back to future generations in a positive way. I am little lethargic as well, so blogging has never been my cup of tea. Though I am connected to some blogs but I am not very active on any of them. On the other side with the assistance of Sandeep when I started penning down a novel it made me feel connected to the characters. They evoke me with a different set of emotions altogether.

What inspired you to write your first book?

I was inspired to write my novel because I love fictional writings. I've always enjoyed reading a gripping story about the unreal. Writing a book is really a very tough job. Well I believe every story is inspired by real life in small or large proportions. Nowadays, the youth spend so much time on Facebook and other social networking sites, many of them finding their love and friends there. I’ve always had a fascination for reading and writing.

I and my Co-author Sandeep Jain finally decided that we should share our passion of writing with others. I really hope that people do enjoy reading my work as much as I enjoyed writing it.

What books have highly influenced your life?

Paulo Coelho’s “The Alchemist”, Chetan Bhagat. There are a lot books that have influenced me. Every book that I read influences me but the difference lies in the variation in the degree of influence.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Well.. there is no one as such I can call my mentor but yes it was Chetan Bhagat “Five Point someone” which inspired us to write STATUS UPDATED… A Real Confession”.

Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?

Yes there are many and there will be many more they are the one inspire me motivate me and give me new ways and ideas to write.

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in you latest book?

No, Whatever I had written was apt at that particular point of time. I am not a kind of  person who looks back and regret and then say that “Ohh” I should have done it in that way.

Can you share a little of your current work with us?

Still in the thought process of it. Will let you know soon.

Do you have to travel much concerning your books?

No I didn’t traveled much. And as the book is doing pretty well and around 2500 copies already sold. So, it’s by now famous among the teenage group, I guess I have been spared of the rather cumbersome activity of travelling.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

Just writing a book is itself is a toughest job but then I loved writing the novel and working with Sandeep ( my Co- Author) with his immense support we completed the novel. During The last chapter! Initially we had thought to conclude the book with a different climax but then I and Sandeep (my biggest support and critic at the same time) sat down and after many rounds of discussion we successfully reached the point where we wanted to. I have embedded equal amount of emotions in each and every part of this Novel.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Most importantly: read a lot. You'll learn how to craft a good story by reading a wide variety of different styles and genres. The best writers are voracious readers.

I still feel like an aspiring author right now. The only real advice I can share is that if you love it, never give up. Learn, learn, learn. Write, write, write. Read other people’s stuff, help other aspiring authors. Keep reading for pleasure. Even when you're working on your own novel, it's important to keep reading the kind of books you aspire to write. And don't just read the heavy stuff or the classics. Read the fun stuff, too.

If you love it, hold on to your dreams. Someday, you may achieve them.  Don't get too discouraged and don't give up when you get rejected. But rejections are an inevitable part of being a writer.. All writers get rejected a lot, especially in the beginning. But even experienced, published writers get rejected. You definitely have to develop a thick skin as a writer. Just don't give up.

Follow your heart. Write about what you're interested in and whatever excites you the most.

Finally, Do you have anything specific that you want to say to our readers (The TeenMag)?

I am very thankful to “The TeenMag”  for giving me a chance to connect to my readers and also want to convey my love to all my kind readers. I would like to tell my readers that try to take out a new lesson from your daily life as it has a lesson to teach and a story to tell. Don’t shed your tears and don’t even cry who was not yours but always cure in Love. I wish you luck and success for your future.

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An Interivew With The Author of Journey of Two Hearts - Anuj Tiwari

Firstly, I would like to begin with the most basic question, how did your journey
with the pen begin?
I always wanted to do something different from crowd but how and what to do, a big
question. When I was a kid, I used to say my parents, I want to do something different
and every time my mom slapped me and then again, I was back to my studies. But
that spark was still there. When I left home for my engineering then I had enough time
to think about my future and my life, years passed but I had the same thought to do
something different but how and what to do, still a big question. Then that spark was
about to collapse and I started dreaming a good job and salary after my engineering.
During my college days, I fell in love with Pakhi. Life started moving very fast. I never
thought to be an author; I just started writing for her with one wish that I will gift my
diary to her when we’ll get married. But as life has two sides, good and bad, so I was not
untouched with this reality. Then my wish to gift this book fulfilled but in the hospital
when I went through depression for few months. People used to say many things that I
am mad, insane and crazy. But I knew that what I had to do. I stopped talking to anybody
and concentrated to finish my book not because to be an author but to get her back in my
life.
I knew one thing very well, ‘After crossing the ocean of tears, I will definitely find the
way of happiness.’

When did you first consider yourself a writer, far from a blogger?
A big question for me, it seems very awkward when an author says, “I haven’t read even
a single book in my life except school and college books.” But it’s true, I have so many
books in my bookrack and few I started reading but it’s a human tendency to adopt the
things and somewhere I felt the same so decided to learn from life only.
There are two types of writers in our literary world, first who write and then become an
author and second who become an author first and then write. I was out from both of
them, I wrote my for Pakhi and then for my readers and then my readers decided that I
am an author. There is a beautiful relation between an authors and readers; I just love
that relation. I have seen when I was not an author; when people reach at great heights
then they forget those who were their readers someday. But I love to talk to my readers,
doesn’t matter how small or big they are. And might be this is the thing they call me an
author but for they all are my existence. If I am here they there are the reason.

What inspired you to write your first book?
Pakhi is the motivation behind my writing.

What books have highly influenced your life?
As I said, I haven’t read even a single book in my life. My reading is not good. I sleep
when I read the books, so it’s better to accept the truth not to pretend that I am not a good
reader. Only few things, which inspired me are- My life, my parents and those who kicked in my bad phase of life. Whatever I am today just because of them.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
There is always some talent in everybody but we do not accept it. We think about the
dark side before going a step ahead. Success is always at 100th step and we accept the
defeat at 99th. As such, there is specific person whoever teach me anything is my teacher
doesn’t matter he/she is younger than me or older than me and that’s the beauty of
learning of life and mantras of success. If I have few names who put courage in my life-
Robin Sharma, J.R.R Tolkein, Nick Vujicic etc.

Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
I shall not write any name here, there are very few who actually are on the right way.
Writing is not tough when you listen to your heart. A person kicks a stone and goes
ahead that time an author take it, feel that pain and write a whole book. Our life, success,
happiness, these are all about how you take and how you make it.

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in you latest book?
I listen to my heart and it keeps me on the right track. So there is nothing to change in the
book. I couldn’t change the reality in the book because that was not in my hand.

Can you share a little of your current work with us?
If my wishes come true then might be I won’t write and will continue my speech and
conferences, if my soul’s advice or my heart says to write more for sure I will but right
now I am not working on any script. There are few things, which I am writing but that is
related to my youth friends.

Do you have to travel much concerning your books?
I travel for speeches and meets so book goes with that. Few days back I visited Kolkata
for a youth conference. Soon I am planning for Lucknow/Delhi/Bareilly visit.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Sometimes when I tried to write a book, I couldn’t but when I followed my heart it was
easy to write. There are many things in the book which are not supposed to write in the
true story but I did and that was the toughest part to avoid those things.

Do you have any advice for other writers?
Others are far better than me, I am not anyone to give advice. So just work hard because
one day we have all have to sleep, so do something till the day you breathe.
Spread love, else nothing in life.

Finally, Do you have anything specific that you want to say to our readers
(The TeenMag)?
At all, I have nothing to say, I am not any celebrity or great person. I just want to say
to all my readers that I just shared my story with you, I don’t know what readers like or
don’t like. I just followed my soul’s & heart’s advice and wrote on the paper. Being in
depression for six months and completing the book was not easy and I was lost in some
other world. So now it’s up to you how you take the book but I get hundreds of mails
from teens, saying how much they love my book, and I am really surprised about it.
Enjoy reading. Love you all.
Connect with me on Facebook

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- Akhil Ramesh

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An Interview With Rahul Saini - Author of The Orange Hangover

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.

Grab his book:

1. The Orange Hangover

2. Those Small Lil Things: In Life and Love

3. Just Like In The Movies.

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