Q1. It’s wonderful to have you with us for this Q&A, Viswanath. Please tell us about your humble beginnings an author.
The pleasure is all mine. Thank you for having me. My heart goes out to everyone in these trying times. If you would’ve asked me 1 to 2 years back, I probably would’ve shrugged it off (the thought of becoming an author). I was doing well in life with a 9-6 job, but 2020 was one weird year and had something else in store for me.
With the onslaught of COVID-19, everything has changed. I had been overlooking my passion till then, thinking there was too much time to pursue it. But looking at the devastation and the new bubble life the virus has brought upon us, I’ve changed my thought process. We never know what’s gonna happen tomorrow. We may live on to tell the tale or succumb to the crisis.
As said earlier, I overlooked the satisfaction I get through pursuing my passion, but I realized I had to get it even if it meant I had to scrape along. And that’s what I did. Scraped hard to become a self-published author, furthermore, I am relishing the process!
Q2. I noticed on your blog that you are an avid fan of anime. Does this form of art also influence your storytelling?
Lenovo PC and Tablets
Yes, I am a big fan. Let me tell you why. Before getting a job, I went through a bad phase in my life. I distanced away from my close ones and shut myself into a wall of depression. Not eager to have small talks, I immersed myself in a world of captivating fiction i.e., Anime.
I got fascinated immediately with its style of animation, storytelling, and narration. With the vivid stories Anime has, I leaped from one emotion to another, unlike any other media. It may sound a little exaggerating, but Anime helped me turn over a new leaf in my life.
To answer your second part of the question in short—I would say that I get inspired rather than influenced. I want to develop my own style through this inspiration. The beauty of storytelling is that there’s no one way of doing it. I hope that readers relish my work the way it is.
Q3. Which writers have inspired you the most?
To be honest, I don’t read much. That may sound a little unusual, as the golden rules of writing clearly state to read first. But consciously or subconsciously, I like to watch more than reading. That probably answers the second question profoundly. That being said, I want to read more in the future.
Q4. List your 5 all-time favorite anime.
I believe in the fact that Anime tells powerful stories just like any other media. These are my favs in no particular order.
1. Death Note
2. A Silent Voice
3. Your Lie in April
4. Black Clover
5. Food Wars!
Feel free to try them. You won’t be disappointed.
Q5. Tell us about your detective mystery, The Lone Mystery S1, and its upcoming sequel.
The Lone Mystery S1 is the first book I have ever penned. I decided to write this story out of nowhere. Initially, I had plans to make a romance genre book, but you see, I thought that a crime thriller challenges me more than a romance genre. After watching Anime like Death Note and Attack on Titan, I got this inspiration to write a good solid thriller that engages both Anime and non-Anime viewers. To me, this story is a way of letting people know about my passion.
The first season is about examination and re-examination, beginning with the cover. Just as some readers took time to find the character in the cover design; The characters in the story also take time to interpret the situation. But with their backs against the wall, the story doesn’t have enough time to wait, thus making the narration fast-paced. This feature is paramount to the story because it tells how imperfect people struggle to become perfect.
Because this is the first time I have written this kind of fiction, it took a lot of time and effort to portray the scenes precisely. I had to dive into each character’s shoes and think like them. This process drained my mental energy numerous times and almost prompted me to give up on the story. Parallelly, doing a software engineer job and working on the story made me mad, and I had many restless nights due to this. But after reading reviews from the readers, I can finally smile back at all those struggles now. As an author, one thrives for this exact moment.
Instilling this positivity, I began to work on the second season. Truth be told, I am very excited for the final version of the book. Characters are set to go through trying emotions and revelation, which sets up the third season nicely. Monthly updates about the book are being sent to my mailing list. Feel free to join.
Youtube Channel (Dreamy Written Productions)
Thank you for this wonderful opportunity. I hope that my points are of some value to the readers. Looking forward to get interviewed again!