Interview With Author Varun Prabhu

Ever since I started spending more time on social networking sites I realized that there are many people who thought out of the box and chose to write about interesting things. Varun Prabhu is one such person who I connected with on Facebook! Very like me, author Varun Prabhu is at his creative best when the rest of the world is immersed in dreams. His debut novel “Exodus” will be available in an e-book format on the 7^th of March. Here are a few questions I asked him and this is what he has to say…. Happy ReadingJ!

Ø Tell us a little about yourself ….

      I am an ambivert, as in I can be both introvert and extrovert, depending upon the situation. I am also hard-working and detail oriented; always want everything to be perfect. I love research and I do a lot of it for my stories.

Ø What do you think makes a good story?

    Content. I will even ignore the grammar if the book has good content. There must be no loopholes and the story must have been developmentally edited. I will also ignore show versus tell as long as the story immerses me into the book and takes me to the world the author has created.

Ø Why did you choose to write about this particular genre?

    Fantasy, historical fiction, and mythology are some of my favorite genres. The current book, my debut novel, is a part of the Mahabharata series, a retelling of my own interpretation which will immerse the reader into the erstwhile Aryavarta politics and folklore. For my debut novel, I chose to write about this genre as I wanted to share the mythology from my POV and how I can relate to those times. Also, many have said my writing is kinda archaic, something that would suit that era. I choose these genres because I absolutely love writing them. Other genres, well, not so much. They pretty much end up being crap..hehe

Ø How much time did you spend on research?

    I have been a fan of Mahabharata since childhood and have been researching its folklore since ages. Considering I love the era and Krishna is my favorite, you may say that I have spent most of my time researching Indian mythology.  For this series, the research I have done before helped me a lot. Plus, I did a specialized research for 3-4 months and came up with new sub-plots and brought forth minor characters to play a major role in the epic. To come up with such things require extensive amount of time. The forthcoming books in the series will only double the research time because the need is extensive.

Ø How did you come up with the title?

    I had an ending in mind. Since the book ends with a temporary disappearance of Dharma and all the characters following it, it was simple really. Exodus means a mass disappearance of people from a place. Hence the name. 

Ø How long did it take you to complete your debut novel?

    It took me a fortnight to write up the first draft. Since this is a genre I love, I can usually write fast.

Ø Do you experience writer’s block? How do you deal with it?

    Not really. I haven't yet. I am clear upon what I want in my book from the start to the end. I plan extensively. I am a plotter, not a pantser.

Ø What does your family think about your career choice?

    Like all others, I face my share of judgment. I am a professional writer and editor. I don't earn much compared to the engineers and doctors and MBAs...I think my parents wanted me to become one of those. But I am happy where I am, because I am doing what I love. Despite all this, my family has supported my decisions even though they can be a bit cranky sometimes. I don't blame them. They have a right to be worried.

Ø Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?

    I used to post a lot on websites and the readers have both good and bad things to say about my writing. The good thing is that they love how I write and interpret things. Reminds them of classics, they say. Some have even gone on and compared me to J R.R Tolkien by saying that my writing makes them reminisce the style the great author used. I take it as a compliment but I'm definitely not taking it to my head.

Ø Who is your favorite author?

    J.R.R Tolkien of course! If I had not read his Lord of the Rings, I would probably not have read many books. Or even write one. He is my main inspiration.

Ø What do you do when you are not writing?

    Reading, watching TV Shows (I am like an avid fan)

Ø You favorite song/singer…

    I don't really listen to much music, but then I like Ramin Djawadi and Enya.

Ø Your favorite quote…

“It's the job that's never started as takes longest to finish.” - J.R.R Tolkien - Lord of the Rings

Ø What advice would you like to give aspiring authors?

    Write. Just Write. Don't worry about the grammar. Don't worry about Structure. That's for later drafts. For first drafts, just get your ideas to paper. Also research well, and even if you are a pantser, have some kind of an ending in mind. And if you find yourselves in a block, I suggest leave writing for a while, go enjoy and then come back :)

Link to his FaceBook Page –

https://www.facebook.com/Varun.Prabhu.Author

Twitter @VPAllasander

If you are interested in being featured on my blog or would like me to review your book, mail me at - myriadhues14@gmail.com