Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Interview with author Aditi Bose

I interviewed Aditi Bose, author of the book My Dream Man. You can read the complete review of the book at Book Review : My Dream Man - Aditi Bose and order a copy of the book from Amazon.

-- Interview with author Aditi Bose --

Q: Tell us something about your experience of getting the book published, has it become easier for Indian authors to get their book published?
A: When I wrote the story, I was clueless about how the publishing industry really works. What I now know is that if your are not a star or if you don’t have the backing of celebrities then getting the book published traditionally is very close to being impossible. Hence most writers resort to the self-publishing / vanity-publishing route. With the mushrooming of several such publishers, most definitely it has now become easier for Indian authors to get their books out into the market. However, often the quality of these books suffers in terms of editing, story line etc. Hence readers are still anxious in picking up a book that hasn’t been traditionally published. My experience of getting the book published was a mixed bag. The rejection mails from the well-known names did get the self-confidence down a little bit. But I had faith in my writing skills and the story. Hence all that was needed was to choose a publisher who would do that for me. The story after that has been fun. Aniket Kapoor of Author’s Ink Publications has been a huge support and his professionalism is something that has made me stay with him for my next book as well.

Q: Why did you select “My Dream Man” as the book title, what were the other options?
A: The female protagonist finds her perfect man, or the dream man in someone who is much older than her. When it comes to love, logic usually takes a back seat. So, someone who, during one phase of our lives, we would not ‘dream’ of having as our ‘dream man’, ultimately turns into one. Secondly, the concept of dreams giving us important messages plays an important part in the story. Lastly, ‘to have a dream’ also means ‘to have an ambition or a goal in life’. In a way this story also show s how the girl ultimately finds her true calling. Hence the title of the book - it plays on the word ‘dream’. Other than this title, it didn’t have any other title!

Q: Tell us something about the cover of the book, how did you finalize it?
A: I never wanted the usual human figures and hearts as the book cover. I wanted it to be a little different. Even though it hasn’t gone down too well with some of the readers, with some saying that it symbolizes erotica (something the book is remotely not), I still stand by it. There was a reason why the entwined figures were chosen. Firstly, the girl sitting below the man brings out the teacher-student relationship in a way, secondly the fact that they are human figures and yet are traditionally not makes them dream like, and lastly the way they are tangled brings out the romance factor as well.

Q: Other than writing, what else do you do?
A: I write for various websites and also blog at http://www.lovewordie.wordpress.com. On a personal front, I’m super happy being a mother and running after the little one. Swimming and sketching are my stress busters.
Interview with Aditi Bose, author of the book 'My Dream Man'
Interview with Aditi Bose, author of the book 'My Dream Man'
Q: When did you decide that you wanted to be a writer, what inspired you to take it up?
A: I never decided that I wanted to be a writer. I wanted to be a chemist or an economist! Writing just happened when I was going through a state of depression after I lost my father. I have been writing personal journal since I was a child. That I think helped me when I ultimately decided to take up writing.

Q: Other than “My Dream Man”, have you written anything else? What can we expect from you in the near future?
A: I was writing short stories for kids on my website www.kiddiestory365.com . A collection of five such stories was the first that got published. This was in the e-book format and is titled ‘Hama-Guri goes to School’. My next book is also a romance that challenges the readers’ thoughts on what ‘forever’ means when it comes to love. It is titled ‘This Time It’s Forever’.

Q: Is the story inspired from real life events or it is completely fictional?
A: ‘My Dream Man’ is a work of fiction. However, there are some incidents and quotes that are from real life. I don’t think an author can ever completely distance himself away from real life experiences when it comes to penning down a story.

Q: “My Dream Man” overall is very conversational, you have made an attempt to have a conversation with the reader, why did you choose this style of writing?
A: As I said, I wrote this story when I was going through a very depressed phase of my life. I wanted to talk to someone – preferably as stranger – and tell him things that probably no other would want to sit and listen to. Mostly revolving around some incidents from my childhood and thoughts about how society functions. Snippets of this you will find in the book. This, I guess, made me choose the conversational style of writing.

Q: How much time did you take to complete the book, did you ever face a writer’s block? How did you come out of it?
A: I wrote three-fourth of the book in less than a fortnight. I didn’t want to write after that. It wasn’t a writer’s block because I knew what the twists would be in the story and how it would ultimately end. But, I entered a phase where I just didn’t want to write. It took me a couple of months to get over this phase. My brother and some friends really pepped me up. It didn’t take long when I finally got myself back to writing once again.

Q: If “My Dream Man” is made into a Bollywood movie, which actors/actresses would you want to be a part of it?
A: I have thought of this often. And I am sure I don’t want a mainstream combination doing the movie. I think I would opt for Irrfan Khan as Aniket Verma, the professor and a Riya Sen as Ajopa Ganguly, the student.

Q: Do you read as much as you write? Which are your favorite books and authors?
A: I read quite a bit. While I do have a genre preference, I don’t really have an author preference. However I love Danielle Steel’s pathos and Sophie Kinsella’s humour.

Q: You prefer reading e-books or the traditional paper/hard back book?
A: Paperbacks any day. There’s something about the smell of reading a new book and then putting it in its correct place on the bookshelf.

Q: Two things that you like and dislike about “Love” and “Dreams”?
A: Love makes life worth living. Might sound clichéd but it is true. If one were to realize that none loves him, it would become impossible for him to live. What I don’t like about love is the impulsive things people do after heartbreak – right from stalking to killing oneself. Let’s interpret ‘dreams’ as that which we see with our eyes closed and not as ‘ambition’. This said, what I like about dreams is that you can go into a different world with your eyes shut. Also, I honestly believe that there are hidden messages from the subconscious many times in our dreams - I have personally experienced it. There’s nothing really that I dislike about dreams unless it’s a nightmare!

Q: Any message you would want to share with our readers?
A: If you love someone then tell him so without fearing what the world will say. It is your life and it is the only one that you will ever have.

Q: How can our readers connect with you?
A: They can follow me Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Blog.

-- End of Interview with author Aditi Bose --
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