20 April 2015

Author Q&A Session #40: With Ankush Saikia

Hello folks,
Today we are interviewing the Indian crime writer- Ankush Saikia for his new thriller, Dead Meat. Let's chat with him to know more about this incredible author.

Read the review of Dead Meat


 


Me: Hello and welcome to my blog, Ankush. Congratulations on your latest book, Dead Meat. Please share with us the story behind your book, Dead Meat.
Ankush: Thank you. I lived and worked in Delhi for over a decade, and always wanted to write a crime novel set in that city. Once I got back to the North East, and after I had written The Girl from Nongrim Hills, it was suddenly easier to write that book.




Me: What was your source of inspiration for the book, Dead Meat?

Ankush: The city of Delhi itself, with its varied social strata, and its distinctive locations. There is a roughness and aggression in the city that I've always found very interesting, as a writer.



Me: How did you come up with the book cover of your book, Dead Meat?

Ankush: That was the work of the designer at Penguin India! I think it's a very distinctive cover.



Me: Tell us one trait of your main protagonist, Arjun Arora, that intrigues you the most?

Ankush: It helps for a detective to be an outsider in society. So I gave Arjun Arora the confusion of a mixed background, and a childhood spent in various places in the North East. I suppose what I find interesting about his character is his reminiscing about the vanished landscape of his early years, something that in one way or another affects all of us.



Me: How will you describe your journey so far as an author? Was it always your one true dream to be an author?

Ankush: It has been tough to persist at my own type of writing. I think I must have been around 16 when I got the urge to try and write a book. So I've spent 23 years working on it! 



Me: What other passions do you have apart from writing fiction?

Ankush: movies, reading, food, travel.



Me: How will you describe your normal writing day? And how do you get away from the stress of a long day's work?

Ankush: I try and write for a few hours every day, whenever its convenient (as there are other things I'm involved with as well). Well stress is part of the job ... I feel more stressed if for some reason I cannot write!



Me: What's next up on your writing sleeves? Can we expect more of Arjun's adventures? Please tell us briefly about it.

Ankush: I'm working on the 2nd Arjun Arora book now. It sees him travelling to Mumbai, Gokarna, and Manali before getting back to Delhi, and deals with family secrets and the early days of Bollywood. The larger theme of the book is how events from the past cast a shadow over the future. The 3rd book in the series should see Arjun Arora travelling to the North East to solve a case. 



Me: Thanks a lot Ankush for sparing time to have this interview with me on my blog. I wish you luck for all your future endeavors.

Ankush: My pleasure, thanks!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ankush's Bio:


Author of the noir thriller "The Girl from Nongrim Hills" (Penguin India, 2013), and the crime/detective novel "Dead Meat" (Penguin India, 2015). I've worked in journalism and publishing in New Delhi for over a decade. Currently based in Shillong and Tezpur in North East India.
Visit him here 








Connect with Ankush on: WebsiteTwitterGoodreadsFacebook  

 

1 comment:

  1. thank you much for this blog it is amazing for jewewllery. silver neckless in delhi provide unique and designer nacklaces

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your feedback!