EXCHANGING WORDS WITH PRIYA INGOLE

AUTHOR’S BIO:

Priya is a poet, a blogger and IT professional. She was consistently in the top two during her engineering studies and is currently employed in a prestigious organization in Pune.

However, there is something that hasn't given her the joy of accomplishment so far. She has been writing heartfelt shayari, poems, and short stories as a hobby since she was a child. She was in 9th standard when she published her first poem on ‘Friendship’ published in Lokmat newspaper on 14th april 2007.

Why do we have to keep our hobbies as hobbies for the rest of our lives? There is always something that makes you happy on the inside and gives you a sense of fulfillment; that is what writing meant for Priya. She is a person who believes in respecting the inner beauty and beautiful hearts of individuals rather than superficial outer appearances. That inspired her to write a story about a girl who is kind at heart but faces struggles in life.

1. Who and what inspired you to write?

I guess I have been composing small poems since 8th standard. I didn't even know that we call it a poem at that time. One day, during summer, I was sleeping on the terrace with my parents and I was reciting some funny rhyming lines to them. And my father said, I think you will become a poet once you grow up. Basically it's my father behind all this, who recognized and inspired me to write more.

2. What challenges did you face while writing and getting published?

Getting a story idea is easy, however putting the whole story on paper is a completely different thing. You have to keep pulling up your socks throughout the writing journey. And getting the right publisher for your book is an adventure. But it's all learning.

3. How did you come to know about the literary agency THE BOOK BAKERS?

I was done with my final edits , was looking for an editor online and I came across a well known Priyakshi book editor. She recommended me The Book Bakers, and then I got my way.

4. How did THE BOOK BAKERS help you and what would you like to say about them?

We all know about the publishing industry, is scattered one.  The Book Bakers basically helped me not to get lost in the publishing jungle and lead me to the right light. I would only say, Suhail and The Book Bakers got my book a Home, that’s it.

5. How do you see literary success for yourself?

For me, getting my book out with my name printed on it, is success. Because manifesting it and making it happen it is a part of success to me.

Of course sales, and book success does matter and I am sure this will happen eventually.

6. When can we expect your next book?

My next book would be a thriller only. Its about a world where everything is roaming around social media. How much real and reel is it, that is the story. Hopefully it will be out next year. Finger crossed.

7. Any message or tips for aspiring authors?

I know, It's tough to hold onto, but trust me you will definitely love the result you will get as compared to the time you waited to make it happen.

BOOK NAME: LAST PAGE OF THE NOVEL

PUBLISHER : PETALS PUBLISHERS

BOOK SYNOPSIS:

Every person is on their own journey in life, but when people meet, it changes their journey, path, and, of course their destiny. "The Last Page of the Novel " tells the story of Nidhi, Akarsh, and Mughada, three people whose lives get tangled as they cross paths.

Akarsh and Nidhi began a new chapter in their lives when Akarsh confessed his love for her in front of everyone at the college gathering. Their blooming love soon gets entangled as their long drive ends up at the jungle’s guest house, which becomes their worst nightmare.

What happened at the guest house that turned their life upside down?

How did Mughada enter in Nidhi and Akarsh's love story? 

Will Akarsh and Nidhi be able to achieve their dreams?

Will they ever forget what happened at the guest house?

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EXCHANGING WORDS WITH SOUVIK CHAKRABORTY

AUTHOR'S BIO : 

Souvik Chakraborty, the author of his debut novel ‘The Fire of Retribution’, is a boy of 26 from Kolkata. He is a science graduate in Zoology from Calcutta University. After his multiple academic accomplishments like scoring highest in his college in his department and

also within the whole science department and a few more, he had joined one of the top MNCs in Kolkata, Tata Consultancy Services. 

After going through multiple roles such as Production Associate and Collection Specialist, he is currently working as a Business Analyst in the same corporate firm. 

Souvik found out about his passion for writing in his college days. He had written a few articles on science topics and two of them were published in different college and departmental magazines. Later as he proceeded in his career, he wrote a few blogs on data analytics which also got published in the company’s internal forum.

He wrote his first story when he was in the fourth standard, which was a part of his homework, and got appreciated for that. 

Souvik is an avid reader and a fan of horror and especially crime thrillers. Stories take up a big part of his life. He loves stories, likes to think and imagine stories, and feels himself in almost every story he has ever read.

He had started writing his first book, “The Fire of Retribution”, back in 2017. But

after writing a few chapters, he had to give up the idea because of starting his new job and later had forgotten about it. Late in 2020 as we all were sitting in our homes due to the pandemic; he felt his passion for writing coming back again, and after writing a few professional blogs, he started plotting the whole story again. He started writing the book in the middle of 2021.This book is the first installment of the series he has planned.

1. Who and what inspired you to write?

 I am a fan of mysteries and crime thrillers. I spent my childhood reading all the Bengali Detectives like Feluda, Byomkesh, Kiriti, etc. Stories took up a big part of my day and unbeknownst to myself, I started weaving stories in my mind after reading them. During my college days, I felt the urge to tell these stories and it was then that I started writing my own. The Fire of Retribution is my first novel and this was the first book I started writing.

2. What challenges did you face while writing and getting published?

 The greatest obstacle which came in my way of writing was my day job. This challenge is still there but now I have learnt to deal with it. I started my first book, The Fire of Retribution, in 2017. Then I got into my first job and completely focus on my writing. During the pandemic times, when we all were encaged within our homes, did I manage to rejuvenate that passion of writing and resumed the story. I was able to finish the book in early 2022.

 After I had finished, I had emailed proposals to multiple publishers and literary agents, but none replied back on that. I was depressed and was feeling so low at that time that I actually thought of giving up writing. But then, one fine evening, I got an email, and that was from none other than Suhail Mathur from the Book Bakers literary Agency. He told me that he was not only ready to take up my book but also felt that the story will be good. We can say that my journey towards getting published started by his hands.

3. How did you come to know about the literary agency THE BOOK BAKERS?

 In early 2022, I was frantically searching for a publisher and was checking out every possible source that I could find on the internet. I got a link from The Himalayan Writing Retreat where I read about The Book Bakers for the first time. Later I checked Quora and a few other platforms and everywhere people only had praises for TBB. Hence, I decided to send the proposal to them.

4. How did THE BOOK BAKERS help you and what would you like to say about them?

 The Book Bakers was the best Literary Agency I could have got. Being a debut author, I had so many confusions and I didn’t know so much at that time. Firstly, their Editorial Team gave a full evaluation about the different aspects about the book. Moreover, Suhail’s guidance with the Marketing Plan helped me not only learn about the different marketing options available to an author but also helped me budgetise the marketing part. The team, with the guidance of Suhail, gave me the best possible cover for my book. All I can say is that TBB was the best thing that had happened to me and I am looking forward to work with them in near future as well.

5. How do you see literary success for yourself?

 To be honest, A few months back I was just an aspiring author but today, I am a published one. Readers had been loving The Fire of Retribution and I this was a response I had not expected. I have multiple books lines up and with The Book Bakers at my side, I am sure to gain more success in my literary journey.

6. When can we expect your next book?

 My next book will be different from the first one and I intend to bring something new for the readers. Right now, the book is in the bale hands of Suhail Mathur and the Editing Team at The Book Bakers. Not making any comments on it right now but something new and interesting is coming and we can expect it to be out early next year.

7. Any message or tips for aspiring authors?

 Write, write, and write some more. Being authors, we create a new world for readers and if you think that the world that you are creating in your imagination is something people should know about, then don’t stop. There are many ways of becoming a published author today. Don’t let the fear of rejection and failure stop you from becoming a published author.

BOOK NAME – THE FIRE OF RETRIBUTION 

PUBLISHER – BOOK STREET PUBLISHING

BOOK BLURB – 

They say ‘Revenge is a dish best served cold’. But what if someone serves it hot, so hot that it burns a man alive. Siddharth Bose, an amateur detective from Kolkata, befriends Subham and Puja on his first day at college. With the discovery of the charred body of a professor known for his kindness and charity, Siddharth soon becomes entangled with the murder.

Tagging his friends along, he starts digging into the case, and the deeper they went, the more they got entwined in the dark world of prostitution, drugs, and sadism. 

With a notorious police officer on their tail, will the trio be able to find out the killer? Or will they end up in jail for hampering the official investigation?

The answers lie in the pages of this fast-paced page-turning crime thriller.

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EXCHANGING WORDS WITH NAVEED QAZI

AUTHOR'S BIO : 

Naveed Qazi was born and brought up in Srinagar, Kashmir. He did his schooling from Burn Hall and Tyndale Biscoe, and a bachelor’s degree in commerce from Islamia College of Science and Commerce, affiliated to University of Kashmir. After that, he did his postgraduate degree in international business from University of Hertfordshire in United Kingdom. 

Starting off as a blogger on global issues during his early university days, he also contributed to all leading English dailies in Kashmir. In his past, he pursued a career in banking and construction in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. He has been working as an independent contractor for qualitative research projects for around ten years.

1. Who and what inspired you to write? 

The Vale Dweller had mostly two inspirations. Many years back, I read the book Gomorrah by Roberto Saviano. I also watched its movie and TV show. It was not his style of writing or his literary techniques that made a serious writer out of me. Infact, I was writing in form of newspaper columns and blogging since the age of twenty. The only thing that inspired me to write city life fiction from his work was that he showed a certain ruination of the city he grew up in. Then somewhere in 2015-2016, I saw an interview of Orhan Pamuk where he discussed about his new novel A Strangeness In My Mind in which he not only showcased the economic problems of the protagonist, through a Bildungsroman type of narrative, but also the social changes Istanbul as a city went from the past to the contemporary times. 

Despite knowing that the literary universe of these works was different, I was passionate enough to create my own. Infact, I rewrote the draft many times. I often feel that my work, The Vale Dweller, falls somewhere between realism and speculative fiction. 

2. What challenges did you face while writing and getting published? 

I faced many challenges while writing fiction. As I am not someone who had an education background in literature or creative writing, I had to learn the foundations myself. For that, I devoted time in churning out character arcs and plots. For me, the resonation of the story with the reader carried a priority.

As for traditionally publishing The Vale Dweller, I had shown the novel draft to one of novelist friends of mine, Shakoor Rather, who also has a successful city fiction novel to his name. He encouraged me to pitch my manuscript to publishers. I did get some stock rejections from publishers after sending them my work. 

After that, I researched about literary agents in India. Even my novelist friend encouraged me to look for literary agents. Before showing him the manuscript, I had pruned the story as I thought the script was a little dialectic. 

3. How did you come to know about the literary agency THE BOOK BAKERS? 

I got hold of a list of literary agents in India on a blog published by Reedsy. After pitching my work, I got a few initial responses, but I eventually signed a contract with Suhail Mathur’s The Book Bakers.

4. How did THE BOOK BAKERS help you and what would you like to say about them? 

Suhail and The Book Bakers are a busy and a professional bunch of people. The literary agency is actually a blessing for debutant authors who are inexperienced about what kind of pitching documents are actually needed by the publishers. Also, a lot of patience is required to get traditionally published nowadays. Suhail knows the pulse of publishing, the market trends, and has great contacts within the industry. Over the past few years, I can see that his literary agency has grown tremendously. Even from Kashmir, the place where I come from, he has already represented many literary stalwarts like Shabir Ahmad Mir and Ayaz Rasool Nazki. 

5. How do you see literary success for yourself? 

Lot of appreciation from fellow authors. I also want a more reader base for my works.

6. When can we expect your next book? 

I’ve already self-published around nine books on Amazon KDP, which are mostly about contemporary global politics and international fiction. I’m currently trying to finish off a collection of political essays, which is like a fifth edition in a non-fiction series about global politics. If, like The Vale Dweller, I manage to write another book, whether fiction or nonfiction, in the coming years, that reflect South Asian themes, I will try to traditionally publish it and send it over to my literary agency. It is because regionalist themes have a strong demand in the current publishing market.

7. Any message or tips for aspiring authors?

Make a habit of reading and writing every day. Also, learn the art of rewriting and thorough editing. It is a painful process for sure, but it will make a better writer out of you.

BOOK NAME : THE VALE DWELLER

PUBLISHER : THE ALCOVE PUBLISHERS

BOOK SYNOPSIS/BLURB:

Vale Dweller is a simplistic man having grown up in the suburbs of Srinagar. He is close friends with the Reader, an editor of published works and an ex-salesman. Will their paths coalesce as they chase their material dreams? In his struggles and impulse for memory, the Vale Dweller becomes retrospective of his identity, as he observes the city and interacts with other coteries in his neighbourhood – an acclaimed Kashmir University professor, a jailbird, an old nostalgic writer, a networking bookseller, and a Columnist writing about the feudal past. Due to circumstances, he also meets a Weaver who tries to confront his past after surviving a massacre. After these associations, will he embrace the cultural epochs of the city, and call the place his own, or will he resist its fallacies stemmed out of social ills and political sensitivities? As fate endures itself, will the Vale Dweller pacify with it at the end as events unravel?

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