AN AUTHOR ON HOW HE WROTE A SCI-FI ADVENTURE STORY

Author Interview: Mayank Sinha

Mayank Sinha is a small town boy and hails from Ballia in Uttar Pradesh. He completed his Engineering in Computer science from GLA University Mathura and is currently a Software Engineer by profession. He lives in Bangalore. He has published two books. His first novella was "Some Glimpses From My Life" which is a collection of short stories. His recent novel "I Am Shade" is a sci-fi action-mystery novel. He loves to read and is a big fan of science fiction movies and series. In a candid chat with Chirdeep Malhotra, he talks about his latest book, his writing journey, his favourite books and authors, and much more. Read On!



Please tell us more about Mayank Sinha as a person.

Mayank is a software engineer by profession. Loves to binge watch anime and sci-fi series or movies. Mayank’s favourite anime is Naruto. Mayank is a person who likes to be very organized. He is overall a simple guy with an overactive imagination.



Has writing always been a part of your life? Or did you chance upon it later on and then instantly fell in love with it?

I was never into writing that much. My first story was actually just a spur of a moment kind of thing. I was travelling by train for attending my college, and it just so happened that I made friends with someone who was sitting opposite to me. And in a story I just described this whole incident and how I met her. I shared this story within my friend circle and it was well liked by them. And afterwards, it even got published in my college newspaper. This was, I guess the first push for me, where I felt that I could write.



If you had to describe your book “I am Shade” in one sentence, what would it be?

I would describe the book as, “One fateful night is enough to change your life forever.”



Now tell us a little bit more about the book!

“I Am Shade” is basically the origin story of the main character Jayden Smith and this book tells us how he becomes Shade. I believe that most of the times it is the circumstances that we go through that shape us. I tried to put this belief of mine in action in the book. As in this book, Jayden, along with the readers goes or rather faces certain circumstances that shape him.



Why the title “I am Shade”? What does it convey to the readers?

“I Am Shade” was chosen as the title to have a reflection of the main character’s resolve in finding his life’s purpose. The book is short, and is a fast paced journey that takes the readers alongside the main character. And I chose the title, so that it is an anchor for the readers through which they can get the context of the plot.



How did the idea of writing this book originate? When did you start writing this book and how long did it take you to finish it?

One night in February of 2019, I was suddenly woken up due to a loud sound. It was pitch dark when I woke up, and it took me a couple of minutes to calm down. But in that spur of the moment, this idea conceptualized that what would happen if a person woke up like this and everything would have changed around him. After this, as I gave more thought to it and started to work on it slowly and gradually, “I Am Shade” was born.
By the way, the loud sound was only my room’s door, which banged shut because it was a windy night and I forgot to close the windows before I went to sleep. I started the book by the end of February 2019. And it took me around 8 months to complete the first draft of the book.



Tell us more about the protagonist Jayden Smith. How did the character come to you and how much did he change in the process of writing the novel?

Jayden Smith is your everyday regular guy. You can pick any face that you see in your day to day life. Be it your food delivery guy or your watchman or your local auto rickshaw driver, and that is the origin of Jayden smith. He lives day to day, does his job and is just a face from the crowd. For Jayden Smith, life is an endless loop. And he knows it too. But he has become so used to this life that he just can’t get out.
Jayden’s character is a simple one, so throughout the book he is first of all trying to make sense of the extraordinary circumstances that he comes across. I would say that his simplicity remained unchanged, but yeah while facing the different circumstances his perception of the world around him did evolve.



What challenges did you face while writing this book?

I had heard of the writer’s block. But while writing this novel I actually faced it. There was one point where I had become totally blank and almost gave up on the novel. But somehow when I engaged myself in other tasks slowly and gradually I came out of it, and it took some time to get back on track. But this experience gave me much better ideas about completing the book.



Can you recommend five books from any genre, for our readers to add to their reading lists, that you particularly cherish?

These are few of my all time favourites – “Goosebumps: I Am Your Evil Twin” by R.L. Stine, “Goosebumps: Ghost Beach” by R.L. Stine, “Till The Last Breath” by Durjoy Datta, “Just Friends” by Sumrit Shahi, and “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft” by Stephen King.



What are your other interests apart from writing?

I am a big fan of science fiction movies, web series and anime. So I am mostly binge watching sci-fi series or movies. I love to read as well. I have also recently taken up the habit of cooking, so I am also experimenting with dishes every other day.



What are you working on next?

I am working on another sci-fi novel. Presently the idea and plot are in very early stages, so I am trying to develop them. Also I am getting a lot of requests for the second part of “I Am Shade”, so I have planned for that as well.



There are many new writers and poets who are aspiring to get their work published. What would you say to them?

To the new and aspiring writers I would say that it is going to be a tough road. Whether you like it or not, please have this very clearly set in your mind. It is your book and so initially you only will have to work for it. Have faith in yourself and keep working. If you are a beginner, then please at least once go through the book “On Writing- a Memoir of the craft” by Stephen King. It'll help you with the basics about writing. And try to be positive it might take time but it is going to be worth it.



Can you share with our readers a motivational quote that keeps you going?

There was this dialogue from Manjhi- The Mountain Man, I am sure most of us might have already heard it somewhere. But this dialogue has stayed with me, so I would like to share it.
It goes as- “Bhagwan ke bharose na baithiye, kya pata bhagwan hamare bharose baitha ho."

Updated On 10/27/2020 11:49:43 AM