THIS BOOK DROPS FAMILY DRAMA SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE OF A CORPORATE THRILLER

Author Interview: Jayant Swamy

Jayant Swamy is a Management Consultant and Corporate Trainer based in Seattle. He holds an MBA from IIM Bangalore. His corporate repertoire includes Microsoft, IBM, T-Mobile, General Electric and Tata Consultancy Services. He has successfully completed the Certificate Program in Literary Fiction at the University of Washington. He has recently come out with the book “Family Secrets”, which is a corporate thriller. 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 Jayant Swamy as a person.

I have only lived in two cities my entire life – Bangalore and Seattle – and both represent home to me. All those who wander need not get lost – I have had a checkered career cutting across management and finance, training and teaching. I believe in the power of individual choice. I consider myself a maverick who questions social recipes, and someone who grapples with life on his own terms. I yearn for a world where all human-beings garner respect for just being human-beings, irrespective of manmade divides like class, status, power, you name it et al.



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?

Growing up, I was an inveterate reader. I mentally analyzed the structure and plots of the many novels I continuously fed myself. Several stories swirled in my head but none got transcribed on paper.
My writing-rendezvous happened after completing college. I sent off the long short-story I had written, to all the popular Indian magazines of that time. One sent me a rejection; the others did not respond, which was worse.
I continued to write random stuff and shot them off to magazines and newspapers in Bangalore. A few articles and many letters to the editor did see the light of the day! I took the official plunge to be a writer much later, after I immigrated to the US.



Please tell us more about your book “Family Secrets”.

“Family Secrets” is as much an emotional drama as it is a corporate thriller. Released in October 2020, on the last day of Dussehra, it is published by Vishwakarma Publications, Pune. The cover has been designed by my literary agency, The Book Bakers.
“Family Secrets” is the story of Siddhartha, an English teacher-turned-conman who seeks justice for the inheritance he has lost to his illegitimate half-brother. It is the story Abhimanyu, the ruthless business tycoon and Siddhartha’s nemesis. A series of face-offs between these two – the intelligently-woven cons of the one, thwarted by the strategic boardroom-like moves of the other – make the book a corporate thriller. Siddhartha’s loving relationship with his theatre-artiste wife, Abhimanyu’s reverence for his blue-blooded mother, and the emotional tussle he faces in accepting his newfound son, provide the elements of human drama.



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?

My debut novel “Colours in the Spectrum” was published in 2013. I happened to hear family folklore about a patriarch who had an extra-marital alliance several decades ago. The daughter of the patriarch was distraught to find out the existence of a half-sister and the subject had always been considered taboo for the family to talk about. What her frame of mind may have been was the burning question I wanted to address, which I decided to inject into the new novel I had started writing around that time.
“Family Secrets” is pure fiction. I delve deep into the minds and machinations of two half-brothers. It took me a few draft versions and four years to complete it. Considerable research was needed in the areas of Indian law and the art of conning – two prominent themes that provide pivotal plot points to my novel.



How has the response of readers been to your book?

The response so far is incredibly heartening. I am humbled to find out I have quite the fan following. I feel honoured that most of my family and friends bought the book within the first few days of its release!
Aided by a marketing campaign spearheaded by my literary agent Suhail Mathur, “Family Secrets” is slowly and steadily moving from strength to strength, having recently crossed the 200-review mark on Goodreads and Amazon. Here is a sample of what readers are saying – ‘A great read for those who enjoy thrillers and suspense novels with realistic storyline’; ‘Beautifully crafted tale of destiny and surprises’; ‘The intricate and intriguing plot kept me wide awake beyond my normal bedtime’.



In terms of the complexity of the character and the nuances of the dialogues, the character development of whom was the most difficult in this book?

Character development is the raison d'être of my writing. My characters develop a mind of their own, live in my head, talk to me and end up driving their own stories. “Family Secrets” has 5-6 principal characters, each possessing a complete emotional arc. They are all multi-dimensional and etched in shades of gray.
Sketching Siddhartha was a little more difficult than the others. Creative and empathetic, sharing tender relationship with his wife, he is the quintessential underdog. I knew readers would fall in love with him instantaneously. The challenge was to retain their sympathy, even in the face of his borderline trespasses with the law. The trick was to not let him slip either into the zone of fury or bitterness, and keep him upbeat and humorous. One helluva tight-rope walk!



What challenges did you face while writing this book?

Believe it or not, none of the challenges in writing were insurmountable. My lawyer niece graciously read my first draft and educated me on making the courtroom procedures realistic. My writing buddies gave me valuable feedback on the character of the deadly matriarch. Memories of conversations I once had with my grand-mother, helped me draw out the ambience of the 1940s. My initial challenges were all in getting the book published. After a few rejections, mostly of the much-dreaded no-response variety, I lucked out when I landed the resourceful Suhail Mathur of The Book Bakers as my literary agent. The ride got smoother from there.



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

My own personal list is longer, below are six I want to recommend –“A Suitable Boy” by Vikram Seth, “The Class” by Erich Segal, “The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown, “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom, and “The Bhagavad Gita”, my new favourite.



What are you working on next? Any exciting new projects our readers should look out for?

I am in the midst of a book on personality development, which aligns with my passion for the behavioral sciences. I can neither take myself out of storytelling nor take the storyteller out of me. Though the book is in the non-fiction genre, I am writing it in the form of a story. After this, a management fable for a training firm engaged in the transformation of corporate culture is on the cards. I am also toying with a contemporary take on the art of con and fraud in the era of technology, for a future novel.



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

Writing is a laborious process. If you don’t enjoy writing, don’t become a writer. If you do, exercise the power of your individual choice. Give yourself to it fully, and do it with full conviction. My mother, a classical Carnatic singer, used to say: ‘Involve your soul, not just your body and mind. Experience the music and the emotion within yourself. Let the song emanate from deep down. Throw your voice with full abandon.’ Something similar is true for writing.



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

Motivational quotes to me are like the clothes I wear. They change with my mood. This quote by Maya Angelou that appears on my book’s inner cover is my chosen flavour today: ‘My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humour, and some style.’