ON WRITING SPOOKY HORROR STORIES

Author Interview: Sid Kapdi

Sid Kapdi works with a global Consulting & IT MNC in Mumbai. With a degree in Engineering and MBA, he has spent over two decades in the IT industry leading transformational projects and presales for strategic deals. His journey in fiction writing began with his short story ‘Day One at Pamperium, The Spa’ winning a place in India’s first urban horror anthology titled “City of Screams”. He has recently come out with the book “Scare Me If You Can” which boasts of a unique theme. 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 Sid Kapdi as a person.

Sid Kapdi is a witty, creative and colourful character who loves to travel, eat, watch movies and have fun. And of course read and write.



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?

In my professional avatar, since over ten years, I have been leading teams that create content and artifacts to enable my company to win large deals. It is technical and corporate in nature, but at the end of the day, it involves storytelling. Fiction writing is an extension of my day job. It began as a hobby for me, but I started seriously pursuing it from 2018.



Tell us more about your book “Scare Me If You Can”.

“Scare Me If You Can” is a novel about a bestselling author who conducts a horror-writing workshop at a spooky resort. The participants experience eerie incidents during their stay and based on these, they build short stories which get narrated in a competition on the final day of the workshop. The competition is called ‘Scare Me If You Can’ where the nine participants and a mysterious writer narrate their stories.
The ten stories are set in different cities in India and the scare factor rises with each story.



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?

I took my writing with baby-steps, starting with short stories, mostly based on prompts. And I found myself good at them. So, I knew that my first book would have short stories but I had to look for an underlying theme. After much deliberation, I zeroed in on the horror-writing workshop concept.
I took about two months for the outline and wrote the first draft during NaNoWriMo that is, November 2018. Further, it took me about three months to review and refine it, before it was ready for a pitch.



What, according to you, is the perfect recipe for an edge-of-the-seat book in the horror genre?

No matter how perfect the recipe is, each cook adds his/ her own style to it and that is what gives uniqueness to the final output. Similarly, the basic ingredients of an edge-of-the-seat book are a gripping plot, twists and turns at regular intervals, the feel of reality, the visual aspects of the story telling and strong characters. How well these are blended and cooked, is what gives the book the thrill appeal.



What challenges did you face while writing this book?

The biggest challenge was to draft the stories in the one month target I had set. It took a lot of sleepless nights to get there. Post that, I felt a couple of stories were not gelling with the rest. So, I had to almost rewrite them. Lastly, there was a story with extreme gore involving animals and humans which took me several days to refine. The same with the story Ajgar, which dealt with a sensitive topic and had to be handled right.



Many new authors find it difficult to get a publisher. What was your experience?

Yes, indeed. The competition, the genre, the demand pattern at the time, the author’s credentials, and a lot many other factors usually play a part in getting a good publisher. I was lucky to have met Neil D’Silva, the top horror writer who suggested that I go with Suhail Mathur from The Book Bakers, to pitch my book. It took me about a couple of months to start getting positive responses and once I received an offer from TreeShade Books, which was high on my preferred list, I grabbed it.



What do some of the readers have to say about the book?

I am glad that the readers have appreciated my book. Many of the readers, whom I know personally, mentioned that it was their first attempt at reading a horror book and now they would be open to reading more books in the genre. In the reviews that I see on Amazon, many of the readers have liked the horror workshop concept and my style of writing. They feel the writing is highly visual and they could feel the stories. That is a really big compliment for me. Besides, many of the reputed authors have given their thumbs-up after reading the book.



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

It would be very difficult to name just five, but my all-time favourites would be: “Kane and Abel” by Jeffrey Archer, “Love Story” by Erich Segal, “English, August” by Upamanyu Chatterjee, “Sapiens” by Yuval Noah Harari, and “The Shining” by Stephen King.



What are your other interests apart from writing?

I love discovering new locations and cuisines both in India and abroad. I have lived in US and UK for over three years and have made tourism trips to several countries. I also enjoy cooking, especially continental and Mumbai food. I am good at creating videos and websites. I also love reading about machines and IT.



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

I am working on a horror novel related to the medical world and a crime novel with a rural setting. I am also planning to write a screenplay.



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

One key message would be that an author’s job does not end with writing a book, it is merely the first phase of the project. A new entrant should plan and be prepared to spend the effort, energy and money for the entire project. Getting published is not difficult, there are many self-publishing options also available. But the content of the book, mainly the core idea should be unique in order to make headway in this competitive marketplace.



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

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” by George Eliot.