EttethSpeak

Finally…………….

We have here our next featured author on the blog. he is one of my most favourite authors because his books fill the dry annals of history with the lucid fluid of both imagination and philosophy. he is both a historical fiction and philosophical writer.
Guess who is he?
So here we have with us, Mr Ravi Shankar Etteth…..
Ravi Shankar Etteth is the author of 5 novels: The Tiger by the River (2002), The Village of the Widows (2003), The Gold of Their Regrets (2009), The Book of Shiva(2016) and The Brahmin (2018). He has been a graphic designer, political cartoonist and editor of magazines and newspapers. He currently lives in Delhi and works as a consulting editor with The New Indian Express Group.
so let us start our interview………
Let’s first have a quick short question session.

What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry?
Some unscrupulous publishers charge money from rookie authors to publish their books. They don’t promote the books, distribute them or even print the number promised. Thankfully major publishers don’t do it.

What is your writing Kryptonite?
Procrastination

Did you ever consider writing under a pseudonym?
Sometimes. But didn’t.

How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
Half wrote one.

How many hours a day do you write?
I don’t write every day. I write in spurts.

Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
Yes, I do. Good reviews make me happy. In the bad reviews, I check whether there is merit in the criticism. If there isn’t I ignore them.

How long on average does it take you to write a book?
My first novel, The Tiger by the River took me four years. After that between six months to a year.

Now let’s have some descriptive answers, for I would not leave you so easily……….

Your books are always about history and philosophy based on it. What brought out the philosophical aspect in you? What fascinated you to choose the specific genre?
I’m intrigued by history and philosophy. The former because it places our lives and society in the right context and puts events or a person in the larger picture. Philosophy explains why.

You have written well-narrated and well-researched fiction about both philosophy and history- the latest book is about a new character in the Mauryan era. How did you pick the topics? What was the inspiration behind this? And how do you research them?
Research is a consequence of a particular event, myth or personality interesting me or surprising me. I try to read up on all that’s relevant and available on the Internet, Kindle and bookshops and speak to experts. For The Brahmin, I was curious about the propaganda around Ashoka as a peace-loving king when I came across a description of his torture chamber. It’s an irony that Buddhist monks were tortured to death first and later they themselves propagated the legend of a benevolent king. This inspired me to do further research and the story grew around him.

Which application (for I am sure you would not be using longhand) do you use for writing? How many words do your book generally consist of?
Microsoft Word, of course. 60000-65000. Long books bore people.

How do you start writing a book and what does inspire you to write? What are your future books about?
My writing is a subconscious process. Nebulous. I don’t wait to plot the story. I chase the wraiths in the book’s atmosphere and follow the road my characters take. I do the detailed plotting later once the book has taken a firm shape in my mind, and the end of the story is clear. I’m never sure where a book is going.

What is your advice for young and enthusiastic bloggers and authors?
Literary bloggers need to be more critical and gush less (and this applies to my books, too, so I apologise). But I’m confident that as they read more, their critical faculties will develop more. Another piece of advice to bloggers is to introduce comparative context in their reviews. So they need to read more beyond what’s just available for review. At the same time, I’m glad they do not try to balance reviews, which is a trap most professional reviewers do. Either you like a book or don’t. Just say why. If you like eating a particular dish you praise it. But if in a particular restaurant, you discover it is too spicy for your taste or not spicy enough, you’ll obviously point it out, right? So also look for flaws in the story or characterisation. However, the fact that so many lit blogs exist and more keep coming up is a great vote of confidence in Indian writers.

Authors need to be really judicious when they write with words, descriptions and credibility. Keep the storyline clear. Characters well formed. Cut mercilessly parts that explain the story too much. Avoid language that is too florid. Be aware of your own evolution. And above all do not write ONLY to be published. That’s when you take shortcuts and all the hard work becomes futile.

Who is your favourite character in your book The Brahmin?
Apart from the spymaster himself Queen Asandhimitra.