BMS.co.in Team gets candid with Samarth Prakash, Author of a fiction novel “Rainy Days”.
Currently Samarth Prakash works with the engineering team at Amazon.com. Apart from designing large scale software systems, his passion lies in writing, born out of the longing to narrate stories that touch the heart. His writing style ranges from ardently melodramatic and vividly romantic to quietly philosophical. Rainy Days is his debut novel.
- Tell us something about yourself
This is a hard question. You’ll probably know me more through my books and my stories than you’ll ever know from a description of myself. So you know what to do if you want to know about me!
I worked at Amazon.com for a few years, so I know a thing or two about selling books (or anything else for that matter). But I’ve discovered that writing is a totally different beast.
- What inspired you to start writing books?
I wouldn’t say that there was any specific inspiration, but narrating stories has always been something that I’ve been drawn to. Still, if I had to pick one thing that makes me write, it’s the potential to inspire so many people out there through my stories, and hopefully, bring about a positive change.
- Do you have any specific writing style?
My writings tend to have a very personal narrative style – almost always narrated in first person – with an introspective and philosophical touch. Stories usually stem from personal experience – at least the feelings, if not actual incidents – and I feel that people can relate to them better if told in this way.
- Do your books have any message which you want readers to grasp?
Absolutely! I think almost every book, movie or a work of art has something important to say. Sometimes it’s a lesson, some other times it’s just bringing out plain truth. My first book Rainy Days may seem like a simple story of love on the outside, but if you look deeply there are quite a few things that it’s trying to convey. It’s about how life will put you in situations where you are pushed to go against your principles and your very nature, where you will have to make a difficult choice.
- What are your favorite books and why? Favorite films? Favorite music?
The Road Less Travelled by Scott Peck is without a doubt the best book that I’ve read, purely for the fact that it contains so much truth. The words in it are so brutally honest, yet so loving.
Illusions by Richard Bach, for the profound, yet incredibly simple philosophy.
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, for the way in which relationships and emotions are described and how simple words are woven into unforgettable phrases.
I love everything about Indian music and Indian films.
- What are your current projects?
I’m currently working on three books, all of them very different from ‘Rainy Days’ in form and genre. One of them will release in 2014. Exciting new stories coming your way!
- Give us three “Good to Know” facts about you. Be creative. Tell us about your job, the inspiration for your writing, any fun details that would enliven your page.
I’m someone who formally studied science, but is more interested in art and literature, though I’ve realized that much of science is also art!
Not sure if this a ‘good to know’ fact, but I’m a complete romantic – you’ll recognize that if you read my book or any of my articles or poems.
I would have made a good lawyer, since I’m pretty good at winning arguments, and I love to talk logic and rationale.
- Your message to the aspiring writers?
Write the best book that you can, tell the best story that you can, and don’t worry about the rest; everything else will fall into place.
Author’s note about “Rainy Days”:
There are a lot of stories in this world, each of them significant in their own small way. Some of them connect to our lives in ways that we cannot fathom; some of them seem to strike a chord somewhere deep inside. This story – perhaps seemingly simple, yet deeply heartfelt – was born in a place inside me where melancholy meets happiness. And because most lives are interesting amalgamations of joy and sorrow, I do wish that this story connects with you in some way.
All the incidents in this book are fictional, yet the feelings are most certainly real. And perhaps some of the true feelings that percolate through the words in these pages will somewhere meld with the true feelings in your heart. Every part of this story, every page of this book, is written in the hope that it will touch some part of you that is yet untouched.
About the book “Rainy Days”:
Every journey begins with a chase. We chase success. We chase love. We chase happiness. But what happens when that chase is suddenly interrupted by a long wait? Will love endure that wait? And will that wait ever end? Will all roads be closed? Or will an uneasy path open up somewhere?
Rainy Days is the story of Raghav and his pursuit of love in the midst of success, of Megha and her own world of wavering thoughts. It’s a journey that begins with a chance encounter. It’s a journey that takes them through sweet meetings and doleful partings, through long drives and silent walks, through the endless rain of joy and melancholy – a journey that inevitably brings them to the crossroads of love and life, more than once. It’s about the choices that life gives us, about the paths that we take, and the ripple effect that it has on our lives.
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