About Asmit:
Asmit Rathod is a New Zealand citizen, currently living in Australia.He has acquired post graduation degree in Journalism and Mass communication.He is passionate about writing and intends to make writing as his full time career. His focus of writing is life in general and human relations in particular.
Apart from writing fictions he is fond of writing Poems/ Gazals as well, which he posts at his Facebook profile on a regular basis. His poems can be read atwww.facebook.com/asmit.rathod.
“Life is a Bitch” is his debut book which dwells in to a brand new concept of life, derived from his observations and experiences acquired through extensively travelling to various countries and by meeting hundreds of people of various nationalities.
Currently he is working on two projects.The first project is a fiction titled “Incomplete manuscript”, which is a love story of a middle class girl from Banaras. He intends to publish this book in English as well as in Hindi.The Second project is a horror/ thriller film script, tentatively titled “Anhoni”. Author is very much keen to make entry in to Bollywood as well.
Chit Chat Session
Kindly enlighten our readers about your book “Life Is A Bitch”
Making socially unwise choice is always a risky business, and so majority of us tend to make decision which is practical and in accordance with social norms.
But the question remains that who decides what is practical and wise and what is not ?
As the years passed, this single question began to grow stronger within me and for reasons unknown to me, I thought of a character “Kumar”; a character who, out of sheer impulse ends up making so called unwise choices in his life.
“Life Is A Bitch” is a story of Kumar, a young lad, one would find everywhere in the middle class families of India.
Kumar out of sheer pain he faced in his life, chooses to go in to the state of inertia – plan nothing, do nothing state of mind. He also decides to unlearn what he has been taught since his childhood at home, at school and at work. Eventually, he ends up being inert and empty from within.
But life being unpredictable player, plays such a game that Kumar’s inertia leads him to take right steps in right direction, and his emptiness fills him with some out box ideas that finally makes him the person he always wanted to be.
How much research and efforts were required on your part to complete the book?
The book being fiction it didn’t require any research but my experiences of past, my observations, my keen interest in human behavior helped me a lot in creating character of Kumar as well as other characters.
How do you manage writing along with your profession?
It indeed was hard. At that moment I was working as an auditor in one of the five stars hotels at Darwin-Australia. I used to remain so busy and used to get so tired, that end of the day, I couldn’t do anything but hit the bed. But my urge to write this book was so strong that I decided to quit that job and started working at inferior but easy job.
It was a hard decision to quit a job, I had planned to build my career with. But nevertheless I took that decision and today, when I can introduce myself as an author, I feel happy about my decision.
Self Publishing vs Traditional Publishing, which one do you prefer and why?
I prefer self publishing over Traditional publishing. I prefer the freedom that self publishing provides. Unlike traditional publishing, You are not required to change any part of your story to suit the current trends or to follow the norms or simply make changes because some editor in publishing house wants so.
Which International Authors inspire you?
My favorite is Robert Ludlum for his fast paced thrillers. I love
Wilbur Smith for historical South African background of his stories. The third one is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for legendary Sherlock Holmes he created.
What according to you is unique about your book?
Though it’s my debut book, I have shown some courage to experiment with it. At many places I have written dialogues in Hindi. I have received mix reactions for it. Some readers loved it, as it effectively conveys the message and some didn’t like so much of Hindi in a book written in English.
What is the most fulfilling part of writing? And what is the most challenging?
There were ample of challenges while writing my first book, but the real frustrating one was to kind of live in solitude most of the times, away from your family and friends and stay constantly in a writing mode.
Most fulfilling part for me was creating various characters of the book, especially female characters. Being a guy, It indeed was challenging to imagine and portray how girls think, talk and act.
Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?
From my experiences I can say that, if you want to become a good writer – write – and write everyday. When you are writing your first draft don’t worry much about grammar or spellings. There will be ample of opportunities to mend your writing at later stages. Don’t even worry about how good or bad you are writing. At this stage it’s important to write so keep writing.
According to me, to be a good writer one needs to get comfortable with solitude. Also one is required to keep a constant mindset of a writer. What I mean by it, that whenever you are outdoor, be observant. Observe nature, observe people. For a change, do not become part of this world but just witness world as a spectator. At times, one gets better understanding of things when looked from far.
What is the next book that you have planned?
Currently I am working on two projects. The first project is a fiction titled “Incomplete manuscript”, which is a love story of a middle class girl of Banaras. I intends to publish this book in English as well as in Hindi. The Second project is a horror film script, tentatively called “Anhoni”. I am very much keen to make entry in to Bollywood as well.
