Tell us a little about yourself and your background?
I am a 44 year old Bollywood actor and a travel blogger I run a blog called www. Tikku’s Travelthon.in . I have a Engineering Degree from University of Manchester and an MBA from IMT Ghaziabad.I am also a author of 14 books selling online on amazon.com
You run a successful travel blog, when did you realize that you want to be a published author?
Well, as I went along writing about my escapees around the world , I realised I could turn these writings by turning them into an income stream, by making e books out of them and sell them online . With practice I got better and today I have 14 published e books selling on amazon.com , kobo.com google books , google play . Thats my journey has a sold self published author. Infact being a author is the next profession after being a blogger .A good blogger is a good writer and turns into a good author .
What have you written? Give us an insight into your book(s)
Well most of my books are travelogues to Antarctica , Kumbh ka Mela , Africa or the Russian adventures of mine . I have also written two books on the art of blogging for professional and ameture bloggers , these are Blogging for Gold and Blogging for Diamond . Then I have a book of my poems and couplets . I have written a book Shankara on Shiva and Mansarovar . Then you have Survival and the Spirit of sURVIVAL THESE ARE Self development books that deal with spirituality , religion and how to face setbacks in life , yet move on .
But my best is I ALSO SLEPT WITH RASHMI VERMA which is an adult campus comedy from my college days about the sexual escapades of Rashmi Verma .
You are a travel enthusiast. Share some of your experiences with us.
I have travelled to over 40 countries in the last four years and most states in India . It’s my oxygen travel it makes me totally free and I love to observe nature and my environment . Travel also makes for amazing stories or people and incidents . These also I have captured in one of my books Travelthon Tales .The incidents like loosing my baggage during my return trip to Antarctica .Or zipping across Moscow with a Taxi driver called Muzaffar who was a big fan of Mithun Chakorborty . My travels have educated me , opened my eyes , I begin to realise I was living in a cocoon their is so much to see and marvel in the world .It was like doing University education again .
Could you describe your journey as a writer?
I wrote my first book Survival which are a collection of my writings about how I over came my fathers tragic murder and bounced back in life . It is about hope and facing your worse nightmares . It is the book that came to me naturally and I launched it with the help of Penguin Partridge Publishing . I also gave a few talks in blogging seminars and at my old institute IMT and distributed copies of the book .Since then I have self published 14 e books under the brand of Tikku’s Travelthon .We are in the process of making the PaperBack available also .I got in touch with more book bloggers and book reviews who reviews my books and I learnt the process of marketing and selling my books through goodreads and amazon reviews .
What according to you is different about your books?
Well my books are experiential they come through my own authentic experience , so they are truthful and honest that’s very important . You have to go naked in-front of your readers , just don’t try to per-tens , say it as you see it that’s my writing style .I have a good range from sting erotic , to spirituality , travelogues and even poetry books , I cover many important genre’s and topics . My writing is fluid and descriptive , but easy to say and understand .My book covers have been loved by book lovers and readers alike , for their vibrancy and meaning .Bollywood actors like Raju Srivastava have endorsed and revised my books .Above all it’s the affordable price of my books most being Rs 100 to Rs 200 range that is a very good price for the reader and also competitive .All my books have international copyrights and have a ISBN number and bar code , so that they can be sold internationally also .
Which authors inspire you?
I Like Malcom Gladwell and especially the Tipping point . OSHO he was my master and I have read most of his books . I was also a big fan of Salman Rushdie when I was young .One of my other favourites was Kizan Gustand .
What is the most fulfilling and the most challenging part of writing?
To get started , to get that one central idea and theme that will carry the entire narrative and decide it’s genre . I have written son many half pages and then stopped following the idea .But their are times your writing pours out , it will happen for a few months on a stretch and then stop .To keep going and complete a entire book in one shot is the most challenging part of writing .
What is the next book that you have planned?
My next book is The Madness of the Monk which I started writing in Dharamshala . This is a book on my experiences in Himachal Pradesh and how I learn the 10 lessons from a mad monk called Tenzing , who becomes my guide around the mountains .
You Can Follow Anuj Tikku On Amazon
