Interview with Rishabh Puri
Interview with Rishabh Puri
Rishabh Puri believes that determination can take one to great heights in business and personal life. A man of many talents – a writer, poet and artist – he believes that one always has a choice to turn any situation into victory.
[vc_button title=”Inside the Heart of Hope” target=”_self” color=”default” href=”https://writinggeeks.in/shop/inside-heart-hope/”] [vc_button title=”Epilogue” target=”_self” color=”default” href=”http://writinggeeks.in/samplechapters/read/inside-the-heart-of-hope/”] [vc_button title=”Buy Now” target=”_self” color=”default” href=”http://www.amazon.in/Inside-Heart-Hope-Rishabh-Puri/dp/1482873745″]
Chit Chat Session
Tell us a little about yourself and your background?
I was born and raised in Africa and UAE. I did my schooling from a British school and graduated in a business administration program from UK. And ended up with my masters in business administration in international trade from London Business School.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
It was more of a hobby of writing poetry that turned into a passion of writing but the writing was just for my eyes only.
What have you written? Give us an insight into your book
Motivation, hope, love, the zeal to live and see every sadness with a smile.
How did ‘Inside the Heart of Hope’ happen? Could you describe the journey? Inside the Heart of Hope came partially out of a desire to see myself and people like me represented in stories as heroes, and not just as props for other characters to pity as they deal with their own emotional journeys. But it evolved into so much more than I could have imagined when I first put pen to page. I was highly interested in seeing someone medically fragile described as the hero in a love story, someone who, in spite of his suffering, is shown as capable, loving, interested, optimistic– all the things that I am, and that many people suffering from serious medical conditions are.
I wanted to show that even through times of self-pity and depression, we have strong families, friends, and lovers who help us to reach the fullness of human experience. But also, show that we are capable of supporting them in return, in loving them through their struggles. And in trying to achieve that, I wrote the love story I wanted to have. I laughed, and cried, and learned a lot about myself, trying to show my soul to my readers.
How did it feel to write about yourself and your loved ones, as characters?
The bit of writing wisdom I’ve always been offered is to write what you know, and who do I know better than myself, my family and friends? They’re good people. They make good characters. Capturing their love for me, putting myself in their shoes at times, and trying to share their experiences as well as my own was at times a struggle, but easier than I anticipated before I wrote it. Particularly putting my doctors into the book, capturing these people who are both heroes to me for the life-saving work they do on a daily basis, but also people who I consider friends in my life, was fun as well as challenging.
What was harder, but more fulfilling, was writing about myself from the point of view of Lisa, a woman who does not exist, but who is supposed to love me anyways. At times, I wanted to write myself in her eyes as a perfect hero, flawless and charming, who can do no wrong and would never hurt her. At times, I wanted to write myself as nothing but flaws, to pick myself apart, and find myself as wanting in her eyes as I do in my own, at times. Allowing myself to be just human in someone else’s point of view was a struggle. I hope I’ve conveyed it well.
RELATED : INSIDE THE HEART OF HOPE
What according to you is different about your book?
I would say my devotion to relentless optimism within the story, the same practice that guides my own life. I think, when writing a love story so personal, it has to contain a bit of your soul, and I chose to put that relentless part of me that fights even in the worst of circumstances to not only live my life, but to love it. In my book, Inside the Heart of Hope, you can follow the journey I took towards that optimism. It hasn’t been an easy one. I think you can see the soul of it– it is, in a way, a fight song as well as a romance novel. It declares my intention towards victory over my illnesses and my dedication to finding love and a full life, of freedom and love.
What is the most fulfilling part of writing this book? And what is the most challenging?
The most fulfilling part? When my editors told me we were finished editing and I read over the finished product. Knowing that I’d set out to say what I wanted to say, and there it was, a completed manuscript. Though the nervous feeling of knowing your story is about to be out there for anyone to read and feel what they want about it is one I’ll never get over, whether I’ve written just the one book or one thousand.
The most challenging? Staring at a blank word document with only one empty page on it and a whole story cooking up in your head. The excitement, the anticipation, could almost eat you alive. The only way to handle it all is to WRITE.
How did your medical, social and economic backgrounds affect your writing?
I think this question might be harder to answer if I hadn’t written a story so close to my own experiences, but it’s all there for you to see. I’ve been so blessed to live the way that I live, in spite of my struggles. My life is a good one and is full of good things. I have so much more freedom than I might have if I were someone else experiencing the same problems, and I can only hope that the gratitude I feel about my situation in spite of my struggles shines through in this story.
Any advice to writers that would like to be published today? How tough is it to be published?
I think the key is honestly believing in the story that you’ve written and not letting up until it’s out there. Show that you’re capable of promoting yourself and taking direction from the team that’s making your story everything it can be. Love what you’ve created, and believe that you’re an author with great ideas who is capable of executing them. Believe in what you’re saying and believe that there’s a reader out there who needs to hear it. You also have to do the work. Novels are titanic undertakings and require every day devotion. Discipline yourself and dedicate yourself to the process of creation.
What is the next book that you have planned?
The next novel, which I’m in the midst of writing right now, is an exploration of selfless love. I’m fascinated by the thought of a love that is unconditional and lasts a whole lifetime, in spite of the strange and sometimes horrid circumstances that life has in store for us. The story deviates from my personal life in some ways, and in others, it tells a story that I’ve lived and that is close to my own heart. One of the things I’m really excited about exploring in romance novels is the notion of intimacy. To do that, I’m playing with epistolary format and letting readers read love-letters, diary entries, and other things so personal to my characters that they can’t help but love the love between them. There’s nothing more intimate than getting a peek at something private, and writing a story told exclusively in private moments really helps to build that.
After that, I want to try something light-hearted and fun– a romantic comedy, if you will. I love humor and consider myself a bit of a jokester, so writing something that will have audiences rolling on the floor laughing while also rooting for the love blossoming between my characters is a must. After that? Perhaps something more passionate, erotic. I love love, and want to explore it from every angle.
Which books are you currently reading?
One book I just finished is called “The Power of the Other” by Dr. Henry Cloud. It talks about the effect that other people have on who you are and your behavior in every aspect of your life. I actually read a lot of nonfiction in my spare time, everything from neuroscience and self-help to stories on environmental issues and biographies of great leaders. There’s a lot of fascinating stories in history and in science that don’t get told on the news, so it’s up to authors to really analyze and break down how things work on this earth. I read a lot of books on writing and craft as well. But sometimes I like to sink into a harlequin romance novel or a classic story of love and loss, just to feel something I haven’t before. I’m an avid reader– I read even more than I write, if you can believe that. I think all writers should be.
Who are your favorite authors and why?
It’s hard to pick just one author because so many are nameless, but when I’m having a bad day and really just want to lose myself, I’ll read stories of King Arthur and his Knights. Nobility and romance, the rise and fall of a great king, and the promise of his return is consistently fascinating to me. It’s a story that you can read over and over again at different parts of your life, learning something new every time. At some parts, they’re simple; at some very complicated, but they’re always magical. They make my heart soar.
We would be highly appreciated if you say some words for our venture, “Writing Geeks”
The initiative you have to help us budding writer be known to bibliophiles and readers is quite an achievements. And kudos to all what you do.
[vc_button title=”Inside the Heart of Hope” target=”_self” color=”default” href=”https://writinggeeks.in/shop/inside-heart-hope/”] [vc_button title=”Epilogue” target=”_self” color=”default” href=”http://writinggeeks.in/samplechapters/read/inside-the-heart-of-hope/”] [vc_button title=”Buy Now” target=”_self” color=”default” href=”http://www.amazon.in/Inside-Heart-Hope-Rishabh-Puri/dp/1482873745″]
