Interview with Sabi Shaikh - By Nainika Gautam

Sabi Shaikh, the author of “Via Delhi – A twisted tale of Love” which is receiving an outstanding response nationwide, is a charismatic lad who has loads of energy and the charm to get you addicted to his witty and unique style of writing. He holds an MBA degree in Marketing from ICFAI University. He hails from the city of Mumbai and is residing in Hyderabad for the past 8 years. Sabi is very passionate about whatever he does be it writing, biking or working out. He lives his life by the quote “Impossible is just a word... Means nothing” which was written by him. He is also an avid animal lover and a huge fan of Mother Nature. Sabi’s biggest dream in life is to be a successful Bollywood script writer someday and he has already started working towards achieving his dreams. “Deaf & Dumb Love” will be marking his debut as a short story writer. 

Buy his book here: Flipkart (and don't forget to drop your reviews)

Here we get to know him a little more closely:

Hi Sabi, so first of all tell me how do you feel being interviewed by same person for the third person. I mean even I am like that what should I ask?

Hahahaha … Even I am like what should I tell. I like being interviewed by you firstly because the interviews now are more like two friends having a conversation and secondly because you don’t take cheap shots at me.

So tell me, why do you think should readers prefer to read you instead of others? 

Honestly, I may not be the best in the Market but I sure can connect with the readers. My style of writing is very dictionary free and I try to keep my description as picture perfect as possible. But the main reason why people should read my book is because I write from the heart and I don’t do this for money. Anything that comes straight from the heart is always beautiful.

Do you believe that we must not judge a book by its cover? If yes, then why do authors prefer best cover for their books? 

Novels on an average have around 50k to 75k words and believe me writing so much keeping factors like grammar, creativity, spell checks, paragraphs etc in mind is not a cake walk. After all this hard work, every Author deserves a superb cover for this work. It’s just like a package for this hard work and efforts. It is true that we must not judge a book by its cover but that clearly doesn’t mean that you end up having a rubbish cover.

What are you doing to achieve your target to be a Bollywood script writer?

I am a firm believer of Destiny. Everything has a right time and I am patiently waiting for my time. People have finally started recognizing me as a writer and if Bollywood has to happen it will happen someday. 

What are your views for increasing trend of Facebook for marketing of books?  

Tell me who doesn’t have a Facebook account? Facebook is an excellent platform to promote and market your books. You can sit at home and promote your book … Who else gives you that kinda luxury? With time I am very sure that marketing on Facebook is only going to increase. I have put in a lot of time and effort behind Via Delhi and if it wasn’t for Facebook I wouldn’t have been where I am today … You see that’s how effective Facebook is. 

Tell us something about your story in Moonlit Matinee3. 

“Deaf and Dumb Love” is a very cute teenage love story of Saif and Priyanka. I have once again tried to keep the language as simple as possible. Just like Via Delhi, this story too has a major twist. The story is all about unconditional love and acceptance.

What is the most striking feature of your story? 

I have tried to come up with something very out of the box this time. The title of my story “Deaf and Dumb Love” clearly tells you that this is not a NORMAL love story. The title itself is a very striking feature of my story.

Your book is also a love story and this short story is also the same. How do you come up with such beautiful love stories every time?

That is because I have experience unconditional Love too. If you have experienced Love and if you are blessed with a creative mind you can write MAGIC. My love story had a very tragic ending and I am very vocal about it every time but the good news is that I am going to keep writing more such beautiful Love stories. I want people to fall in Love after reading my books. I don’t want fame nor am I a success crazy freak... I just want to see more people falling in Love around me.

Which character of your short story is your favorite? 

Saif is my favorite character and the reason for that is only because of his unconditional Love that he has shown towards Priyanka. He just loves without expecting in return.

Which part of your story is your favorite?

That would definitely be the climax of the story … Unexpected … Twisted.

Tell us something about your upcoming projects? 

I have started working on my second novel which is once again a Love Story. I should be done writing by March and then the editing and publishing work starts. My last novel was a TWISTED love story... This one would be CRISPY. I am trying to write something different this time and I hope people like it. All that I can say at this moment is that this love story would revolve around the life of a fictitious sportsman from Mumbai.

Would you like to share anything that has been left by me? 

I guess that covers just about everything. I just want to tell my readers that Love with honestly … Don’t sail your relationship on false hopes and don’t break promises. Live up to your commitments or don’t commit at all. Love is a beautiful thing … Don’t taint it … Cheers!!!

(This interview was taken by Nainika Gautam under the internship program by Gargi Publishers)