Interview with Sandeep Sharma - By Nainika Gautam

Sandeep Sharma is a 21-years-old dreamer from Agra, the city of love and the Taj Mahal, is currently in his final year pursuing B. Tech (Civil Engineering) from JSS Academy of Technical Education, Noida.

He is very passionate about writing and has been writing short stories for a personal blog since 5 years. He has also co-founded ‘The Author’s Blog’ which is a kind of a platform which tries to bridge the gap between authors and readers. He is an avid reader and loves to review books on his blog. 

He has been previously associated with many anthologies as a contributing author. 

Sandeep Sharma loves to spend most of his time with his parents. According to him, “Parents always have so much to teach, it’s just a matter of your learning desire and time.”

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

Here we get to know him a little more closely:

Okay Sandeep Define yourself.

I am a guy with a mission in life and that is to entertain. I love my life and try to live it to the fullest. My strength and the weakness both are the same and that are my parents. My love with books is immense and it can’t be described in words at all. That’s it.

According to you what impact does books and reading has on society?

Society likes to absorb everything which suits to them. They keep on learning new things, they keep on debating on various topics, and they keep on doing anything that suits them. So basically books and reading, according to me, will only leave an impact on the society if they suit them otherwise it’s just a fiction written on few blank pages.

How do you see success in literary world?

Well, when readers start to like your pics on FB, you start to receive 50 friend requests a day, flipkart keeps on showing that your book is out of stock after every two or three days, Mishra Ji start to abuse his son by saying, “Sharmaji ke ladke ko dekh, kitna bada Author bann gaya h.” *Foolish Laugh*

Well jokes aside, I think the true success is when the reader feels a connection with your writing.

Who has been your inspiration throughout this journey of yours?

Of course my parents. They were the one forcing me to write and complete the novel. And also a hidden and divine support of my sister who is watching me write somewhere from the heights of heaven.

Do you think it is necessary to read in order to write?

I think yes. Being a writer I have a responsibility to deliver the best to my readers and that would only be possible when I know what my readers are expecting from me. To decipher their needs, I have to think as a reader and that could only be possible by being a reader of other authors.

If you are asked to define your book, 'Hey Dad! Meet My Mom' in just one line, what would you say?

It’s the story of PAST bleeding into the PRESENT through FUTURE. Just like the name, the story is also unusual. (Oops! I took two lines.)

You have come up with a unique plot, how Did you come up with it?

It just came in, I don’t know how, when and where. Generally when I start to write, I try to be as blank as possible. I am literally the ‘first reader’ of my creation. Story flows itself and I just keep on writing and reading as well. But this time I had a little help from my co-author as well. She assisted me at various points when I was stuck or wondering where to go next. The most amazing thing was the climax of the novel. We both had no idea how to end the novel. We discussed it for at least a week and then finally we decided. (I am still tensed about that part. Let the judges, I mean, readers decide. *Silly wink*)  

There is movie which is based on similar plot(Action replay, if you remember), Does this has any role played in your book?

Oh! Thank god you asked it. I am totally pissed off giving the explanations to everyone regarding this question. This time I am officially announcing that please don’t compare the story of ‘Hey Dad!’ with Action Replay. There’s no (Emphasizing again, NO!) similarity between these two. There is no time machine, there is no time travel of any kind, there is no silly dialogue like ‘Aawaz Niche…’ It’s a totally different story with a tag line of ‘Story Never Heard Before’. 

Which character of your book is your favorite?

Rishi (The child who is shouting ‘Hey Dad! Meet my Mom.). For sure. 

What do you expect from your book?

Expectations are huge, fingers are crossed. Let’s hope for the best and be prepared for the worst. (Abhi to party shuru hui h *Non-sense and stupidest addition ever made*)

Tell us something about your upcoming projects.

Currently I am writing my third novel, ‘Let the game begin!’ which is a murder mystery and is based on the game of chess and its history. After that we are also planning for the sequel of Hey Dad! And that would again be a totally unexpected story.

Which is your favorite genre, the genre which you feel best to write?

I like to write suspense the most. I like to play with the thought process of the reader and the same I have tried with all my write-ups.

What do you think is most challenging part of your writing?

Editing. I am not good with my grammar (I can boldly accept that) but I am trying a lot to improve. Our editor, Gargi Sarkhel Bagchi, has done great job to rectify my mistakes and present me as an author, without her effort I am just a story-teller.

What specific features of Gargi Publisher encouraged you to work with them?

Being honest and dedicated towards work in hand. They try to go for quality rather than quantity and that’s where they leap ahead of others.

Being an Author or being an engineer... Which one you find to be more difficult and what do you enjoy the most?

I am almost about to end my engineering (Study part) and till now I have successfully maintained the balance between the two but if this start to get imbalanced, I would definitely go for my passion and that is writing. So my answer is pretty clear. I enjoy the writing, the most.

Do you believe that a write up should necessarily contain any message?

No but if you ask me about the good write ups, then my answer would be yes. While writing, we just convey our thoughts in the form of a story and if I am a reader I would not be fully entertained to read someone’s meaningless thoughts.

Would you like to give any message to our readers?

We wrote ‘Hey Dad!’ in hope that it will entertain and lighten up someone’s heart as well. We would love to hear your opinion on our book and I would love to meet you all at world Book Fair, Delhi. So do read and be a part of the journey of ‘Hey Dad!’

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