Today, I have an interview with Uday Satpathy,
author of Brutal.
A brief write-up on Brutal:
"Death penalty looms over a schoolteacher who commits a heinous
crime with absolutely no motive. The nation wants revenge, and an obscure
vigilante group delivers it brutally, even before the trial could begin. Just
when the world thinks that the bloody saga is over, two journalists dig deeper
into the case. And so begins their nightmare. Treading over bodies of their
leads and chased by assassins, they will soon realize that some mysteries
should better be left untouched."
Q. Tell us something about yourself?
I
work in the IT Industry, serving Life Sciences clients. I am an Electrical
engineer and an MBA by education, though they don’t add much to my writing
skills J. I am an avid thriller reader and
follow this genre a lot. My dream is to write a top-class legal thriller some
day.
Q. Brutal is
your first book. How long did it take you to write it?
Brutal
took around a year and half for me to write. But, the editing and rework must
have taken another six months.
Q. What’s your writing process like? Are you a
plotter or a panster?
I
am predominantly a plotter, though I don’t believe in too detailed plotting. My
plot usually divides the story into 5-6 major chunks and major twists. Within
those boundaries, I have a free brush and I can use any colour.
Q. How did you go about doing research for this
book, especially the characters of Doctor and Sultan.
My
background in Pharma and Healthcare helped me a lot in shaping the character of
the Doctor. On the other hand, I had to do a lot of research on Indian Special
Forces to make Sultan’s character credible.
Q. I was fascinated with the Kushwaha family and
their work. What was the inspiration behind creating such a family?
My
inspiration for such a family comes from Robert Ludlum’s works which often talk
about megalomaniac corporations and families. His books have had a profound
influence on my writing.
Q. I made an
instant connection with the main character Prakash Sinha. Any chance of seeing
him in future books?
Oh
yes. Prakash Sinha will remain a major component of the realm of my novels. His
background in a sleazy magazine, his troubled childhood, his family are some
angles which I have not explored deeply in Brutal. These stories will probably
surface in the subsequent instalments. In fact, a few more characters of Brutal
might make a comeback.
Q. Did you try submitting to traditional publishers?
Yes.
I did try submitting to traditional publishers for almost six months, without
much success. A couple of them rejected my proposal, while others didn’t
respond. At that point I made a decision of not waiting further and showcasing
it on BloodyGoodBook.com
Q. Any tips for writing a thriller?
Invest
a lot of time in plotting and doing research. Cut, cut, cut. Remove sub-plots
which might bore the readers.
Q. What are
you working on now?
I
am working on a sequel to Brutal. Hope it will be better and more gripping than
my debut work.
Author Bio
Uday Satpathy is an Information Technology expert in the world of
Healthcare and Life Sciences. He has a degree in electrical engineering and an
MBA from one of the top B-schools of the country. Brutal, his first novel, was
born out of his love for thrillers with intricate plots. He is a movie
connoisseur, a cricket fanatic, a quizzing enthusiast and a travel freak. As if
that was not enough, he has a special place in his heart for cooking as well.
Links
Bloody Good Book has generously offered to give two
books (a hard copy and a ebook to two of my followers). This giveaway is open to all my followers. Let me know in the
comments section which one you prefer.
I prefer eBook. ePub version. Reading paperbacks is so 2005 :P
ReplyDeleteDestination Infinity
BRUTAL sounds like a fantastic read. I'd love a hard copy thank you.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you could have a long-running series there.
ReplyDeleteEBook for me of course.
Good interview and the book sounds gripping. I'm going to pass on competing for a win, however, as I am way behind in my writing and I have a towering TBR stack already. Best of luck to Uday Satpathy.
ReplyDeleteGreat interview and this book sounds like a thrilling page turner! Good luck and wishing Uday lots of sales :)!
ReplyDeleteGood Interview!! I love the cover of this book, so intriguing!!!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds exciting and I love a good thriller! Of course I'll read it and would enjoy either a hard copy or ebook.
ReplyDeleteI just checked and saw Brutal was on Kindle Unlimited of which I am a member, so already downloaded it!
ReplyDeleteWhat a good interview Rachna! I would love to have a copy of this book, it sounds interesting. Only I don't know if I qualify for one :(
ReplyDeleteBut I'm hoping :)
Many congrats on this and wishing you much success. Brutal sounds very intense.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on this first book. It both looks and sounds like a good one!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a dramatic story. Great cover for the genre too.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Uday! A well crafted thriller takes a lot of plotting skill. I'd love to win an e-book.
ReplyDeleteSounds good! I don't read a lot of thrillers, but I do like the occasional one. Good luck with it!
ReplyDeleteAnd hello, Rachna!
Thinking of the books as "chunks" is a good one. Not too much plotting, but enough about the structure to give the story shape before writing. I enjoyed reading about this author.
ReplyDeleteBrutal sounds like a great read. A lot of fine authors are choosing to handle their own publication or going for a small or medium house instead of spending months and months trying to chase down an agent or big publisher. I've read a few pretty good ones, too.
ReplyDelete