A Aithal

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Tell us a little bit about yourself, your hobbies and interests.

I am not a writer, nor do I consider myself one. I was born and raised in India and spent the first twenty-five years in Mumbai. After graduating from Bombay University with a degree in science, I worked there as a computer programmer. Growing up there gave me a unique perspective on my writing style. I enjoy watching cricket matches on TV. It has become way easier now to follow my favorite team compared to when I immigrated to the US in 1989.

When and why did you start writing books?

Honestly, I didn't dream of becoming a writer. In 2009, after returning from India, an idea struck. I had several challenges to overcome. English not being my native tongue (or even my second language), in fact, I didn't know it till I was in sixth grade with it being an ESL in my school. One of the other challenges was not knowing the technicalities of writing in an engaging way, what are 'dead-words', how to structure my sentences to make it interesting, etc. I just had a 'what-if' concept. What if India was further divided into two countries? What would happen to the millions of Indians who lived in the 'wrong' part of the country? I started to pour down my idea. It took me less than a month to do so. I knew what I wanted to write, how many chapters, the title of my book, how I wanted my cover to be. Each chapter begins with artwork. I visualized what it should be, and so on. But it took me over a year to have a finished product that could be sold.

What made you decide to tackle writing as a career?

As I said earlier, I am not a writer. I develop websites. In fact, I enjoyed developing websites for my books more than actually writing it.

Which one of your books or characters is your favourite?

Several. Bunty from my very first book, India Was One, Tom from my science fiction books, Detective Tony from The Man From Afghanistan.

Which one of your books was the hardest to write and stretched you the most as a writer?

My first book, India Was One, was written with no knowledge of how to write.

Who is your favourite author and book?

John Grisham.

What book are you reading right now?

Nothing Ventured by Jeffrey Archer.

Where do you get your inspiration for your books?

As you can tell from the wide variety of my books' genres, I don't specialize in a single genre. When an Idea strikes me, I just pour my thought down.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

As I said before, watching cricket matches (I am a die-hard fan of Team-India), watching movies & TV shows, and reading.

Do you have any new books in the works?

No.