-DuDo
How old were you when you started writing?
I started penning poems and short stories from my schooldays. Hmm maybe I was around 12 – 13 years old.
Why did you choose writing as a career?
I started writing poems and stories when I was a kid but I didn't pursue writing as a career. I started writing articles for few entertainment related magazines and websites as I love our Hindi Film Industry and I used to do that as a hobby. I used to maintain a diary and one day a friend of mine chanced to read one of my old diaries and he said that the situations are so funny and real why dont I share it with the world in the form of a book and thus 'KNOCKED UP' was born. Basically I love weaving stories and I think I am a better story teller now.
What was the inspiration behind your first novel, Knocked Up?
My childhood experiences and the days spent with my friends.
Are the characters in the books based on someone you know or its a fiction?
Its based on the situations that I along with my best friends faced during our growing up days. Few are facts and lots are fiction. On a lighter note I dont want to invite any controversy here (laughs) so I plan to put a disclaimer on the book.
What was the hardest part about writing, Knocked Up?
Nothing. The story was already there in my head when I started writing it just flowed out and in 20 days flat I was ready with the first draft.
Can you describe your entire book in one word, and tell us why did u choose it?
Its difficult to describe the entire book in one word... Let me try... HILLARIOUS or just plain KNOCKEDUP but that's two words... lets remove the space in between to make it one word. Childhood is something which we are blessed with only once and I wanted to relive my childhood days once again and that's why KNOCKED UP took shape. Some people write diaries and some keep scrapbook as memories but I wrote this book so that whenever I feel nostalgic I can read my book.
Tell us something about the book?
KNOCKED UP is a light hearted situational comedy or should I say a entertainer which has every emotion in right doses. It is a feel good story and most of us will definitely identify with the story and situations as most of us would have encountered the same in our life. KNOCKED UP will definitely put a smile on your face and there is no tension or thought provoking message in it. The only message I want to give my readers is 'FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS' and never kill the child in you.
Tell us about the novel's main character ?
There are three main characters and they are as confused about their life as any teenager is and every adult feels that children dont have any tensions in life as they dont have to fend for themselves nor they have to think about anythingelse other than studies but thats not the case. Every teenager is bogged down with a lot of problems and tensions other than studies like love life, career to choose, living upto their parents expectations etc...
Do you have any other projects you're currently working on?
As I said I am a story teller and I have many stories lying in my pandora box (my brain) to be told to the world. I would be coming out with a sequel to KNOCKED UP called KNOCKED UP AGAIN and there are few more drafts lying with me which I would be developing very soon under my publication 'Magic Moments Publications'.
Why did you turn a self publisher? Is it because you didn't find any takers for the book?
No that's not the case. I approached a lot of publishers and I got a lot of positive response from them. I even signed a contract with one of the premier and prominent publication however I felt that they were not able to do justice to my book the way I wanted. Moreover my brother who already has an e-book publishing house was toying with the idea of launching hardbound books to the market. We formed 'Magic Moments' to bring out a series of books covering various genres and we wanted a bestseller to establish our publication in the market so we jointly decided to bring out 'KNOCKED UP' under the Magic Moments flagship to establish our publication as well as promote the book the way we wanted to.
Who are your favorite writers?
I love old English writers like Shakespeare, Jane Austin, William Thackeray, Charles Dickens etc and in Indian writers I love Munshi Premchand, Tagore and Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay. In the current lot I love Chetan Bhagat's work also Ruskin Bond (although he is not from the current lot however his stories are still young and fresh)
What advice would you give to budding writers today?
Follow your dreams there will be many obstacles but you need to stay determined and things will fall in place.
Do you have anything to say to all your readers?
Relive your teenage days through KNOCKED UP
Visit him at www.shaijumathew.com
Pleasant memories :)
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