Interview with author Arka Datta

This year, three of my co-authors from the widely popular Indian anthology 'Love Stories That Touched My Heart' have come out with their debut novel. So it is a great pleasure to feature them here at the blog as they begin this new journey.

Today, I feature author Arka Datta.

1. Arka, tell us a little bit about yourself. 

I am a fiction writer from Kolkata, India. I stumbled upon writing while chasing my dream of becoming an alien tamer, then an astronaut, then an astrophysicist, then a mathematician, then a painter, then an animator, and finally a web content developer. Since discovering my love for storytelling, I have only written short stories and a novel. I has been published by multiple reputed publishers, like Penguin India, StoryMirror, HBB, and numerous literary web portals.

2. Could you tell us more about your debut book, 'A Team of Extraordinary Bastards'. 

Available presently on Flipkart

Arya Sen is destiny’s child, a young boy from Kolkata who is born to be the greatest the Football World has ever seen. The universe never fails to surprise him with good fortunes as he embarks on his journey from Kolkata to all over the world. But, just when he starts to believe that nothing can go wrong for him, everything changes.

Surrounded by loss, darkness, and complete absence of luck, Arya desperately waits for hope. And it appears but from the unlikeliest of places. With the support of his wife April and younger brother Ilan, Arya takes upon him a task that is bigger and more important than all of them. This time, he is up against his greatest friend: Destiny.      

3. How has the transition from short story to full length novel been? Advice for others?

It wasn’t easy, to say the least. I was like a small boat on the ocean, in a raging storm. The planning and research parts are like monsters. You will never really be able to tame them, but, with time, you learn that you can befriend them. It was a satisfactory experience. With a novel, you can grant your characters enough time to properly develop and make multiple story arcs collide into each other for that perfect explosion.

My advice to anyone, who is contemplating about writing a novel, would be that don’t look for shortcuts. Writing a novel is mostly about figuring things out on the go. Dedicating yourself completely into it is the only way to do it.



You can buy Arka Datta's book here.

 

 ‘I am taking part in The Write Tribe Festival of Words #6'

I decided to subvert the themes of Days 4 & 5 and instead go with the theme of Day 6 (Interview someone) for these three authors. You can find other posts related to today's theme of 'a Day in someone else's life' here.

My posts for this #WriteBravely #FestivalOfWords include:

A Family Unrelated by Blood (Theme: Treasures)

What's on my Workplace Desk (Theme: Resources)

Tharavadu Hotel - a Kannur Seafood Delight (Theme: Maps)

Interview - Author Arka Datta 

Interview - Author Vinayak Nadkarni

Interview - Author Manaswita Ghosh