Interview of an author of five star book

Sankha Ghosh is a banker by day and writer by night. Starting off as an environmental activist with an international foundation, he eventually got into the exciting industry of banking. An avid observer, an alternate thinker (really!!!) and strictly opinionated, his writings have been published in several domestic and international blogs.

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Instagram: @sankha.ghosh04
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1. You are not only a writer but also a banker. How you handle work and writing together?

It’s like a discipline to follow to write something everyday. Initially it was tough, given the hectic job schedule I had. But once the discipline sets in, the story starts moving forward every day in mind and then at night on paper. So, I am like a writer who writes only at night (laughs).

 

2. Your writing style is unique and quite impressive. Do you think this is an inborn talent or one can develop it?

Thanks for the compliment. I believe that expertise on any field is developed by honing the skills dedicatedly over a time. I have immense interest in reading fictions and have always loved writing – be it essays or fictions or blogs. Thanks to many of my teachers who helped me develop the interest in the language. I read contemporary fictions a lot and I believe that has a lot of influence in the narrative. I used to do book reviews too before some years. So, all these have helped me develop the style. Hopefully, it gets better with time.

 

3. The book, The Sun Shines Down, is mixture of politics, mystery and social affairs. What genre you put the book in?

TSSD is a thriller on the backdrop of Indian politics. It is a complete commercial fiction or the pop fiction.

 

4. Who’s your favourite character from the book? Why?

That’s a tricky part! It’s difficult to choose one. Still, if you ask me, I would go for Hector. The character rises from the ashes of being victimised to an epitome of confidence and dare. There is a lot of drama and emotions to root for him.

 

5. I am always curious to know what author’s story behind the book is. So tell me about your journey with this book.

I started writing the story long back. Due to lack of discipline, the drafts remained incomplete for long. But last year, I happened to meet my publishers – Kiriti da and Bitan Da at an event in Mumbai. During a discussion with them after the event, I mentioned about the story and they somehow liked the plot and asked me to submit for consideration. That was the biggest motivation to start working on it again.

As I started to work on the old draft towards completion – I had to change the whole backdrop. In last few years, the political scenario, the digital intervention and role of media has changed so much that I had to work on it all over to make it relevant as on date. The intent has always been to weave a fictional plot around a real political backdrop.

6. Your book is, though fiction, carries very much of reality. How would say you collected the necessary data?

I follow Indian politics and also international politics to some extent. And believe me, it has so much material and drama in itself that you would never be short of any if you are trying to include those in your story.  Even the climax of the story is also a fictional representation of a true political scenario which happened only a few months back.

 

7. What was it that made you name the book “The Sun Shines Down”?

I am a Sidney Sheldon fan and have loved his work. So, it was his works which influenced me a lot in shaping my narrative and style. So, my first book is a tribute to him and his unmatched body of works. The name The Sun Shines Down matches with one of his works – The Star Shines Down.

On a different perspective – the title depicts the warmth, protection, hope or getting rid of all problems as the sun shines down on them (smiles).

 

8. What are your feelings towards this increasing passion of book blogging and reviewing? Do you, as an author, find it helpful?

Book blogging is a very important tool for an author but I believe is more important for a reader. Though the book reviews are completely of personal opinions of the reviewers – it creates awareness and spread the word. It helps authors like us to reach out to our readers and readers too get to choose the books they feel like. As we are more into the likes of bookish twitter or bookstagram or booktube – the penetration among reading enthusiasts is multifold today. And, as a community too, the bloggers have a big responsibility to provide honest reviews. The honest reviews help us authors to develop our craft. At the same time, it is required to promote indie works and also crave for diversity.

 

9. What motivated you to write in English?

I love both Bengali (which is my first language) and English. But I chose English to reach out to the wider range of readers.

 

10.A very likely question, are you working on some new projects?

I am working on something which is completely different from the genre of TSSD. It is too early to share anything on it but can assure something original and more exciting.

So, this was Sankha Ghosh, author of The Sun Shines Dwon, whoch was reviewed a few days ago and if you want to you can grab a copy of its here.

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