1. First of all, tell us something about yourself... (Family, Background, Education, Location, etc.)
A. I live in valsad, a small town of south Gujarat, with my parents. I'm a civil enggineer and at present I’m working in the field of Interior Designing.
2. When and how did you start writing?
A. since the age of 10 I used to read novels. My first attempt to write a novel came when I was 12. Having read the authors, I thought one fine day why shouldn’t I start writing! And I did.
3. What inspired you to write a book?
A. reading and writing is my passion. Stories always fascinated me and at the very early of my age I had decided to become a novelist. I really don't know what inspired me because I think I was born to be a writer. And that's why I’m here, giving this interview. Even as a child, I was a good storyteller. Kids of my age, and younger ones used to gather to listen to my tales. I read stories and presented them in an even more interesting way. I liked to scare them with my ghost stories. It was so much fun.
I used to narrate the scene by scene story of Hindi movies to my kith & kin, even to the older ones. I guess there had always been a storyteller in me that way.
4. Tell us something about your book(s)
A. Vivek and I is a work of romance. It is about a young man's struggle in his love life as he swings between his present and past... the story unfolds in the primitive region of Gujarat.. it is about fighting an inner evil...
A broken-hearted Kaushik arrives in the small, sleepy town of Valai, leaving his disturbing past behind. And even as Valai proves to be anything but slow and laid back, with all its scandals and rumour mongering, Kaushik falls in love again—this time with Vivek. However, the rush of love he feels for this young, innocent village boy is not without its dilemmas—is it the right thing to do? Would Vivek understand if Kaushik tells him the truth about his sexuality?
As his love becomes an obsession, life turns into a game of manipulation. Until destiny intervenes and takes him on a course that he neither has any control over nor is he able to change. Vivek and I is a novel about sexuality, falling in love, and learning to let go.
5. How do you feel after getting published?
A. a childhood dream-come-true. I had cried when I held the final copy of my book for the first time..!
6. Do you have a specific writing style?
A. I guess I have. This might sound very typical but I like to keep the readers guessing 'what would happen next?' I like to end each chapter in a way that the reader must flip to the next chapter. Even though 'Vivek and I' is a romance, I put in it scenes that holds the reader's curiosity.
7. How did you come up with the title, tagline, cover design etc?
A. it was all done by my publisher 'penguin books India'. They are very good at it.
8. Which part of your book was the most difficult to pen down?
A. I skip reading chapter 28 of my book as it's laden with so much of grief. It has the situation when Kaushik Mistry, the protagonist of the novel, faces nervous breakdown and reaches on the verge of suicide. It’s really so heartrending.
9. Any other challenge that you faced while you wrote?
A. finding a publisher for a gay novel was a big problem. But I ultimately found the best in the country.
10. Does the story relate to you or somebody you know?
A. it doesn't, yet the characters and a few random sequences have been taken as an inspiration from the real lives around me.
11. Which are your favourite books and writers?
A. I have always been a big fan of Sidney Sheldon. He’s just so superb. Of all his books, my favourite is THE BEST LAID PLANS. Other than him, I'm not a big fan of any other writer in particular. Harkisan Mehta in Guajarati has been my favourite. Arundhati Roy's THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS was a true delight.
12. Which writer do you think influenced you the most?
A. The great Sidney Sheldon and Harkisan Mehta in my mother tongue, Guajarati.
13. Do you see writing as a fulltime career?
A. Very much.
14. Learning/experience while writing your book that you would like to share...
A. I had an apprehension whether a gay romance would be accepted, liked and praised, or not. But by God’s grace, it’s been praised and that I can say from all the fan mail I’ve been receiving. I got to learn a lot about publishing business during the editing period of my book.
15. Your advice for aspiring and emerging writers?
A. Keep up the good work. Don’t try to copy someone else because it wouldn’t take you far ahead in your career and keep reading more & more books. That’s the only way one can improve his writing.
16. Any message for your readers.
A. Please, don’t buy pirated books.
17. Your forthcoming book(s)
A. It’s a psychological thriller. I want to take my readers on a tour to the deep, dark corners of the human mind in this novel. Full of got romance, thrill and suspense, it’s a contemporary novel about a working woman from south Mumbai who lives life on her own terms.
18. You can be reached at...?
A. email me: mayurpatelwrites@gmail.com or
contact me at my webpage: http://www.facebook.com/mayurpatelwriter or
on my FB profile: https://www.facebook.com/mayurpatelauthor
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