About SOURABH MUKHERJEE:
Sourabh Mukherjee is a seasoned Information Technology professional and an author of fiction. In his day job, Sourabh is a Vice President with Accenture, one of the world’s leading management consulting and technology services firms. His books include About Matters of the Hurt, Nargis – Through my Summers, and Loves Lost.
Born and brought up in Kolkata, India, Mukherjee has several fictional and non-fictional publications in magazines, journals and websites – some of them date back to his early childhood.
He has been featured in Flokka’s list of 30 all-time great quotes on soul-mates. His story ‘The Girl of my Monsoons’ won the Golden Pen award in the Monsoon Romance Contest 2014.
Mukherjee loves traveling, and is a keen observer of human behaviour and cultural diversities. He has spent wonderful years in Europe – England, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden; he has travelled across the United States – Florida, California, Texas, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York and Nevada; and has stayed in several Asian countries including Malaysia, Singapore, China and Japan.
He is an avid reader of fiction himself, and is passionate about photography, movies and music.
What inspires you to write?
I started writing when I was 5. I have never really written for a purpose – it is just something I love to do. In my early childhood, I would spend hours writing (as well as making illustrations for my own stories). These days, writing is often a cathartic experience for me. It helps give vent to my emotions and stories are born out of them. There is a bit of me in each one of my stories.
Let me tell you about the inspiration behind About Matters of the Hurt – Love Stories Round the Clock.
As we chase our dreams in a materialistic and highly competitive society, at some point in life we realize success and wealth do not make our hearts go aflutter like love does. Our achievements — however laudable — cannot fill up an empty heart. It is important, therefore, to seek out true love at its selfless best, and when we find it, to treasure it without letting our inner devils ruin our relationships. I started writing the stories with these thoughts.
The other interesting aspect that appealed to me was how our moods and emotions often align with the different parts of the day. Thus, the various hues of love are depicted in this book against the backdrop of the tranquillity of summer afternoons, vibrant celebrations of the evening, the cold treacherous darkness of the winter night, or the brightness of a spring morning heralding a new beginning with fresh hopes.
Tell us about your writing process.
I am an outliner. I do create a basic structure and chapter outlines using software like Microsoft Word.
I start writing the chapters with the basic premise in sight. And I let go, letting the sights and the sounds in my mind take over. It is, therefore, extremely important for me to be in the ‘appropriate’ frame of mind to write. I need to be in those situations myself. Therefore when I am writing a story, there are days when I am in a completely ‘different’ mood and I do not write a word.
What I always hear from my readers is that they can visualize the scenes, and relate to the characters. And now you know why.
What advice would you give other writers?
It is important to create real, identifiable characters in a story – unless of course one is writing a fantasy or a superhero story. Correct use of the language is essential. An author should ensure that a story progresses at a uniform pace – a story that slows down after an energetic start is a big let down. Finally, it is not about the length but always about the impact of a story. I have read 1-page stories that have left me thinking for days.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
Partridge India, a Penguin-Random House company, liked my collection of what I would call rather unconventional love stories, aligned in mood and in settings with the four parts of the day, and published About Matters of the Hurt – Love Stories Round the Clock. I liked their editorial services as well as the post-production support in spreading the word about the book.
I also did some research on contemporary reading habits and realized that there is actually a big market for standalone short stories in the electronic platform – Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Nook and the like. I guess it comes from one’s urge to catch up on one’s reading but not having enough time to dig into a 400-pager. You are probably looking for a brisk but quality read while you are waiting to catch a flight on a busy day. That was the reason why I published Nargis – Through my Summers and Loves Lost on the Amazon Kindle and have seen wonderful results so far.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think the competition today is not among authors, but authors as a community are competing against applications like Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp, which are grabbing the largest share of the attention span of today’s generation. So, firstly, we are being continually challenged to create content that is relevant, inspiring and interesting to people. Secondly, we need to leverage social media and use platforms like FB, Whatsapp. Twitter to our advantage to create a broader and all-pervasive presence for our books and ourselves. That is where lies the importance of having books in the electronic medium, making them more easily accessible and economical. However, we will never lose the age-old appeal of the fragrance of the printed page – new and old.
What do you use?: Professional Editor
What genres do you write?: Romance, Relationships, Human Psychology, Thrillers
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Link To SOURABH MUKHERJEE Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
LinkedIn
All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
