What is your name, where were you born
and where do you live now?
My name is Rituraj Verma, I was born in
Mumbai, and now I am back here after many years.
Did you always want to be a writer? If
not what did you want to be?
Its been suggested as a career several
times, but I have never given it serious thought until recently.
What is the name of your latest book,
and if you had to summarise it in less than 20 words what would you say?
The book is called “Love, Peace and
Happiness: What more can you want?” It is a collection of nine connected
stories with alternate endings on the web. Readers experience a subtle message
as they choose endings as per their belief system. It’s a bit of a mind bender.
BLURB from Goodreads
Stories surround us. Stories about people like us who make difficult and often complex choices that sometimes astound us. You must have come across several people in your own life who closely resemble the characters in these stories. Maybe sometimes, you too have gone through trying moments in your life.
For instance, have you ever been bugged enough with your partner to want to leave? Have you ever had to choose between love and money? Have you ever had to compete with your partner? Have you ever felt that your family weighs you down when it comes to choosing your partner?
At times like these, haven’t you wished that things happened differently and that you could change how they ended?
Now you will control how the stories in this book end.
Each story centres on the life of an urban middle class character caught in a set of circumstances beyond the character’s control. A Hindu girl living in with a Muslim boy is suddenly in the glare of global media in a reality TV show, a divorced cynical man faces the prospect of committing himself to a prostitute, a highly talented small town girl must choose between life and death. All must resolve the conflicts within their beliefs.
Read the way the stories end in the book, but if you don’t agree with the ending, visit the website for alternate endings.
If you don’t like the way the stories end there either, write your own, and if your ending is selected, see it in print in the next print run with your name in the acknowledgement section.
For instance, have you ever been bugged enough with your partner to want to leave? Have you ever had to choose between love and money? Have you ever had to compete with your partner? Have you ever felt that your family weighs you down when it comes to choosing your partner?
At times like these, haven’t you wished that things happened differently and that you could change how they ended?
Now you will control how the stories in this book end.
Each story centres on the life of an urban middle class character caught in a set of circumstances beyond the character’s control. A Hindu girl living in with a Muslim boy is suddenly in the glare of global media in a reality TV show, a divorced cynical man faces the prospect of committing himself to a prostitute, a highly talented small town girl must choose between life and death. All must resolve the conflicts within their beliefs.
Read the way the stories end in the book, but if you don’t agree with the ending, visit the website for alternate endings.
If you don’t like the way the stories end there either, write your own, and if your ending is selected, see it in print in the next print run with your name in the acknowledgement section.
Who is your publisher? or do you self
publish?
Leadstart is the publisher in India, who
has a co-marketing deal with me, and the world wide digital and physical rights
are still available. So the ebook is self published, but I am looking for a
publisher in the USA or the UK for the physical copies.
What genre would you place your books
into?
I call it Contemporary/ Literary Fiction
or it could also fit into Contemporary Romance.
What made you decide to write that genre
of book?
It evolved over a period of time. I
noticed that children would surf the net to look for things they did not
understand in text books. So I started to wonder how literature would change in
the years to come. Then I read about the Zuckerberg principle, and decided that
I would use a format where readers would choose how they would end conflict in
the character’s lives. As they do that they engage with the writer and with the
characters and they learn a little bit about themselves.
Where do you get your book plot ideas
from?What/Who is your inspiration?
The characters and situations in the
book are inspired by people I know. The stories are stories about People Like
Us, but the difficult choices they make are determined by the reader. You can
say that the book is Hemingway meets the movie ‘Inception.’
Do you gift books to readers to do
reviews?
Yes, I do as a matter of fact. Anyone
wanting to review the book can send me a mail at riturajverma2005@gmail.com
and I will send over a pdf or mobi file.
What do you think makes a book a really
good/bestseller ?
I think a book has to connect with a
large number of people to be a bestseller. It has to have a subtle message that
is embodied either through the plot or through its characters, and that message
has to leave an impression long enough for people to recommend the book to
others.
Where can readers follow you?
On Myfanpage – www.facebook.com/BookLPH
Your Blog details? - www.riturajverma.com
Your Web site? - www.riturajverma.com
Your Facebook page? - www.facebook/rituraj.verma
Your Twitter details? - @authorrituraj
And any other information you wish to
supply?
Buy link for Love, Peace, and Happiness: What more can you want?
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