Dr. Junying Jeanie Kirk (PhD, MLitt, MBA, MA, MITI, NRPSI) has recently finished her trilogy 'Journey to the West'. This includes The Same Moon, Trials of Life, and Land of Hope. What's more to say, these lines from a reviewer better describe the trilogy, “It's an international thriller that reminds of a Bourne movie, and it's a beautiful, and very atmospheric insight into life in China, both in the past and the present.”; “This will emotionally affect you, it will bring every ounce of compassion and empathy you hold in your soul to the surface and leave you deep in thought.”

All of my previous professional roles you mentioned above have helped me in my writing pursuit, but if I have to pinpoint one as the most helpful, I would probably say being a ‘researcher’. I spent a number of years in a few wonderful British universities researching into the lives of ethnic minority students in higher education, and I have learnt a great deal. In the process, I was able to develop skills and an in depth understanding of human experiences, all of which add colour and texture to the way I perceive what is happening in the world and the impact on different people, depending on where we come from, gender, class, cultures, religion, ethnicity and so on. It helps me as an author to detach myself and capture what is the big picture behind what we see every day. 

I should add that the fact that I came from China and have lived in two very different cultures has inevitably shaped my writing, and my outlook, giving me an insight which is invaluable in so many ways, not just in literary means.

How did you perceive the character of Jane (Jane Eyre)? What differences do you find in the characterization of Austen’s Emma & Jane Eyre of Charlotte Brontë?

First of all, I’m delighted that we share our love for Jane Eyre - it is one single most important book in my long reading life that I can sincerely say that it is and will remain the most influential literature in my writing. In fact, I made various references to it in my debut The Same Moon - incidentally, Jane Eyre was also the all time favorite of Pearl Zhang, the protagonist in my “Journey to the West” trilogy, and you must wonder why that is the case :). 

Honestly, I have read Austen and found her books interesting, but neither Elizabeth Bennet nor Emma quite matches the impact of Jane Eyre, far from it. As characters, they simply did not appeal to me as a reader, because I could not relate to them. On the contrary, I find Jane Eyre a much more rounded character and easy to identify with, despite her being a poor English governess and me a Chinese girl growing up in a completely different culture and era. Jane Eyre, to me, is a timeless heroine with whom women all over the world can relate to, on one level or another. As you said, Charlotte, as an author, did everything in the character of Jane, her free spirit, her independent will to triumph over life’s adversities, her determination and her unrelenting desire for love and freedom, there is something in Jane that made her stand out, and standing the test of time. She is eternal, yet timeless! 

Among the movie adaptations – such as of Anna Karenina, Twilight, War & Peace and Jane Eyre, which one did you like most?

You can probably tell that I am partial towards Jane Eyre - I have enjoyed all films and TV adaptations of Jane Eyre, and it’s something I’ll never tire of watching. Having said that, I’m also a huge fan of Leo Tolstoy, and enjoyed his novels immensely. I loved Anna Karenina, and in a way, she reminded me of Jane Eyre, albeit more flawed. Given the time and the setting of Anna Karenina, she was a brave woman and hers was a very tragic story. But overall, I suspect that she would not have won as many hearts as Jane Eyre, given that many of us readers adopt a highly moral and judgmental way of thinking, whether justified or not.

I must admit that I read War and Peace in Chinese when I was a young student in China, so I am not sure how good the translation was. I do remember being hugely impressed, in awe in fact, with the sheer scope of the epic, and the amazing number of characters in the book - Tolstoy is a genius, and there is no doubt about that. I have put this book in my to-read list in the future, and this time it will be the English version - can I tell you my likes and dislikes then? From my faulty memory, about a book I read over 30 years ago, I feel that I just won’t do it justice to say anything about the characters now.

As a woman, what’s your reaction when VS Naipaul says no woman writer can match his literary – not even Jane Austen?

Can I first say that I am a fan of Orhan Pamuk after I read his book Snow? As for which kind of author I classify myself, I guess I’ll go for the ‘sentimental’ kind - I wrote my first book, because I decided that it was time that I reflect upon my life, so my starting point was an emotional one - I have also created characters who are not perfect, flawed but real. I wanted to produce stories that people can believe in, characters readers can identify with, and I wanted very much that my books would be read long after I am gone - they will show people what it was like to be living in another era which are different from their own, but among all the strangeness and historical backdrop, they could find something familiar, be it a character or an incident.

I confess that as an Indie author, my books have not reached as many readers as I would have liked, but thankfully with those I have reached, their responses have been overwhelmingly positive and encouraging. I have readers in Asia, from Phillipines and India, in Canada and the USA, in South Africa, in Europe, and as far as Australia, so I am happy. Here is one quote from a fellow author and an avid reader on GoodReads who commented on The Same Moon: “You will come to writing that is crystal clear in its dissection of motives and emotions. It is uncompromising in its honesty. The descriptions of romance, friendship, academia and family life are concrete, meticulous, accurate and moving.”

Journey To The West

Can she depend on Jack? Find out in this third and final book of Junying Kirk's "Journey to the West" trilogy.

The professor continued, ‘What is the antonym of love? Is it hate? No, it’s not. It is apathy – means not loving.’

- ‘Agree, apathy stands for not loving but then how can it be the antonym?’ I argued.

- Love - No Love, It’s so simple. 

- What’s the opposite of positive?

- ‘Negative’, the professor nodded.

- Why not zero? Zero is not positive! (Neither positive nor a negative numeral)  Actually, love shows some positive value of emotion, and apathy got no value in emotional science. You can have more love, less love but you can’t have more or less apathy. It’s kind of absolute. Apathy indeed is like zero… emotion without magnitude, can’t have a meaningful antonym. What’s the exact opposite of zero? Infinity, right! But it can’t be measured and is not as meaningful as zero, which a must to be an antonym.

The professor little agreed on the matter but didn’t oppose. (-From My Memoirs...)

(Learnt a lot from him, perhaps this was the only point where I had something else to say….crazy colz days!)

While his brother is unarguably the most popular author of India. He, himself never wanted to be an author. Being an NRI, he underwent some different experience that he never heard of. Is it same as captured by Karan Johar on-screen or has he something different, unique and more to say?  

Ketan Bhagat better known as Chetan Bhagat’s brother has more to share - completely different from his brother’s. While his debut novel Complete/Convenient is about to release on 15th of May 2013. During an interaction with S. Anupam, Ketan avers, “Complete/Convenient is a beautiful mix of my life’s real experiences and my imagination.” Excerpts…

What did inspire you to become an author?

Even though I have been always creative, I never wanted to be a writer. Was too lazy and adventurous to sit alone and type endlessly. I was happy cracking jokes and making humorous presentations amongst friends and office events. In any case I was too busy travelling countrie and collecting memories – bungee jumping, scuba diving, yoga, sky diving, snorkeling, etc.

Then few years ago, I went through a transformational experience. Something extremely intense and yet surprisingly common to my age group. Yet, I was totally unprepared for it. Had never read, heard or seen about it in books or movies. No one from family had told me about it as well.

A thorough-bred NRI like me gave up a luxurious comfortable dollar-centric life and came back to India.Why? How? This was a story I wanted to tell.

Easiest way was to write a novel as 1) it is cheap 2) it is practical (your boss thinks you are doing office work on the laptop) and 3) at least in my case, there was a writer in the family so it wasn’t considered a crazy idea J

Is Complete/Convenient a fictional work or real story? How much it reflects your life?

It is Fiction. However, it is based on real-life people and incidents that either happened to me or my friends, colleagues or customers.

It is a reflection of what every NRI man goes through especially in the first few years of moving to a new country. I can’t think of any NRI who won’t be able to relate to the situations that Kabir, my main protagonist, goes through.

Working on the novel....

Little over two years. Mainly because I was neither a writer nor a reader. Till two years ago, probably Chetan Bhagat was the only writer I had read. On top of it, I could barely write a proper email.

So even though the story was clear in my mind, it took a lot of rewrites, reviews and rewrites to get the content, flow, language etc right.

Being an NRI story, how much would it appeal to the mass Indian readers?

I am not Chetan Bhagat. He is a genius and a master storyteller. I consider my writing style very average and lacking any ‘ooomph’ factor. 

However, I feel this story will appeal to every Indian because of the relevance of its topic. I haven’t met any Indian who has not thought of moving overseas. Yet, there is no realistic story on what actually happens when you settle abroad. It’s certainly not the way Karan Johar shows it in his movies. No one flies business class, zips around in a Ferrari and stays in plus beach facing bungalows.

Also, I haven’t met any NRI who has forgotten India. Or the family of an NRI who haven’t made their share of sacrifices. Has any story, movie in recent times captured this? Even though there are more than 20 million Indians living out of India.

Another USP of the book is that it tells the story from a man’s point of view. Most stories are either about women or about men doing only two things: either playing pranks in college or being superheros. Reality is that a lot happens in a man’s life post college and marriage. Men too go through tough times like mother and wife not getting along, office politics, financial crunch etc. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand a young working man’s psyche.

What’s your marketing strategy for the promotion? Any plan to promote the book at international market…

Even though marketing is extremely important, my focus has so far being on creating a good product. I have worked extra hard in getting the book reviewed by about 100 random people and analyzing their feedbacks. I have been a salesman for almost a decade and so know that no customer wants to end up with a bad product.

Now that the product is ready, I will start with promotions which would involve city tours, tying up with book stores and reaching out to as many book readers as possible. Thankfully, some articles have already appeared in newspapers about my book and few television appearances are scheduled, so there is some foundation already laid.

Even though my initial marketing focus will be on Indian market, NRI’s have already starting showing interest in the book. I have just launched the eBOOK version at Amazon. Plus, I have shipped physical books to Singapore, Australia and USA.

After Complete/Convenient, which are the current projects you’re working on?

Nothing at this stage. I do have a story for a second book in my mind. Again something I have personally experienced and seen others experiencing. If Complete/Convenient gets a decent acceptance from readers, I will write my second book. If, for some reason, they reject me as a writer I will humbly ask for forgiveness and do something else. Don’t want to force myself in the market.

Your favorite books and authors...

My favorite authors/books are Salman Rushdie’s Midnights Children, Hussain Zaidi’s Dongri to Dubai and Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist.

In the end...

Please read Complete/Convenient. While I don’t claim to have any exceptional talents but I have worked extremely hard on the book. I promise it’s very readable. ~ Ketan Bhagat

The Krishna Key is an anthropological thriller trying to unfold Krishna & his much awaited Avatar, Kalki in the process and a murder mystery that is able to keep you engrossed till the very end with some contrived, forced and preachy dialogues. Right from the first page, you start comparing with Da vinchi code, then by JK Rowling’s as Taarak Vakil’s name description is unveiled to you and in the end you won’t hesitate to think about Coelho’s writing be it, The Alchemist, Brida or the Zahir.

The Krishna Key: A difficult project to write on

There are innumerable characters in Mahabharata. Each one has been characterized so strongly and judiciously that it leaves a little scope to weave fiction around the particular character. Krishna is undoubtedly the most deserving, but the most difficult character to frame as the central character. Actor, Aamir Khan once said that his dream project is to direct Mahabharata but he knows his limits. Few yrs. back, I asked one of India’s leading authors that why Indian authors are neglecting their own mythological characters when there’s tremendous scope to develop stories based on them. His response was that younger generations are global; they have lost their interest in these characters.

Hats off to Sanghi for bringing such a subject in the form of fiction equally backed up with facts!

Ashwin Sanghi is among the few Indian authors who dare to delve into the Indian history as well as mythology. The novel unfolds in layers – clearly showing author’s research at several layers aimed to examine Krishna’s existence not as mythological but as historical one. The Author has tried hard to equip the novel with archeological evidences in relation to Dwarka, the Taj conspiracy and 108’s theology. To appeal Indian younger generations and global readers, accepting the fact that they have little knowledge of Mahabharata, author decided to divide all the 108 chapters into two parts: The first one comes with an introductory story of Mahabharata while the second deals with a fictional story.

As a part of The Krishna Key project, Ashwin ended up reading 53 books and several research papers and it seems that the author has worked more on facts and less on fiction. Unlike Chanakya’s Chant and Rozabal line, The Krishna Key seems to educate readers more than to entertain. Take this:

“The Rosary represents the ecliptic – the path of the sun and moon across the sky. Yogis divide the ecliptic into twenty-seven equal sections called Naakshatras, and each of these into four equal padas – or steps –marking the 108 steps that the sun and moon take through the skies.”

“What truly amazing is the fact that the distance between the earth and the sun is exactly 108 times the sun’s diameter. More incredible is the fact that the distance between earth and moon is 108 times the diameter of the moon. The sun’s diameter is 108 times the diameter of the earth.”

The Plot: Captivating and Crispy

Major part of the story has been narrated through the eyes of the protagonist and historian, Saini. The plot involves serial murders to bring four seals of Krishna together. As you read the novel, it seems that together they form a key to the elixir of life or possibly a map to discover the philosopher’s stone. What exactly it is? Unlike many other novels, it starts with a murder, keeping your curiosity high – why was Varshney murdered? Who were behind? Why did they kill the anthologist? What is the meaning of the lines that the murderer leaves after each of the murders?

The puzzle keeps you haunting right from the beginning and you won’t feel any boredom till the very end, you get to know the climax.

The Punch line:

“Krishna was the eighth Avatar of Vishnu – a manifestation of a form of energy that we shall call Vish. The exact opposite energy of Vish is Shiv. While Vish, creates and preserves, Shiv destroys. They are the two faces of same coin.”

"The Philosopher is more important than the stone."

The Characters: Weak & Vague

Characters are well described but not judiciously sketched. Ashwin Sanghi has tried to sketch all the characters. But some of the characters are dumbfounded and they were least expected to preach; be it, Sir Khan – who was a robber do unfold many of the layers of the mystery which you might not expect from a character like him. Radhika, Rathore, and Priya Ratnani were some of the characters that were strong enough to pull their parts. But then how can such a strong character like Priya Ratnani be fooled so easily by someone like Sir Khan for such a long time. Similar to that, Taarak Vakil a brilliant master killer knowing himself as Krishna does not get inspired from his character even a penny, never tried to know who actually the Krishna was? What was his purpose whenever he incarnated. Just because someone tells him that he is the most awaited Avatar of Lord Krishna, he doesn’t hesitate killing people. Thinking himself as god, how does he justify all his wrongdoing through the eyes of Krishna?

Somewhere, there were loads of postulates and somewhere it was just concluded without giving any postulate. It has raised a number of curious questions that you might like to know such as In accordance with theology Krishna’s existence should be 5000 yrs old and not 3200 which carbon dating suggests as the age of Dwarka. But you won’t find any satisfying answer through the postulates given in the book. Hence it satisfies – neither on facts level nor on fictional level.

The end: Little disappointing

The Author has tried to use a similar trick that Paulo Coelho does in his novels and failed abysmally in doing so. Author didn’t think it essential to connect seals or the Krishna Key with climax part, energy – for which everybody in the book except Saini, Radhika and Rathore died.

In spite of weak climax, I will rate 3-3.5 out of five as it keeps you engrossed. The climax itself is not weak but the connectivity to the climax is poor.

She doesn't remember a time when she wasn't writing. In fact, the first time she was published was when she was seven years old and won a contest to be published in an American Girl Doll novel. Since then Cassandra has written more novels than she can count and put just as many in the circular bin. Her personal goal with her writing is to show the reader the character's stories through their dialogue and actions instead of just telling the reader what is happening. In 2012 she became a published Young Adult author, releasing In Between Seasons (The Fall, #1) and Walking in the Shadows. In 2013 she branched out by using her artistic illustrating talents to publish her first Children's novel, The Adventures of Skippy Von Flippy: Tales of Friendship (Skippy Tales, #1). Cassandra will also release her first New Adult novel, Just One Cup, in the Spring of 2013.
 
Her Book 'Just One Cup' is scheduled to release on 20th of June 2013.

Book Preview: Just One Cup

The book revolves around two central characters Emma Walker and Evan Levesque. Emma Walker was a writer who'd lost herself to someone else's anger--who had given up on ever feeling like herself again. Evan Levesque was a rock-god--the one all the woman wanted, but he'd never gotten used to the loneliness between the stage and real life.
With just one cup of coffee they'll begin a journey of self-discovery at each others sides, but can Emma handle Evan's fame while dealing with her own demons? Emma's checkered personal past, a bad relationship that haunts the edges of her memories, threatens to make everything implode on them when Evan takes matters into his own hands.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but your words...they'll destroy my soul--Can Emma handle being put back together and facing who she's become because of it?

"The novel is more than a romance novel; it’s about two individuals growing together and finding the strength to rise above things that hold them back." avers Cassandra during an interaction with Anupam. Excerpts...

 Where did the idea for Just One Cup come from?

I was looking to write something that would be “fluff” and less dark than the current project that I was working because it had become too much with working full-time and college full-time. I decided I wanted to write a romance and the first scene for the novel came to my mind. From there I just started writing, but the problem with me is, I can’t write “fluff”. The novel morphed into something that dealt with the serious topic of abusive relationships.

 Apart from the contemporary Romance, what more can we expect from the novel?

The novel is more than a romance novel; it’s about two individuals growing together and finding the strength to rise above things that hold them back. For Evan, his fame is a big roadblock for having a healthy relationship. Emma, the main character, needs to get over an abusive relationship in her past that she has never really gotten over. They both will also rediscover their true passions—Evan in his music, and Emma in writing.

How much time did it take to finish?

It took me two months to write, and I am currently editing it. Thus, it’s not really finished. I believe in the end the total will be about 3-4 months.

What other genre(s) do you write in? How many books do you have out?

I also write Young Adult and have two titles in that genre out. My debut novel was In Between Seasons (The Fall, #1), a post-apocalyptic romance and then Walking in the Shadows, a romantic suspense was released a few months later. As well as the New Adult and Young Adult I write and illustrate Children’s, my first published is called The Adventures of Skippy Von Flippy: Tails of Friendship (Skippy Tales, #1).

What’s your methodology of writing? What you do when you get stuck in between?

I don’t really do anything when I’m stuck in between. I don’t consider myself as a person who gets writers block—if I don’t want to write, or I don’t feel like writing, I don’t. I feel that forcing things out isn’t the best way to deal with creativity. If I can’t write on one book I tend to be writing on another. I have about 4 books going at any given time.

Which kind of novels do you like most – character driven, destiny driven or story driven? How do you justify your novels and characters?

My novels are very much character driven novels. I believe this is because when I am inspired to

With Kindle and Tabs on fire, which one do you really prefer – eBook or hard copy?

Honestly, I do love a good old paperback or hard copy, but they take up a lot of space and I am not a person who likes clutter. My books, with the exception of those near and dear to my heart, are all boxed up because they take up so much room. That being said, I prefer my eBooks—cheap, and they don’t take up too much space.

Do tell us about your interests other than writing…

I’m also a professional photographer, so if I am not writing I am usually photographing anything I can. I also paint, draw, knit, sew and make jewellery.

What new projects are you working on now?

I am working on the second novel of Skippy Tales called Stinky Pete Smell My Feet, as well as two other New Adult novels. Both are paranormal romances: Deadly Sins (The Devil’s Army, #1) and The Sight (The Sight, #1).

Your advice to the young authors…

Try not to look for too much advice, what you do find take with a grain of salt and always go with your gut. If you don’t want to write every day, don’t. If you need to, do. Be organized and create a network of both authors and bloggers, for these people will make or break your career. Have a passion for writing and don’t lose it—if you do then it will just be a chore and nothing more.

I have been blogging for the past 8 yrs. Initially started at bloglines.com but by the time it went under acquisition, I lost all my articles/posts/data. In 2007 finally, I migrated to blogspot with the believe that Google won't cheat, and actually it didn't. 2010 onwards Blogspot has been not only the biggest blog spot but one of the top ten websites in the world. There is another popular blog-spot called Wordpress - one of the top 25 websites.

The rivalry is close - closer than google vs. baidu, youtube vs. dailymotion.

There are reasons for that. Bloggers are the most independent consumers. They like to experiment. They actually have got the guts to move against the onflow. Like many other bloggers, I have been using both. I must say both have their distinct features and can't be compared at all.

Blogsopt: Top choice for common users

Common Users, who don't want buy their own disk space prefer blogspot as their top choice for obvious reasons:

Blogspot allows you to edit your template's codes. You can import the templates as per you choice. Wordpress does charge heavy amount for these facilities. Moreover Blogspot offers some really great dynamic templates which are not available at wordpress. It offers unlimited bandwidth against the limited offer at wordpress. But what blogger doesn't provide is that you can't publish your pdf docs directly at blogspot but at wordpress you can.

Wordpress: Simplest web support service for common paid users

Wordpress is known for offering its free web software/service for paid users those found their web hosts already. Having said that you can now install a number of templates using wordpress. But still you won't find these as great as offered at blogspot. there are a number of lovely templates designed for wp, but they aren't free, are they?

For blogging purpose, I won't migrate to wordpress but for website development. In a nutshell, blogspot is for active bloggers with over 250 million users those can follow each other, read all following blog posts in the same web page using google reader. Wordpress is for users who are interested in establishing their own websites with their own space and all. Wordpress is known for it web support services that is not offered by blogspot.