Q Why do you write?
It is the most satisfying thing you can do for a living that is legal and not socially a taboo yet.
Q Describe your favourite writing space.
Anywhere that is calm and ideally has a good wifi, so I can procrastinate more efficiently.
Q Your favourite word?
No.
Q Do you have a writing schedule?
Yes, but I have failed to stick to it for 15 years now.
Q Ever struggled with writer’s block?
I don’t struggle with writer’s block. I embrace it, so I can waste time more enthusiastically.
Q Do you keep a diary?
No. I do have social media though.
Q What inspires you to write? Do you have a secret trick, or a book/author that helps?
I like writing for its own sake. When appreciation or occasional interludes of fame or money happen, those are good too.
Q Best piece of advice you’ve ever got?
Never turn in a piece of work you’re not happy with just because you have a deadline. I’ve done this in the past and that is my only career regret.
Q Coffee/tea/cigarettes – numbers please – while you are writing…
Too much of everything. Trying to cut it down to two cups of coffee and nothing else, but I’m not there yet.
Q Which books are you reading at present?
Lots of non-fiction for research. The last works of fiction that I read and loved were by Prayaag Akbar and Sharanya Manivannan.
Q Who are your favourite authors?
Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, P.G. Wodehouse and Sukumar Ray.
Q Which book/author should be banned on grounds of bad taste?
None. No book should be banned.
Q Which are your favourite children’s books?
Alice in Wonderland, The Graveyard Book and the first three Harry Potter books.
Q Which classics do you want to read?
I’ve read all the classics that I wanted to read and have no intention of reading the ones I deliberately avoided.
Q Who is your favourite literary character?
Gaspode the dog from Discworld novels.
Q Which is the funniest book you have read?
Leave it to Psmith by P.G. Wodehouse.
Q Which is the most erotic book you have read?
The Malayala Manorama Yearbook really gets me going.
Q Which book do you wish you had written?
I can barely decide which of my own books to write, let alone other people’s.
