Gautam Mayekar Interview | Respect the Author
Where are you from?: I belong to a smallest state in India- Goa.
You can say it's Miami of India with beautiful beaches.
Tell us the story of how you got into writing: Writing has always been a way of escape for me. There is no particular trigger, but my Grandpa had a huge library so growing up I read a lot of books and was always interested in writing long essays. That habit turned into writing long SMS's , blogposts and now novels :D as the years passed by..
What was your favorite book growing up?: I used to read Marvel comics and few children's comics in my mother tongue Marathi/Konkani. They were called "Champak"
What is your favorite book as an adult?: I have read books of all genre, but If I have to choose one. It would be - A stone for Danny Fischer , by Harold Robbins.
What is the name of your new book?: it's titled STONED! The Untold Story of Co-Weed-20.
It's a satire genre novel.
What inspired you to write the book?: There were communal riots three years back and I didn't want to specifically take any one's side. So I wrote a blog from "stoner's" perspective, which were well liked by the audience. I went on to write many blogs on the them "Stoner's diary". STONED! novella is a compilation of those blogposts.
Tell us more about your new book: One Two Three..
Testing, Testing.
One Two Three.
Amar- the man from the future, is narrating his story into the Voice Data Recorder of Time Machine
through which he has traveled back in the past.
He is alone & stuck in the machine with no expertise or knowledge to operate it or open the door. After
discovering that his fellow companion and the one who built the Time Machine - Mohit, having tested
CO-Weed-20 positive and gone to sleep permanently, just like the entire population of Mumbai city,
Amar is left only with a stash of weed and a wait of 12 hours until the machine disintegrates.
Before it does, Amar will reveal the secrets behind the production of the deadly drug - CO-Weed-20 and
his escapades in the city getting high and stoned from running a marathon to meeting the love of his
life, Sonia, and how it all went awry.
Who is he? Who is Thakur from his dreams, and why is he after Amar?
Will he be able to alter the events in the future? Or will they catch him? Rescue him?
One Two Three.
One Two… Beep Beep Beep.
Where do you go to get into writing mode?: I don't have a specific time or place. But as i said earlier, i belong to a beach state. So, very often I like to sit on a calm and peaceful beach shack and let the writing flow.
Who needs to read this book?: It's mostly for urban crowd. urban youth who can relate to the whole "stoned" culture. But it is also for those who enjoy satire and sarcastic tales and commentary on every day events.
Who inspires you?: Growing up, I have had a lot of inspirations. Me being a cyber security professional, I look up to Mark Russinovich for his insights on security and also the thriller novels he writes. I am also the writer of India's Top selling techno psycho thriller - I'm So Hacked which will now be a trilogy.
I am also inspired by Dj NUCLEYA and his life journey and I am blessed to have his foreword on my next title.
How important is reading and literacy for youth in this world?: Reading is absolutely vital. it evolves you as a person. When you are reading, you are not just processing the words , you are also visualizing it in your mind. It's a exercise of your mind and soul.
What is some advice you would give to someone with a dream to create something they dream of?: I would say never give up.
I wrote many blog posts in my early 20s which never got published. Everyone would say - Gautam will become an author after college. Nothing of that sort of happened. I tried, got rejected. But now slowly, as the years have gone by and in my late 20s, all those blog posts are becoming spines of my novels and people are liking it.
Your hardwork pays off eventually, sometimes in the same year, sometimes in same decade. You gotta believe and keep walking towards your dreams.
Where can people find your new book?: http://www.amazon.in/Im-So-Hacked-Gautam-Mayekar/dp/9352011473
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/gautam_author13/
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