Please help me welcome XOXO Publishing Author Vikram E. Diwan to my blog.




Describe yourself as a hero or a heroine and why would you describe yourself
this way?
I am a neurotic person with a mind that has thousands of thoughts flashing at lightning speed. I delay work until the story-demons trouble me and then I work like a man possessed.

When did you start writing?
I started writing when I was twenty years old. Since I could not find the story with which I could entertain myself; I had to write it to please myself.

What made you write your book and why?
X-Files in British India – that is how I look upon the series that I plan to write with the main characters of my debut story ‘The Snake Princess’, which is part of the Tattoo Anthology Vol.1. It was just by chance that I found out XOXO publishers and decided to send my entry for their Tattoo anthology. Their acceptance came as a pleasant surprise to me.

Who is your inspiriation?
Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Dickens and George Orwell, to name only a few.

How did you feel when you found that XoXo Publishing contracted you?
Mu first reaction was disbelief, followed by a tremendous uplifting. It was also deliverance. I could finally identify myself as an author and not a crazy person doing crazy things that no one in the world cared about except him. For that I shall always be grateful to Gina and you, Ms. Sandy.

Are you writing anything new and if so what are you writing now?
Many things actually; the love story of Hitler’s sculptor with a married Jewish woman in War time Berlin, entitled ‘The Neighbor’s Wife’. Then there is ‘The Return of Mr. Jim Brown’, which is a story about a man who is not willing to die and comes back from the grave to fulfill his desires.
I am also working on ‘The Hippie Guru’; which is about an Indian Guru in the 1970’s, who sets up his commune in America and attracts thousands of disciples and is considered the most dangerous man alive. The story has everything - drugs, free sex, spirituality with gun running, FBI - as the Eastern wisdom clashes head on with the highest centers of political and religious powers of the west.

Do you listen to music when you're writing and if so which kind?
Both Indian film music and Western classical. But the funny thing is that once I am deep into writing, I am unable to hear any sound. It is akin to meditation or being in some other world or state of being.

What advice would you give a new writer breaking out into the writing field?
I do not believe I am qualified for that, being a beginner myself. Still, I would say don’t give up on your dreams and do not lose hope. The night is darkest just before dawn. Just keep writing, re-writing, editing, re-editing, polishing your work and honing your skills, above all read as much as you can.

What promotional advice would you give a new author and why?
Again a question that should be asked to veterans like you; and not to a new kid on the block. I try to promote me and my work, as I want readers to give me at least one chance, and make their judgment only after reading me. Promotion is a means for that end and not any personal hunger for fame.

Give us a glimpse in mind what are you thinking right now?
Oh! Always thinking about my stories. I wish I was in the mountains, writing day in and day night; amazing the world with my stories.

Thank you for participating. Please write your blurb including http://www.xoxopublishing.com/shop-online and include your website link or social network.
Blurb of THE SNAKE PRINCESS (published by XOXO in TATOO anthology Vol. 1)

The mysterious tattoo of a snake mermaid on her body takes an English woman to the nineteenth century British India. The land of Thugs, Fakirs, Snake worshipers, Rajahs (Kings) and thick jungles holds the key to her future and past.

Can a soul be reborn to fulfill its unfinished task? A fantastic roller-costar ride of adventure, danger and daring with an unbelievable climax!


Excerpt

“It is magnificent!” said Liz as they reached the ancient shrine of the snake god Seeshnaga after a long and arduous journey through the jungle.
The place was hardly isolated as she had mistakenly imagined, neither was the ground covered with crawling reptiles as she had feared. The shrine was a place of pilgrimage and over time a shanty town had developed around it. A stairway with a crowded bazaar on both sides led to the main shrine complex, lined with cheap lodges for pilgrims, priests and Sadhus (Hindu ascetics).

Passing mules, monkeys, cows, beggars, pilgrims and numerous touts selling rooms or vendors selling prasadam (offerings of sweets, milk and flowers) they reached the enclosed court-yard of the shrine. Liz could feel the rocky surface, sticky with the milk spilled over the centuries beneath her feet an overpowering ordour of marigold flowers and oil being fried to cook food for the pilgrims in the bazaar.

**************************

“Did not knew that I would live to see this day in my life. The ancient promise had been fulfilled. The princess has come back. Here, see this,” he said showing her an old book of worn out plant leaves with ancient scripture unwrapped from a red linen cloth that was taken out from a gold rectangular box. “This was written 500 years ago and it is passed to each head-priest by his predecessor.

Liz saw the drawing of her tattoo; but the real shock came when saw her own image, she was dressed in the picture wearing garlands and leaves and sitting on a throne. How was this possible? But before she could question the priest, the dead body of his young assistant she had met earlier in the day fell before them and all hell broke loose. A gang of sword wielding men dressed in turbans, whose open cloth covered their faces grabbed the head-priest and hit the head of the white woman with the handle of the sword making her lose consciousness.


Buy link: http://xoxopublishing.com/shop-online/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12&products_id=84
The Tattoo Series - Volume 1 [E-Book] - $3.95 : XOXO Publishing™ Shop Online, Books, E-Books
xoxopublishing.com
XOXO Publishing™ Shop Online The Tattoo Series - Volume 1 [E-Book] - 978-1-897521-49-6 Click here to read an excerpt.

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Thanks for visiting Vikram. You can check out his stories on www.xoxopublishing.com.