Vikrant Khanna is a captain in the merchant navy. He was brought up in Delhi and studied in Tagore International School, Vasant Vehar.
His first book “When life tricked me” is a national bestseller and has been widely appreciated. His interests apart from writing include playing guitar, composing songs, cooking and teaching underprivileged children.
Interviews
Interview with Vikrant Khanna
Dear Readers,
Our second author, enjoying the spotlight today, is a young Captain from Merchant Navy. His writing skills are very much matching from the traits of a ship’s captain. Like captain, like husband and like Vikrant.
Similar to an observant Captain, he observed his protagonist’s married life and came out successfully with a solution of whole bunch of problems faced by the young couples. His work is a nice read for young couples who have just started feeling that love is being left behind. Don’t wait, sail with him as he addresses my queries.
BNI: Tell us something about yourself and your background.
VK: I’m a Captain in merchant navy, been sailing for the past decade. I love a great story be it in the form of a book, a movie, or theatre.
BNI: So what all you have written / published till date?
VK: I’ve written 3 books so far. My first “When life tricked me” is a national bestseller. The second “The India I dream of” and the third “Love lasts forever” published last month.
BNI: What inspired you to write your first book and or this book?
VK: Being a sailor, I have all the time in the world, both literally and metaphorically. Once during a long voyage crossing the Pacific, I thought of giving a shot at writing, since I have always admired the art of good storytelling. The first draft of my first book was completed in that one month voyage. That is what fueled my interest in writing.
BNI: A 30 word tagline for your book.
VK: Love lasts forever is a modern day tale of falling in and out of love amidst the piracy infested waters of Somalia.
BNI: Who is your intended audience and why should they read your book?
VK: The youth of this country. They should read the book because it offers a unique and different story line. It’s a love story at its heart with the piracy element interspersed with it making it an engrossing and exciting read.
BNI: What was the hardest and easiest thing about your latest release?
VK: The easiest thing was to get the book published since I was already an established author with Srishti. The hardest being to get the word of the book out which would enable sales.
BNI: Is there a message in your book/novel that you want readers to grasp?
VK: There is a simple message – “Falling in love is easy, it’s sustaining the love that counts.”
BNI: Do you meet your readers at book signings, conventions or similar events? Any plans.
VK: Yes, I do. Currently I’m on a book promotion spree in schools and colleges.
BNI: Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
VK: I get a lot of mails and messages from my readers and there is a common thread running in all of it – “With the book Love lasts forever, you’ve given love and relationships a new meaning. “That sort of a response is very overwhelming.
BNI: Which writers inspire you?
VK: Agatha Christie, Sidney Sheldon, Stephen King, John Green, Nicholas Sparks
BNI: Any advice for writers budding or established?
VK: My advice would be to not get into this field if you do not completely love writing and if you cannot dedicate 3-4 hours every day to reading and writing. And if you decide to go through, never, ever give up.
BNI: What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
VK: There is a scene in the book inspired by true events. The Somalian pirates are torturing the crew members. In this particular scene a pirate smashes the jaw and breaks the teeth of a crewmember and then sets another one ablaze to demonstrate to the ship Captain what they can do if they don’t get their ransom.
Now, this is my favorite scene because it was narrated to me in my maritime college by someone who had actually experienced something similar happen on his hijacked ship. When the same person read my book, he was completely enamored by the way I’d described that and said he actually felt goose bumps because he relived the scene.
BNI: How about a snippet from your book that is meant to intrigue and tantalize us?
“When you fall in love for the first time, you can never get that person out of your mind for the rest of your life. You can never do that! You might learn to love again, or move on, or find another life partner, but the memories of your first love would always remain, no matter how hard you try to get them away.”
Many thanks Vikrant for agreeing to be interviewed and sharing your voyage of thoughts with us. I with my blog followers wish you success for your book.
