Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Akash Kumar Champatiray and I am a student. Currently, I am volunteering as a content editor for a newspaper-cum-NGO. Including this, I write articles, poems and short stories for newspapers as well as for my personal blog in English, Hindi and Odia languages. I have written one book named “15 Lives 15 Tales”.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The bame of my latest as well as first book is “15 Lives 15 Tales”.This anthology of short stories is a collection of 15 tales written by me. From thrillers and chillers to general fiction, from a dash of romance to motivational stories, the varieties in this anthology will not only just entertain you but also you will be witnessing various hurdles faced by the people from every direction of lives.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write particularly twice in a month and the writing may be on a short story, poem or an article. Except this, I prepare news head lines and general news for the NGO-cum-newspaper voluntarily.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
One of my teacher is a writer in our local language. He writes so well and I am thankful to him that I have learnt the writing skill from him. Except this, the books like Five Point Someone, 2 States and One night at a call center etc. have inspired me to write a book of my own.
What are you working on now?
The latest book of mine is an anthology of short stories. So, I am working on a fictional book which will be a novel particularly. Except this, I am working to publish my poetry book in Hindi language.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Basically, I promote my books through sending the link of the books to my friends and their friends and request them to share it as well. Thanks to the internet and Google, I found “awesomegang.com” where I am promoting my books.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
First of all, I am a new author. I am very new to this publishing field. What I want to say is that, no one can be purely perfect. If you are a new author, then there will be mistakes and the books might not be sold as per your expectation. But you should take this as a lesson and find out the problems in writing skill, editing,marketing etc and then try to improve yourself when you publish your book next time. What I want to say is that “Just Don’t Give up”.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
After the manuscript for publishing was confirmed, once I was reading my book again and surprisingly, I found some typing mistakes and punctuation errors and I was unable to do any rectification because when I found those mistakes, the book was already published. Due to this, I was not willing to promote my book but my parents advised me to promote it. They said, ” the review of your book is very important and you can improve your writing as well as editing skills if you get honest reviews from the people. Great authors also make mistakes and you are just a new author. You should have the guts to be criticized. ” In accordance to them, “Criticism makes man perfect”.
What are you reading now?
Currently, I am reading a book named “Traction by Gabriel Weinberg”.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I am trying to improve my writing skills. Writing skills and the content play a very crucial role and I am currently trying to improve it.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I will definitely take “Wings of Fire by Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam” , ” The Time Machine by H.G. Wells” and of course my book “15 Lives 15 Tales”