Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Bala Mookoni spent much of his younger years in the Deccan Plateau of the Indian Subcontinent, working with men, machines and glass-melting furnaces. He grew up gazing at the sea from sun-kissed coasts, dreaming of many things he did not have (a beautiful mermaid included). Now closer to the Thar Desert, he bid goodbye to a corporate career as a Vice-President and is working on what he missed for many years: doing things with his own hands, being more involved with his family (though he unwittingly ends up breathing down their necks) and having a cute Shih-Tzu at home. In-between, the wannabe author writes books. Like wine, apparently, he is getting better with age. And yes, he never found his mermaid but has instead a woman just as mysterious. His strong-willed daughter lives in Germany, and his teenaged son quickly takes his mother’s side when there is domestic discord.
When he is not writing, Bala consults for a US engineering company or works in the basement of his condo trying to ensure the water from the sewage treatment plant there smells good.
The Lemurian Triangles is Bala’s first Thriller.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is “The Lemurian Triangles”, a mystery-thriller.
I wanted to write something different that the readers would truly enjoy. Something that would delight, surprise and engage at the same time. It was then that I discovered about the legend of Lemuria. The challenge was how to make the completely unconnected ideas to come together and fit in a nice story. But I am glad that it all worked out beautifully in the end.
I hope my readers would find The Lemurian Triangles as delightful to read as it was for me to write it.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes, I like to write about the unusual and the little-known. While I want my stories to be racy, I also want to transport my readers into another world where they forget themselves. These are two contrasting requirements, but that’s another challenge that I relish.
Finally, I believe that language is an art. The use of the right language is essential to capture the spirit of the story. To that extent, the language that I use is not always the simplest.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
A lot of books have influenced me in different ways. Ernest Hemingway, Ayn Rand, Dan Brown, John Grisham and, more recently, AG Riddle have inspired me.
What are you working on now?
I just finished this book. It had been an intensive year working on it. The story had penetrated right up to my DNA, so to say. I lived it day and night, even during a break in my sleep. So, I guess I am sort of taking it easy a bit. It will be a while before I start working on my next.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Ha ha, that’s something I am still trying to discover.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t settle down after the first draft of your book. Your book’s shape only crystallises after a number of revisions, maybe 3-5 at least. Only after these revisions, your book becomes marketable.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Keep revising what you have written till you feel that it could get no better.
What are you reading now?
As I wrote before, I am just chilling at the moment.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Another book is all that I can say for the moment.
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?
1. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
2. Camino Island by John Grisham
3. Inferno by Dan Brown
Author Websites and Profiles
Bala Mookoni Amazon Profile