Kindle Gems: Meet Entrepreneur & Novelist Ritoban Chakrabarti

Interview with

Ritoban Chakrabarti

Author of the Soon to be released Novel:

When She Smiled

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Interview:

Tell us about your book? What inspired you to write it?

About eight months ago, I picked up JD Salinger’s ‘Catcher in the Rye’ and read it in a few hours. It was a very simple story driven around one teenage guy and how a few days changed his perception about life. We have all had such moments. I’ve had mine for sure. There was a story that needed to be written. After reading that book, I had an epiphany. I reflected on the choices I made as a teenager and how they influenced my future. My novel is about a fifteen year old guy who had no clue how falling in love would forever change his life. ‘She’ is the girl he falls in love with. Her name is Akanksha. The entire story is set in Shimla, which is a beautiful hill station in India.

Have you always enjoyed writing?

I used to be an avid reader as a child, but since college my reading habits had been suppressed because I got busy with engineering studies and my part time internet marketing. But recently, I started reading again, and I had an epiphany a few months ago about writing a novel, and I followed that dream. I’ve written a few marketing books. I’ve also written a lot of blog posts for my products, company related communications, and personal stories. To be completely honest, writing the novel has been on my dream board for a long time, but I seriously considered it only a few months ago.

What type of work do you do? Is it related to your book in some way?

I’d like to think of myself as a jack of all trades who loves traveling and has spent his entire life in India. To be precise, I’ve taken on several roles in the last few years. I’ve programmed software, started companies, hired and managed employees, designed websites and graphics, made videos, marketed the hell out of several projects online, and recently finished my first novel. Next year, I’ll be working on a music album. You could say I live life by the moment and take upon challenging projects that push my limits. I’m a hustler who doesn’t quit. Writing the novel was a completely new and challenging project for me, but once I had decided I would do it, I did. There’s been no looking back since. I’m getting it published in digital and print in February 2015. I’m also marketing it heavily, which incidentally is fairly easy for me considering my background in Internet Marketing.

What's next? Is there something you're working on now?

Believe it or not, even though this book is not out yet, I have already started working on another novel. This one is a neo noir mystery, and I’m currently doing research. I’ll start writing it after When She Smiled hits bookstores in February, 2015.

What do you hope readers will "take away" from reading your book?

Life is all about the choices we make. Little choices and decisions that seem trivial at the moment, end up defining your entire life journey. The story follows the mind of a teenager and how he is exposed to love, feelings, and hardships in the course of a year. And how all this paved way for the choices he makes. I believe we all control our destiny, but we really don’t know exactly how. We just go by the flow and let things happen to us. This story is about getting in control and making choices that define your future.

What advice would you give to other Indie Writers or those who dream of writing a book?

To be honest, I didn’t have much support from my family when I told them I wouldn’t pursue an MBA degree, and that I wanted to open my own company. They were very reluctant, but I was more stubborn than they could handle. I kept following my passion, and slowly they got to be a part of my success. Now, they proudly tell everyone they meet about what I do and how I got there. I have always believed in ‘hustling’. No matter how adverse your situation may be, if you’re somebody who can hustle long and hard at what they believe in, no one will be able to stop you. Your success is in your hands. Your failure is also in your hands. So keep hustling, and you’ll see how each of your goals will keep becoming a reality.