We at author times got a lucky chance for a tete-a-tete with the author of Rocky and Arjun, and here is our conversation.


Q1. As this is your first book which is really good so for you what comes first, the plot or characters?

Ans: For me, characters come first, I write my characters with as many details as possible first, before writing the plot of my stories.
Interesting characters help the plot to take the readers into the world where the plot is happening. Rest is the readers’ imagination of the story with these characters. I want my readers to identify these characters as someone they know, or look at themselves as one of the characters in my stories.
I feel satisfied when someone tells me that he/she knows this character, or he/she feels that he/she finds similarities with this character which I have written in my book – Rocky and Arjun.

Q.2. How did you develop your plot and characters?

Ans: Initially, there were only 4-5 characters in my first book – Rocky and Arjun, when I wrote it as a short story. Later, when I thought of developing this short story into a book/novel then I wrote more characters with complexities in their nature, behavior, and how they feel and interact.
Added these new characters and introduced them one by one as the story moves from one chapter to another chapter in my book to make it interesting for the readers.
All female characters in my book have their own identity, they are distinct from each other. Radhika is vibrant, Chitrangadha is poised, Dimple is complicated and Meera ji is caring yet authority in the house.
All male characters in my book also have various shades, Rudrapratap ji is authoritative, Arjun is very easy to gel with the type of obedient character and Karan is an opportunistic character. Rocky has all shades of male dog characters.

Q3. How do you come up with the titles for your books and when did you first consider yourself a writer?

Ans: Initially the title was “Eventual Days With My Mountain Dog” when I completed my book and submitted it to the publishing house.
The marketing team at Notion Press suggested me to have a shorter title for my book then we came up with this title “Rocky and Arjun” as main title and “Eventual Days With My Mountain Dog” as a subtitle of my book.
I started writing stories at the very young age of 7-8 years but when my stories were appreciated by my family and friends, I thought of publishing them online on various online platforms. My short stories were appreciated on those online platforms. Only then I thought of considering myself as a writer.

Q4. Describe your writing space.

Ans: My comfort zone is fictional stories therefore my writing space will always be a fictional story writer who writes fictional stories for children and adults. My next book will be compilation of fictional short stories for children, adults, and geriatric readers as all of them will relate to these stories.

Q5. What time of the day do you usually write?

Ans: I am a nocturnal person, I prefer to write in the night when there is no distraction, no noises around, and no urgency to complete my story in a hurry. I prefer to listen to Hindi film songs depending on my mood and the type of story/character, I am writing or creating at that time.

Q6. What is the most difficult part about writing for you?

Ans: To me most difficult part is to sit on a chair to write new characters for my stories as I have frequent phases of writer’s block.
After completing my first book, I know how to deal with my writer’s block, but I need a lot of self-motivation to sit on a chair at night and start writing as I have a lot of personal and professional responsibilities as my priorities during weekdays.

Q7. What is your work schedule like when you are writing?

Ans: I write only in the nights of weekends therefore it takes longer time for me to complete my stories as there is a gap of 5-6 days or sometimes 2-3 weeks. My love for writing is my motivation and my sense of achievement whenever I complete my stories.

Q8. Any words of advice for your readers?

Ans: “Rocky and Arjun” is my first book which I wrote with my heart and soul, please read my book completely before making comments on my book. I know there is a scope for improvement so please do share your thoughts and suggestions with me on my book. Enjoy reading this simply interesting story “Rocky and Arjun” a story of a dog named “Rocky” and a boy named “Arjun” and other interesting characters and their journey of memorable moments of their lives together.


Price: Rs.203
Publisher: Notion Press
Language: English
Paperback: 118 pages
Kindle: Yes

About the author: Vijay Krishna AKA Vijay Sharma is a writer, born in the small town of Batala of Gurdaspur district in the state of Punjab, India. He grew up in a middle-class family in Delhi and completed his education in Delhi. He loves to travel to different cities across the world to experience different cultures and to meet interesting people to get inspiration to write good stories. He writes short stories, fictional novels, and travelogues.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here