INTERVIEW WITH SWAPNIL KHAMKAR AUTHOR OF 8: THE GAME IS ON

Today we are in conversation with the  author of 8: The Game is On, Swapnil Khamkar is pursuing Civil Engineering from Pune University. He is also a motivational speaker and is active in social work. Apart from writing, he likes to read and explore new places.

Ashish:  Hello Swapnil, firstly tell us how does it feel to become a published author? Has life changed?

Swapnil Khamkar: Yes, it feels great to become a published author! Surely, life has changed as people no more see me as just an engineering student but also as an extraordinary guy! And it is always great to see people reading a book which is authored by me!

Ashish: You always had interest in writing or you have become author by chance?

Swapnil: I did not always love books because I had only read engineering books, and so to get out from the high dose of engineering, I started reading fiction and self-help books. And there is where I got the spark to write fiction! Also I felt that I too have hidden stories in me which needs to be penned down.

Ashish: Which authors do you love to read?

Swapnil: I started with Indian fiction like Chetan Bhagat, Ravinder Singh and more in the chain. Then I moved to Dan Brown, Agatha Christie, Ruskin Bond, Charles Dickens, F Scott Fitzgerald, Jeffrey Archer and Jane Austen.

Ashish: So tell us more about your book.

Swapnil: Neel is a cop investigating the mysterious death of a famous film director. In the middle of a divorce case with his wife Avantika and amidst thoughts of resigning from his job, he is trying to find the culprit. A five-hundred- year old sunken ship belonging to Vasco da Gama is discovered off the coast in Oman. It is well known that the ship sank with thousands of artefacts in it. Out of them, eight artefacts are missing in specific. Neel is trying to find some connection of it with the film director's death. He tries to unearth the truth behind the missing artefacts to find clues to questions nobody else can answer and thus discovers the mystery behind 8! It revolves around 1 ship; 2 deaths; 3 cops; 400 murders; 500 years; 60 days; 7 countries and 8 artefacts.

Ashish: Why thriller? Usually Indian authors love to write love stories.

Swapnil: Yes, love stories are all-time favorites. And there are many authors writing love stories and that is the main reason why I chose thriller! I felt thriller more unique and out of the box and so I chose thriller.

Ashish: Any specific character which is inspired from real life?

Swapnil: Yes, the character of Neel is surely inspired from detectives like Sherlock Holmes and James Bond. And the character of Avantika is also inspired from my very close friend who is a lot more same like her.

Ashish: Tell us more about how you manage to write? Since you are doing engineering and I know the work load engineering has!

Swapnil: Yes, it's hard to write other than submissions and other academic work. But I managed to write fiction only by reducing the work load of the submissions by getting it written from my friends or managing shortcuts and bunking lectures! And thanks to my friends for supporting me in this initiative.

Ashish: Any advice for budding authors?

Swapnil: The biggest thing I learned in the entire publishing procedure that nothing is predictable. Finding the perfect publisher is the hardest thing to do! I too had to face many rejections in the initial stage. So, not to lose hope in this period is my advice to budding authors. And also to just keep writing and editing it many times!

Ashish: When we should expect your next book? What it would be about?

Swapnil: I am planning a sequel of this book, but it depends on the readers review. It will be a thriller and let's hope for it at the right time!
Buy his book to experience amazing trill and adventure.