Blog to Book :Journey of an Author Sitharaam Jayakumar

When Friday comes, can the weekend be far behind? On weekends if you want to curl up with a new book then I have some news. On my blog today Sitharaam Jayakumar has come with gifts. His new thriller is free for download just for you!

Before you grab the book don’t forget to read his inspiring journey. An IIT ian, poet, blogger and now author, the man behind the book, will inspire you to look deep inside for talents you have.

Read the post for a look behind the scene.

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Tell me a little about your background, your story.

I belong to Tamil Nadu. Both my parents are retired government employees. My sister is an ophthalmic surgeon. I grew up in New Delhi. I graduated with a B-Tech in Metallurgical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Varanasi in 1988. I initially tried to take up a career in marketing but to be honest that was a total washout as I found I did not have the diplomacy or the finesse required of a good marketing man.???? I then switched over to a career in Information Technology and I have been working in the field for the past twenty-seven years.

Has your background helped you write?

Frankly, I have never written anything except an Independence Day speech in my fifth grade and essays as a part of my academic curriculum. Writing is totally new to me. But the fact that I studied in a school where I picked up a lot of proficiency in the English language has helped me immensely. Now that I am writing, I realize what a boon that has been. Another thing that has helped me in my brief writing career is my voracious reading habit.

Why did you want to write a book?

I actually started as a blogger.  A year back we had the founding day function of the organization I am working in.  Usually, we have a cultural program and normally I sit safely with the audience and never present anything on stage. One of my close friends suggested that I present a poem this time. I had never thought of myself as a writer especially a poet. Initially, I did not take the suggestion very seriously. But that weekend I was sitting with my laptop and just for the heck of it I gave it a try. The poem was based on the antics of my mischievous twelve-year-old daughter.???? To cut a long story short the poem was a big hit at the function. After that, I decided to start a blog just to post poems.

One thing led to another and soon I was posting articles, photography and several other things on my blog. That is how I started writing. As far as writing a book is concerned I made my first attempt some six months back. Actually, I was planning to post it as a series of chapters on my blog. It just appeared to be a good idea. I had no plans of writing a full-blown book. But after I had written the first chapter I asked myself; why should I post it on my blog chapter by chapter? Why not write a complete book? I sat down and reeled off some ninety pages.

Then I gave what I had written a reading. It did not read like a good book and I gave up the idea. Finally, I heard of the Blogchatter e-book carnival and that is how I came to write my first ebook. It is not even a novel. It is just a ninety-four-page novella. I hope people like it. As you can see writing a book in my case has been more an accident than something I attempted by design.????

What is your book about?

Eighty Hours To Save Karen falls under the thriller fiction genre.

I will give a short synopsis.

A little child named Karen is afflicted with a strange illness. The doctors are at a loss to explain the illness and there is some suspicion that it could involve the occult and the supernatural. Karen is all that her grandfather Mathew has left in the world. Mathew starts out on a dangerous quest to save Karen’s life. The story is all about Mathew’s journey to save Karen.

Who helped you write the book?

The book was proofread by my friends Varadhrajan Ramesh, Krishna Kumar Subramaniam and my sister Sudha Somanathan. They came up with several useful suggestions. Another person who helped me was a colleague in office Jose J Pallakkathyil.

Tell me a little more about your writing habits. How many hours a day do you spend writing? How do you edit, proofread and format your writings? Who inspires you?

I write both poetry and articles. I write poetry when I am struck by some inspiration. This could be a phrase I hear or something I watch on television. I post articles when I hear or see something I feel strongly about. Recently I have also been inspired to write flash fiction by my friend Varadharajan Ramesh. I spend around an hour or so every day on writing. Sometimes I take a break from it for a whole week especially when office work takes precedence. For editing, I use tools like Grammarly and Ginger.

But one thing I have learned is, it never pays to do something that has to be done manually by using automated software. So, I depend more on myself for editing and formatting. I read the articles I write a number of times before I post them on my blog.

One thing is if I sit down to post something I finish it in one go even if it takes me three or four hours. I have been a voracious reader since my childhood. Some of my favorite authors are PG Wodehouse, Stephen King, and Robert Ludlum. I also love the legal thrillers written by John Grisham.

As a writer, I am inspired by Stephen King and Agatha Christie.

When you started blogging did you have a plan to write books?

I never had any plans to write anything, leave alone books. Writing has come as an accident and I am extremely happy that it happened. I am thankful to fate for guiding me towards writing.

What about the Blogchatter Ebook Carnival? Which part did you enjoy the most?

The Blogchatter A to Z blogging festival and the e-book carnival are simply a marvelous platform to bring out your creative juices. I like the idea of writing twenty-six posts related to the English alphabet in one month. It is a really tough challenge and tests one’s abilities and perseverance quite a bit.

The e-book carnival helps aspiring writers by giving them a chance to present their writing skills. There are several video chats conducted by Blogchatter with eminent authors and publishers during the course of the carnival. I listened to a video chat by the founder of Readomania, Dipankar Mukherjee as part of the carnival. He presented some very interesting insights and being a beginner, I learned quite a bit. I loved mingling with my fellow writers the most.

Your favorite quote.

I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn”

Anne Frank”

Do you have a launch plan?

I am taking one thing at a time. At the moment I am looking for feedback from people about my first attempt at writing. But yes, eventually, I do intend to publish my novella using KDP in Amazon after some time.

How happy are you with this milestone?

For the time being this is my plan. I am quite satisfied with this milestone. I hope people will like my e-book.

Tell me about your future plans and goals.

At the moment I am trying to set up a platform for taking up writing full-time, in say, another three years. I am fifty-two now and I will be retiring from my profession in three years’ time. I am fully aware that this field is extremely competitive and only the very good ones make it. And after all, I have just made my first attempt at writing something close to a novel. But yes, I do have an aim of becoming a full-fledged writer someday. Only time can tell how successful I am in the venture. I sure am hoping I pull it off.????

One wish you have for your journey as a writer.

As far as wishes go the sky is the limit.???? It might sound ridiculous, but I would like to be the next Stephen King ????.  But coming down to the sphere of practical politics I want to have some kind of a loyal following even if I do not become a famous author. By that, I mean people who look forward to my books and enjoy reading them. Even if I don’t touch the pinnacle of glory I would be more than happy if I get that far.

Download the ebook now!

Link where Sitharaam Jayakumar’s book  can be downloaded:

blog: http://www.jaispoetryblog.com/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jayakumarsarticlespoems/