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Tamraparni Dasu is an Indian American writer and published author. Her new book, Spy Interrupted, The Waiting Wife, was just released. It is the first in a trilogy.
Tamraparni Dasu, writer, author, published, Spy Interrupted, The Waiting Wife, India,
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Yuva Bharati founder Santa Dasu talks about the Bay Area’s premier cultural non-profit

 

In this wide ranging interview, Santa Dasu talks about Yuva Bharati, the Bay Area’s premier cultural non-profit that promotes Indian classical dance. Santa, who is a musician herself,  discusses how she, with the help of her husband and daughter, founded Yuva Bharati to promote Indian classic dance and provide a forum for young artists. Listen to her discuss the challenges of funding a self-sustaining cultural non-profit, her wonder at the community of friends it has created and the surprising benefits of free speech protection that make local channels a valuable resource for artists. Her account of what happens behind the scenes before, during and after a concert and the number of volunteers it takes is fascinating. Yuva Bharati has built up a reputation for high quality concerts and special festivals that promote creative and original artistic endeavors around special themes. Yuva Bharati also has a music wing, Swara Lahari.

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Enormous interest in self-publishing at literary festivals

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It was gratifying to see the support for and interest in self-publishing at various literary events this year. Robert Bausch, reading from his latest novel The Legend of Jesse Smoke at Fall for the Book festival in Fairfax, VA, called it the joy of writing in its purest form, free from the tyranny of literary agents, editors and sales. The Third Literary Festival organized by the Indo-American Arts Council had a whole session devoted to self-publishing. It is a question I am asked repeatedly at every reading and event I do, including my recent one at the Morristown Library.

The biggest advantage of self-publishing is control, control, control. First, there is creative control–no need to incorporate mermaids into your story to make it more saleable, no need to change the ending or plot to accommodate editorial or publisher sentiments, and no compulsion to balance dialog and descriptions.  As for quality control, there is no reason for sacrifice since there are many highly experienced free lance editors and book designers around to help one create a high quality publication that is comparable if not superior to those published by main stream and small independent presses. Finally, one has total control of the most important resource, namely, TIME. Publishing platforms like CreateSpace have highly efficient processes where they can guarantee not only quality but also turnaround times, obviating the need for waiting around for weeks, months and years for agents, editors and publishers to respond.

The main concern with self-publishing is marketing and publicity. However, big publishing houses seldom invest in publicizing new authors or unorthodox writing styles. Their limited advertising and publicity dollars are spent on perceived sure things, like well known authors with an established track record of sales (J. K. Rowling) or high-brow authors who will burnish the publisher’s literary credentials. Smaller presses seldom have the resources to publicize their authors and there are instances where authors have had to fund their own publicity and advertising campaigns, and on occasion even help the press stay afloat by partly funding them. Many authors have piles of books sitting around their homes since the publisher won’t take back unsold copies.  So, the onus of marketing and publicity often falls on the author anyway. For those willing to invest some money, there are many venues on social media and for many more dollars, advertising opportunities in popular newspapers and magazines. Email blasts are a waste.

Self-publishing works well for those who are motivated, technology-friendly and know what they want in terms of formatting and design.  It works particularly well for those who are in tune with what the public wants, are willing to write it and promote it relentlessly.

Writers are taking control of their fate just like musicians did in the past decade, but the publishing industry and allied professions are fighting hard to hold on to the old order while surreptitiously offering their free lance services through self-publishing platforms. So, fellow writers,  take control, there is nothing to fear!

A last word of wisdom: the best way to sell books is to keep writing them.

Good luck and happy writing!

 

 

 

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Mahasweta Devi

T. Dasu, author, writer, Spy Interrupted, the Waiting Wife

Mahasweta Devi passed away on July 28 at the age of 90, having spent most of her life writing with a raw passion about the “invisible” Indians. Here is a link to the obituary  carried by the Economist. The New York Times carried one as well. Mahasweta’s stories were translated from Bengali into English by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. Two terrific women.

 

 

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Guest Blog: Interview by Tara Sarath, Barefoot Publicity

I did a lovely interview with Tara Sarath of Barefoot Publicity–you can check it out on her website barefootpublicity.com or read the full text below.

Parniweb (2) The Perfect Candidate

T.Dasu, author of the Spy Interrupted series and Managing Editor of IndiaWrites, a nonprofit literary press, kindly sat down with me to answer some questions about her process, including how she made the difficult decision to self publish, and what she hopes to accomplish through her latest novel The Perfect Candidate.


Thank you for taking the time to speak to me. Let’s jump right in with what most writers consider to be the most difficult part of the process—publishing! Why did you self-publish versus go the small press route?

I like keeping creative control of the process and content. When I was asked to make changes to the characters and plot that were simply unacceptable to me, I decided that it was time to take charge. Besides, I am quite comfortable with technology and digital platforms so it was relatively painless for me.

But having done that, why print and digital instead of just digital distribution?

For me reading is a very tactile and visual experience. Each book with its unique cover, font and design is like a friend. I see it on my bed, couch, side table and it gets imprinted on my brain. I love holding it. While e-books are convenient, print books are objects of sentiment and love.

Sounds like a lifelong reader and writer to me! Though it’s interesting that your day job as a data scientist has very little obvious crossover with a career in writing and publishing. How did you sustain and nourish your writing and your interest in writing while building your professional career?

The two benefit mutually. My profession places a premium on logic, clarity and preciseness. This helps me think about my characters and their actions. Fiction, the best kind in my mind at least, is about removing layers of complexity from people’s thoughts and behavior and getting to the bottom of simple truths. What can be more mathematical than that!

Let’s talk about your latest work, The Perfect Candidate, which has been out since November. Why pick American politics to write about? Arguably Indian politics are more interesting in terms of color and character (though maybe not!)

I was too young to vote when I left India, so all my political life has been lived out here in the USA. Mrs. Gandhi was assassinated a few months after I left India and I could never relate to the new cast of characters who emerged after her dominant 20 year reign that lasted almost all my life in India.

The racial and gender undertones are pretty rare in a political thriller novel—what prompted you to explore Islamophobia? Or entering into the LGBTQA space with Wasim, a gay Muslim character?

No, when I wrote I really wasn’t concerned about readers or turning them off. Islamophobia is very real and even though I had no idea that Trump would dump it on us in unprecedented rhetoric, I had seen some of the comments directed at Huma Abedin based on her origins, not on her actions or policy positions. That’s what got me thinking.

Regarding Wasim, it was just a love story and I am a total pushover for love stories. The relationship is based on what my friend at work described to me on record.

What strikes me when I read Graham Greene, one of your literary inspirations, is how his stories, even the not directly political ones, tend to be cast in a world without uncompromised goodness – everyone is a shade of gray- and therefore without a true moral “authority”. Do you see Spy, Interrupted in the same way or is Stephen set to become the authoritative center of the novels with his ascension to the Senate? Is that the kind of uncertainty and slippage you are trying to portray with Stephen and Tyler playing and feeding off one another?

Totally! When somebody occupies our thoughts and minds (to the extent Tyler and Stephen occupy each other’s) it is impossible not to absorb some of the traits of the other, either in self-defense or in revenge.

You’ve said before that one of your other inspirations is Gabriel Garcia Marquez–do you see yourself moving out of the realm of political fiction?

The political fiction is incidental in the sense that’s what the character wanted to do given his history, his family and his intense drive. It will continue to be a back drop but not the central theme as it was in The Perfect Candidate.

And finally what comes next?
A very unique story in a very unique setting, where Stephen and Tyler finally get their Reichenbach Falls moment.

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Top 5 political movies

 

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Given the madness of the current political cycle, I thought it might be fun to list good political movies to binge on. Naturally, the  choices are very subjective! And unlike clickbait that starts at the bottom and makes you click through the entire list, I will start with my favorite and work my way down. Here goes:

  1. Primary Colors based on Joe Klein’s novel, with pitch perfect performances by John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton, Kathy Bates and Maura Tierney, is my all time favorite. It captures the murky dynamics of running an effective campaign  as well as the mix of ideology, ambition, ruthlessness and grit that fueled the Clinton ’92 win.
  2. Game Change, wow. Julianne Moore is eerily perfect as Sarah Palin and Ed Harris makes us feel sorry for the beleaguered John McCain steam-rollered by the woman from Wasilla. It was suspenseful even though I knew how it ended!
  3. Ides of March is probably one of the few movies where the name “Ryan Gosling” isn’t a liability. Of course, the stars of the show are the brilliant Philip Seymour Hoffman (may his soul rest in peace) and Paul Giamatti who stare down each other warily at the beginning of the movie. George Clooney as the charismatic but totally unprincipled candidate running for president is his usual slick self.
  4. The next two movies are fluffy and politics is a mere backdrop for a standard rom-com. Dave is a presidential doppelganger who subs for a comatose evil president and emerges a true leader and foils the bad guys trying to manipulate the country. Without Kevin Kline, Frank Langella, Sigourney Weaver and Ben Kingsley, this movie would be worthless with its flimsy plot and passable dialogue. But Kevin Kline and Frank Langella are superb.
  5. The American President is all boy-meets-girl and overcomes obstacles en route to the mandatory happy ending. But it captures some nice aspects of life in the White House and Michael Douglas and Annette Bening are very good together. And one my favorite TV actors, Michael J. Fox, appears in a small role.

 

For the desis out there Aandhi based loosely on the life of Mrs. Indira Gandhi is a must-see.

I am sure I have overlooked many movies like The Manchurian Candidate (Frank Sinatra and Denzel Washington versions), and the Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis dud, The Campaign. So, please jump in and add your favorites!

 

 

 

 

 

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Travel as a muse

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Stepping into a new land or vista is like entering a novel, a world imagined by someone else. It jolts the old grey cells and unleashes a storm of sensations that beg to be put down on paper. This article in the New York Times about Nabokov’s travels reminded me what a great muse travel makes.

Freshly returned from a trip to St. Petersburg, my head is buzzing with the grandeur of czars and czarinasglorious palaces blazing at night despite the white nights, and cathedrals soaring over soil stained with spilled blood. How can this heady experience not sneak into writing…after all, humans and human emotions are the same everywhere, it is only the setting and context that changes.

Travel is the greatest education there is, the best teacher of all, and a most powerful muse. I have a feeling that St. Petersburg will play a significant role in the final part of my Spy, Interrupted trilogy 🙂

Happy travels!

Photo credit: Kumar Doraiswami

 

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