Interview with Amit Sharma, author of False Ceilings

Hi readers,

Today we have a talented writers the author of the most unique and accepted book of recent times- Amit Sharma 

1.       What made you switch from IT to literature?

I haven’t switched actually. I still have my day job which puts food on the table. Writing turned from a hobby into a passion. I feel as if I am doing something meaningful with my life when I am writing. It is a very exhilarating feeling to do something that you love. 

2.     How did you manage the transition from history to future in the book?

  I did a lot of research to get the history right. It wasn’t just a single point in the history but I had to show the transformations in the characters and the cities during various decades. Using various pivotal moments in our history as turning points helped make the story more real and authentic.

Future was all imagination. Seeing the advancements in technology, I chalked out how different our life will be in the coming decades. It was a very enjoyable process. A few of the things mentioned in the book like, 3D gaming and robots that look alarmingly like humans have already made an appearance.

3. Did you do any research?

I read a few books, online articles, talked to my parents, saw documentaries and made excessive notes for almost six months before I was confident enough to write the first line of the manuscript. The story begins in 1930, in the pre-independence era and touches many historical events. I amalgamated the story with our history and made a few events as the turning point in the life of the characters. The timespan of 1950s-1970s was something my parents helped me with. I had long discussions with them to get the lifestyle of that era right. The story takes place in Delhi and Dalhousie. I had to display changes both the places went through over the decades. It was a research filled with challenges and surprises. There is so much we don’t know; so much we ought to know. 

4. How was your publishing experience? 

The book was rejected by almost 15 publishers before Lifi accepted it, so, it was a very anxious phase of my life that lasted for 1.5 years. Then I waited in a queue for another 2 years before the book saw the light of the day. I wish things could have moved more quickly but that is how things stand.

I finished my second book during this period, then completed the research work for the third and started writing it.

5. What are you working on at this moment? 

My next book is almost finished. I will be sending it out for Beta Reading next month. Then I’ll pitch it.

It’s a very modern story and spans eleven years. It’s about the journey of Sapna, a girl who belongs to a lower middle-class family living in Delhi; how she transforms from a naïve, simple-minded, college-going girl to the most influential, richest and powerful woman in the world. She has a gift that turns her into a Goddess; someone the world fears and prays to. Her power changes the course of the future but is she able to cope up with the sacrifices it demands? Or does the power consume her in the end?

It’s quite different from my first book and I am hoping the readers will enjoy the story as much as I enjoyed writing it.