Did you base the character on any known cricketer? If so, who? The protagonist of the novel Suraj Bhatkal is an original character. However, there are traits of certain real-life cricketers. I modelled the batting stance of the Suraj on Shivnarine Chanderpaul, his bowling on Zaheer Khan and his captaincy style on what I thought Ravi Shastri could have been if he had captained India. A sports fiction novel is not the usual genre. Did you think you were taking a risk while writing this novel? Yes. There were times when I wondered if the story was too risky or unorthodox. However, even though I had some doubts in my mind, I didn’t let it stop me from. Here I would like to thank Suhail Mathur of The Book Bakers for representing my novel and also Vineet Bajpai of TreeShade Books for accepting my work despite its offbeat storyline. The title of the novel is unique. What is the story/significance behind the title? Khadoos is a Bombaiyya Hindi term for describing someone who is very strict. However, in Mumbai cricketing circles, the brand of Mumbai cricket is called Khadoos because it is full of intensity, passion, determination and has a never-say-die attitude ingrained in it. As the protagonist Suraj is from Mumbai, I thought of incorporating the term Khadoos in the title, as a tribute to the many cricketers from Mumbai. One of the themes in the novel is mental health. What made you choose this topic? I decided on having the theme of mental health way back in 2011 when I first got the idea to write Captain Khadoos. Mental health is a topic that is very close to my heart and is still a taboo subject. People who visit mental health practitioners are still looked down upon. While there is awareness of mental health issues, there is not much acceptance of the same, even from family members in many instances. And there have been many cases of cricketers suffering from depression, hence, I thought of having that theme in the novel. What is your work schedule like when you are writing? I usually have a hectic work schedule. But I find the time either before work starts or after work ends to write. My writing involves a lot of thinking and sometimes it takes me many years to get the story right. Amrita Sharma is a journalist by profession and an author by choice. She has authored several non-fiction books including ‘Dictionary of Religion’, ‘Dictionary of Literary Terms’ and a book on relationships, called ‘What Did I Ever See in Him’. She feels strongly about wellness and mental health and enjoys writing about work-life balance and emotional health and well-being. Smita Bhattacharya is an author and management consultant based in Mumbai. Her work has been published widely in national and international publications. Strong female protagonists and Agatha Christie-style whodunits are her forte. Her Darya Nandkarni detective series rank among top Amazon reads and have received rave reviews. She loves to read, watch, and write atmospheric suspense thrillers. Shalini has converted her passion of reading books into her life. She is a very dedicated book blogger who has been awarded as the best blogger by Amazon and has been content writing/freelancing since 10+ years. She left her high end 9-10 legal profile to read and write. Read better and write more. She loves reading all genres and experimenting with reading as an experience. She is one of the most sought after book reviewers because of her quality of writing. W www.treeshadebooks.com E publish@treeshadebooks.com << Back