Prem Rao Speaks to Read In Park

Prem Rao is a thriller writer who turned to his passion for writing after 36 years as a Talent Management specialist and executive coach.

His debut novel, a psychological thriller, "It Can't Be You" (Cedar, November 2010) received very wide acclaim. He successfully completed NaNoWriMo in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Prem's blogs "People at Work & Play" and "Writing To Be Read" have a global following. An alumnus of The Lawrence School, Lovedale; Loyola College, Chennai and XLRI, Jamshedpur, he lives in Bangalore, India and can be reached at bpremrao@gmail.com.
Or you can like his Facebook page Click Here .

In a candid conversation with Alka Shrivastava, Prem Rao reveals a lot about himself, his journey and his future plans.

Hearty congratulations to you for the recent launch of your second book “Lucky For Some, 13” from Read In Park team. How are you feeling?

On top of the world! Having a book published calls for a lot of hard work. It is very satisfying when the task is successfully done. It’s special when your work is appreciated by those who matter the most, your readers.

Tell us briefly about the story.

It’s about a fictitious account of terror strikes in Goa and Bangalore in 2010 and how some of the richest and most powerful people in Bangalore are held captive in most unexpected circumstances. The captors demand the release of two of their comrades who are in Indian prisons.

Who are the main characters of the book?

I have tried a woman-centric book this time. Major Mohini Nair  formerly of the National Security Guard is the central character, but equally interesting are Aleesa Suleiman more recently known as Alice Hatchman and the geeky genius “Evil the Devil” Jacob.

What interests you other than writing? Tell us something about yourself.

I am an avid blogger and nuts about P. G. Wodehouse.  I have two active blogs: People at Work & Play which I started when I was an executive coach and HR consultant;  and, Writing To Be Read, which as the name suggests is my writing blog

As you are witness to more than fifty plus years of literature in India, what are the changes you see?

By far the most important is that books have become far more accessible, and have opened up an entirely new world to new generations of readers. This has been remarkable.  The increase in literacy rates have thrown open a huge number of first generation readers. My comments are restricted to English books as I am most familiar with them. 

Second is that more young people are enjoying writing, which is another amazing development. Not all of them may meet the required standards just yet, but the renewed interest in writing, is very, very encouraging.

You are winner of NaNoWriMo for the past 4 years, 2009, 2010, 2011 and now 2012. Tell us about this experience?

Everyone has a dream but more often than not, dreams remain unfulfilled for the want of a catalyst. In my case, the National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo as it is popularly called was the all-important catalyst which helped me convert my dreams to purposeful action. In Nov 2009, I wrote the first 50,000 words of what became my debut novel in November 2010, a psychological thriller called, “It Can’t Be You.” There has been no stopping me since then. 

“Lucky For Some, 13” as you know comes from my NaNoWriMo novel of November 2010. The whole experience has been awesome. It has exposed me to a great global community of writers and has taught me so much about the craft of writing.

Terrorism is almost an untouched segment in fiction genre.  Why did you choose this?

It’s not entirely new but relatively unexplored. I was very influenced by the horrible events of 26/11.  I hated to see my country and countrymen suffer. I was intensely disappointed that the terrorists had it so easy. I hope as I have written in the Author’s Note to my new book that we Indians learn from our mistakes and are better equipped to face terror threats in the future. The worst thing about terror strikes is that more often than not you do not know who the enemy is. It could be a well-educated person, a man in the street, people you would never think of suspecting etc. I have dwelt on this at length in my book.

Now a days love fiction is flooding the market. How does your book give readers their money’s worth?

To each his/her own, I would say. Fortunately it is not the case that those who relish love stories don’t like thrills, mystery and suspense. Many of them do. But I do accept that my writing is not in the “most popular genre” as you put it.  The good news is that every genre has a fan following. Moreover while “love” fiction as you term it may appeal to those of one age group or segment of society, thrillers in my experience appeal to both the young and the old.  I find this most encouraging.

How has your experience been with your publisher?

Very good. Mahaveer Publishers have been very supportive of this book. I like the get up of the book which has received favorable comment from many. The cover speaks of the thrills within and overall the quality of production has been excellent to give the reader a great reading experience.

What kind of response are you getting for the book in comparison to previous one?

I don’t think this is a fair comparison. “It Can’t Be You” is still very much appreciated and got me noticed since I was then a new author. It was very well-received despite the awfully crowded market place of books. I am happy that LFS13, as many of you are calling it, has got off to a good start. It ranks #2 in New releases in Amegabooks and #2 in Crime category in HomeShop 18, both well-known and very popular on-line portals.

From being an executive coach and talent management specialist how did you move to writing thrillers?

I seek change. When I wrote “It Can’t Be You” I had been a professional for 36 years after my MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur. I wanted to do something very different as I approached the retirement age. Actually since I was running my own HR consulting firm called People 1st Consulting which was doing pretty well for ten years, there was no need for me to “retire” as such.  But the passion for writing drew me like a magnet and I said, “36 years has been more than enough. Let me do something else for a change.”

Tell us about your inspiration of life.

I feel if you do good to others, it will help you in the long run. My philosophy at this stage of my life is simple; “to help people grow.” I shall do this as long as I can. I feel we should be more easily contented as true happiness comes from contentment.

Even after many years of independence, there are still so many malpractices in India. Tell us your views on it. Does your book serve any message in such a regard?

We get the Government we deserve. I would appeal to the youth who make up such a huge part of the country to vote, and vote sensibly. Your future is what you make of it. Do a far better job of it then my generation did. The book is a fiction thriller but it does have some messages, in my view.

# The shape of war has changed forever. We need to be more guarded against more ingenious ways of attack. Prevention, as the old adage goes, is better than cure. We will pay a very heavy price if we continue to be ineffective in defending our national interests.

# We still live by old stereotypes. We will be caught napping if we stay with them. We should be less biased and more objective in our assessment of people and situations.

# Don’t have the “It Can’t Happen To Me’ kind of complacency.  A terror attack is something that can happen to anyone, almost anywhere and at any time. We should be ceaselessly vigilant and constantly perfect our systems. The US is a great example. After 9/11, there has not been a single terror strike of consequence in mainland America. Our issues may be different but theirs too is a large country with a very diverse population.

Any message for readers of “Read In Park”?

You are living in very exciting times. I often wish I was forty years youngerJ. In a global environment that we live in, make the best of the many opportunities you have to improve your prospects and have a great life. You also have a responsibility. Please keep the interests of your motherland in mind.

Thank you so much sir. Keep your spirits up. Have a great year ahead.

Thank you. :-)