About the author
Read my review of Warrior (4.5/5) here
Interview:
Kritika: Congratulations on the book. Warrior is a mythological fiction. This genre is still in its infancy stage in India. What made you venture into this genre specifically for a debut novel?
Kritika: What came first: the plot or the urge to write? Was writing always the plan, & the idea was what you were waiting for?
Olivier: The urge to write is, for me, overarching and fairly constant, so that would come first. I wanted to write from a very young age, around the same time that ideas for stories started coming to me.
Kritika: How has your experience on
getting published been till now? Any insights you'd like to share with our
readers?
Olivier: The experience has been straightforward, and of course
seeing my book in print was fun and satisfying.
Kritika: Saam, the protagonist of the
novel has endeared himself as a demigod. Although he is divine, his fallibility
appeals to the reader. Was there any point in the story that you struggled
etching Saam?
Olivier: I don’t recall having any trouble
creating the character of Saam. Once I knew who he was and what it was he had
to go through it just developed quite naturally.
Kritika: Writing fiction requires
imagination. Add a slice of mythology to it, and we have fiction and fact
intersecting at another level altogether. How difficult was the process of
laying down the plot? Do you have some work process/pattern?
Olivier: I was particularly careful
about the intersection of fact and fiction, mainly because I wanted the reader
to be able to believe that this could and would happen. The structuring of the
many elements happened organically and with a fair degree of ease, actually. In
this respect it wasn’t difficult, and I don’t have a particular process I follow. Generally I have
a sense of the story and the main characters and I know the broad strokes of
where it’s all going, but I leave it somewhat open-ended to
allow space for invention.
Kritika: We have no doubt you went under
the skin of the characters to make them who they are. Was there any character you especially love or relate
to?
Olivier: I really love the character of Saam, my hero. I wanted to
create an epic, classic hero, someone who is powerful but struggles with his
identity, with his life, for me that made for a compelling and relatable
character.
Kritika: What do we have in the
pipeline? More from the same genre?
Olivier: There should be more coming in perhaps several genres, but for now I’m busy with a new film script I’ve written, for the first time with myself as the main character. I’m actually looking for a producer to partner with on it. The film is a really fun comedy, and could be an Indian film or an international one, so the producer could also be Indian or international.
Kritika: Any special moment from the time you were writing the book that you'd like to share?
Olivier: Actually every moment of the book was a special moment for me, since I was enacting it in my mind throughout. The thrill of the fights, the fun of the adventure, the threat of danger… all these were moments I felt and experienced intensely, and I hope my readers will as well.
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Source of the review copy: Freebase Studio (Gina Lafont)
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