Author Interview : Sambit Daspatnaik

Author Interview : Sambit Daspatnaik

Hello everyone,
Today I am going to introduce you to the author of 'The Last War'.

Let's start!

1)Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
Sambit: I started writing at a young age. I used to experiment writing on a broad range of genres. As I grew up, I was attracted more towards science fiction. In science fiction, my writing interests are in ancient aliens, mythology and space travel. I am also a painter and love photography.
I did my schooling from St. Francis De-Sales (SFS) Higher Secondary school, Nagpur. I completed Electronics Engineering from Nagpur University and Post Graduate in Business Management from Symbiosis, Pune. I am an IT software professional currently residing in Hyderabad, India.
My debut book “The Last War & Other Stories” is a mythological science fiction story. The book also includes many short science fiction stories in different genres of thriller, mystery and suspense.

2)When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
Sambit: It was way back in my childhood when I wrote a mystery story that got appreciation in my circle. My first science fiction story was printed by my uncle Mr. A.K Hazra in the yearly Durga Puja souvenir. I was in school then, and at that time, getting a story in print form was a big thing. I was excited. And like it happens, that further grew my motivation into writing.

3)When did you start writing?
Sambit: I took writing seriously during the professional phase of my life. I had shared a few sample stories with my friends and relatives who really liked it and motivated me to get them published. Due to my professional and personal commitments, I would write whenever I got time. Finally I decided to publish my first book last year. That’s when my family and especially my sister Mrs Sunya and my wife Ishita stood by me and helped me with the proof reading and editing.

4)What is 'The Last War and Other Stories ' about?
Sambit: I recently launched my debut book ‘The Last War & Other Stories’. The book has a main story (It’s more of a Novella) ‘The Last War’ which is a mythological science fiction war thriller. The rest of the stories are short science fiction stories dealing with different concepts such as spirituality, space travel, infinite energy and resurrection of a dying star. I wrote these stories at different periods of my life. The reason to publish them together was to give my readers a variety of genres to explore with.
I self-published my book with the help of my publisher Evincepub publishing (https://evincepub.com/).  Special thanks to my publisher (Aashi, Vikram and Neha) for making my book launch a success.

5)What motivated you to write this book?
Sambit: We have a spiritual environment in our family. I grew up listening to mythological stories from my grandmother Bishnupriya, my mother Alaka and my father Santanu. At the same time, my inclination has always been towards science and future technologies. So, my main story ‘The Last War’ reflects on a scientific touch to mythology. For that matter, the story ‘The Holy Temple of Eula’ has a deep spiritual message. The story ‘Blink’ was influenced by my wondering ‘what if’ humans had feline eyes.

6)Are all the stories in this book of same genre or different?
Sambit: My book deals with different genres within science fiction. The main story ‘The Last War’ is a ‘mythological science fiction’ that deals with our ancient past from a scientific perspective. It suggests possibilities of us humans, being constantly guided by the Sky Gods and being advanced spiritually and scientifically. As far as a war is concerned, even the Gods take the decision on wars after pondering a lot over it. In Mahabharata, Lord Krishna tried his best to manage a truce between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. War was the last resort to protect dharma (righteousness). After the Mahabharata war was over, it led to pain, agony due to the loss of near and dear ones. There was a dark age for a generation since most of the kingdoms across Bharata were without a king to lead and rule their people. There is a special mention of Arjuna going across the land on the advice of Lord Krishna to re-establish the kingdoms.
My story ‘The Holy Temple of Eula’ has a deep spiritual message that makes the reader realize that true answers lie within, irrespective of how far we travel in the universe. My story ‘Blink’ raises the hope of every individual to think beyond the situational crisis that life offers at times, be it even in the midst of a space travel. There are other short science fiction stories like the ‘Genesis’ and ‘Resurrection’, which makes the readers to explore different possibilities and question ‘What if’. I experimented on the amalgamation of various genres within science fiction realm to provide the readers with a lot of variety. 

7)What's the best experience you've gained through writing?
Sambit: I think the best experience through writing has been to reach out to the readers through this medium to share knowledge, learning and experience through the stories. I personally believe that we can share wisdom and learning subtly through storytelling, as it helps connect more with the readers. I love the interactions that I am having with my readers.

8)How do you handle negative feedbacks?
Sambit: In life we get feedbacks from our parents, guardians, mentors and seniors in both personal and professional life. That helps us to improve ourselves as an individual and as a professional. So, it’s important for us to learn especially from negative feedbacks too. My book has received a lot of positive feedback. There have been a few negative constructive feedbacks from my readers. I thank them for that. In fact, I am humbled with the negative feedbacks as it helps me reflect on what can I do better in my next piece of work. Also, we must appreciate the fact that every individual has his/her own perspective.

9) Who are your favorite Indian and foreign authors?
Sambit: I read more of non-fictions compared to fictions. Also, I do not restrict myself to any specific genre.
Paulo Coehlo (The Alchemist is my all-time favorite), Rhonda Byrne (The Secret), Dr. Brian Weiss (his series of books on past life regression therapies), Devdutt Pattanaik (on mythology) are some of my favorites. I also loved the book Outliers by Malcom Gladwell.

10) What are your future plans?
Sambit: Of all my science fiction genres, I enjoyed writing on the mythological and spiritual genres. So stay tuned for more on this.

11) How soon can your readers expect your next book?
Sambit: Many of my readers have approached me on this subject as they are eager to read more, especially on ‘mythological science fiction’. I write whenever I get time from my hectic work schedule and family priorities. Nevertheless I love writing. I hope to come out with my next mythological science fiction probably in a year’s time.

12) Any message to all aspiring authors?
Sambit: The message I want to put across to the readers and authors is to read a lot of books early in their lives. Writing is a beautiful medium to let your ideas and inner voice take shape. Keep writing and you never realize when you are ready to publish your book. If you are keen on mythological or historical fantasies, you need to research a lot. As far as writing science fiction thriller is concerned, explore the unexplored and continuously question “what if?” … and most importantly, stay humble.

Thanks for reading.

Links to buy - 

Amazon - https://www.amazon.in/dp/9389774721

Flipkart - https://www.flipkart.com/last-war-other-stories/p/itm237afb272ca2f?