Interview with Sitharaam Jayakumar — Author of Jai’s Assorted Tales

Hi friends, today, we are having an interview with Sitharaam Jayakumar, author of Jai’s Assorted Tales.

Sitharaam Jayakumar, famous in the blogosphere as Jai, is conventional but does not hesitate in exploring unchartered territory in life when the opportunity presents itself. He likes people who have the courage of conviction to step out of their comfort zone and live life as per their personal beliefs, instead of adhering to social norms.

He has great admiration for Abraham Lincoln, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Naina Lal Kidwai, Hima Das, Mary Kom, and other such persons. The topic of women’s liberation is very close to his heart because the three people who have influenced him the most in life are all women—his mother, sister, and wife.

He is an IITian, retired from the 9to5 job, and now a full-time writer. He is passionate about writing, and his dream is to embroider his name in golden letters in the community of authors by writing a bestseller.

On a rainy day, you could catch him lying down on the sofa and reading Enid Blyton’s books.

His latest book, Jai’s Assorted Tales, is a miscellaneous collection of short stories, comprising genres like horror, humor, science fiction, and others. Some of the tales will make you burst out laughing while some would make you think deeply about the philosophy of life and death.

Interview with Sitharaam Jayakumar – Author of Jai’s Assorted Tales

Message in the Book

Welcome, Sitharaam Jayakumar! Thanks for sparing time to talk about you and your books. Kindly share with us what it is that you so badly wanted to tell that you wrote the book Jai’s Assorted Tales. And, whom do you want to tell it?

I started blogging in 2017 and my book “Jai’s Assorted Tales” comprises of all the stories I have written over a period of three years on my blog.

I wanted to mainly entertain people who enjoy reading stories in a variety of genres, and I wanted to make the statement that a writer needs not limit himself to one genre.

It is perfectly possible to write in a variety of genres, and through this book, I want to show people that imagination is universal, and there is no need for a writer to limit himself to any one area. I wanted to send this message across to all my readers.

Why do you think that people read you or take your message seriously?

In all modesty, the one common thing I have been told by all the reviewers of my books is that I am a very good storyteller. My good story-telling abilities and my capacity for good narration are what attract my readers to read my books.

In my latest book “Jai’s Assorted Tales” there is a section that sends across several public welfare messages through sci-fi stories. I use science fiction in this section to bring out the importance of maintaining ecological balance, the need for gender equality, the necessity for nuclear disarmament, and so on.

These stories I hope are entertaining and convey the messages clearly to my readers. I used science fiction to spread these messages because I really feel it is sci-fi that can most adequately demonstrate the harmful effects of abusing the balance in nature.

I have tried to write these stories in a compelling way so that people sit up and take notice of the messages I am trying to convey. Hopefully, this will work.

Why do you think that science fiction is one of the most suitable method of conveying public welfare messages?

If you look at the world around you, what is the one thing you notice?

Every problem has its root in our tendency to abuse nature. Even social issues like gender inequality can be reduced to abuse of nature if you think deeply enough. If we continue along the same lines, we are headed for devastation.

If you read my book and the sci-fi stories that act as public welfare messages, you will find there is a punch in the way the message is delivered. This punch cannot be delivered better by any other form of fiction than sci-fi.

Variety of Genres

How do you get the idea of writing the book Jai’s Assorted Tales?

I had written 26 poems on animals in this year’s A to Z challenge. Initially, I was planning to put those poems together and release that as an eBook in this year’s eBook carnival.

But, later the idea struck me that it would be far more interesting to gather all the fictional stories I have written over the years and publish that as a book.

Such a book I felt would have stories from a variety of genres and would be more entertaining than just a book of poems.

Don’t you think that it’d be better in targeting audience if all the stories belong to same genre?

In fact, it is the strength of my book. It will urge a larger number of people to pick it up as people with any particular taste will find something for them in the book. None of the people who pick up the book and enjoy fiction are going to be disappointed as there is something for everyone.

How can your target audience relate to you?

My target audience can look upon me as a person who indulges in writing in many genres. I have already written two books in the thriller fiction genre titled ‘Eighty Hours to Save Karen’ and ‘The Krishnapur Kidnappings.’ Both of which are available in Amazon.

But, my repertoire is not limited to fiction alone. I have also written a book on sportspersons titled ‘A to Z of Men and Women Who Excelled in Sports.’

My most recent book “Jai’s Assorted Tales” is a collection of short stories from a variety of genres like horror, thriller, suspense, sci-fi, humor, and so on.

My audience can relate to me as a person who writes everything, fiction, non-fiction, and so on. I have also written poetry and five of my poems have been published in a book titled ‘Melodies of Spring.’

What does make you an authority on the subject you wanted to tell?

Well, all the three previous books I have written have received rave reviews. As I mentioned before, two of these were thrillers and one was on sportspersons.

The reviews I mention were from people who would not hesitate to call a spade a spade, and the appreciation I received from these people is evidence enough to prove my story-telling abilities.

But, if you are asking me what makes me an authority I have to state honestly that I have never received any formal training in writing, and it is something I picked up by chance and which has now become a passion.

So, I cannot honestly pass myself off as an authority on writing. And, as regards the subject matter of my book, this book has virtually been written over a period of three years during which time I evolved as a writer of fiction.

Writing Process

How did you organize the sections in the book so that the reader feels compelled to go on reading the book?

I would like to bring to my reader’s notice the way the plots in the stories fluctuate as per the genre.

Initially, we begin with horror/thriller stories which are definitely not for people with a queasy stomach. This is followed by the sci-fi/humor section which will make you laugh outright.

Then again, the book gets serious and moves on to the sci-fi/public welfare messages section which will make the reader sit up and take notice about how errant the society is in its ways.

The sections in the book are all organized so that the reader does not feel bored for a moment and is held enthralled throughout.

What’s your way of writing? Do you have your plot ready beforehand, or do you develop it on the way?

Well, I would like to point out that each author has his or her own way of writing. For some people, it is necessary to structure their writing and have a plot ready and all that sort of thing. But, for me, that never works. I need to just think of the plot and the story as I proceed with my book.

Do you have any routine for writing? How many hours do you devote to writing every day?

There is nothing like a definite number of hours which I devote to writing every day. I write as and when the mood takes me. It may be three or four hours some days, and some days, I do not write at all.

What difficulties do you face during writing this book, and how do you overcome them?

Editing was slightly difficult. I subscribe to Microsoft Word and managed to edit the book quite well.

Another thing is the choice of the book cover was a big challenge, but I finally found a suitable design in Canva, the website I used for developing the cover.

Have you ever faced writer’s block? If yes, how did you overcome it?

When I was writing my first thriller, at a certain point, I tried to plan ahead and write further. I suddenly found I was unable to think or write.

I tried to think about how to take the plot forward and found I just could not come up with any ideas. It was a severe case of writer’s block.

But, suddenly one day, I simply stopped trying to think ahead and opened my laptop and started typing and found my fingers dashing across the keyboard, and soon the block was a thing of the past.

So, in my case, I get a writer’s block if I think too far ahead. I am not a planner. I write spontaneously.

Author’s Writing Journry

Jai, tell us about your writing journey.

The only writing I did as a child was in my fifth grade when I wrote an Independence Day speech and presented it on stage. I remember my father was inordinately proud of me and told all his friends about it.

After that, when I was in my 12th grade, I used to live in my aunt’s place, which was in a flat on the terrace. During nighttime, I used to stand under the moonlight and conjure up poems in my mind. I never put them down on paper.

In the year 2017 some of my colleagues came up to me and insisted that since I was the senior most person in the office, I perform something on stage. I was kind of flabbergasted and tried to refuse.

Then, one of my closest friends and colleague, Piyush, said, ‘Jai, why don’t you write a poem and recite that on stage?’

I decided to just give it a try and sat down with my laptop and penned a poem on my mischievous ten-year-old daughter. I recited the poem on the stage during the function, and it was an absolute hit.

I put the poem on my blog. After that, one thing led to another, and I found myself writing articles on politics, sports, and several other areas. Finally, I began writing fiction.

The journey has not been without its downs. There have been times of despondency when I have come awfully close to deleting my entire blog in frustration. It is my sister Sudha Somanathan and my close friend Krishna Kumar Subramaniam who kept my spirits up during these moments and kept me going.

Share the things you’d want to know about your favorite authors.

Though I have several favorite authors, the author I like most is Stephen King. I am also a big fan of Michael Connelly and Agatha Christie. All these authors had an initial period of struggle when their books were not bestsellers. They had to struggle to make it to the top.

What I would like to know is what was the secret mantra that kept them going during these lean times.

Another example of an author who has faced a lot of tribulations is J. K. Rowling. Though I don’t read Harry Potter, I would like to meet her and ask her how she managed to overcome the gloomy days when things were simply not going her way.

Jai’s Dream

Sitharaam Jayakumar, tell us about your dream of writing a bestseller. How far have you proceeded in this dream?

To be very honest, I am still very much in the preliminary stages. A couple of months back, I participated in a competition of short stories for publication in paperback of anthologies conducted by a writer’s group called Penmancy.

I am happy to state that out of a large number of entries mine was one of the 15 stories that got selected for publication in the paperback. The paperback titled ‘A Fallen Leaf’ will be published in August/September.

That is the closest I have come to getting something I have written to be a part of a paperback. Ah! Yes, I am forgetting, five of my poems were selected and published in paperback some time back.

So as far as writing a bestseller is concerned, I am not even one-tenth of the way in my journey.

Tomichan Matheikal, in his review of your book Jai’s Assorted Tales, talked about the reflection of cynicism in a particular section. Would you like to comment on it?

In school, I was just an above-average student and nothing brilliant. But, one problem was I used to get bullied by my classmates a bit.

This might have led to some cynicism creeping into my stories, especially the ones in the stories belonging to the horror/thriller section in my book as pointed out by Tomichan Matheikal in his review.

Suggest one book that is similar to yours so that readers can get an idea about your anthology, Jai’s Assorted Tales.

The Shining by Stephen King.

Thanks, Jai, for joining us. It’s a fabulous experience chatting with you.

Reviews of Jai’s Assorted Tales by Sitharaam Jayakumar

That was Sitharaam Jayakumar alias Jai with us talking about himself and his book Jai’s Assorted Tales in detail. Let’s see what others are saying about his book.

The backgrounds and characters are all very unique. Overall, the book is a great read. It shows the writer’s grip over narratives and his different perspective. I never got bored and never found a dull moment anywhere in the book.

The stories grouped together under ‘Sci-fi/Humour’ can make us smile with humanoids that behave like real humans. Romeo and Juliet in ‘Give me five!’ and Andrei and Steffi in ‘The Five-Set Thriller’ are humanoids with a nice sense of romance. The irony of our possible future falling back on the past of Swift’s Gulliver as hinted at in ‘The Evacuation’ is also amusing.

Details of Jai’s Assorted Tales by Sitharaam Jayakumar

Book Details
Title	Jai’s Assorted Tales
Author	Sitharaam Jayakumar
Genre	Anthology
Sub-genre	Horror, Humour, Sci-fi, Suspense Thriller
No. of Words	22575
Reading Time	115 min (Approx)
Format	PDF
Available at	Blogchatter

Contact Links of Jai

Do read Sitharaam Jayakumar’s book Jai’s Assorted Tales, and share your views with him here:

Website: Jai’s Jottings
Email: sitharaam@gmail.com
Twitter: @SmallFryBlogger
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/sitaram.jayakumar
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18051115.Sitharaam_Jayakumar

Hope you enjoyed the conversation with Sitharaam Jayakumar, author of Jai’s Assorted Tales.

Thank you.