Actions have consequences. Battles and killings have a lasting impact on our psyches. We are all influenced by our parents, our childhood, our experiences, and who we become as adults reflects all we have experienced.
Shiva Kumar – 28 November 2023
The Back Flap
Vanara Prophecy warns that war is inevitable. Can Dharma prevail?
Our exiled heroes crash-land on Lanka, an Earth-like planet, and discover none of their modern technology or weapons function. While adapting to their new world, they are attacked by bloodthirsty, demonic shapeshifters. Arya connects to the soul of the living planet and finds she can channel its raw power. As the demonic corruption accelerates, various species of Lanka rally under Dharma’s command to reclaim their planet.
Maya delves into Dharma’s memories and more questions emerge.
Maya log A0353 – Earth Calendar, July 25, 2294
Why do I feel compelled to pursue these memories? I don’t honestly know. Is it possible that I, a synthetic and artificial creation want to believe there is something greater, something inexplicable, something beyond us all that animates the universe? I now believe a faithful retelling of events will impact my destiny in ways I cannot predict, so I follow the path.
In the continuation of this fascinating reimagining of the classic Indian epic, The Ramayana, our heroes find themselves drawn into a war prophesized centuries ago.
About the book
What is the book about?
The Lanka Chronicles is a trilogy that reimagines the ancient Indian epic, The Ramayana in the future, (23rd Century) when Earth is but a memory, humans have colonized the stars and AI (Artificial Intelligence) has progressed to the point of sentience. As humans explore farther and wider across the galaxy, their hope of ever encountering any alien life forms dwindles. Man’s belief in his own invincibility and prowess eclipses any sense of a greater cosmic design. God and religion largely disappear as science and exploration became the new mantra.
Book 1 is titled – An Awakening and came out last year. In the year 2294, Dharma Raghav, Prime Minister of the New India Federation of Planets, is a tormented and weary soul. Amid several political insurgencies and rebellions, Dharma receives a secret coded message from a cloaked planet depicting a war he fought over 30 years ago against demon hordes on a planet called Lanka. It was also where he lost his beloved wife, Arya, those many years ago. Haunted by memories of the things he had to do during that war, Dharma recognizes the message as a sign. He resigns as Prime Minister and with his brother Loki, embarks on an epic journey back to Lanka where he will finally confront his past. On board the first sentient starship, Maya 1, Dharma and Loki enter a deep cryogenic sleep for the long voyage. Maya 1, seeking her own destiny, begins to probe Dharma’s dreams and memories, discovering his fraught history, and recognizes that answers to her questions are inextricably linked to Dharma’s life story.
Book 2 titled – A New Reality was just published.
When did you start writing the book?
Back in 2015, I was diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening disease. As I was contemplating my own mortality, I decided to start writing. I had never written a novel before or anything remotely in the arena of fiction. It was a way for me to manage the many months of chemo and radiation treatments I went through. Between 2015 and 2017 I wrote – The Lanka Chronicles in one non-stop output. When done I had a massive tome that I then broke into 3 books.
How long did it take you to write it?
About 2 years to write all three books in the trilogy.
Where did you get the idea from?
As I was monitoring my own responses to my medical condition, I started wondering about the many heroes of countless epics and mythologies I had read. If they became older men, would they not think about their actions and regret some of them? Actions have consequences. Battles and killings have a lasting impact on our psyches. We are all influenced by our parents, our childhood, our experiences, and who we become as adults reflects all we have experienced. The hero/god of the Ramayana was a problematic character for me. The hero Rama makes some very morally reprehensible decisions in the story and yet is revered as a god. And as a god, his actions are beyond reproach but if he were human, there would be consequences to his decisions. I wanted to tell a story of an older and wiser man trying to atone for the decisions he had made in his youth. I wanted to try and paint a more psychologically nuanced portrait of a tortured hero.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
As a filmmaker for 3 decades, I was quite familiar with scriptwriting and filmmaking techniques. I understood blocking, camera movement, lighting and editing but writing a novel is quite different. I was rarely in a character’s mind as a filmmaker. The actor provided the internal motivation. In a novel, I had to really get into the character’s interior dialogue and not watch everything from a removed camera view. I also had to learn to not head-hop between characters in a chapter.
What came easily?
What came easily was detailed visual description, intricate world building, stirring battle scenes, motivated action and big picture philosophies.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
I have great love and reverence for the original text and its many variations. I wanted to pay homage to The Ramayana while approaching it from a 21st century perspective. Archetypal mythologies continue to resonate because each time they’re told, the politics, economics, culture, and spirituality at the time of their dissemination, informs the re-telling. I have tried to delve into the motivation and mindscape of the major characters in the tale from a modern perspective. But I was also working out my own mortality and the extent of my contribution to society as a whole. As such, the main character, Dharma is as much me as he is the hero of The Ramayana. And all the other characters represent aspects of me and people I know. The villain, Iraivan is also an aspect of me while being this terrible monster.
I am attempting to find the place where science and spirituality meet, and quantum physics can be interpreted from both a scientific and a spiritual perspective. I tried to find plausible explanations for events and occurrences that might otherwise seem like magic. Dharma and his brother Loki are men of reason and science and do not accept spiritual explanations. Arya on the other hand believes there is more to the universe than science can explain and as time passes, she becomes a conduit for some of these unexplained occurrences.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
I went back to many different versions of The Ramayana. There is the Valmiki version, which as far as we know is the original and written around 1500 BCE. Another popular version, The Tulsidas Ramayana was written around the 15th century. What changed from the original version is the divinity of the main characters. Valmiki’s Ramayana considered the characters human beings. By the time you get to Tulsidas they were seen as divine beings. There are also many regional versions of the story. Depending on the region and their specific culture, the characters morphed to represent those traditions. I tried to take all of that into account and imagined the story in a 23rd century, galaxy spanning, technologically advanced human civilization.
As far back as we can go with our stories, there have been countless depictions of other worlds, advanced civilizations, strange weapons, and alien beings. I read a wide range of sci-fi and fantasy stories but took the bulk of my inspiration from Frank Herbert’s Dune. I wanted the technology of my world to feel widely accepted, used, and integrated into everyday life. But despite all our technology, we are, by and large, a religious or spiritual race seeking answers to all the big questions. Who are we? Why are we here? Are we the only ones? Is there a god?
As a teenager I absorbed the sci-fi classics of Ursula Le Guin, Robert Heinlein, Issac Asimov, Roger Zelazny, Stephen Donaldson, J.R.R. Tolkien, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Stephen King, Tanith Lee, Brian Lumley, Julian May, Piers Anthony and on and on.
Do you have a target reader?
I have always been keenly interested in the origin of civilizations and cultures. I am fascinated by the gods and mythologies we create. I read books on anthropology, history, and mythology. When I was a boy in boarding school in India I discovered an encyclopedia of mythology from A-Z. I devoured all the great myths from Afghanistan through to Zimbabwe. I am fascinated by the discoveries we make about early human civilization. The more we discover, the more we realize how little we know. I love stories about seekers, iconoclasts, zealots, non-conformists, and shamans. I would say my books are adult science fiction fantasy trying to grapple with the big questions of our universe. As such I believe an avid reader older than 15 would be a target reader.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
I was so new to the world of writing that I knew very little about how to write a novel properly. I just wrote from a stream of consciousness till I had all three books written in one big tome. Then I separated them into 3 volumes and took a few online seminars on writing. I reworked my first book about a dozen times till it started taking some shape. I had a few friends read early drafts and make comments. I joined a writing group, and we reviewed each other’s works. Then I did hire an editor, which by the way I whole-heartedly recommend. We are too close to our work to edit it properly. An editor can see blind spots, personal biases, repetitions, sensitivity issues and so many other things we are blind to as we read our own work. After that, I reworked the book another 3 or 4 times and finally before it went to print, I hired a proofreader for small grammar, punctuation, and syntax issues.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
I do not. I tend to write in a flow state. I get an idea in my head, and I just let the words emerge. I was fortunate with my first trilogy in that there was an existing work so the broad outlines of my plot were already constructed. I have since written other novels and I still sort of let it flow.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I do. I tend to get to a point, maybe 3 or 4 chapters in, where I stop for a few days and return to the top and start again, adding extra scenes in the middle, extracting other bits, here and there, and generally reworking till I’m satisfied at that point, and I start writing again. Each time I stop, I return to the beginning and rework it.
Did you hire a professional editor?
For Book 1 of my trilogy, I did. It was extremely helpful allowing me to recognize unconscious biases in my writing I was totally unaware of. I changed the gender of a few of my characters and toned down some of the dated, ‘male gaze’ aspects of my writing.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
I find music distracting. As I write, I feel the environment, I see the world, I hear the music of the scene I am writing. Listening to anything external would interfere with the natural rhythm and music of the scene I am working on.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
Yes, I submitted to some agents before deciding to self-publish.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
The reality of the publishing industry is sobering. There is so much being written by so many people every day that trying to find an agent, and then an editor, then a publishing house is quite daunting, especially if you are a debut author with an unfamiliar title. Also, most agents want reasonable certainty that they can sell your book to a publishing house. They all want the next ‘flavor of the month’ because they can sell that. Going indie is tough but it is organic and slow, and you build an audience who connect with your specific work. And who knows, if the first book is a success, agents will find you.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
I worked with a graphic artist I found on Fivver.com and am quite happy with the results. He designed the cover of my first book and has now designed the cover of my second book.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
I would like to say I have a fully fleshed out marketing campaign but that would be a lie. I have hired a publicist for this book and she was the one who introduced me to your publication.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
Any creative endeavor we undertake requires discipline. Making films is an all-consuming, creative, technical, and financial undertaking. Being an actor takes tremendous commitment, confidence, resilience, and humility. But being a writer is the hardest because unlike the other two, until you are ready to show your work and get feedback, you are toiling all alone. It is isolating and terrifying but also tremendously gratifying. You get to play God in your small world. You fall in love with your characters and after a while, it seems like they are writing themselves. Once you find their voice, they tell you what they want to be. There have been some 14-hour days where I have felt like a conduit for some divine energy that is pouring out through me and filling the screen with words. I can’t seem to write fast enough. That is what makes writing such a passionate art. But do it because you want to write, not to become famous or to make money, though if that happens, awesome! Write because it gives you joy.
About You
Where did you grow up?
Born in India, Shiva Kumar, a filmmaker, and actor, grew up in a traditional family where fables of Indian life enveloped him like the humid dawn of a steamy Madras day. Schooled in England, Egypt, India, and the United States, the lonely ten-year-old boy discovered his love for mythology in a dusty old library in South India when he came upon a 26-volume encyclopedia of world mythologies which he promptly devoured from A-Z. Coming to America in the mid 70’s the teenager gorged on science fiction and fantasy from J.R.R. Tolkien, Burroughs, Ursula Le Guin, Robert Silverberg, Terry Brooks, Piers Anthony, and Frank Herbert. But it took another four decades before Kumar decided to reimagine the ancient Indian epic The Ramayana from a science fiction and fantasy perspective.
Where do you live now?
I live in Long Island, New York with my wife. We have two children and 1 grandchild.
What would you like readers to know about you?
I take each day as a gift. I am doing what I love and invest in the process. If you do not enjoy the path, then waiting for your art to make you famous or bring you riches is a path to depression. But if you like the work it takes to perfect your art, then the resulting product is a joy to behold. I love crafting stories. I love to play tennis and I enjoy cooking, drinking good whiskey, and getting into deep discussions with friends, preferably with a 21 yr. old scotch in my hand and a great meal at the end of the discussion.
What are you working on now?
I have completed a screenplay called Journey to Babylon. Here is the synopsis.
With a heartfelt nod to the wonderful films of Edward Burns, echoes of Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused and Meera Nair’s Namesake, Journey to Babylon is a funny, bittersweet, coming of age story of a creative and artistic sixteen-year-old boy from India who, like every other Indian immigrant, is expected to become a doctor or engineer. Set in 1976, Rishi is invited to his first ever wild summer pool party in very insular, very white, Babylon, Long Island. Trying desperately to belong, to be cool and to be accepted, the zany weekend becomes a crucible, where he discovers his truth, his dreams, his place in this brave new world and his own unique take on the American dream.
The next book I am working on is called Ratri the Cursed. It is a South Asian mythology-based horror story I call – A Rock and Rock Succubus Fantasy. It takes place in 1980 NYC where Rohan Campbell, a 20 yr. old rock and roll musician, is tormented by dreams of a sexy nightmare demon who is pursuing him. The succubus Ratri has been searching for Rohan who she believes can release her from her curse, but in doing so our hero must die. Will Rohan discover powers he never knew he had to battle this ancient demonic entity?
End of Interview: