Ashwin Sanghi

“I love fiction that sounds like fact. As a matter of fact, I also like fact that sounds like fiction.”

“After preliminary research, I zero in on an idea, and then I spend at least four months exploring the topic and in plot-building. I jot down every single detail of the plot as bullet points per chapter, and only when the skeleton is complete do I start writing.”

“I believe that patterns tend to repeat themselves and there are connections between the past and the present. There is the old proverb that reads, 'You can't know where you're going if you don't know where you've been'. For me, history is like that. When you take history and combine it with myth, then you get mystery.”

“I was always taught that book keeping was more relevant than book reading. The only thing worth reading was meant to be a balance sheet.”

“The average buyer in bookshop spends 8 seconds on the front cover and 15 seconds on the back cover before deciding whether to purchase the book or not. On average, he does not get past page 18. See? The odds are stacked against us writers!”

“I would imagine that anyone picking up a book written by me would expect a fast-paced story that requires minimal effort to turn the pages. The reader would also be looking for some out-of-the-ordinary revelations along the way. At the end of the day, I'm a writer who simply loves revealing stuff that is out-of-the-ordinary.”

“I don't start with the characters. I start with the series of events that will provide the conflict and how it can be resolved. Characters are incidental.”

“Our country has the oldest tradition of storytelling, and this was much before writing stories even became a norm.”

“I was told that Ganesha sat between Lakshmi and Saraswati. My quest to attain the blessings of both goddesses explains my physique.”

“Once upon a time, I was a workaholic clocking more than 80 hours per week. That changed after I began to write. I now work only around 35 hours per week. I do not work on weekends because these are the days that I use for research as well as for my writing.”

“Everything is going to be right at the end. If it's not right, then it is not the end.”

“I don't want to be remembered as a writer. I would rather be remembered as a storyteller.”

“I am a businessman at the end of the day. I have grown up with Excel sheets. I start out writing my novel with spreadsheets and the milestones in each chapter highlighted.”

“The first thriller ever? It was probably one from 1697. It was called 'Little Red Riding Hood.'”

“I must admit that i am fascinated by the glories of ancient India. But when will the purveyors of Indian culture realise that not everything about our past was glorious?”

“Humankind would improve if we concentrated less on being human and more on being kind.”

“My wife is troubled by the things I forget. I am troubled by the things she recollects.”

“In the Sanghi family, there is no one who has undertaken intellectual pursuits.”

“My self-publishing adventure led to my work being picked up by a traditional publisher and eventually hitting the bestseller lists. That led to two more bestselling novels.”

“Master storytellers like Jeffrey Archer and Arthur Hailey use simple language. But they manage to grab the attention of the readers right from page one. I'll consider myself a good storyteller the day people believe it's OK to be late for work or postpone deadlines just to finish reading my book.”