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Showing posts with label rv raman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rv raman. Show all posts

Sunday 12 April 2015

On interviewing debut authors

 
I have interviewed a lot of debut authors on my blog. They have spanned various genres: self-help, thrillers, non-fiction, romance, mystery, fantasy, among others. 

They have been from various professions, while some of them have written books that suit their profession (see: Shama Patel, a psychiatrist who wrote 21 ways of being happy) while some others have taken a plunge from professions like medicine into writing a fiction piece with a cat and a dog as the protagonists. (Deepal Kripal who wrote The Devil's Gate)

Being an aspiring author and an avid reader, it has always piqued my interest to know what makes the authors take the call, and finally have the transition from their profession into the field of writing.

Here's what I found: they seek inspiration from whichever source they can: it can be their own profession, it can be their workplace, the eccentric people they work with, their own fertile imagination, or a gap in the published market they want to tap. 



So, RV Raman penned Fraudster, a thriller/crime fiction which was a product of his experiences in the corporate sector, as he remarks, "The corporate world is a fertile ground for stories – both inspirational and fictional. It has a fascinating interplay of every emotion one can think of, and every kind of conflict. Fiction, after all, is about emotive conflict. I saw an untapped potential for crime fiction there, and decided to give it a go."

 I have observed that all these authors share one common thread: they had been looking for inspiration, which means that they already knew they would write one day. Just like you and me, they had an itch to write, they just needed the right idea and plot. Saurabh Garg, author of The Nidhi Kapoor Story, confirms my belief, "There was no epiphany per se. But, there was this inkling that I had for almost ten years that I want to write a book. And rather than just one blinding flash of lightening striking my head from up above, a lot of things came together to make this book possible."
During one such interview, an amusing concept of an alter-ego comes up. I had seen so many authors with professional jobs in the corporate sector, which means that they obviously did not get much time from their work deadlines and other pre-occupations. I was naturally curious to know how they managed to go through the herculean and emotionally taxing task of writing and getting published. In her response, Shikha Kumar, author of the romance novel He FIXED the match, she fixed him, told me, "We all have an alter-ego which we at times even keep away from the world with fear of being mocked up. But I decided to embark an journey in unknown terrain with just one funda “I have nothing to lose”. Time management was certainly a challenge, but when the self-drive is so insanely lethal I think even odds starts working in your favor."

These were all lessons in writing, marketing and taking the plunge. However, there has been one very very important lesson I learnt in all my formal/informal conversations with the authors : never give up. I realised that all the authors were writing about the subject that was dear to them, that they felt the most passionate about: Lee Van ham wrote about the environment because that is where his mind belongs. Someone descended into a fictional world because because it was his/her escape just like it was the readers'. 
Yet another positive soul wrote a book on happiness because that's her goal in life: making more and more people happy.
You don't write for the sake of it. You write because you feel.



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Sunday 16 November 2014

Author Interview: RV Raman



Interview



Question: Congratulations on your first book. While it is not unusual for corporate insiders to pen down the novels, revealing the murky insides of the corporate world, what in particular, inspired you to write this novel?

Author: The corporate world is a fertile ground for stories – both inspirational and fictional. It has a fascinating interplay of every emotion one can think of, and every kind of conflict. Fiction, after all, is about emotive conflict. I saw an untapped potential for crime fiction there, and decided to give it a go.

Question:  Has it been your deliberate attempt to expose and uncover the vicious and dark side of the corporate India, what with the elements of scams, treachery, corruption and crime intertwined together in a plot that leaves the reader flabbergasted?

Author: Not at all. I set my novel in the corporate world simply because that is the world I know best.
Fraudster in entirely fiction, where I have taken great care to ensure that none of the characters or organisations reflect any real counterparts. I do not believe anything has been exposed or uncovered in the novel. None of the events in the book would be new to bankers, corporate executives or the finance profession.
Corporate India is no more vicious or dark than any other field of human endeavour – films, sports, politics, fine arts, the fourth estate – take your pick. But crime fiction, by its very nature, focuses on the dark side of humanity. 95% of the people in corporate India are good, honest folk who are busy making a living and building a better tomorrow for their children.

Question:  How handy has your experience in the sector been?
Author: Very handy. I do not believe Fraudster could have been written without experience in the sector. Take the presentation Sanjay & Subbu make to Visht, for instance. It is grounded in a bank’s credit appraisal and risk management processes. Similarly, the modus operandi of the real estate scam is based on reality. A retired Senior Vice President of a large corporate group was telling me last week that 10x, even 20x, overvaluation of real estate is not unheard of. Nor are fires that destroy factories.

Question: Should the readers expect more of crime fiction with settings in the corporate world from you?

Author: I would like to write more. The next one is set in the Indian stock market, and should be very relatable to the common reader – more people dabble in shares than in corporate finance.

Question: Have / would you write any other genre of books?

Author: I also write epic fantasy that is not related to Indian mythology. It is set 25 million years ago when the continents were adrift; before the Indian subcontinent rammed into Asia and raised the Himalayas. It is called the Shinmah Series written under the nom de plume of Kevan Dinn.

Question: Who is your favourite author and book?

Author: Can’t name just one. In crime fiction, I’d include all Sherlock Holmes and Poirot stories, And Then There Were None, The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, Sphere and Congo. In SFF, it’s Lord of the Rings and Asimov’s entire Robot/Foundation Series. And in humour, it’s almost any Wodehouse (I am partial to Blandings Castle novels).

7. What are the most motivational/inspiring lines for you?

Author: Hmm … I wish I knew.

“This interview is a part of The Readers Cosmos Book Review Program and Blog Tours.  To get free books log on to thereaderscosmos.blogspot.com







Wednesday 12 November 2014

Spotlight: Fraudster by RV Raman

Title:  Fraudster


Author: R V Raman


Category: Fiction


 Publisher: Hachette


Date: 2014

Price: Rs. 250

Pages: 272


ISBN: 9350098008



Fraudster : The Story of Corporate India’s Black Sheep:
Fraudster is a suspense thriller from R. V. Raman set in the world of corporate finance.


Summary of the Book
Some people will do anything to silence anyone they think are obstacles. They won’t stop at anything, not even murder. In this thrilling novel, a young banker deposes before a commission investigating large-scale financial fraud. She is found dead the very next day. Meanwhile, a leader of corporate India falls to his death from his South Bombay flat. In a multinational accounting firm, the high-security server room is hacked. The hackers want more than just company secrets. Illegal finance, high-profile crimes and brutal manipulation combine in this tale of greed, treachery and corruption amidst corporate India’s worst members.


About R. V. Raman
R. V. Raman is an Indian writer and the former head of KPMG's Consulting Practice and the co-head of their Risk Advisory Services. He was also partnered with A.T. Kearney and Arthur Andersen, and boasts an experience of over three decades and covering four continents. Currently a faculty member at the Indian Institute of Management, Trichy, he teaches Business Strategy. He is based in Chennai and this is his first book.




Copies Available at all online stores:
1.      Flipkart: 


2.      Amazon:  


3.      Infibeam: 


Know More Inside Stories, Connect with The Author:
Twitter: @RvRaman_

Read the book? Write a review on Goodreads:





Sunday 2 November 2014

Book Review: Fraudster By RV Raman

About the book:


There are people who will do anything to silence the ones who come in their way, those who will stop at nothing, including murder. 

A young banker is found dead a day after she deposes before a commission investigating large-scale financial fraud... 
A doyen of corporate India falls to his death from his south Bombay flat... 
A high-security server room of a multinational accounting firm is hacked and the hackers aren't looking for just company secrets... 

Illicit finance, high-stakes crime and vicious manipulation come together in this story of corruption, greed and treachery among corporate India's black sheep. Arresting, fast-paced and written by an insider from the corporate world, Fraudster will keep you on your toes till the very end.

Paperback available in bookstores across India. Flipkart | Amazon |Infibeam
eBook available globally. Kindle | Kobo | Google Play | Nook 

About the author:

Over a career spanning three decades and four continents, RV Raman advised several banks, financial institutions and corporates on various matters. He has now turned to writing fiction set in corporate India, based on his insights and observations.

Having moved away from full-time roles, he now teaches business strategy at an IIM, mentors young entrepreneurs, advises select clients and writes.

Tired of extensive physical travel around the world, he now prefers less punishing mental excursions into fictional worlds of his own creation. He lives in Chennai. His complete profile is available here.

Fraudster is his first corporate thriller, and is available in most book stores including Flipkart &Amazon.

RV Raman on Facebook
 

My review:

What I am sure about in this novel is the fact that it keeps you glued till the end. To say that it has mind-blowing twists and turns in the plots, seems an understatement. One murder after another, one attack after another, and the writer has craftily kept us guessing till the end who the culprit is. 

No doubt that the author's experience in the corporate world comes in handy when he writes the story, revealing and disclosing such malpractices which the reader is taken aback with. 
When I started reading it, I had initially thought that the book will at best, be predictable. As luck would have it, it was everything but. 
That the setting in time is contemporary makes the reader even more intrigued: all the threats faced in IT operation, the perpetration of scams - everything is real to a fault.
I might need to dig lexicons to find a word more effective than 'thrilling' to describe the book. The plot twists outdo themselves every single time.
How all characters fall in place and raise suspicions with their activities was the best part of the book. However, one cannot deny that the end appears a bit too hushed, with little happening compared to the racy pace it had earlier. I was also a little disappointed in the way the culprit was finally revealed, it somehow lacked the dramatic flair that was otherwise characteristically remarkable throughout the novel. The end is, in no way, disappointing, but it does not match the grandeur of the rest of the novel.

My Judgement:
Better than even some of the bestsellers on the block, this one deserves to be picked.

"This book review is a part of The Readers Cosmos Book Review Program and Blog Tours.  To get free books log on tothereaderscosmos.blogspot.com"

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