Today we talk about Out of the Jaws of DEATH, a book by Anand Vardhan, published with our publishing house Europe Books.
Europe Books had the pleasure of interviewing the author Anand Vardhan to get to know him better, where and when he found the inspiration to write his book Out of the Jaws of DEATH, as well as what significant experiences of his life find here expression.
Below you can find our interview. Take a seat and enjoy your reading!!!
- Where and when did you find the inspiration to write this work of fiction?
It was in the quiet starry night in the stunning silence of the hamlet of Gretna Greens, the Scottish border town where we halted for the night after a long drive from St Andrews on our way back to London! As I sat gazing at the starry night, I was suddenly reminded of a similar “starry night”, though a night of horror wherein my friends in Singapore hovered over the dark deep sea in search of their ship full of Chick peas that was stolen by the Mafia! I froze in my chair as it triggered a chain of thoughts of mafia, deceit, killings, killings and what have you! Thankfully! praying to the almighty that my friends had had a close shave with death! I switched my mind away to a more serene subject that couldn’t be better than the Scotch Whisky itself, sitting as I was in the Scottish heartland! While I admired my friend for having recently acquired an old and dilapidated distillery in Scotland! Yet I wondered the queer circumstances that may have led the earlier owner to sell off the distillery that too in such a shape! In a quick whirlwind of thoughts of the “starry night” , I was reminded of the beautiful belle dancing in the middle of nowhere in the Dubai deserts, celebrating the culmination of the day long desert safari to the tune of the Arabian music, accompanied by the best of wines and whiskey! The mystique of the starry night had had the better of me ! For! It was just then that I was inspired to pen down my thoughts! The 70 long years of the good, the bad and the ugly that have withstood the pangs of my youth! I chose to become a writer! I chose to right this piece of Fiction in a style where real life instances and experiences are creatively woven into a mass of thrill and action!
- What particularly significant experiences of real-life find expression in your book?
Wow! Almost everything! The main theme per se! The mafia cheating my friends who show them the crop but never deliver till they are discovered as thugs and thieves of having stolen millions of dollars from my friends. I have taken the creative liberty of changing the crop name from green lentils to Chick pea in order to introduce the Arab world whose staple food is the Chick pea! And this helps me to introduce to my readers the wondrous world of glamour, glitter and glitterati of Dubai! The narration regarding my friends hovering in a helicopter to trace the ship in Singapore is indeed a true story! This was also followed by the chase of the mafia from Singapore to the by-lanes in Bangkok Port area leading to the police encounter that killed most of the gangsters! It was also true that the mafia had showed the crop in stock in Thailand and taken almost half the money in US Dollars as advance to book the shipment! That, they demanded the balance payments by false shipping documents! When questioned, they said the ship was a sail and could be seen inspected in Singapore. When asked for physical Inspection the mafia gave a wrong name of the ship with false documents. My friends who insisted upon verification, hired a helicopter to locate the vessel in vain! Soon the mafia said the vessel was still in Thailand waters and that my friends should return to Thailand! Indeed ! The episode of the purchase of the old and dilapidated Scottish distillery by a friend was“changed to the sale of the same by a father or Two beautiful daughters in distress! This was used as an element of “compassion, pathos and indeed lady love and sex into the play! “
- What do you want to communicate to readers with this work?
Indeed! Having traversed the world as a journalist, apolitical aide, and as a businessman, I have had the privilege of experiencing compassion, the good, the bad and the ugly! My 70 youthful years will be short to compile real life episodes into fiction and thriller both! I thought what could be more better than to share my life’s experiences with my readers. More so, as I present the diverse cultures and ethnicity of people from across the globe, bringing together the different shades of life.
- How did it feel to see your debut thriller published?
I am really excited and would like to thank Europe Books to recognise the content of this piece of fiction and share my real life episodes with my readers!
- Are you planning to write more books?
Indeed ! I have two other books of fiction under my belt bringing real Life stories of wonderful men and women and their deeds!
Europe Books thanks the author Anand Vardhan once again for taking the time and answering our questions. We are really pleased to have walked alongside him on the editorial path that led to the publication of his book Out of the Jaws of DEATH. We wish him the best of luck for his book and for his future works.
To you, my dear reader, I wish that this reading will capture your interest and will keep you glued to the pages of this book to the point of looking forward to re-opening it once closed.
So, my dear reader, all I have to say is to enjoy this exciting reading!
Your editor!