T. Sathish talks about his latest book, Long Run | Interview

T. Sathish talks about his latest book Long Run Interview

T. Sathish is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIMC), and the National Institute of Technology, Silchar. He currently works as an AVP in Cigniti Tech, an Information Technology company, with his work predominantly concerning the building of software for the investment banking sector. 

When not working arduously in the office, he likes to dedicate his time and effort to his other passions – cricket and writing. As an avid fan and cricketing enthusiast, he writes columns on the Australian sports platform, Cricket on the Roar (www.theroar.com.au) as TSat. 

He published his first novel, Life in the Sunshine in 2019, which quickly went on to become an Amazon bestseller. The book is set in the Indian cricketing world of the 1980s and 1990s and narrates the story of an unnamed cricketer. It was ranked #1 in the cricket books category on Amazon. 

His second book, Long Run: A Paradise Augmented, published in 2021, also became an instant hit on the Amazon charts and was well received by readers and critics across India. The book, serving a blend of reality fiction and drama, is the story of an ambitious but visually impaired investment banker. 

Author T. Sathish Interview

T. Sathish has also published short stories on various writing platforms. These include Looking for Bond (Amazon), Hang in There (Juggernaut), and Am I Free? (Juggernaut). A voracious reader himself, he loves to read on a wide variety of topics and can be seen regularly posting reviews of the books that he reads on his Instagram page. He can be reached on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at his handle @sathishpgw.

The author lives in Chennai with his wife, Roopa, son, Prahlad, and his extended family.

We at bookGeeks got a lucky chance at a candid conversation with the author. Here is what he has to say about his love for writing, cricket, and reading. 

Interview of T. Sathish Author of Long Run
Tell us something about yourself. Who is Sathish as a person, and how is he different as an author?
I have multiple identities today. I am here as a writer who has published two novels, Long Run and Life in the Sunshine, and a few short stories. I am also a cricket columnist on The Roar etc. As a professional, I am an AVP in an Information technology company named Cigniti Tech. As a person, I am married to Roopa and a father of a lovely child named Prahlad.

As an author, I specialize in the reality-fiction genre, which is not a frequently trodden path in this profession. I learned this story technique from Mani Ratnam's movies during the 90s and early 2000s.
Tell us about your latest book Long Run: A Paradise Augmented? When did your first conceive the idea of writing it?
Long Run is the story of the trials and tribulations of a highly ambitious investment manager named Raghu Santhanam. Raghu reaches dizzying heights in the stock market before facing quite an upheaval in his life, losing his eyesight in an accident, breaking up with his lover and losing his company. The story is about his redemption as a person and as an investment management professional.

I saw an interview on CNBC of a visually challenged stock trader a long time back. That person has stuck in my mind since then. So, when I started to think of ideas for my second book, I decided to write a story with a central character based in the investment industry who becomes blind through an accident.
What do you do in your professional sphere? Has it ever conflicted with your writing, or has it influenced it?
I work in the information technology sector playing multiple roles as a program manager, consultant and now a business leader. Much of my work has been to build software for the investment banking industry. The time that I spent working with customers in the investment banking arena gave me a window into the workings of the industry and the backdrop for Long Run.

Apart from this, I make a disciplined and diligent effort to find time for my writing amidst my full-time profession. So, I would say that my work has helped me with my parallel writing career.
What made you attempt such a unique genre blend, weaving finance into contemporary fiction?
Like I said before, I specialize in reality fiction as a genre. So, in this novel, I have built my story with the financial markets of the late 1990s and 2000s as the backdrop. In my first novel, Life in the Sunshine, I used Indian cricket of the 1980s and 1990s as the backdrop for my story. The actual events help me with a framework for fleshing out my fictional story.

I learnt this form of storytelling by watching Director Mani Ratnam's movies like Roja, Bombay, Dil Se etc.

A lot of research has gone into the making of Long Run. What was the method of your research, and how much time did you put into it?
I read a lot about the dot com boom, the financial markets during those times and then the sub-prime crisis of the 2000s. I read books and websites; I interviewed financial markets professionals.

In addition to these, as I have lived through some of these events in the 2000s, I also used my memory. I would have spent about 3 to 4 months on the external research to get the facts for the novel.
Who is your most important critic, and why?
To critically review my works, I tap my friends Suresh Lakshmanan, Garima Gupta, and my sister Suba Lakshmi Narasimhan. They are not my critics but my sounding boards. Otherwise, I rely on book reviewers and bloggers to provide the much-needed critique of my work.
Do you have a writing regimen? Or are you a spontaneous writer?
I am more of a spontaneous writer. I do a lot of mental writing before putting pen to paper. Before I write a novel or a chapter, I would narrate the story mentally and visualize the details. So, once I am convinced with the content, I quickly transfer it to written form.
Tell us about your writing influences. Which authors have inspired you the most?
My writing style is deeply influenced by the works of greats such as RK Narayan, PG Wodehouse, Agatha Christie, Bill Bryson, Arthur Conan Doyle, and various others.

Movie director Mani Ratnam profoundly influences my storytelling.
Some tips for aspiring writers.
Read a lot and read a variety of subjects. Watch movies of great filmmakers. Learn visualization techniques. Build an excellent online and offline network of people.
One quote that never fails to inspire you?
Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like it is heaven on earth – a quote often ascribed to Mark Twain.
Any future projects that you are currently working on?
I am currently working on a book about Rajnikanth and his movies.

Buy your copy of Long Run: A Paradise Augmented using the link below.

Amazon

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