Interview With Neil D’Silva

Interview With Neil D’Silva: Neil D’Silva is a much-published author of over 12 books with many more on the way. He has among his publishers leading names such as Penguin Random House, Rupa, Hachette, among others. He debuted in 2015 with Maya’s New Husband, one of the biggest successes in Indian contemporary horror literature, and followed it up with Yakshini in 2019.

Neil is also a writing coach and mentor. He mentors with Scholastic Writers Academy and has conducted workshops at prestigious institutions such as IIT Kanpur, Bombay Scottish School, VIBGYOR High School, NM and Mithibai colleges, and many others. He is a regular speaker at litfests across the country, including Times Litfest, Pune International Literature Festival, Jammu Literature Festival, and others. He also speaks on TEDx platforms.

1. What can you tell us about the Maya’s New Husband series?

Maya’s New Husband was my debut novel published in 2015. This is the story of Maya, a schoolteacher in Mumbai who finds herself trapped in a marriage with Bhaskar Sadachari, a man with a dark secret. Maya’s New Husband was the trendsetter for contemporary Indian horror, and stayed on the Amazon India charts at the top ranks for nearly two years. It has been optioned for a screen adaptation as well.

In 2020, I published the sequel, Maya’s New Husband 2: The Birth of the Death, which carries the sinister story of Maya forward. This consolidated the major success that the first book had received.

I am now writing the third and final book of the Maya’s New Husband trilogy.

• How did you start writing? What were your inspirations?

I guess I always had the writing bug in me. My father was an avid collector and reader of books of all genres and he worked as a freelance subtitlist for Hindi movies (into English). Born and brought up in such an atmosphere, I was exposed to literature from around the world very early on. As I read those wonderful works of Edgar Allan Poe, H P Lovecraft, Roald Dahl, Agatha Christie, Jeffrey Archer, and many others, a passion grew within me to create such worlds of my own too. Seeing the film scripts that Dad worked on, I picked up on the craft of story writing, and soon I had a burning desire to write something myself.

My first (unpublished) book was as a child of eleven years! I typed it on Dad’s typewriter and circulated it among friends, who gave it the praise and encouragement I needed. However, life took its course and I forgot about my writing aspirations. Eventually, I understood that I could not keep the flame hidden within me anymore, and published my debut novel (Maya’s New Husband) in 2015.

• What do you find most challenging about your writing?

I write horror. I find it to be fun and stimulating experience. When I am writing, I am truly myself. It is when I can be as candid and honest as possible.

The real challenge for me, or for any other Indian horror writer, is not in the writing itself but in the marketing of the book. Don’t get me wrong; horror has a wide audience in India. We have all grown up on horror stories. Yet, finding the niche of readers for our horror stories is a tough task. We are trying to get ourselves organized. I have even started a horror exclusive litfest named FrightVenture towards this end. Our readership is growing, but we are still nowhere near the more popular genres of romance and mythology. Our books become bestsellers within the genre, but I hope horror can make the breakthrough in mainstream Indian literature as well.

I’d take this opportunity to thank my readers for making Maya’s New Husband such a big hit and giving it critical acclaim. The book has entered mainstream bestseller ranks on several occasions. Hope this reprint version repeats the achievement.

• Have you ever experienced a writer’s block? If yes, what did you do to overcome it?

I cannot afford a writer’s block! Being very busy with my writing commitments (both for books and for webseries), taking a break because of a writer’s block sounds like a luxury to me. My chosen vocation dictates that I have to be immersed in stories all the time, and because I am always surrounded by literature in so many mediums, stories come naturally to me. I love where I am and what I am able to do!

• What do you do when you are not writing?

I don’t write more than six hours a day, even on the best of days. Writing horror is all-consuming work, and you cannot do it or long hours. Hence, I have a lot of time to engage in other activities. I am quite passionate about fitness, and start my mornings with a 5 or 10 km run. I am a regular gymmer and have recently taken up yoga as well and am enjoying its benefits. Most days I have meetings with my producers, channel heads, creative writing teams, which keeps me occupied. I also spend a lot of time with my children—teaching them, cooking for them, or just goofing around with them and making inane Instagram reels. I love cooking and have a great culinary skill as well. Also, I love to spend time on social media and interact with people from the writing community and my readers. You may also find me watching something on Netflix or Prime a lot of times.

• What do you see yourself doing in the next six months or five years from now?

Considering that I have been writing for seven years now and have grown both in terms of my writing and my personal reputation, there’s nothing else I’d like to do at least in the immediate future.

• How do you come up with material and content for your stories?

Observe the world around you. There are stories everywhere. If you are open and keep your senses keen, the stories will reveal yourselves to you. This is how I got ideas for both Maya’s New Husband and Yakshini, my other huge bestseller.

• What is your best tip for writers who are just beginning their journey to break into the world of books?

Read. Read a lot. And then read some more.

No writer should begin their writing journey without first having read tons of material. We can all ‘tell’ stories, but ‘writing’ stories is a different ballgame. Only reading will tell you how to structure your story, use language to drive it forward, create unforgettable characters, and get into the mind of the readers. A reader can easily make out if the writer is a reader or not. Writers who don’t read often tend to write stories that are shallow, unidimensional, and have no soul.

• What is the greatest thing that a writer can offer their fans?

The reader wants nothing more than an honest story. Our readers spend money and time to read our books. So, it’s our responsibility to give them the best story we can. We have to also keep improving ourselves as writers so that we can give them better stories. I know people say that we write for ourselves, and I agree with that, but that does not mean we should forget our responsibilities towards our readers who invest in us.

• How can your readers get in touch with you? Kindly share your social media profiles.

I am quite approachable on social media. You may catch me on:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/neildsilvaofficial

Twitter: https://twitter.com/neildsilva

Instagram: https://instagram.com/neilvalentinedsilva

Website: https://NeilDSilva.com

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