The Lonely Drummer and Other Poems was his first book, published by Notion Press in 2017. He was awarded the “Top 100 Inspiring Authors of India” in 2018 and “Swami Vivekananda Award for Excellence in Literature” in 2019, presented by the Governor of West Bengal for his first book. He is a regular contributor to literary sites like Asian Literary Society, Muse India and United By Ink. A few of his poems and stories have been published in The Hans India newspaper and anthologies by Asian Literary Society, United By Ink and Half Baked Beans. He also features regularly in various Asian Literary Society events to recite his latest creations.

Questionnaires: 

Neel Preet: First of all, Big Congratulations on your latest published book, “Curse of Shiva and Other Stories: Collection of Short Stories & Poems” Abhishek! What responses are you getting from this book of yours? Please share your experience about this book.

Abhishek Goswami: Thanks a lot. This is my 2nd book and I am getting very good response for this. Already this book has been a part of various literary events and festivals like the Asian Literary Confluence in October, Great Indian Book Tour in Indore and Noida International Lit Fest in November. It has now been selected to be displayed in the Kochi International Book Fair in Nov/Dec and the World Book Fair in New Delhi in Jan’2020. Readers all over the world have enjoyed the short stories and the poems in this book and sent nice reviews on Amazon and on mail. I am thankful to everyone for this great response!

Neel Preet: I’ve read your book and I genuinely feel that it’s a rare “Artistic Blend” of stories and poems at one place so my next question to you is that what inspired you to write this book in such a unique manner? What was the impetus behind this work of yours?

Abhishek Goswami: Well, I have mentioned this in the foreword section of my book as well. This combination of prose and poetry in one book is an experiment from my side. It is just a novel way of having both the forms of literature in one book so that the reader gets a flavour of both. I sincerely hope the readers are enjoying this experiment.

Neel Preet: You have written about nature, life, science fiction, supernatural adventure, struggles and achievements so, what made you choose these subjects and write upon them? 

Abhishek Goswami: I have been influenced by science, nature and mythology right from childhood. I used to devour all kinds of mythological/science fiction/historical stories, be it comics/Amar Chitra Katha series books or full length novels. I am genuinely interested in what keeps a person going on in life and what are his/her inner motivations. This vast universe, it’s origins and where are we placed in human history are some of the recurrent themes I think of and that has been represented in these stories and poems.

Neel Preet: We don’t see a lot Indian Authors writing on the subject of Science Fiction in particular. So, while writing this book, how comfortable were you and what was your mind-set?

Abhishek Goswami: I think you are referring to the first story, “Adventure of S-499” in this book. This story is certainly a mix of science fiction and adventure. I am quite comfortable in writing genres like Science, History, Science fiction or mythology. I think science fiction in particular is very interesting because as an author you can explore themes of modern science mixed with layers of imagination. This certainly keeps the readers hooked to the content and makes the book a page-turner. As long as my readers are turning the pages of my book filled with excitement and want to finish the story, I am not complaining!

Neel Preet: Reading your stories and poems, I’m highly impressed and I want you to explain us, your version of how this book will appeal the readers in the present day scenario.

Abhishek Goswami: This book is a collection of 10 short stories and 23 poems. Themes dealt in the short story section vary from science fiction, history, adventures of common people, mythology, the philosophy of Karma and purpose of Life and Nature. The connection between our inner world and the outer world at large is one of the main themes in the poetry section. I believe this connection is not fully understood by all of us in the modern day and this book will help the readers reflect on their lives and actions and perhaps find out their purpose in life. But all this is presented in a very interesting, engaging and light manner and they will not feel “heavy” after reading this.

Neel Preet: Abhishek your writing seemed to be really impeccable and you were bold with your writings in your book, which I really appreciate. So next, I want you to tell us about some of those writers, who had inspired you and whom you follow!

Abhishek Goswami: Some of my favourite authors include Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, Ellery Queen, O Henry, Saki, Jeffrey Archer and Dan Brown from outside of India. In the Indian scenario, I like reading up stories by Amish , Ashwin Sanghi, Devdutt Pattanaik, Anand Neelakantan and Shatrujeet Nath in modern times.

Neel Preet: Is there any message which you would like to convey to your readers? Or any piece of advice, which you would like to give to the readers out there!

Abhishek Goswami: Always keep up the habit of reading. No matter how much information you can get from Audio/Video mediums and Internet nowadays, the power of reading a physical book cannot be underestimated. It helps you to broaden your vision of life, understand perspectives of different people from different cultures, know more about human nature and culture and ultimately enlightens your mind to think critically and deeply. All of these will leave a deep impact on your lives and you will become a more complete person.

Neel Preet: Are there any other books being worked by you? Please let us know about your future projects.

Abhishek Goswami: Well, I am toying with the idea of writing a series of 11 short stories. This will be a series of adventures faced by Ravi and Vijay, the two young boys encountered in one of the stories from my current book. These boys are in a sort of treasure hunt for a lost gem and they encounter an avatar of Lord Vishnu in each of these stories. How this adventure/chase story mixed with mythological elements spices up the whole narrative should be interesting to write and read, I am sure.

Neel Preet: Thank you so much for answering all my questions. All the very best to you for future and your book too!

Abhishek Goswami: Thanks Neel. The book is available for the readers on Amazon, Flipkart and Notionpress.com, as a paperback and as an e-book on Kindle and Google Play. Please visit www.abhigos.com for more details about my books. You can mail me directly at abhigos99@gmail.com for any thoughts/suggestions/feedback about the 2 books and I will be more than happy to revert.