Hello Bookdragons!
April’s here! Waah I cannot believe we are already four months into 2024 already! March was a great reading month for me, and I am really happy with my progress after coming back to bookstagram this year. If you haven’t followed me on Instagram yet, you’re missing ouuuut! Find me @bookarlo on Insta and let’s be friends! 🤗
I recently had the opportunity to sit down and have a conversation with Abhijeeth Hiliyana, the author of the latest book in the Vijaynagara Series, The Fall of An Empire. While historical fiction is a great way to learn more about the interesting history of different places, the extensive amount of research that goes into crafting an interesting historical fiction is undeniable. I am pretty sure the process can be tedious at times too. So, I wanted to delve deeper into how this book, or rather the entire Vijaynagara series came to life at the hands of Abhijeeth Hiliyana! And, if you missed reading my review of the book, you can read it here.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abhijeeth Hiliyana is an author who writes mainly about Indian Mythology and History. He has always been fascinated by Indian history, especially the medieval history of India which is not covered much by the mainstream Indian media. He aims to bring forth the stories of the lost Indian kings whose names while forgotten in the pages of history deserve to be remembered. Apart from the Krishna Deva Raya Series, he has also authored Age Apostasy Knife Edge and Gardi Rebirth.
Read our conversation below 👇
~~~~~~Sohinee Reads in Conversation with Abhijeeth Hiliyana~~~~~~
Sohinee: You are an engineer as well as an author. How do you juggle between the two roles?
Abhijeeth: As I have often mentioned, I am an engineer by profession and an author by passion. When you are passionate about something, you always try to make time. I try to write at least half an hour every evening after I finish my day. While somedays it’s hard, I feel I would not have it any other way.
Sohinee: At what point in your life did you become fascinated by the history of Vijaynagara Empire? Is there any particular event that brought about your fascination?
Abhijeeth: My fascination with Vijayanagara started young. I used top read Amar Chitra Katha which had stories of many great Indian historical figures. It was from that my interest started. I did not decide to act on my interest until I visited Hampi for the first time in 2015. I was amazed by the scale and splendor of the city, even with a great deal of its structures having been destroyed after the battle of Rakkasa Tangadi. I tried to learn as much of its history as possible, but I soon discovered that there was not a great deal of information available, especially regarding the great rulers of the empire. This gave me an impetus to write about Vijayanagara.
Sohinee: When it comes to modeling the characters, what process do you follow?
Abhijeeth: With these novels, being rooted in history, most of my characters were real people i.e. and as such we have information however rudimentary about their achievements, their ambitions and their personalities. That said I mostly try to root my characters in their world, meaning a character’s goals and actions are defined by their society along with their individual personality. Both are quite interdependent as we can see with the people in our own world. I also try to not make my characters unidimensional which means they are not evil for the sake of being evil.
Sohinee: Your book is a work of historical retelling and with the way it has been written, the research that went into it is evident. So, can you share with us how much you had to research on the history for your book and how you managed it?
Abhijeeth: With respect to the story of Vijayanagara, I started my research by reading books written by historians about the empire, its kings, the society in general. This itself was a challenge as many of these books often reflect the opinions of the authors themselves but I read several dozen books which allowed me to form a general idea of the story. I also went through inscriptions and grants issued by the rulers themselves which allowed me to better map out their reign. All in all, it involved a great deal of studying of multiple historical sources.
Sohinee: When it comes to writing, where do you begin: do you plot and prepare everything in advance or let the story flow as you write?
Abhijeeth: It’s a mix of both, with my historical fiction novels, I did prepare the plot in advance. But for my fantasy novels, I allow the story to flow freely having only a brief plot outline.
Sohinee: Lastly, what would be your advice to a writer working on their first book?
Abhijeeth: Write everyday consistently that’s the only way. I would also like to suggest not being worried about editing individual chapters until you have finished your first draft. Otherwise, you will be stuck in a loop of second guessing your own work. Once the first draft is finished, give it a few weeks before looking at it with fresh eyes. It will greatly help in bringing out your story.
Thanks to Abhijeeth for joining us and sharing all his insights!
For review requests, interviews, collabs and promotional enquiries, please email me at query.sohinee@gmail.com or reach out to me on Instagram @bookarlo.
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Signing off,
Sohinee aka bookarlo
Sohinee Reads & Reviews 