For Armaan Farid, penning a book was an obvious choice since he began dreaming of it as a child. “I have always wanted to be a writer,” exclaims the graduate from the city, whose first book, Stories from the Heart of a Dreamer, recently hit the stands, though it was available online since its release. Even though he began writing these stories from the age of 18, the entire process of finishing the book and getting it published took three years because Armaan did not want to neglect his academics. And now that he is a graduate, the debutant author is busy basking in the glory of his first book, which has been much-appreciated by readers and critics.
Stories from the Heart of a Dreamer is a collection of seven short stories, genre of each ranging from romance and thriller, to horror and something that he would like to call as 'epic journeys of human souls'.
But what made him choose to write a compilation of short stories, rather than a full-fledged novel? To which, he collects his thoughts for a while and explains, “I guess I was testing my boundaries as a writer. In a novel, there are a lot more intricacies and details involved. Whereas, that is not the case with short stories. Also, my idea was to bring out a good book first. So, I thought a collection of short stories would be a good idea.” However, his second book, which is expected to be out by the end of this year is going to be a novel.
“I have almost finished writing my second book, a drama which is the story of a young man who tries to break free from the mundane,” explains Armaan, whose favourite author is John Osborne.
Being a debutant author, Armaan did face a few hurdles in getting his book published.
“Age doesn’t matter, but there are pre-conceived notions that a new author may not be good. But, after a few rejections, my book did get accepted by APK Publishers, which is a Pune-based publishing house,” recalls Armaan, who, apart from being mesmerised by the power of words, is also passionate about music and football. “I love music, and it has been a major inspiration to my writing. Music was constantly playing while I was writing my book.”
Three months post the release of his book, Armaan is more than happy with the response he has received – from both readers and critics. “I received a four out of five rating in most reviews and was elated when my book became the eighth best selling book on Flipkart’s ‘New Arrival’ segment for a month!”
Stories from the Heart of a Dreamer is available online at Flipkart.com and Indiaplaza.com. It is also available at Walden, and should soon feature on the stands at Crossword.