Girish Dutt Shukla, 31, worked at a mobile solutions company in Gurugram for two years as a software engineer, before he quit to pursue his passion for writing.
Today, he is a digital marketer consulting both, the established brands and start-ups, with his writing skills, strategy, and marketing acumen.
The psychology of the human mind and mental health intrigues and fascinates him. And this is also the subject of his debut novel, Maroon In A Sky Of Blue.
How did a computer engineer become a digital marketer, and then an author?
I first thought of becoming an author in 2011 while pursuing computer science engineering from Manipal Institute of Technology, Karnataka. For the next two years, I honed my skills by writing and reading as much as I could. I started working on the first draft of the novel in 2013, after I joined my first job, but soon realised that I needed to follow my passion wholeheartedly. So, I began acquiring skills for content and copywriting, and in June 2015, I quit my software engineering job and joined a small digital marketing firm in Delhi as a content writer-cum-social media strategist.
What made you delve into mental health as a subject for your debut work?
I have always had a strong inclination for psychology and how the human mind works. I am fascinated by how different individuals think and act differently in the same situation. Choosing mental health as a subject for my debut work allowed me to study and research on how humans perceive love, loss, and grief and in the process. This book deals with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and I am happy to say that I now understand people slightly better than before I wrote this book.
Maroon In A Sky Of Blue is an unusual title...
The title depicts the disturbed state of mind of my protagonist Onir after the death of his love interest Palchinn even though on the surface he seems calm, like a cloudless sky of blue. Blue denotes peace and exquisiteness, while maroon represents passion and intensity. Freshly dried bloodstains are glossy reddish-brown.almost maroonish.
Does Onir display shades of your life?
I think every fictional character has shades of people from real life. Onir loves to read and has a deep interest in psychology just like me; how he values his relationships is similar to the effort I put in each relationship. But his trials and tribulations are different from my life’s struggles.
Any other book in the offing?
I have already completed the first draft of my second novel. The 3-4 months of the lockdown allowed me to do that. It is a psychological murder mystery. I am currently editing it, and the final draft should be ready in a few months. The next would be a non-fiction book based on a true crime. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, I haven’t been able to start my on-ground research. Hopefully, by early next year, I would begin doing that.
Maroon In A Sky of Blue
Author: Girish Dutt Shukla
Price: Rs 495
Availability: Amazon and Kindle