Vaishnavi Prakash
New Delhi (India) July 25 : Shaswata Mukherjee is a simple Bengali guy from the City of Joy. Grinding his way up the ladder, he wishes to fulfil his dreams in Mumbai. He is mostly known for his quirky, blatant short stories of unexpected elements. Peacrow is his first attempt at long-form content, voila, it is available on Amazon https://amzn.in/d/03absogL
The book caters to a young audience of less than 16 years. Having said that, the book is a fun read for almost all ages. The protagonist goes through a hard and long journey throughout their life to find and accept themselves, and truly understand love. This story helps us understand that love has many facets and does not necessarily come from known sources.
Let’s delve into the author’s insights.
Q1. Can you share the central theme of your book and why it’s relevant today?
Ans- The new generations know the value of creating a family with people outside of blood relations as well. This is a very bold and just thought that enables people to accept others as it is. Here, the protagonist, the peacock falls in love with another species from the animal kingdom (you have read the book to find out what) because they know that love finds a way.
Q2. How has your personal journey influenced your perspectives while writing this book?
Ans- Well, I relate with the protagonist in a few aspects and I also relate with the antagonist in some other aspects. It’s difficult to say what the exact influence was. But the idea started from the popular saying in Bengali (I’m sure others also have something similar) that translates to a crow sticking a fallen peacock feather among its wings and calling itself a peacock. Afterwards, neither the peacock fraternity nor the crows accept them as their own. So, I thought to give this saying a twist and write from a new perspective.
Q3. What inspired you to write this book?
Ans- My only inspiration is my family. Since childhood, they have encouraged me to pursue my dreams. They have always liked my stories and writings (I don’t know if they were being truthful or family). I liked that fact and don’t want anything to change.
Q4. Can you share an interesting aspect of your writing process?
Ans- I wrote the book and edited that more than five times. The idea of adding the colouring pages came while I was finalising with my publisher (https://notionpress.com/read/peacrow). The person indicated that the book, being a children’s book, needs more illustrations to be attractive. I was pacing back and forth while talking to them, and I got the idea of having outline images where the children could let their imaginations run wild. They also got thrilled with this idea and here we are.
Q5. Can you tell us more about the colouring pages?
Ans- The book is divided into chapters and each chapter starts with a wireframe illustration made by a brilliant illustrator from another country. These wireframe illustrations can be coloured with pencil, wax or water colours. The main intention is to make the child read and colour the illustration using their imagination and not give any biased colour information. This is a fun learning activity for the kids as well.
Q6. Are there any future projects you’re currently working on?
Ans- Yes. One book is in the pipeline for young adults, that will be educational. Also, Peacrow is going to be a series.
Encourage them by writing a review of the book and tagging them on social media.
Instagram: @shaswatagram
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