Author: B Sudharsan

B Sudharsan is an avid reader and a compulsive writer with a keen interest in philosophy, particularly in epistemology and the philosophy of language learning. Having worked as a journalist and a verbal mentor, his passion for teaching young learners landed him his current job as an MYP Teacher (Language and Literature) at a renowned IB school. He dwells in Chennai, India.

Finding Meaning in the Current

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INTERVIEW

Some writers plot every twist with precision. Others dive in and let the story carry them. S S Turner belongs unapologetically to the latter. His work rises from lived experience and a restless engagement with life’s uncertainties. It echoes the rivers that shape his fiction. His journey began early. ‘Way back when I was at school my English teacher advised me I was a natural writer,’ Turner says in an interaction with Global Despatch. The instinct stayed. ‘Ever since I have written stories, novellas, screenplays, and children’s stories as a way to make sense of the world,’ he adds.

The Birth of a River Story

That search finds form in his debut Secrets of a River Swimmer, published by The Story Plant in the United States. It is a story of transformation and the pursuit of meaning. We meet Freddy on the edge of a Scottish river in the dead of winter, staring into despair. ‘He is ready to jump in and end his less than fulfilling life. But what happens next is not what he expects.’

What follows is not an ending but a beginning. ‘From the moment he enters the river Freddy begins a journey which is more beautiful and funny than he could have imagined on dry land,’ Turner says. Along the way Freddy encounters others who are just as lost. ‘Eventually they all unite in their quest for an answer to the biggest question of them all. Will the river take them where they want to go?’

Themes of Meaning and Discovery

Readers have drawn parallels with The Alchemist and Life of Pi. Turner does not resist the comparison. ‘It is an exploration of the pathway we all follow towards living a meaningful life,’ he tells us.

The novel is rooted in memory. Turner, now based in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland in Australia where he lives a quiet life with his family, traces the idea back to his years in Scotland when he felt unmoored. ‘One of my closest friends was in the same boat, so we decided to meet up for an adventure to spice things up.’ They chose the River Tweed. The shock was immediate. ‘We were shocked by how cold the water was and how large the white water rapids were.’ They went in anyway. ‘It turned into an uplifting and glorious experience.’

That first swim became a ritual that lasted seven years. ‘Every time we entered the river we were inspired and uplifted,’ Turner recalls, describing encounters with gillies and aristocrats that lent texture to those journeys and eventually to his fiction.

Writing Without a Map

Turner writes much like he swims. He begins with intent but lets the current take over. ‘I generally start writing with a written plan for the novel’s plot and characters. However, I am a pantser by nature and usually within about 20 pages the plan goes out the window.’ What matters is movement. ‘I love writing in flow without knowing exactly what is coming next. I find that when I am writing in flow my stories feel like they are jumping onto the page like living beings.’

Discipline still plays its part. ‘I am a big believer in writing every day,’ he says, though he has learned not to force the process. ‘Writing when you are in flow is a lot more productive and enjoyable than writing on the days when the words do not come so easy.’ These days he adjusts his pace, often rising early and fitting writing around other work since, as he puts it, ‘most writers need to generate additional income beyond their writing.’

Among his influences, Mark Twain stands out. ‘He creates a world which is so remarkably accessible due largely to the authenticity and strength of the narrator’s voice.’

A Shift in Genre

His next novel The Connection Game moves into psychological suspense. ‘It is a unique psychological thriller which delves beneath the surface of the human condition amidst a broader mystery,’ Turner shares. Early praise has followed, with Bill Fitzhugh calling it ‘a one of a kind tale and a surprising and entertaining piece of work.’

For Turner, the label of ‘author’ arrived gradually. ‘It was more a realisation than a decision,’ he reflects, adding, ‘It was only when my first novel was about to be published and others started referring to me as a writer that I realised that what was deep inside my heart was now front and centre in my life.’

Meaning is not found at the end of the journey but in the courage to step into the current.

S S Turner

Final Word

His advice to aspiring writers is simple and firm: Keep going. Rome was not built in a day. He stresses the value of feedback and persistence. ‘I would recommend seeking as much feedback as possible on all of your works which do not succeed.’ He also draws from Stephen King. ‘Once you have written your first draft and given it some space, it is prudent to delete around 10 percent of the words when you edit it.’ For Turner, that discipline is essential. It strips away excess and leaves clarity behind.

Beyond writing, he finds joy in travel reading paddle boarding hiking and time with friends, while holding a quiet wish close. ‘I would love to be able to protect all the animals of the world from humans,’ he states categorically.

In the end, SS Turner writes like the river he once stepped into. His stories move with uncertainty and force. They invite the reader to let go of control and trust the current, where meaning is not fixed at the destination but revealed along the way.

PS: S S Turner blogs at https://ssturnerblog.com

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What Haps When Animals Seize Power?

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BOOK REVIEW

Animal Farm by George Orwell, born Eric Arthur Blair, comes in layers. At least seemingly. Every time you read the twentieth century fictional tale, you are more likely than not to discover a deeper meaning or two obscured within and amongst its ninety odd pages (mine was published by Select Classics, some run over one hundred and ten pages). Betwixt and between the lines of Animal Farm therefore lie tales that might otherwise evade the not-so-discerning reader. On the face of it, though, the book seems to be a humorous (spoiler alert: at times ghastly) story of anthropomorphic animals that overthrow the self-serving lord of a manor farm, taking ownership of the place with pride.

The novella, which might initially overwhelm the reader on account of its having very many animal characters, begins by depicting the farm, rich with power play and chitter-chatter, where many animals abide together, albeit not peacefully. Oppressed and overburdened with work, they stage a revolution under the leadership of Old Major, a boar. They eventually succeed in appropriating the land; the human owner is shooed away, and what begins as a founding of a peaceful animal community ends with an ending that comes across as much more tyrannical and oppressive than what it used to be during the human owner’s presence. 

More Than a Fable, More Than a Satire

In what may also aptly be called a fairy story, animals convene regularly, turning intense and deliberative at times, a promulgation of seven commandments occurs, each of which undergoes fine-tuning with time to feed the needs of the ruling pigs, and even a key song entitled ‘Beasts of England’ symbolising home and the fight for freedom that is oft-repeated initially gets pronounced forbidden as the plot advances. Hypocrisy is part of the leitmotif, for Napoleon, the celebrated pig that eventually exclusively gets to rule the farm, after having a fallout with its comrade Snowball, another pig, steadily goes on to reduce its sightings in public and is almost always worshipped by its protective guards, i.e., dogs and an obsequious pig named Squealer. The other animals add colour to the story, but their brainlessness and utter tolerance seem to tell the reader what could go wrong if one ended up accepting whatever was hurled at them.  

You might finish reading Animal Farm in one sitting without realising what you read was a masterpiece, wondering if there was some hidden meaning, nay meanings, only to later probably either accidentally or purposefully figure out for yourself that it was a satirical take on Stalin’s regime that began in the late 1920s. What you should be able to figure out in the first read is this: Power corrupts. Absolute power absolutely corrupts, irrespective of whether humans or animals hold it. I do not quite remember how many years ago I first gave Animal Farm a read. What I do remember nonetheless is that I flipped through it more like a fable, blissfully ignorant of the historical context and completely unaware of the rise of Stalinism in the then Soviet Union.

Where Symbolism Reigns Supreme

I decided to reread the book two weeks ago, for I had to discuss it with my students, who I am given to understand are well-read. Only this time around, I was wiser. I did my research, read about Orwell and arrested the fact that the book was a chastising of sorts of the Communist rule in the Soviet Union, especially under its controversial ruler Stalin.  I discovered with conviction that it is an allegory, a stark political satire that comes with a deep, moral message. 

The animals’ revolt could not just be a symbolic representation of the revolt that led to the establishment of the Stalin regime in the then USSR but also a depiction of how any individual seeking power is not immune to corruption. Perhaps the power-seeking individual himself hardly realises he may end up corrupted and oppressive? I leave you with that question to ponder. And this quote from the book: ‘Some animals are equal, but others are more equal than others.’  

‘Music Is Important to My Writing’

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INTERVIEW

Author Mark Everglade began writing as a child; he would often rewrite X-Men comics and what today people term fan-fiction. Soon after turning ten, his tiny hands flurried across the typewriter while alternating Metallica and Schubert on the tape player as each scene required a different tone, and thus, different music to accompany it. Speaking with Global Despatch, Mark said he began writing soundtracks to go with his stories. ‘The music and the writing fed off one another,’ he stated. Nonetheless, as technology began modernising, the author became more intrigued by its possibilities, shortcomings, omens, and false promises and began exploring the cyberpunk works of Gibson, Stephenson, and others. Working a daytime job, Mark takes care of his family. Surprisingly, he has almost never watched TV; however, he may only see a movie or one TV show a year, preferring reading and the arts over watching television.

SPECIAL & EXCLUSIVE

No Cypher for This Cyberthriller

B Sudharsan: It is a pleasure having you with us, Mark. To begin with, could you tell us about your published works? How did they happen? Also, what is your latest book about?

Mark Everglade: I publish through two traditional publishers. My latest novel, Inertia, is about a young woman, Ash, and her father; they are trying to solve the global warming crisis in space. Hacking government servers, they uncover a conspiracy to alter the planet’s rotation in order to control its economy and cast half the world back into complete darkness. Ash’s life is put at stake when she uncovers sensitive, classified data, so she must solicit help from her father, Severum. The trouble is that he does not know she exists, so while the book is a cyberthriller, it is also about their relationship.

B Sudharsan: Well, that does sound ‘thrilling’ to say the least. A lot of planning must have gone into writing the book, or… are you a pantser?

Mark Everglade: At first, I did not plot at all, but for every hour of planning, you save about 10 hours later on, so it is definitely worth doing a ten-hour outline.

‘Creativity Knows No Time or Place’

B Sudharsan: I cannot agree more. Do you derive inspiration from any authors? 

Mark Everglade: My favourite authors are Iain M. Banks, Charles Dickens, Haruki Murakami, and Catherynne Valente. All four understand culture and character and merge the two so that others can see the intersection with poetic prose. 

B Sudharsan: Time I told you Murakami would remain one of my most favoured writers. And that brings me to my next question: Do you, like the Japanese author, follow a rigorous schedule, or do you write when you feel the need to pen down your thoughts?

Mark Everglade: The creative process does not know your place or time and does not conform to your schedule. I make notes throughout the day; I am always writing a line here and there. Writing, therefore, is simply weaving those individual threads, those passing moments in life, together until a cohesive narrative emerges.

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Dealing With the In-Betweens

B Sudharsan: In that case, was becoming an author a conscious decision?

Mark Everglade: Yes. After the 9/11 incident in America, movies and books radically changed. Any publication with characters that were ‘shades of grey’ was immediately a failure. Americans wanted an absolute bad guy and an absolute good guy, so art adapted to its audience. Unfortunately, this ‘good guy bad guy’ mentality has become so strong and polarising in our rhetoric that I decided we needed literature to unite and mobilise the masses from the ground up. So, I wrote books with characters who were all shades of grey from various walks of life, books like Song of Kitaba. Nowhere is the shade of grey protagonist more valued than in the dystopian sub-genre cyberpunk, where anti-heroes roam the pages. 

B Sudharsan: Fascinating! How do you juggle writing and other tasks, by the way? What are your hobbies and interests besides writing?

Mark Everglade: I am a musician first and foremost, and music is important to my writing. When I need to write with a certain rhythm, I turn on Red Hot Chili Peppers. When I need to write a lamentable scene, I turn on the indie metal band Soen. My first book, Hemispheres, is actually named after a Rush album.

B Sudharsan: Wow! Tell us a bit about your works in progress. Do you plan on becoming a full-fledged author?

Mark Everglade: I am working on the third and final novel in the Gliese Trilogy, tentatively named Hydrosphere. It will be released in three years and is similar to the Kevin Costner movie Waterworld, but set in space with tons of cybernetic technology.

‘We Write Since We Have To’

B Sudharsan: And is there anything you wish to tell the budding authors who lose motivation if a few of their works do not do well?

Mark Everglade: If you are doing this hobby for the money, then do not. Even the bestsellers who are hitting number one in numerous Amazon categories are not making even a month’s bills after paying advertising, retail, and royalty fees. If you write, write for your own creative expression with a message that will make the world a better place and inspire others. Authors write because we have to; the act is a fountain of emotion that must be expressed and a labour of love.

B Sudharsan: If there is one thing that you would like to change in this world, what would that be?

Mark Everglade: Inequality. For instance, at Disney World, a custodian would have to work 2,000 years to make as much as the C.E.O. made in one year. The level of poverty that so-called ‘first world’ nations allow is a blight upon the potential of our species. The current system allows for the wealthy to exist in a predatory relationship with people whose income is below the poverty threshold, exploiting them to their own ends.

If you write, write for your own creative expression with a message that will make the world a better place and inspire others. Authors write because we have to; the act is a fountain of emotion that must be expressed and a labour of love.

MARK EVERGLADE

‘Don’t Think Literary Success Is Defined by Sales’

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INTERVIEW

Author David C. McLean first wrote as a child. He, however, stopped writing in his early teens. ‘I did not write any more until 1994,’ the Englishman says, beginning his exclusive interaction with Global Despatch. ‘I then appeared in four print zines in the United Kingdom but stopped submitting since I did not like paying international postage. Later, after writing less seriously for a few years, I submitted electronically and appeared in more than 600 different online and print publications over the next few years,’ the author, who lives in Somerset, the UK, shares.

On Goddess, Sexuality, Philosophy

The magazine Whistling Shade offered to do a book of poems after receiving one of the author’s submissions. Says the sexagenarian, who pursued his BA (History) from Oxford University and MA (Philosophy) from Stockholm, ‘I acquiesced to the offer, and over the next few years, there were three full-lenCThs and many chapbooks that I no longer count. I regard my oeuvre as starting with the first book from Oneiros Books; it was in 2013. After this, I stopped submitting over the next few years. The older online work I did is on my blog.’

David’s latest book is a collection of poetry. To be precise, it deals with the woman it was written for, Emma. ‘It also considers goddess, sexuality, and philosophy,’ states the author, adding that philosophy predominantly influences him. The book’s themes, nonetheless, are the conflict between intensity, sensory pleasures, and their incommensurability with representation. ‘I draw inspiration from both Lyotard and Deleuze for this. There is a posthuman tendency in the writing, a more equitable system of evaluating the impact of human behaviours on the planet as a whole,’ he tells us. ‘But basically, it is about love, fire, and intensity. I want to express, or at least show the way to hearing what can only be expressed by an inarticulate cry, a scream,’ he adds.

Letting the ‘Plot’ Out

Having written three novels, the author, who also speaks Swedish fluently, convincingly says he would not consider himself a plotter. ‘My works are pretty much antinovels with no focus on plot. Long prose poems with aphorisms, diatribes, and ramblings. Apart from the many poetry books, I have written a Posthuman Poetry Manifesto, which is the closest to philosophy I have published.’  

Asked if he favours any authors, David tells us that while he likes the works of Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Trakl, Larkin, and Auden, he has hugely been inspired by poet Tanya Rakh. ‘I often plunder her work for epigraphs,’ he states. So far as prose is concerned, Davis says the writings of Gertrude Stein, Artaud, Sterne, and Rabelais inspire him. ‘They are capacious; there is room in their writings,’ he says.

Deleuze and Guattari, Lyotard, Derrida, and Heidegger are philosophical writers that David mostly reads. ‘They write articles about posthumanism. I often also listen to popular music for inspiration. ‘Roky Ericksson, The Sisters of Mercy, and The Gun Club are only a few of the many I adore,’ he lets us know.

‘Goddess Is Love; She Knows Best’

Relying on inspiration, David says he tends to write every day. ‘But not very long. I will often read something I use as an epigraph and then write a poem more or less connected to it,’ he shares. Conceding that becoming an author was a conscious decision, he says he feels that the Goddess he believes in wants him to write certain things and to try to evolve and ascend. ‘I believe that it is not for me, or by my choice, that I write, but the Goddess is love, and She knows best,’ he quips. 

And does he have any advice for authors who tend to lose motivation after a few of their works fail to garner an audience? ‘I do not think that literary success is measured by sales. Just say what you want to say as well as you can. Let that be enough,’ David says in response to the question.

Last but not least, if there is one thing that he would like to change in this world, what would that be? ‘Stopping humans from destroying the Earth should be a priority,’ says the writer. ‘Also, we had better be motivated by something other than profit,’ he pronounces, signing off.   

PS: David C. McLean blogs at https://posthumouspoems.blogspot.com.

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One Man, Many Faces

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INTERVIEW

Indie author A M Hounchell wrote his very first story in kindergarten. ‘It was a love story between a rabbit and a grasshopper,’ begins Hounchell, speaking to Global Despatch in an exclusive interaction. His answers to each of our questions are crisp and direct yet thoughtful. As a matter of fact, on being asked if he remembers his oldest story, he responds with a smile, ‘I still have that yellowed page somewhere in my house actually. And yes, I do remember the story.’

With several books currently in his kitty, the Kansas-based author, who has a bachelor’s degree in creative writing, lets us know he is a big fan of the flashlight method. ‘I just write what comes naturally and let everything grow organically. I have never been able to use outlines because it feels limiting,’ he says. 

Veins Filled With Ink

Talking about his very first book Zumanity, which he started working upon two years ago, the 26-year-old, who often jokes his blue veins are filled with ink, says, ‘Every zombie story has the one character that holds onto its humanity for a bit longer than everyone else. But what if that continued for a longer period of time? The main character in Zumanity falls to her death shortly after being bitten by a zombie, so she has an odd transformation.’

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Nonetheless, it is his second book that he considers his magnum opus. Titled Running out of Time, Hounchell makes known that it came about mostly as a joke about an ordinary guy being the centre of a cosmic battle between time and space. ‘It’s grown in the last four years to a five-book series with a sixth on the way. It’s unedited, absurd, and experimental,’ Hounchell explains. 

Fan of Piers Anthony

On being asked who his favourite author is, Hounchell, who has 35 works in progress as you read this (and you read it right!), doesn’t take more than a second to splutter Piers Anthony’s name. ‘His Xanth novels are filled to the brim with puns and magical wonder. In fact, during my time in college, I contacted him for my senior capstone project, and he got back to me,’ Hounchell makes known. 

Anyhow, if you ended up thinking this young author’s life revolved only around books, you would be mistaken; for Hounchell divulges that writing apart, blacksmithing is something that he is keenly interested in. But he categorically states he is not great at juggling between two or more tasks at a given point in time. ‘Especially now, everything is changed for the worse. I’m looking for a new job and just trying to survive while writing,’ he states, adding, ‘I read, play video games, and when I finally find time to start blacksmithing, I shall do it. I’m reading up on it right now.’

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No Hard and Fast Rules

Hounchell says he writes when he feels the urge. ‘I sometimes write thousands of words at once, and other times I write twenty. Since I don’t have outlines, I just have story ideas rattling in my head constantly,’ he lets on. ‘I try to write an hour or two before bed though,’ he adds. Be that as it may, there is something that he is extremely excited for. ‘It’s my solo gamebook Technomancer and the Sword,’ he says. And does he want to become a full-fledged author? ‘I can’t plan on anything, but I want to make writing a full-time career when I can,’ he says.  

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A player of Dungeons and Dragons, Hounchell has a piece of advice for budding authors who feel discouraged if their works don’t do well. ‘I want to tell them not to get discouraged,’ he says, only to add, ‘but it’s hard to feel that way sometimes.’ He stresses, ‘Instead, try to take your little victories when you get them. Sometimes, just the fact that your friend bought your book should be enough. One step at a time.’ 

And as our discussion comes to a close, we ask him if there is anything he would like to change in the world. ‘Wealth inequality,’ he utters. ‘It seems ridiculous that CEOs make 10000% more money than their employees,’ he points out before signing off.

Revere Your Guru

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BALLADE

BEFORE YOU READ | What you are to read is a ballade, a verse form comprising three stanzas of eight lines each along with a four-versed envoy. The same one-line refrain at the end of each stanza and the envoy is a vital characteristic of a ballade.

Like the Sun that shines, radiating bright light,
A guru disseminates thoughts lofty and nice.
Using his power, directness, and mystical might,
Pulls you out of every single and dangerous vice.
Get closer to your guru, feel the spiritual highs,
Elevations that could get you to the worlds beyond.
But if you utter untruths or say blatant lies,
A guru will not deride you, nor will he break the bond.

If your thoughts dovetail with his, it will be a worthy sight,
And if he makes you his mate, you shall create new ties.
Oh! Only he can raise you to what is called the spiritual site,
And tell you how to survive without maize, wheat, or rice!
Sages and seers in India have always had this piece of advice:
Revere your guru, pay heed to him, with him correspond.
But if you still have feelings that cause you to entice,
A guru will not deride you, nor will he break the bond.

Take refuge in your guru, do what is rightfully right;
And shun each object referred to as fool’s device.
Become calm, unnoticeable, omnipresent, and light,
Chewing over the fact that everyone, including you, dies.
Your guru will also ensure that you get rid of bad ties,
To your queries he will be more than elated to respond.
But if you still cast aspersions or willfully fail to arise,
A guru will not deride you, nor will he break the bond.

Ask your guru if a world exists over those vast blue skies;
You will soon be turned into a contented spiritual vagabond.
But if you still make it a point to distrust and criticise,
A guru will not deride you, nor will he break the bond.