Sunday Spotlight: Sameer Ketkar, Author of God's Glass

Sunday Spotlight is a weekly scheme I am running to bring publicity to lesser known authors who, in the book blogging community, it is important to support. If you are an author and you wish to be considered for it please email me at emily.confessionsofa
bookaholic@gmail.com with 'Author Spotlight' in the subject line.

Today's author is Sameer Ketkar, author of the unique romance novel God's Glass. He has kindly agreed to both an interview and a giveaway below.

About Sameer

Sameer Ketkar published his third novel, "Victory Blvd.", in the summer of 2014, and his fourth novel, "God's Glass," in winter of 2014. He is currently working on a novel about the historical king Charlemagne, as well as a sequel to his 2013 novel "Bodies: Book #1: Staged Fright." Sameer published his first novel, "Entanglement," about two star-crossed lovers who can't seem to unentangle themselves from one another, in January of 2011. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Screenwriting from the University of Southern California, and has written one feature film, "Backwaters." He has written dozens of unproduced screenplays and TV pilots, and has written and directed numerous short films and commercials. Sameer likes to play guitar and draw pictures in his free time.


Interview

Hi there Sameer, welcome to Confessions of a Bookaholic!
God’s Glass looks really interesting! Can you tell us anything about it that the synopsis doesn’t cover?
It’s really a story about unconventional love and unconventional lifestyles, and how they can be normal – even beautiful – too.  As a kid growing up I always felt like a bit of an outcast; the weirdo.  So God’s Glass is kind of my ode to weirdos.  By presenting a character as strange and unconventional as Joanie Callahan, I’m hoping I can reassure many people out there who ask themselves, “What’s wrong with me?”  I’m hoping those people will see Joanie and realize there’s nothing wrong with them.  They are just different.  And that is beautiful in its own right.

Looking at the reviews I noticed you had LOADS of five star reviews! Did you expect this amount of success?
Definitely not!  God’s Glass  is such an unusual story I wasn’t expecting many people to respond to it.  I am very glad that they have so far.  The story definitely requires an open mind, so I am hoping more people with open minds will check it out.  Sales have been marginal so far, so maybe that reflects the story’s unconventional status!

What is the best piece of feedback you’ve ever received?
Never quit.  I’ve had people absolutely slam my stories, but conclude their criticism with:  Keep on writing.  And it’s great advice.  You cannot please everyone every time.  Sometimes you cannot please anyone at all.  So write stories that you enjoy, and keep writing them, and you’ll find an audience.

Tell us about your other works!
I’ve been writing a long time.  Twenty years now!  I initially started writing short stories, but then went to film school to study screenwriting.  That is still my number one goal, to become a film and TV writer.  But it’s a hard industry to break into, so I’ve started converting a lot of my old scripts into novels that I can self-publish on Amazon.  One of those script-to-book adaptations I really feel could be an interesting ongoing series (it started off as a TV pilot) is another story about unconventional love, called Bodies.  It’s a relatively standard police procedural, except that the three lead investigators get into a longterm threesome relationship.  I want to show all the ups and downs of starting a relationship – but with a threesome dynamic.  All the drama, all the highs and lows, the fighting, the makeup sex – but with three people.  Oh, and all that drama takes place during police procedural cases!  I really want to show that relationship develop over time, especially since two of the members of the threesome are a married couple with kids!  So the “other man” in the relationship has to win over the kids as well as the parents...all while an ongoing bioterrorism plotline consumes their time.

Who is your favourite character in God’s Glass?
Definitely the lead character, Joanie Callahan.  She’s just so unusual and so heartbreaking.  She reminds me of an extreme version of myself, which is why I wrote her that way.  She’s the beacon for misfits around the world, to tell them:  You’re not alone.

What advice would you give to new writers?
Same advice as the best piece of feedback I ever received:  Never stop writing!  Don’t be one of those “writers” who talks about writing but never does it.  Always write.  Everything you write will teach you something.  You will grow as a writer every time you write.  So that means the more you do it, the more you will grow.  If you’re not inspired, then write a journal, or write jokes, or write music.  Keep training your creative muscle at all times.  Like any other muscle, it needs workouts to grow strong.  You might want to schedule a time every day to write.  And if you make a schedule, stick to it.  Don’t slack off or let things get in the way.  This is your life.  Make it work for you; don’t let things stop you from writing.

What is your favourite thing about writing?
It makes me feel like a mad scientist.  I feel like, “a-hahahahha, I am creating the next great thing.”  It doesn’t matter if it ends up being a bad story.  When I’m on a roll, I always have that mad scientist feeling.  And damn it if that isn’t the best feeling in the world!

What authors do you believe shaped your work the most?
This is a tough one, because my favorite authors and biggest influences don’t really show in my work.  They are just my gods that I hold up on a lofty pedestal.  J.R.R. Tolkien, Michael Crichton, George Orwell, George Lucas, Trey Parker, Billy Wilder.  I aspire to be as great as these writers, but in truth I never really try to imitate them.  I do my own weirdo stories that I hope will be as well received as those authors’ stories.

What should we look out for from you in the future?
I am working on a historical fiction story about the king Charlemagne.  I’m also trying to get a film version of God’s Glass off the ground, as well as a television crime drama.

Is there anything else you wish to tell the readers of Confessions of a Bookaholic?

Thank you for taking the time to read my long-ass interview!  Verbosity is a symptom of being a writer.  No, there is no cure.

Visit Sameer on Amazon | Goodreads 

About God's Glass

“God’s Glass” is the life story of Joanie Callahan, a woman born with algophilia -- the scientific term for masochism. But Joanie’s masochism isn’t just sexual -- it’s all of her happiness that’s tied to pain. She can only feel the highest emotional joys -- from art to music to curiosity to love -- through some measure of pain. 

Joanie's family ostracizes her for this, going so far as to get her an exorcism, and have her committed to a psych ward for electro-shock therapy. 

Joanie's all alone in the world, until she meets a boxer named Michael who might possibly be just like her...

Check out God's Glass on Goodreads | Amazon

I can't be the only one who thinks God's Glass looks amazing - I wish I had time to read it myself! If you agree with me but don't wish to rush to Amazon just yet to get it then you're in luck because Sameer has agreed to a giveaway! Enter below to be in for a chance to win - this is one I really recommend you enter. After you've entered comment below telling me why you want to win, this will even get you extra entries! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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