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Category: Specials

Disease in the Times of Social Media

Posted on by Penguin India

 ‘Social media and technology are not agents of change. They are just tools. We the connected people are the agents of change.’

—Stuart J. Ellman

 

In The Coronavirus: What You Need to Know about the Global Pandemic¸ authors Dr. Swapneil Parikh, Maherra Desai, and Dr. Rajesh Parikh recall a haunting video of Wuhan, wherein a desolate woman bangs a gong in her balcony and cries: ‘There’s nothing I can do, please can someone come help us. Help! Somebody please come!’ Even though it was deleted within a day, it managed to mobilize and alert a huge population of the crisis.

Since 2004, following the inception and launch of Facebook, human interaction has changed drastically. The digital age has played a significant role in generating information, awareness, responses and collective strategies for this pandemic. In a time where it is more necessary than ever for the world to stay connected, social media and the digital age have risen to the occasion.

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Personal Stories and Unofficial Reports: Alerting the World from China

In the Chinese province of Wuhan, where the epicenter of the virus lies, Ophthalmologist Dr. Li Wenliang tried to warn his groups on WeChat about a possible outbreak on 30th December 2019. It garnered a lot of traction across social media channels, which resulted in him reprimanded. He eventually died of Covid-19 in early February; and was hailed as one of the earliest whistleblowers in China.

As the crisis in China unfolded, social media revealed its world-shaping power by enabling a decentralized record of humanity and human interaction accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. This record is maintained on smartphones in pockets, computers in bedrooms and massive data centres all over the world. In China, authoritarian leaders have tried desperately to censor and control this record. However, their attempts have only revealed that while an individual’s truth is powerful, a society’s collective truth is unstoppable.

Through social media and many unsung heroes, we learnt of the true scale of the outbreak. Users shared horrific stories, images and videos in WeChat groups and on Weibo. The videos depicted heartrending, heart-breaking scenes of patients pleading for help and families crying and grieving over their dead. Social media posts shared personal stories of what it was like to live in the epicentre of the outbreak. In one video, a lady in her forties, without a mask, without her face censored, shielded only by her courage, cried in desperation ‘Nobody cares about our lives, ordinary people’s lives. You cannot get medicine, even if you are rich. You cannot get a hospital bed, even if you have money.’

Other users posted horrific scenes of Chinese law enforcement teams in hazmat suits dragging people from their homes and locking them in small boxes loaded on trucks. No one knows where they were taken. Videos depicted trucks, aerial vehicles and numerous workers spraying roads and pavements with disinfectant. A once-busy city looked like a deserted ghost town with empty streets and shuttered stores.

Besides keeping the world informed of the experience of the people of China through the outbreak, social media provided organizations like the WHO and CDC actionable data about the outbreak. According to the WHO, over 60 per cent of initial outbreak reports were from ‘unofficial informal sources’. Were it not for social media, it is possible that the Chinese government would have been less forthcoming with information about the outbreak.

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Enabling Research, Novel Tools, and Real-time Information

During the COVID-19 outbreak, social media platforms have been extensively used to access accurate information from the WHO and CDC. News outlets have used Twitter and Facebook to keep users informed of the latest statistics about the disease. YouTube has provided access to a tremendous number of excellent videos about the virus and the disease.

The CDC routinely tracks tweets and Facebook posts for signs of a disease outbreak in various parts of the world. Using social media, they follow digital epidemiology to better understand the disease. Google tracks search trends; a spike in specific search terms can detect public health concerns or epidemics.

Social media platforms also provide scientists and researchers with new tools to access new data sets and to share information in real time. A team at the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University built an interactive dashboard to visualize and track reported cases of the COVID-19 in real time. They obtained their data from DXY.cn, a Chinese healthcare social network.

Information available on social media has also enabled a new era of digital epidemiological research. Researchers at the US National Institute of Health used a new approach to study the epidemiology and progression of the COVID-19 outbreak. The novelty of their approach was the reliance on social media and news reports for data.

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The Other Side: Myths and Misinformation

During the initial phase of the COVID-19 outbreak, there was little factual information. Social media content creators churned out half-baked theories and blatant falsehoods. As has been observed in past outbreaks, the absence of reliable information coupled with an increasing death count results in panic, confusion and the suspension of critical thinking and fact-checking abilities.

By February 2020, this reached such a crescendo that the WHO declared a ‘massive infodemic’ of COVID-19 misinformation. The WHO leveraged the same tools causing the infodemic to quell it. Further, these tools came in handy for WHO to make information more accessible to the public at large. It created simple infographics and content and shared accurate information on their social media handles. social networking platforms including Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Weibo, Twitter and TikTok, took it upon themselves to clean up their sites. They used fact-checking agencies and AI-based tools to screen misinformation, which was deleted, and redirected visitors to more reliable and accurate information sources.

These times are unprecedented and have called for real-time information and communication across the globe for strategy, safety and survival. Even though there have been downsides to social media, in terms of inducing panic (or false sense of safety) through misinformation and propaganda – the larger world has definitely benefited from the accessibility of information social media has been able to present.

On a personal and human level – social media and digital platforms have also helped us stay connected. Community and human support have not been hindered due to isolation and quarantine strategies. Although the future is still uncertain – survival, to a large extent, has been made possible through social media.

The Coronavirus: What You Need to know about the Global Pandemic brings together medical experts Dr. Swapneil Parikh, Dr. Rajesh Parikh, and Maherra Desai, to present a timely and reliable narrative on the Covid 19 pandemic and possible ways forward.

 

Vikrant Khanna on the Real Life Inspiration Behind his Characters, Writing and More!

Posted on by Penguin India

Vikrant Khanna is a ship captain and a bestselling author. His latest book The Girl Who Disappeared, is a thriller that follows the disappearance of Nisha. Will the mystery around her disappearance be solved?

You’ll have to read the book to find out but if you want to know more about his creative process read the interview below:

What inspired you to write the book?

As is always with my stories, I don’t think a lot for ideas; they mostly come to me when I’m not expecting them. This one first came to me when I was transiting the Pacific Ocean on a ship two years back. Also, I don’t try too hard to crystallise an idea and let it take its own shape. All I knew was that there has been a very mysterious disappearance of a girl from the hills of Himachal Pradesh, and I must write this story.

Were the characters inspired by people around you?

Most of the characters are people around me. I’m very fortunate to be surrounded by an eclectic bunch of people, both in my personal and professional life. I like to observe people closely and pick up their interesting traits, and more often that not, the craziest ones will find a place in my book.

One insider question: Was the climax of the story the same as what you had originally planned or did it change altogether?

Absolutely not. I didn’t know the story will end the way it did. I never do. Sometimes I get as surprised as my readers with the ending. It’s the characters that run the show.

What could be an alternate title for your book?

I had initially planned to title it “Missing” but changed it as there was a Bollywood movie of the same name.

Five reasons to read this book?

I’d say reasons to read the book are:

  • The ending (that I hope you would not be able to guess)
  • Interesting central characters
  • The supernatural elements interwoven with the mystery
What are you working on next?

There’s no rush. I’ll wait for an idea that strikes the right chord and gets me enthusiastic enough to spend a few months with it.

Interested in Vikrant Khanna’s newest book? The Girl Who Disappeared is available now.

12 Hilarious Posts for Bibliophiles

Posted on by Penguin India

We personally love the social media community, which gives us a few smiles in these dark times with their wit and humour. We always knew our fellow bibliophiles were creative people, but some of these posts really brighten up our days at home!

Since we are all missing the smell of new books and re-reading our favourites, here are some of the best posts to add some smiles to your day!

 

1. Rearranging the shelves is fun though.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-G_N_jHSp2

2. We are still learning to take it slow.

3. And our good old movie vs book debate continues. Some things don’t change even in quarantine.

4. To buy or not to buy more ebooks?

5. We TRIED, okay?!

https://twitter.com/aherman2006/status/1229208097232691201

6. In our defense, we never realize the time!

7. We are attached to our characters.

8. Guess we’ll just pick another world to step into.

9. *Taking out heaps of papers* Did someone ask for recommendations?

10. *Unfriended*

11. Well, we are allowed our rants. 

12. Your bookshelves also want you to stay home.

Facebook: The Story Of How It Went Globally Social

Posted on by Penguin India

Based on extensive research and insightful exploration, Steven Levy tells the inside story of how a driven tech nerd took a young company from a dorm room to the global arena where the power to change the world came with the inherent danger of such wide- ranging influence.

Mark Zuckerberg acknowledges this danger when he says, “The big lesson from the last few years is we were too idealistic and optimistic about the ways that people would use technology for good and didn’t think enough about the ways that people would abuse it”.

Here are 10 interesting things about this tech giant from Steven Levy’s Facebook: The Inside Story:

 

Mark Zuckerberg

The man behind the mission to connect the world is the poster boy of extraordinary success-

‘He’s the CEO of Facebook, the world’s largest social network— the world’s largest human network of any kind, ever— approaching 2 billion members, more than half of whom log in every day. It’s made him, in today’s reckoning, the sixth-richest person in the world.’

From the dorm room to being the rage on campus

In 2004, while the company was in its Harvard phase, Kirkland Suite H33 was regarded as Harvard’s own Silicon Valley.

‘Hour by hour, the impetus for students to sign up began to flip from engaging in a diverting pastime to an absolute necessity, as not being on Thefacebook made you a virtual exile on the physical campus.’

The safe social space that brought students together

Thefacebook.com, as registered when it began its journey, promised privacy and safeguarded against misbehaviour.

‘Privacy was perhaps the defining characteristic of this new website. By limiting enrollment to those who had emails on the Harvard.edu domain, he made a safe space for students to share information they volunteered about themselves.’

The gambles that paid off

Open Reg and News Feed were considered high risk features but actually set the growth chart soaring for Facebook.

‘Open Reg allowed billions of users to flock to Facebook. And the News Feed   would keep them there, making the site as totally consuming for everybody as it was for college kids when Thefacebook first appeared.’

Facebook gave people a voice

The one thing that made Facebook hugely popular was that it offered people a platform from where their voice could be heard across social groups.

 “Not only is it freedom of speech, it’s giving people a platform to actually articulate how they feel and what they think and gain support from it and make it known, which you couldn’t do unless you were being interviewed on TV or by a reporter for a newspaper prior to this.”

When Zuckerberg toyed with the idea of selling Facebook

After mulling over a deal to sell out, Zuckerberg finally said ‘no sale’ to Yahoo! and employees got to stay with the ‘cool’ company.

‘Furthermore, going to Yahoo! would have meant the end of the dream as well as the end of a period of their lives that would never be matched: working like crazy on a project that millions of people loved while being involved in a daily geek spring break of office romances, video games, and gonzo coding binges.’

The 5 guidelines that Facebook worked on

Internal guidelines laid out for company employees listed four points, the fifth being a Zuckerberg addition-

‘Focus on Impact.

Be Bold.

Move Fast and Break Things.

Be Open.

Zuckerberg liked those but insisted on a fifth: Build Social Value.’

The African dream that went bust 

In 2016, a Facebook satellite built to extend internet coverage to distant parts of Africa was to be launched with Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket-

‘It was then that Zuckerberg learned that the SpaceX rocket, the one carrying the satellite he had been gleefully touting as an Internet savior for the struggling continent, had blown up on the launchpad, a day before the scheduled blastoff.’

The “Facebook Effect” on American election

In 2016 the unthinkable happened. As Donald J. Trump took on the world as America’s President, fingers were pointed at Facebook-

‘In the weeks leading up to the election, there had been reports of so- called fake news, or misinformation intentionally spread through Facebook’s algorithms, being circulated widely on Facebook’s News Feed, which had become the major source of news for millions of users.’

The breach of trust that opened floodgates of criticism

 The events of 2018 became a major setback for Facebook as privacy violations by the company made headlines across the world.

‘And the dam burst in 2018, when news came that Facebook had allowed personal information of up to 87 million users to end up in the hands of a company called Cambridge Analytica, which allegedly used the data to target vulnerable voters with misinformation.’

 

 

In Facebook: The Inside Story, Steven Levy proves his mettle as the founding guru of technology journalism by drawing on his understanding of the dynamics of the Silicon Valley and integrating inputs from key players with interviews of more than three hundred Facebook employees past and present.

About this tech Goliath, Levy writes, “It is a company that both benefits from and struggles with the legacy of its origin, its hunger for growth, and its idealistic and terrifying mission. Its audaciousness— and that of its leader— led it to be so successful. And that same audaciousness came with a punishing price.”!

Authors share a few tips for making the best out of working from home

Posted on by Penguin India

The prospect of working from home can seem exciting at first. You get to stay at home and you’re grateful that there’s no rush to walk out the door to catch your train, you can watch your favourite TV shows and cook elaborate meals, or sleep through your alarm. However, the initial shine wears off and you don’t recognize one day from another. Work begins to pile up in the absence of a strict work schedule and you’re not sure what to do.

Fret not! There are things you can do to maintain a healthier work schedule and our authors share exactly those to help your work from home days easier:

Draw Boundaries to Co-Exist

“One of the things the virus is teaching us is to co-exist within our family units. However, this too is presenting us with a challenge- how do we manage our family, work, deliverables, etc. on our very own and that too in the confined small spaces of our homes?  Since you have a full house with kids, spouse, and others at home, you need to protect your time. Upfront, sit down with the family and work out your schedules together. What are your work hours, when you will have meals together, who will prepare lunch or attend to different chores, when you will have break times, etc. Key is to have a clear communication on how everyone will coexist, without disturbing each other.”

Anju Jain, author of Burnout: Beat Fatigue to Thrive in an Overworked World

Establish a Daily Routine

“Follow a daily routine, while working from home. Where you will sit and work, the number of hours for which you will work each day, which part of the day you will assign to creative work and which other part of the day to routine work. The discipline of establishing and pursuing a daily routine is very important, to ensure that working from home is consistent and productive.”

Harish Bhat, author of Tatalog: Eight Modern Stories from a Timeless Institution 

Dress to Trick your Brain

“You must not think you are at home. Get ready as you would for a workday and follow a routine of tasks that you wish to accomplish in the day. This means that you must imbibe the ‘Work Carbohydrates’ so that the thinking part of your day, called ‘Work Proteins’ also figure. The protein and carbohydrate metaphor really works very well.”

R. Gopalakrishnan, author of Crash: Lessons from the Entry and Exit of CEOs

Don’t Let Work Encroach into your Personal Time

“Just like you make time for work, guard your family time too. It is easy to get carried away with your laptop. Close your work as per your committed schedule and gear to spend time with the family.  Recall the days of your parents or grandparents, how they spent time with you in the evenings?”

Anju Jain, author of Burnout: Beat Fatigue to Thrive in an Overworked World

Be Kind to Yourself

“Be kind to yourself. You will miss a routine task, not sit for work on time on occasion but as long as these were not meetings or tasks you promised to do, go easy. That small task you promised yourself can wait, if you are stopping to smell the roses.”

Ramesh Dorairaj, author of Games Customers Play: What They Don’t Tell You About Buyer-Seller Relationships

Bhaichung Bhutia writes to his younger self

Posted on by Penguin India

From Anju Bobby George’s unexpected gold medal at the World Athletics Final in Monaco to Abhinav Bindra’s Olympic gold in Beijing, India’s sportspersons have constantly proved that they stand shoulder to shoulder with the world’s best.

However, as easy as they might make it look, their success is the result of years of struggle, focused training and relentless hard work to overcome several challenges.

The ‘Dear Me’ series of letters first appeared in Hindustan Times in 2017. These columns, penned by India’s top sporting icons, were published with the intent to inspire a young generation of struggling sportspersons, to serve as the light at the end of the tunnel for them.

Dubbed as the ‘Sikkimese Sniper’ of India, footballer Bhaichung Bhutia writes to his younger self in Dear Me, which brings all these letters under one cover.

*

Dear eight-year-old Bhaichung,

It is nice to see you going back to your village for the winter vacations from the boarding school. I know you will again complain about the 10-km walk home. But know that sooner or later there will be a road to your house and electricity in your village.

This holiday though will be different for you since Dad has bought a football for the first time! Knowing you, I am sure you will be impatient to reach home and play with older brother Chewang, who is also returning with you and Dad.

Young man, the one thing you need to realize is that you won’t win all the time. So stop fighting and crying every time you lose a match. In other words, stop being a bad loser. Your oldest brother, Rapden, is very good at football and thinks you are very talented, but he finds it difficult to deal with your tantrums when you lose. Winning and losing are part of the game, and you will have to take them in your stride. The sooner you accept this, the further you will go.

Front Cover of Dear Me
Dear Me || HT Sports

I also know how much you are dying to find someone who could teach you lots of tricks about dribbling the ball and, yes, that someone who would show you how to execute a banana kick! When you return to school, everyone will talk about your talent. Except the games teacher. He will not select you, but don’t worry, you have a wonderful principal in Father George. So when you are not picked, you will tell him and he will help you get into the junior school team. Guess who will be chosen as the best player? You. I know your father keeps telling you to study

well and pass your examinations. I love him for the fact that he does not pressure you to top the class or get a high percentage. He just wants you to pass. Be glad that you don’t have a pushy parent because that will mean you have so much freedom to play and think of football. That is because he loves football and has taken you many times to watch him and Rapden play in the village tournament.

An uplifting reminder that dreams do come true, Dear Me allows you to be inspired by their extraordinary stories.

 

Unique Traditions of Indigenous Tribes in India

Posted on by Penguin India

Inhabiting the remote hills and forests of India are isolated communities of people who have survived the ever increasing influence of urbanisation. The Adivasis have their own religious beliefs, traditions and rituals which are far removed from the rest of the country. White As Milk And Rice takes us away from our metropolitan cultural medley and leads us into life stories from six remarkable tribes of India where we see age old traditions manifest in the rapidly changing milieu of their fragile world.

Read on for a glimpse into the traditions of the Adivasis from the stories in White As Milk And Rice –

The Halakkis of Karnataka

The Halakkis’s janapada, or folk songs, are passed on from one generation to another as part of their oral history. These folk songs are sung by the Halakki women, unaccompanied by instruments, as they go about their daily chores.  With no formal knowledge of music, the women sing in the same tune ,mostly out of habit, as an expression of joy, sadness, anxiety or contentment.

‘Why did they all know the chorus to these songs? Sukri wonders. They had inherited these songs orally, rather than in written form. Often, the meaning of the colloquial, ancient words escapes them, but they sing it for the sorority—songs that bind them together through their hardships, but songs Sukri associates only with happiness, with festivals, forests, family, weddings, weeding, working on paddy fields.’

The Kanjars of Chambal,Rajasthan

Originally a community of valorous Rajputs, the Bhatus were pushed to the margins of society by multiple invasions in the Indian subcontinent. Of the many Bhati Rajputs that fled into the jungles, some styled themselves as rebels or baghis who operated out of the labyrinthine ravines around Chambal river and came to be known as Kanjars. The Kanjars performed a much revered ritual  before leaving for heists –

‘The night before, Lala had taken out a silver bowl from one of the bundles in his sikri, brought the empty bowl to his lips and kissed it, closing his eyes, holding his breath as if tasting the tenacity of his ancestors. Later, his wife had poured in kaccha khatiya and some goat blood into the bowl. Sipping on it, Lala had given an oath or a pledge of loyalty to the gang and acceptance of the consequences if a breach of trust was made.’

The Kurumbas of the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu

Descendants of the Pallava dynasty of southern India, the forest-dwelling Kurumbas are regarded as some of the oldest inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent. Scattered in the hills around the Nilgiris, the Kurumbas are believed to possess extraordinary spiritual and supernatural powers. Most Kurumbas survive by selling forest produce and the honey-gathering season is celebrated with ceremony-

‘Old grandmothers of the hamlet would sing songs in the village square about honey collection; interspersed would be songs on elopement with lovers, extramarital affairs, abnormal sex organs, jackfruits, cucumbers, etc. The men would have played tamabati, or the drum, to which the younger women would dance in circles, clapping their hands together below the waist. ‘

The Marias of Bastar, Chattisgarh

In the Gond society, Ghotul is a tradition that is integral to the Marias socio-religious beliefs. The nightly ritual is announced with the beating of drums and a procession of young boys and girls heads to the ghotul which could be described as a clubhouse. Dressed to please, the young Marias sharpen their seduction skills while enjoying music, dance, games and massages. Most activities are designed to develop intimacy between the sexes.

 ‘In this soft, diffused glow of affection, boys and girls lived together in that dormitory for years; a charming mixture of learning and experimenting with lovemaking, none of it meant to be taken seriously.’

The Khasis of Shillong, Meghalaya

Being a devout Khasi entails a life of discipline and familial duty. In old-fashioned Khasi families the birth of a female child is celebrated with a feast. Learning to keep a home, performing ancestral worship and looking after family members is part of induction to life as a Khasi female.

‘The Khasis follow the matrilineal principle of descent, residence and inheritance. The youngest daughter inherits, children take their mother’s surname, and once married, the khadduh, or the youngest sister, and her husband live in her mother’s home.’

The Konyaks of Nagaland

Straddling the Indo-Myanmar border, the fiercely independent Konyaks are believed to be followers of an indigenous animist religion. Young men in the tribe practise war skills and their training is focused on preparing them for life as  warriors. The tribe’s collection of severed enemy- heads is their pride.

 ‘A “good naomei” protected his comrades and never refused a beautiful woman’s advances. Our village must grow bigger, stronger and for that, enemies’ heads must be secured, brought to the village and fed rice beer. This would bring it prosperity and for the naomei, some virility. The more the heads, the more the reverence.’

Nidhi Dugar Kundalia takes us into the remote regions of India where tribal communities practice and preserve their traditions with reverence even as external forces make inroads into their precariously balanced existence.

To know more about the original inhabitants of India, read White As Milk And Rice!

Tête-à-Tête with Arjun Nath

Posted on by Penguin India
What was your latest “OK Boomer” moment?

This is a tricky one because I’m nearly old enough to be considered a Boomer myself! I was attending a wedding recently and an older gentleman — within a few minutes of meeting me for the first time ever — asked why I wasn’t married yet. When I asked him why he felt I should be married, he said: Vedon mein likha hai ki yeh tumhara dharma hai. Really? So being happy with your highly personal life choices is a big no-no, but preaching a 3000-year-old sacred text at a complete stranger about the ‘right’ way to live their life is somehow fine? OK Boomer.

 

Any tips on bridging the generation gap with parents?

It’s a big subject and I’m nowhere near qualified enough to be handing out tips on it. But in my experience, parents are nosy as hell. I mean, aside from being the ones with the money, that’s basically their one defining trait. It comes from fear. They don’t want to control your life, they want to know that you’re safe. So throw them a bone once in a while. Let them know when you’ll be out late, and who your friends are. Share any one meal with them every day. It’s no big deal and it’ll make your life much easier.

 

Any personal #litAF friendship stories you still cherish?

I made a friend when I was at a drug rehab 10 years ago. For the sake of anonymity, let’s call her by the oddly specific name Kajal Sheth. Because she lives in London and I in Delhi, we’ve met only a handful of times since. And because I dread speaking on the phone (to anyone), we are sometimes not in touch for months at a stretch. This is a frustrating, often hurtful, situation for her. And yet, no matter how many calls I don’t take or texts I don’t respond to, she’s always there for me when I need her to be. Gehna’s baby, in the book, is named Sitara after Kajal’s daughter.

 

Who do you relate more to: Eram or Gehna?

At a circumstantial level, Eram. He had, like myself, a father with Parkinson’s. He also enjoys games of chance, and strives to be better than he is. Gehna is more of a manic pixie — overly sensitive, bipolar, spontaneous, and self-absorbed, and I am none of those things.

 

Rom-coms or Thrillers?

Thrillers. Rom-coms are a guilty pleasure, and they have this annoying habit of sneaking up on you and stabbing you right in the heart.

 

Favourite sports movie?

That’s an impossible question. How to narrow it down to just one? Sports movies, even the badly made ones, always make me cry. Probably something to do with the winning-against-all-odds trope that hits deep. In English, Seabiscuit. Closer to home, Lagaan.

 

What’s the story behind the title [“Not All Those Who Wander”]?

JRR Tolkien, in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, wrote a poem that starts with the couplet: All that is gold does not glitter / Not all those who wander are lost. I borrowed from it for the title of the book, partly as tribute to the literary master craftsman and partly because feeling LOST is such a common experience for teenagers.

What food are you craving right now?

Sev Puri. I am always craving sev puri — even while eating it! Indian street food is the best street food, Chaat is the best Indian street food, and sev puri is the best Indian chaat street food.

 

Be honest – how many drafts did it take for Not All Those Who Wander to take shape?

I’ll be honest — one draft. I take no pride in that fact. A famous author, I forget who, was asked a similar question in The Paris Review. She (or possibly he) said that there are two kinds of writers. One: those who just put words on a page willy-nilly until the first draft is done and then work out the kinks in the rewrite. Two: those who are constitutionally incapable of moving onto the next sentence until the preceding one is polished and perfect. I’m the latter sort. It takes me a long time to finish a first draft but when I’m done, it’s done.

 

Any procrastination tactics you employed while writing the novel?

Yes. Netflix, the Internet, and examining the contents of my belly button. Getting anything done without a deadline, a boss, and irate clients is no easy task. The only thing that works is a driving need to see where the story goes.

 

What’s your typing speed?

Tap…tap…taptaptaptaptaptaptap…taptap………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………tap.

 

What’s the last book you read?

George RR Martin’s A Dance with Dragons. Each year I re-read the entire series in the hope that this, finally, will be the year he finishes Book VI, The Winds of Winter. But he never does. I’ve never been more cross with a person in my whole life. He’s probably watching Netflix. Finish the damn book, GEORGE!

 

Favourite chat slang?

Not a huge fan of chat slang, tbh. All that “wer R u *smh *idk” business drives me up the wall. But I have of late become a rabid emoji user. My favourite is the rolling-your-eyes yellow face. So useful!

 

What has been your best 3 AM idea?

To cash-out of a poker game. I know you probably meant to ask what has been my best 3 AM story idea, but I’m re-interpreting the question. Cashing out of a poker game is the best idea at any time, and especially at 3 AM. Go home. Get some sleep. Do NOT try to calculate how many meals you can afford for the rest of the month.

 

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