Please welcome Bharat Krishnan author of Oasis.
Bharat Krishnan will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
ON SALE $0.99 TODAY ONLY
ON SALE $0.99 TODAY ONLY
Oasis
by Bharat Krishnan
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GENRE: Fantasy
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INTERVIEW
1. What or who inspired you to start writing?
Ever since I read S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders in 5thgrade, I knew I wanted to be an author. I had already won some Reflections contests before in school, but reading that book showed me a person could write such an impactful tale at such a young age in so few pages.
2. What elements are necessary components for this genre?
As much literature is out there now with the rise of indie publishing, I think the old tropes are still very effective. Magic was gone and something has happened now to bring it back; a wise teacher is going to train the next generation of leader; two best friends are going to resent each other or two enemies are going to be drawn to each other. These are all tropes used not just in my book, but in any successful fantasy novel I’ve read this year.
3. What expertise did you bring to your writing?
I’ve traveled to 4 continents and also worked across a dozen states in America. Diversity is at the heart of who I am. I wanted to celebrate that diversity because I see it written poorly all the time. In a way, the setting chose me. Like the rainforest, the desert is one of the most diverse biological environments one could enter. So in celebrating that, I had the opportunity to have LGBT characters and nonwhite characters and tall people and fat people and all types of others.
4. What would you want your readers to know about you that might not be in your bio?
I grew up wanting to be a stay-at-home dad, but I’m also currently wrapping up earning my MBA. Right now I’m reading a book on the origins of American capitalism and how it relates to the slave trade, but I also just finished Children of Blood and Bone and re-read Jade City. I love being a jack of all trades and master of none. From grade school, I’ve always had my hands in a little bit of everything. It’s why I wanted to work on political campaigns for a decade and it’s why I’ve been able to transition fairly seamlessly from that to living a much less stressful life now. Being thrown into different situations that are, at times, radical opposites is something familiar to me that I wanted in Oasis for Juno and Trey.
5. As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?
Like anything else, writing becomes less scary the more you do it. In the middle of an extremely busy September this year, my writing brain took hold and got 30,000 words out of me. I don’t know if I’ll lengthen it or keep it as a novella or what, but I think I need to find a home for that project next. It’s about five Indian-Americans in NYC who steal a drug conceptualized as white privilege.
6. If you could be one of the characters from this book, who would it be and why?
There are 3 characters I specifically identify with, but my choice here would be Dram. He tries so hard, but it’s always evident that he’s not the chosen one and that’s okay with him. Eventually, he even learns there are some serious perks to not being the chosen one. The journey Dram goes on is similar in many respects to the journey I went on in changing my career goals. Dram had to take a hammer to his pride, but he gets the girl. Likewise, I’m getting married in June.
7. Can you give us a sneak peek into this book?
One way Oasis celebrates diversity is in the mingling of different strands of mythology. Rangda, from Balinese stories, is a prominent figure, but so are creatures and beasts based off Native American and Indian tales too. In a series of scenes where Juno trains with his mentor, a friend of mine thought I was writing about the hyperbolic time chamber from Dragonball Z. As much as I love DBZ, I was actually pulling from a Korean folk tale in that case.
8. When did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step?
So I think this might be unlike most fiction writers, but I actually started with writing non-fiction. A friend of mine from college was actually murdered a few years ago, and we both worked in Democratic politics. I always wanted to write a memoir about my life working as a campaign manager across the country, and that moment in my life seemed appropriate to finally get around to doing it. I had this grand plan of waiting a couple more decades and running a presidential campaign one day, but life happens and you need to adjust. I got the blessings of my friend’s parents, wrote what I would say is one of the best current political books out there (so honest some of my contacts shunned me afterwards), and donated 50% of all profits to a foundation set up in my friend’s name. It was something I remain very proud of and once it happened and I got some feedback on my writing style in general, I knew I had to keep pursuing it.
9. How do you maintain your creativity?
I think the general rule is to work four hours a day on your craft. For me, that means watching Netflix, watching the other streaming services, and reading constantly. I’m lucky here in that my interests have always been eclectic. Literally the only thing I can’t get excited about it sports. I carve out time with my fiancée to discuss current trends related to her field, I get my business knowledge from the MBA program I’m part of, I’ve read over 30 books this year, and I live on Twitter for my political news. Creativity dies in darkness, so if I’m feeling a lull I just throw myself into the world.
On the other hand, I am also a hard stickler for deadlines. If I tell myself I need to get something done, it gets done because I’ll lock myself in a room until I do it.
10. Who is your favorite character in the book. Can you tell us why?
I am probably most similar to Dram, but my favorite character is Lee. I can’t go to into detail about his character without spoiling the story, but he is so carefree and lives this inclusive life. I knew I did a good job with the character because his introduction is supposed to replicate Aladdin’s introduction in the Disney movie. My fiancée always reads my work first before anyone else, and she got that connection immediately.
11. Anything else you might want to add?
Please drop me a line if you end up reading Oasis. It is free on Kindle Unlimited, and if you do end up shooting me a note I’d love to send you a sneak peek of what I’m working on next. My twitter is @bharatkrishnan9.
BLURB:
Once, there was a truce. Desperaux controlled the west with magic, and Desire claimed the east with steel and science.
But now magic has disappeared, and the world has changed.
The kingdom of Desire will stop at nothing to maintain the new world order. On Juno’s wedding day, their Mengery soldiers came marching through the Nine desert to rip his world apart. Now he journeys east with his adopted brother, Trey, in search of revenge after the murder of his family. Along the way, the two face bandits and the magical creatures of the Nine. When they finally reach Desire, Juno and Trey will face something even deadlier – their own fears and ambitions.
This is a tale of brotherhood, a revenge story that will remind you that everything has a cost – a cost that will be paid to Desire and to the inner demons that govern us all.
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EXCERPT:
Trey and Juno had found a shack to rest for a few hours, but when they woke Juno realized what a grave mistake they’d made. The shack was a cursed place, he said. Trey scoffed, but Juno had been learning from a monk in Nox and said he could smell it in the air – like sour milk. Fear gripped his shoulders, turning him into a statue. Unable to act. Paralyzed. Like he had been on his wedding day, Trey thought. Perhaps Drea would still be alive if he had done something. The frustration drew bile in Trey’s throat.
Though Trey didn’t believe in curses, he knew something was off about the town. Desperate for sleep, he hadn’t noticed it when he snuck into the shack. Now, though, he saw the abandoned saloon with its worm-eaten wood. They were all alone. Stepping outside the shack, the two watched as the sun rose and drew close to them. Dzoavits stood several yards from the door of the shack. The demon’s muscular body reflected sunlight, and when he brought his hands above his head, his triceps bulged to the size of watermelons. When the sun drew close enough to Dzoavits’s hands that he could seize it, the demon swallowed it whole. With that, the Nine was plunged into darkness and a chill running through Juno’s back compelled him to retreat to the shack and abandon Trey. From the uncovered roof of the shack, Juno watched Rangda approach Trey and extend a tongue that was over a foot long. Trey tried drawing his laser pistol out to shoot it off, but Andhaka jumped down from the shack and grabbed him, holding him still.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Bharat Krishnan is a philanthropic consultant in Columbus, Ohio. After ten years in Democratic politics, he wrote a memoir about his life on the road as a political campaign manager and just released a fantasy novel called Oasis. He refers to himself as a professional storyteller and amateur cook.
https://www.amazon.com/Bharat-Krishnan/e/B01KSCZ1ZS/
https://twitter.com/bharatkrishnan9
https://www.amazon.com/Bharat-Krishnan/e/B01KSCZ1ZS/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15640359.Bharat_Krishnan
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
Bharat Krishnan will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f2880
