Thursday, February 20, 2014

Najeev Raj Nadarajah on Living Anywhere in the World @NRNadarajah #fantasy #author #goodreads


What else do you do to make money, other than write? It is rare today for writers to be full time… 
I work at University of Toronto as a building patrol for their libraries. It’s a great job where I meet a wide variety of interesting (and eccentric) people, and it allows me time to write.
What other jobs have you had in your life? 
I’ve been a paperboy for the Toronto Sun, a busboy for the Keg Steakhouse, a cashier/receiver/cleaner for Tim Horton’s, a digital imaging specialist for Best Buy, a home tutor, as well as a security guard.
If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? 
Naturally, I’d say a tropical island without a care in the world. But that’d drive anyone nuts after a while. I get bored easily. I’m someone that likes to keep active, whether it’s by playing hockey, going out, working, or even moving about at home, keeping busy.
Having said that, I believe I’m already living in one of the greatest cities in the world. We have everything here. Everything! You’d be hard-pressed to find even a fraction of the food options we have in this city in any other city across the world. You name it. We’ve got it. And for a guy like me who loves good food and breathes hockey, Toronto’s one kickass place to live.
How do you write – lap top, pen, paper, in bed, at a desk? 
I’m a creature of habit. By that, I mean I need three things to work. My laptop. A library. A medium double-double from Tim Horton’s.
Provide me with those three, and I’ll be able to work for hours.
When you are not writing, how do you like to relax? 
I’m a big fan of hockey, so naturally, I play the sport as well as spend countless hours watching games, viewing highlights, and taking care of my fantasy team rosters.
Aside from that, I also love watching particular anime and TV shows.
I’m a very simple guy and I like to keep it that way.
Do you have any tips on how writers can relax? 
I’ve got a simple tip that not only works for writers, but anyone who’s looking to relax their mind. Grab a seat. Kick back. Take a half hour or so and treat yourself to a good video or two. Make yourself laugh. Laughter’s a great medicine for one’s mind and soul.
There’s only one other thing I can advise that works wonders, even more so than laughter, and that’s exercising.
Try one or the other, or even both together. Laugh while exercising to your heart’s content. Having said that, here’s one final tip on what I just said. Make sure you don’t laugh when you’re bench pressing.
How often do you write? And when do you write? 
I write every day between 1pm and 5pm. That’s probably because those are the times in which I’m free. Aside from that four hour timeslot, I take every opportunity I get to write, even if it’s just a few words or sentences.
Do you have an organized process or tips for writing well? Do you have a writing schedule? 
I follow two simple rules when I write. Every day, I make an attempt to write at a specific time. The reason behind that is simple. We’re all creatures of habit. Once you get used to doing something regularly, it’ll eventually become force of habit. You’d no longer have to struggle to get yourself into that chair, or into that mindset to write.
Secondly, if I’m struggling to form thoughts and place them down as words, I won’t force it. You don’t ever want to force your story to progress. When my brain says enough’s enough, I step away from my writing and start browsing online. I’ll read up on writing advice, read reviews for other novels. I’d read reviews others wrote about my novel, I’d watch a YouTube video or two, and just simply kill time. Eventually, given a few minutes, my brain will kick into gear. Sometimes, all it needs is a little jogging.
Sometimes it’s so hard to keep at it - What keeps you going? 
I want to tell stories and make others happy. I want to leave behind a legacy. I want to do what no other in my family has done ever before. I dream and hope to achieve something that no other Tamil born has done ever before.
It’s not the fame I’m after, but the recognition. The acknowledgement. That alone is enough to keep me going.
What movie do you love to watch? 
My most favourite movies of all time: The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Pretty soon, The Hobbit will fall in with that series.
Aside from that, I also love the Harry Potter series.

DreamCaster
Haunted by memories of his massacred settlement, sixteen-year-old Weaver seeks cover in a hidden refuge among the remains of a ruined city. In the midst of building a new life, Weaver discovers that he has the amazing power to cast his dreams into reality. Convinced it’s just an anomaly, Weaver ignores it. That is until he learns of a mysterious man who shares the ability, and uses his power to bring nightmares into existence and wage war on the world. The peaceful life Weaver hoped for begins to unravel as waves of chaos begin to break loose about him. In a race against time, Weaver must learn to accept his role as a dream caster and master his new power, before his new home is destroyed and humanity is pushed to the brink of extinction.
Buy @ Amazon & Smashwords
Genre – Fantasy
Rating – PG
More details about the author
Connect with Najeev Raj Nadarajah on Facebook Twitter

0 comments:

Post a Comment