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Frontman, vocalist and lyricist of Stigmata and compulsive creative writer Suresh De Silva is all set to launch his second book, ‘The Eternal Dark: Requiem,’ on 24 November at the Barefoot Gallery. While his debut ‘From Chaos to Catharsis’ featured poems and prose, this is Suresh’s first full-length novel and revolves around a journey into a surreal world set in a Sri Lankan backdrop. The open walk-in styled event will be similar to the launch of 'From Chaos to Catharsis' last year and will also feature a stellar line-up of readers, making for an event well-worth attending. Following are excerpts of an interview with Suresh about the new book:
Q: It’s been just over a year since you launched your first book, ‘From Chaos to Catharsis,’ and here you are ready with another, which will be launched next week. Tell us about the new book and what to expect?
Yes, indeed. The debut was a success and set the platform for me to gauge that there is a loyal and dedicated audience for English self-published authors. It gave me the courage and confidence to push the proverbial envelope and really reach places of my imagination without fear, trepidation or doubt.
The new one titled ‘The Eternal Dark: Requiem’ is a story about how far we need to be pushed in order to question, fight and endure to preserve and protect our humanity, it’s about loss, love, friendship, unexpected heroes and survival. In essence it’s about six strangers who accept a challenge to stay for a month at an all-expenses paid, mysterious manor of old with no contact with the outside world. As time goes by the hidden horrors unleash themselves and each of the six must grapple with their present, past and shifting realities of ‘Requiem’ estate. But there’s so much more going on.
Q: So the first book was poems and short stories/prose; this one is a full-length novel. What made you chose to write a novel and how long did it take to write it?
‘From Chaos to Catharsis,’ like I mentioned before, was such an unexpected success; it had two print runs and sold out completely. I realised despite what the elitist literature circles here in our isle recognise as notable works of lit, the preconceived notion that only certain themes and topics are marketable and sell – they couldn’t be more wrong.
I have penned many a story since I was 11 or 12 years old and have worked on many (incomplete) novels. This one, I had the idea running circles in my mind for some time, at least the pieces of the puzzles and I just went hell for leather and started writing it and after a while it seemed to write itself. It took four to five months this year to conceive the entire thing – including research, and there was a lot of research.
Q: Could you tell us something about the title – ‘The Eternal Dark: Requiem’ – and how it came about and also about the cover design?
Requiem is the name of the estate on which the ancient manor stands. I wanted to create a place that is believable as much as it is mesmeric and haunting. I wanted to build a place and a world where the story arc will take the reader down a rabbit hole darkly to some very disturbing places – both familiar and unknown. ‘The Eternal Dark’ part I cannot delve into without dropping spoilers. Let’s just say that everything was sedulously thought out, from the title to the cover art to everything else, which all ties in with the story arc.
The beautiful and moving cover art was illustrated by the brilliantly talented Randy Chris Perera of Meraki United. There was no time for him to read the book and so I took him through a spoiler infused crash course synopsis of what happens, while sharing my vision of key elements and pieces I had in mind for the cover. He brought my vision to life gloriously and I could not be happier. I am elated at how the cover art turned out.
Q: The first book showcased a stellar line-up of readers. Who are the readers we can expect this time?
I am still reeling from how amazing they all were. Last time’s readers were chosen so that the writing would resonate with them and they would put their unique spin on what they were reading by making it their own.
This time I have a star class line-up of luminaries as well, a diverse and ridiculously talented bunch who I admire and I have given it much consideration and thought and feel each of them will do justice to the subject matter, after all this is a much darker and twisted work of lit overall. It’s integral to have those with an affinity for horror and dark fantasy or fiction. This time we have Yudhanjaya Wijeratne, Megan Dhakshini, Sean Amarasekera, Rehan Almeida, Jayani Senanayake, Tanuja Perera Raymond and Lilanka Botejue, who is also my Editor.
Q: What’s the reception been like thus far from those you’ve shared the book with?
Only Lila my Editor has read it fully – a myriad times, I got a feeler whether I was on a path worth traversing from a friend, Junior, select chapters I shared with some others to ascertain I had got certain facts, terminology and technical aspects accurately and shared an early draft with Yudha who gave me some great feedback. That’s it really.
Q: Could you share your writing process?
I wish there was some clandestine element to it, but in truth I let the story kind of reside in my sublime where I am aware of the beginning and how it ought to end. I start writing and then connect the dots and stitch and fit the pieces into place along the way. I don’t necessarily know how I am getting from the start to the finish, only that I need to touch upon certain areas. In truth I write when I am inspired and on good days I hit 4,000-5,000 words and not-so-good days maybe 2,000-2,500 words.
Writing the debut gave me the discipline I required to write five days a week, if even for an hour or two. This time I took weekends off from writing to kind of reset and rejuvenate myself and then from Monday to Friday I hammered away relentlessly. To write extensively I need zero interruptions and my life is such that zero interruptions falls under the category of wishful thinking – more oft than not. Yet when I do have my peace of mind and space to pen my thoughts, I leave no stones unturned. I am generally content with a PC with Microsoft Word and an accompaniment of notes with points, doodles and stuff that I have if I need to fall back to do some fact checking.
Q: What inspires you as a writer?
Different things, really. Music, literature, movies, art, theatre, video games, story arcs, people and their behaviour I observe, TV series, documentaries, articles, etc. This time I did so much of research spending countless hours at the Department of National Archives, I watched a plethora of YouTube interviews and videos by Dr. Jordan Peterson and Joe Rogan’s podcast to documentaries and footage of ghost sightings, hauntings, paranormal activities and demonic possession.
I have touched upon everything from my love for gothic horror and sci-fi horror, all things Lovecraftian, Stephen King’s The Shining and Doctor Sleep, Poe, Korean horror movies, Sri Lankan history especially pertaining to the colonisations, the Spanish inquisition, 17th century slave plantations, ancient catacombs and atriums to Sumerian and Babylonian classic history. Oh and I am a lucid dreamer. So some of my nightmares actually helped as well.
Q: Now that you’ve done it once and you’re about to do it for the second time, does the process of publishing a book in Sri Lanka become easier as you go and how complicated is it?
That’s an excellent question. What becomes easier is the process itself from sourcing the perfect editor, finding the right illustrator and then a patient and dedicated layout expert, obtaining the ISBN license and bar code to finding a suitable printer, the whole publishing rigmarole, sponsor hunting, booking the best venue for the launch event… all that stuff doesn’t really change and I have always had a D.I.Y ethic at large thanks to my experience with Stigmata.
Where it gets a bit complicated is that from a relatively smaller book with a collection of lit like the last time to a full-scale novel that’s nearly 500 pages on A5 this time around, the overheads are threefold. Sourcing funds to do this was at first difficult. And one needs to be aware of how best to approach the situation – whether to go with digital printing or offset and if so how would you work the pricing mechanism based on overall costs.
There is nothing easy about publishing a book in Sri Lanka. However, I don’t prescribe to the notion that anything is impossible. Most things are impossible until someone gets it done. It’s definitely a lot of hard work and sleepless nights. But then again a nutcase like me wouldn’t have it any other way. I fully endorse suffering for one’s art!
Q: Who are your favourite authors and what are the books that stand out in your memory as all-time personal favourites?
The mighty Tolkien, of course. George R.R. Martin, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Sir Terry Pratchett, Mo Hayder, H.P. Lovecraft, Mario Puzo, Charles Dickens, Michael Crichton, J.V. Jones, the Bard of Avon, Edgar Allan Poe, Alan Moore, Franklin W. Dixon and many, many more.
I’ll attempt to name 10 all-time favourite books:
1.The Stand – Stephen King
2.Silence of the Lambs – Thomas Harris
3.The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien
4.Fevre Dream – George R.R Martin
5.The Dark Tower Series – Stephen King
6.V for Vendetta – Alan Moore
7.The Treatment – Mo Hayder
8.The Godfather – Mario Puzo
9.Good Omens – Sir Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
10.Lost World – Michael Crichton
Oh! Oh! I know this is 11, but Goscinny and Uderzo’s Asterix series!
Q: Where will the new book be available?
Books will be available at a special price at the book launch on Saturday 24 November at the Barefoot Gallery and thereafter will be sold at Barefoot and signed copies can be procured directly from yours truly. I would like to make ‘The Eternal Dark: Requiem’ available online. That is still a work in progress.
Q: On a final note, what did you do with all the money from the first book, which sold out in no time?
Talk about a doosra to end the Q&A! I went Wolf of Kalapaluwawa Street! I jape. I used the money from the first print to go for the second print (as one does). The funds from the second print most likely were utilised to settle rent, utilities and bills, etc., at that juncture in time. In retrospect I should have just saved it to fund this book. Hey, it’s a learning curve for me too. What makes you act wantonly only makes you behave more scrupulously thereafter!
