An Interview with Dr. Preetham Grandhi

Last month I just finished reading A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi. A Circle of Souls is a psychological thriller where a child is brutally murdered in the sleepy town of Newbury, Connecticut.

A little bit about the author: Preetham Grandhi is a child psychiatrist who resides in Westchester County, New York. A Circle of Souls is his debut novel. The book has received great reviews so congratulations on his success.

As busy as his schedule is, Dr. Grandhi was generous enough to allow me to interview him. This was my first time interviewing an author so this was such an honor. So here's the question and answer session between me and Dr. Grandhi.

1. What inspired you to write A Circle of Souls?

It was a few months post 9/11, and I was looking at the biographies of the people who had lost their lives. I began to wonder if there was a larger meaning to their lives. All of a sudden, a story flashed into my mind, and I quickly wrote it on a piece of paper. I knew then that I needed to write a story that was larger than life. It needed to communicate the essence that there is a bigger purpose and meaning to our passage on earth. I knew that in order to capture and convey such a message, the book needed to be captivating, interesting, and thrilling. I realized that a story based on the work I do would be the right place to begin.

I am a child psychiatrist and had just started a new job. During my fellowship, I worked with children with numerous psychosocial issues and had many life stories to tell. It was at that moment that I decided I could write a book that would capture all these thoughts. That was how A Circle of Souls was born.This book will keep you on the edge until the very end and will leave you thinking about the larger sense of individual purpose and destiny.

2. Do you think you will write another book that is in the similar nature as A Circle of Souls, or would you like to do something different?

I do have ideas for books with Peter, (the main character) that I hope to write soon after I have this one up and running on it's own.

3. I believed that Naya was one of the most interesting characters int he book. Would you like to meet someone as special as she is? How would you handle her case?

Naya is one of those characters that is completely fictional compared to some of the other characters. I think every child I work with is as special as she is and I treat all of them with the same respect and care.

4. How did you come to choose your specialty?

I believe it was destiny. I don't know why, but it was meant to be.

5. Dr. Grandhi, I know you must be busy as a physician. How did you find the time to write A Circle of Souls? What's your writing schedule like?

It is very difficult to write a book when one has a full time, tiresome job. The irony is without my job there is no book. But I came up with ideas as I drove to and from work and put them on paper when I got a chance. Now it gets only harder as promoting this book is by itself a full time job.

6. Did you always want to write a book? Or was that something you decided later?

I never dreamt I would write a book. I always wanted to make movies. Maybe I will make this a movie one day.

7. What is your advice to writers who are trying to get published?

It's a lot of hard work and a lot of luck. Just do your part and hope that destiny takes care of the other half.

Many thanks to Dr. Preetham Grandhi for devoting his time to answer these questions. For more information on A Circle of Souls and Dr. Preetham Grandhi, check out A Circle of Souls website. The book is also available in Amazon and in Barnes and Noble.