Makings of a Story

What goes on in an author’s mind when he/she writes a story? How does the plot come to be? What are the threads that run through the author’s mind as the story takes shape? My second thriller, “Lucky For Some, 13” has hit the stands since its launch on December 1, 2012, and I take this opportunity to re-live some of those moments which form the makings of a story:-

• I was fascinated by the story of Daood Sayed Gilani who became better known to us as David Coleman Headley. The thought that an US national could be part of a terror strike seemed out of this world. I used the idea to create Alice Hatchman Sawney, a blue-eyed blonde American.
• I loved the idea of using IQ as the call sign for Imad Qadir. I wondered if it was a bit too ” filmy” to have someone called “IQ” but stuck to it. I don’t know his IQ but I guess it must have been pretty high for all the scheming and plotting he does.
• Friends who know of my penchant for punning would have seen how ALIS came into being. The totally fictitious American Legion for Islamic Supremacy (ALIS), in which IQ was so prominent, came from a pun on Alice, as many of you would have figured!
• The torture of  Capt Saurabh Kalia and his patrol during the Kargil war of ’99 moved me to include some thing like that in the case of Lt. Madhav Nair.
• I was fully aware that though there are woman commandos in the National Security Guard (NSG) they are not generally in combat roles. Looking into the future as I wrote this in November 2010, I made Major Mohini Nair, a combat veteran in the NSG. I see in the media in Oct 2012 that an all women team of 25 NSG personnel is being trained for combat roles.

I will share more thoughts in future posts but go ahead, if you haven’t done so, and order your copy of “Lucky For Some, 13” from HomeShop 18 or Amegabooks.