Hello everyone! This month, I had the opportunity to read and review an amazing Mythological Fantasy book- Kalki by Kevin Missal. Huge thanks to the author for the chance and he was also kind enough to answer a few questions I had.

Hello Kevin. Thank you for being here on Travelling Through Words. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I am a Christian boy, 21 years old, born and raised in Delhi. I graduated from St. Stephen’s College this year and had studied History. I also co-own a publishing house. It’s not as cool as it sounds, just saying.

Besides being an author, you are also the co-founder of Kalamos Literary Services. How did that happen?

I always liked books. And when I ventured into this field of writing, I saw things happening around me, how a publishing house functions, what they do. Kalamos initially started as a marketing and promotion company that expanded to digital publishing. Now we will be going offline from next year since we partnered with Prakash Books.

Which books or authors do you inspire from?

Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, Rick Riordan, Caleb Carr, Paulo Coelho, James Patterson, Stephen King.
I love, love the Godfather but I hate other Mario Puzo work. I love every work of Keigo Higashino.

What are your all-time favorite books?

Alchemist, Godfather, Percy Jackson series, Pendragon series, Mortal Instruments series. I think these are the books that come in my mind when I think about all-time favorite books. Oh no, hold on. Yes. The Devotion of Suspect X. I fucking love that book.

What difficulties have you faced in your writing journey?

I’m still facing. It’s the lack of trust audience has on a 21-year-old writer. They don’t want to buy your book because you are not older. They think it’ll be stupid or childish and I have wonderful reviewers like you Tavleen who instill hope to my work and make other people pick it up.

How much time did it take you to write this book?

One month. I’m a fast typer.

Is there any character from Kalki that you personally relate to?

I would say I relate to Arjan. He’s smart and serious. I based him on me except the homosexual part. That was just to give him a layer and make Indian audience realize that you can have an amazing, awesome supporting character who is gay.

What advice would you like to give to aspiring writers?

Save a lot of money. And get humiliated. Write a shitty book, make people see how bad you write and you will become a better writer instantly. Humiliation does wonders, I tell you.

Author’s Bio (From Goodreads)

Kevin Missal is a 21 year old graduate from St. Stephen’s College, who has written four novels till now ranging from crime to mythology to horror. He had written his first book at the age of 14, which was released by the Chief Minister of Delhi. His second book was written at the age of 16 and was published by a British indie-press. He is a pioneer in writing the World’s First InstaRead and is a bestseller on Amazon under horror category. He is also the co-owner and co-founder of Kalamos Literary Services, which publishes and promotes fledgling writers to make a mark in the literary industry. He currently lives in Delhi and you can contact him on: kevin.missal@yahoo.in

Check out the author’s other books here.

You can check out my review of Kalki here and my spotlight post here.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Thanks for reading!