"If You Believe In Your Work, Then There's No Stopping You"

The recent winner of the National Debut Youth Fiction Award and also the recipient of the YCOF National Excellence award in Creative Writing apart from being the first Indian author to win the coveted ‘Best Debut (Romance)’ title at the international Goodreads choice awards, Faraaz Kazi has been tagged as the 'Nicholas Sparks of India’ by many and is rated amongst the top male romance writers in the country. A certified soft-skills trainer and a three-time post grad, Kazi is the Founder and CEO of DigiImprint Solutions, India's first exclusive promotional agency for authors and artists that recently forayed into handling corporate brands. He also consults for a few public relations firms and publishing houses. Felicitated by numerous institutes, bodies and organizations alike, Kazi is a well-known name in the social media and literary fraternity. He is fondly referred to as 'The Young Marketer' and operates a revolutionary blog with the same name and writes for major media houses. 


Kazi is a fellow member of the esteemed 'Film Writers Association of India.' Truly Madly Deeply, his debut mainstream romance novel is the only Indian book to have seven category nominations in the Goodreads annual readers' choice awards and is also the only Indian book in the 'Top 100 YA Global Fiction' list. Kazi is a voracious reader and counts singing as his second love.

To read my review of "Truly, Madly, Deeply" click here.

Congratulations Faraaz for your beautiful novel – “Truly, Madly, Deeply.” I loved reading it and it was a real treat to review it. I, and the other readers, would like to know more about you and the story. 

In case you find any question offensive, you can skip it. I apologize in advance for such instances.

How does it feel to have penned down this novel? Your book has been positively accepted by the readers. Did you expect such an overwhelming response?

It’s always a great feeling to see your work appreciated by the readers. As a thumb rule, I don’t think about the consequences before hand. I believe if my work was sincere in it’s approach and is good then people will automatically take a liking to it. So far, I have been right on that!

How was the entire process of writing “Truly, Madly, Deeply?”

Nothing in life that is worth all the efforts you put in, is easy at the end of the day. ‘Truly Madly Deeply’ stems from a short-story written about a decade ago for a national level competition of a major mainline paper. Once it won a prize there, I knew I had something in my hand that could be looked at in the long run.

Seven years later, post my creative writing certification, I had this urge to write something major and my attention fell on this short-story lying in a heap of papers on my desk. Expanding the plot, adding sub-plots, introducing some more characters over a period of two months and lo, I had a 85,000 word novel, ready to be served in the market!

Tell us about yourself and your family.

I come from a middle-class background with working parents, living in Mumbai. Apart from writing, which I treat as my passion and not profession, I am into social media; Digi Imprint Solutions, being my start-up venture in this field.

This book deals with the topic of ego and how it can destroy love. How do you feel ego should be handled?

At the age of the protagonists in the story, ego is ruled by emotions but is very difficult to control as that level of maturity is still to set in. It is essential to pull back extreme emotions when it comes to the negative part of a relationship. The best approach is to sit with your partner and talk it out, leave no scope for misunderstandings; even if it’s some bitter truth, it’s good if it comes from your mouth but can be ugly if it comes from a third-person.

Given a chance, would you like to change anything in this book?

Not really, whatever I do, I give it my best shot. But yes, on the distribution part, I wish the book was available to people outside India as there is a great demand for the title there, post it’s nomination in the ‘Top 100 YA fiction list.’

Who are your role models in your life?

On a deeper level, anyone who has fought the turbid battles of love is a role model for me. 

On the writing front, I love JK Rowling, not just for her creation of such an imaginary world but also the struggle she underwent, both personally and professionally, to publish her first book. Khalid Hosseini and Jean Sassoon awed me by displaying the turbulent middle-eastern areas in their writings. Cecilia Ahern and Nicholas Sparks touched my heart with their romantic works and I drew a lot of inspiration from them.

How does it feel to be the author of the only Indian novel in the Top 100 YA Global Fiction List?

Again it’s a great feeling. This one came as a surprise because the paperback version of the book isn’t easily available to people living abroad. However, I think the e-book made up for its absence!

How real are the characters of Rahul and Seema?

Overall, Truly Madly Deeply is inspired from my glorious school days and talks about several people and incidents from that time. However, at the end of the day, it’s a mix of fact and fiction meant to take the reader on a nostalgic trip of their first love.

What are your other hobbies besides writing?

I am a voracious reader who also loves singing.

Are you currently working on your next novel? If so, what is it based upon?

My next project is currently lying with my agent and she’s busy securing a good deal from the publishers. It will be something of a different emotion altogether, different but more intense.

In the meanwhile, I have started work on the third. Let’s see, how soon I can complete it considering other professional commitments as well.

What would be your advice to all aspiring writers?

Get into writing only if you don’t have any monetary expectations from the craft. Do it for the passion, do it for yourself rather than following the ‘me-too’ trend. At the end of the day, if YOU believe in your work, then there’s no stopping you!

Finally, what would be your message for the readers?

If you have read ‘Truly Madly Deeply’, I would love to hear your feedback as it helps us (writers) turn even better (writers) and may be because of that, I can give you a better book to read in the future. A simple review on Flipkart, Goodreads, etc. also helps boost our morale.

Apart from that, even if you haven’t read it, I would love to hear from you- your experiences, your take on the subject. Feel free to reach me at contact@faraazkazi.com

And remember, love conquers all!

Thanks for the interview. I hope you had a pleasant time answering these.

All the very best for your current and future goals.