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I wanted to show readers a side of Sri Lanka that may not have been shown before; this strange slice of bohemian, beautiful Sri Lanka which I experienced when I was living there in the ’90s; full-scale secret drag balls, raves on the beach; always with the hint of violence lurking beneath the surface, never too far away.
I tried to write a love story crossed with a thriller; something you can lie by the pool on vacation and devour in three days. I really wanted to write something that blurs the line between ‘literature’ and ‘entertainment’ – something with really great writing and characters, but also with a powerful story that keeps you wanting to turn the page to find out more.
I think the novel is ultimately about how love can survive in the middle of a war; and not war in the old-fashioned sense, but modern-day civil conflict. Much like what’s going on in countries from Syria and Egypt right now. How can love sustain itself when the world around it is going crazy? To me, that’s an act of heroism and bravery in itself.
I want the reader to fall in love with the characters, and care about what happens to them. I want them to be drawn into the love story, with all its beautiful moments and hard challenges, and be right there with them, with a sense of immediacy and intimacy.
Q: It’s been a while since you published China Bay Blues. What happened from then till now in relation to your writing?
A: I hope I’ve become a better writer! Writing a novel is a whole different exercise to writing a book of poetry. It’s like the difference between making a snack and cooking an 18-course meal. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
Writing is a discipline; you have to apply yourself to it consistently and do the work to get better. Reading books about writing helped; I can highly recommend books like Robert McKee’s ‘Story,’ which is actually about film screenplays, but which taught me a lot about the arc of a compelling story.
But there is no substitute for writing itself; just doing the physical act itself. And I have a new found respect for editors; editing was the hardest part of writing this book! I had to become ruthless: if it didn’t help the story move along, I had to jettison the scene or the moment. Kill your darlings, as they say.
Q: Why do you write?
A: I write to move people. It doesn’t matter how many people, but even if one person is moved by the story, that gives me the deepest joy. I loved getting emails from people for ‘China Bay Blues,’ telling me about all the strange places the poems had travelled to, and how they became part of people’s lives. I hope the same is true for this novel too.
In this particular novel, I also wanted to write to capture a particular moment in time; when the civil war in Sri Lanka was in full 
swing and when violence had become the norm.
Given the recent tensions in Sri Lanka, it’s sobering to look back at the chaos life had become then; with riots and bombs and the danger of conflict escalating ever-present. It’s something I certainly hope doesn’t rear its ugly head again. Sri Lanka is in such a great place now; let’s not go back in time.
Q: And how do you write?
A: I think it starts with a fragment; a particular image or sound or feeling that moves you in a way that you can’t quite articulate. To me, that’s like the grit at the centre of the oyster that starts getting covered in layers of meaning; until finally you have a pearl.
I keep notes of things, and recently I’ve started taking pictures, of things I can’t easily articulate or explain. To me, they are like clues from the universe about something really intriguing happening. It’s much the same way I write poetry.
Over the years, these images start to collect together to start to form connections and stories; the opening scene of ‘Strange Fruit’ is of a girl waking up on a plane at night, and not quite sure where she is or what she is doing there. Once you have that scene, you can start asking questions where is she coming from? Where is she going? What caused her to be there in that moment in space and time?
That’s when you start to weave a story and stitch these disparate images together; to start to create characters and people each with their point of view and belief system a universe that readers can enter and inhabit themselves.
Q: Moving beyond the writing, could you tell us about yourself – where you live, what you do and what you believe in?
A: I live in Brooklyn, in New York City, with my wife Rukshana. I work in brand management and marketing and do a lot of partnerships with music artistes – like Lady Gaga, Swedish House Mafia, etc.
I love living in New York; it’s a city with so much energy and inspiration. It’s an exhausting city to live in sometimes, but as long as you can find moments of peace and introversion, it’s an amazing place.
It’s a place full of crazy people who support each other; no matter what your passion or ambition is, you will find like-minded people who are willing to collaborate with you to help achieve that. There’s really nowhere like it elsewhere on the planet.
Q: Your interests encompass food, music, architecture, photography, travel and art. Could you explain your approach in relation to them individually?
A: I think the common thread is that I like learning about new things and challenging myself; whether it’s learning how to take better photographs, or cook new dishes, or go to new places... it’s all about experiencing life at its fullest and constantly moving out of your comfort zone.
Taking photographs is a new passion; for someone who is as word-oriented as me, it’s like opening up a part of my brain that is about visuals and images. It’s like learning to speak a different language and become fluent in it.
All of these things – like travel or photography – are also food for the imagination. They help expose me to new places and people 
all of which are fuel and inspiration. I call it looking for the ‘magic and the mystery’; those wonderful things which you can’t quite articulate.
Q: What inspires and/or influences you?
A: My wife inspires me all the time; she is the kindest and most compassionate person I have ever met. She helps me want to become a better human being every day.
When it comes to writing this novel, music was a huge inspiration. Not just because one of the lead characters is a DJ; but also because it really helped me understand the emotional journey of the book.
I would create soundtrack compilations of music from film scores to help inspire me to write to a particular feeling. There’s a lot of very cinematic music, electronica and ambient, whether it was bands like A Winged Victory for the Sullen or Stars of the Lid, or the film scores of people like Alexandre Desplat or Craig Armstrong.
In fact, one of the things readers of the book can do is listen to a soundtrack of all the music references in the book; it’s available by going to the book’s website www.strangefruit.mobi and clicking on the ‘Soundtrack’ tab.
It’s got music from Radiohead, Paul Simon, Aimee Mann, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, The Doors and much more.
Q: Your advice to aspiring writers?
A: Find a story you are so passionate about telling the world that it will sustain you through the (very hard) practice of actually writing and editing the work. And it is work; think about writing a novel as like taking on a second job. It demands that kind of commitment.
Think about when in the day that writing comes naturally to you; it might be early in the morning or late in the night. Whatever it is, carve out some time for you to breathe and think; it will be so much easier for you to re-enter that world when you are in the right frame of mind.
For myself, it was the early mornings; between five and seven a.m., before I had to get ready to go to work. I was able to wake up and just start writing. But it’s like exercise and muscles; you have to warm up and start getting ready so you can write for extended periods of time.
At times, I would be so inspired by writing in the early morning that I had to keep writing on the subway to work! I would type on my phone because my brain would just keep working and words would still be coming out. So be receptive to when the words come, because you never know when that will be.
And don’t worry about it being autobiographical and revealing details of your intimate thoughts; most first novels are about writing what you know about and that usually starts with yourself. That feeling of vulnerability, of being exposed; embrace that, it will be one of your greatest strengths.
Q: What are you reading right now?
A: I’m reading a bunch of books I bought at Barefoot this week from Sri Lankan writers; including Sonali Deraniyagala’s ‘Wave’ which is just mesmerising. How she can write about such a bleak subject as losing her husband, children and parents in the tsunami but do it with such an unflinching, clear-eyed, loving perspective is astounding. It’s not a depressing book at all; it’s actually a testament to their love as a family.
Another great, ground-breaking Sri Lankan novel is my friend Shehan Karunatilaka’s ‘Chinaman’; he just blew the doors off with that one. It’s so funny, authentic and perceptive; I am in awe of his talent.
I read a lot of non-fiction as well; at the moment, I’m reading ‘The Glass Closet’ by John Browne, which is about homophobia in corporations and how addressing it can be good for business.
Q: What next?
A: In terms of new book projects, I’m working on a non-fiction book about brands doing social good; as well as a children’s book for an idea I’ve had for a while.
I will be promoting ‘Strange Fruit’ online as well since the e-book versions are available on Amazon Kindle and Apple iBooks; all you have to do is go to www.strangefruit.mobi and click on the ‘Buy’ tab to access the links.
I would really love ‘Strange Fruit’ to find a global audience; I am actively seeking agents and publishers in the US, UK, Australia, India and Canada who would like to pick the book up for publication there. If anyone has any ideas, please contact us through the website.
