Nitin Sisodia is a Bachelor of Electronics Engineering, currently residing in Thane. With over fifteen years of experience in Digital Technology, he has also studied and researched various e-commerce businesses over the years, and continues to do so. Simultaneously, he has also written for various websites and blogs. This is his first long-form venture. ‘Unethical Achievers’ is his debut novel published by Leadstart publishing.
TBE: Tell us a little about your story and the story world you’ve created in ‘Unethical Achievers’.
Nitin Sisodia: In the 21st century China, when youth are resorting to dark means to make money, and principles take a back seat in the world of business, two small-town teenagers and aspiring entrepreneurs dream of having it all.
Jian is from a majority Han community, while Tomur is from the minority Muslim community. Despite the widely-reported and growing mistreatment of the Muslims by the Hans, they hold their friendship above anything else.
Until… They get a taste of success!
With competition, deceit and envy straining their relationship, their perspectives change. From friends who once came to each other’s rescue during a time of crisis, they might become people who backstab each other for money.
Will their friendship, which easily strived through cruel social prejudices, rise above the fierce entrepreneurial challenges?
Or will their ambition override their ethics?
TBE: How this story first came to be. Did it start with an image, a voice, a concept, a dilemma or something else?
Nitin Sisodia: I saw a movie “The Infiltrator”. It was a crime thriller about drugs trafficking from Mexico to US. I remembered that I had read about drug trafficking from China to US. It would be an interesting story if I shared it in the book. However the biggest difference is that my book is a business drama thriller and not entirely a crime thriller.
TBE: I found the atmosphere in the book deliciously dark. How conscious do you have to be of language to create such an effect?
Nitin Sisodia: As the title suggests the characters are unethical, half educated and cheaters, so there was a lot of negativity. To tackle this, wherever I got a chance I added humor, however it was related to the story and not forced upon, e.g. humor related to Viagra etc.
TBE: Do you have the details in the story planned beforehand, or do you develop the story as you are writing it?
Nitin Sisodia: I took three years for the research and actual writing. Nothing was planned beforehand.
TBE: Have you based any of your characters on someone you know, or real events in your own life?
Nitin Sisodia: The characters are not based on someone I know, or real events in my life but definitely events happened in China and USA .
TBE: Who’s your favorite character from the book and why?
Nitin Sisodia: My favourite character is Xiang, who has a colourful personality as are his clothes. He also has an innocent side along with all the negative characteristics. He is unpredictable and adds up intrigue, surprises as well as humor to the story.
TBE: You must have done a lot of research on background of two communities in China and learned a great deal about them. Did you learn anything that surprised you?
Nitin Sisodia: Not only did I researched about both the communities but also US and China online market places like alibaba.com, ec21.com etc.
The biggest surprise was – why are Muslim countries, which are otherwise on the front foot while condemning atrocities against Muslims worldwide, silent about atrocities against the Uyghur Muslims in China, by the majority Han? This is probably the worst, most merciless, cold-hearted, and inhumane treatment given to minority Muslims in any part of the world.
TBE: What are some must-read titles in your genre?
Nitin Sisodia: The accidental billionaires, The infiltrator, Bringing Down the House, etc.
TBE: Is there anything you are currently working on that may intrigue the interest of your readers?
Nitin Sisodia: I am already halfway through my second book that is a political drama thriller based on Delhi’s youth politics and a political murder.
I have it in my mind to write the third book based on role of teenagers in Mumbai underworld.
Both would be fiction drama thrillers based on real life events.
