Bestselling author Novoneel Chakraborty is not new to the world of audiobooks. He has multiple books that have been converted to the audio format, reaching a new set of audience. However, with his new read You Die Alone, he ditches the traditional format altogether and launches it exclusively in the audiobook format with Audible. Continuing in the romance thriller genre, Chakraborty brings the story of a girl and her tumultuous quest to find out who invaded her privacy and why. A chat with the author.
What made you choose an audio format for You Die Alone?
It was something new for me and with the rise in the number of audiobook listeners, I was kicked about giving it a try and seeing how it pans out. Also, I knew the writing pattern would be slightly different for there would be a narrator here, along with BGM, in between the writer’s story and the reader. So, that too was something different for me.
Will You Die Alone be available only in the audio format?
As of now, yes. But I’m in talks to turn it into a web series as well so fingers crossed for that.
How has the experience been and are you the narrator in this?
It has been a learning experience, to say the least. A lot of my readers have asked me whether I’m the narrator or not but alas, I’m not. Firstly, this particular story is a first-person narrative from a girl’s point of view so that cancelled my narration. Also, audio narration has its own voice craft involved, which I would like to explore in the future with my audiobooks but not without training my voice a little so the story reaches the listeners in a captivating manner.
Audio platforms have a niche audience. Do you think a narration of a book adds a different flavour to the story?
It definitely does. More than niche I think people at large are still warming up to the idea of listening to fiction stories and not reading them. I’m sure the numbers will increase as we move ahead. Unlike a paperback or hardcover, a narrator and BGM come into play between the writer and the reader. And this may have its pros and cons. I feel a great narrator upholds the overall feel of the story and makes the reader immerse further more into the characters, and the plot.
Your themes are generally romance thrillers. Where do you draw inspiration from?
I love to dwell in the amalgamation of crime/thrill and romance. It’s something that is organic to me. The criminal outcome that happens out of love is something that allows me to get inside the psyche of my characters, thereby exploring the layers within them, which excites me as a storyteller. For inspiration, I’m always on the lookout for real people and real stories. Even You Die Alone is an offshoot of a tweet I’d read in the recent past. The story, of course, is fictional but I rely on real-life triggers to knit my fictional stories.
Any literary inspiration behind your books?
There are too many to name. I think it’s important to learn and unlearn from writers and add them accordingly to the internalisation of your own craft.
Your works have been adapted for the screen before. Any new project happening that you would want to share?
Talks are on for another book series of mine. Here’s hoping it goes on the floor this year. I’m afraid I can’t name it right now.
What are you working on next?
Trying out a new genre from my end, which would be a slice-of-life-thriller. Excited and looking forward to it. It will be a paperback.