Interview with Joyce McCarthy, Author of Trails of Sin

Joyce McCarthy

Short biography

I am from India, born and brought up in the city of Kolkata. Kolkata is the capital of the state of West Bengal, located on the banks of the Hooghly river. It is the main educational, cultural and commercial center in the eastern part of the country.

I am an Engineer by education, and in my day job, I work in one of the world’s leading consulting and technology services firms.

My passion, however, lies in writing. I write about the darker shades in human relationships. The many ways in which they unravel and manifest themselves end up creating stories that thrill, that excite, that scare. I love travelling, am an avid reader of fiction, and am passionate about photography, movies and music.

2. What inspired you to write your book 'Trails of Sin'?

During my travels far and wide across the world, I have noticed remarkable interest in and curiosity about the Indian perspective on sexuality, whose pervasive and universal nature is the inspiration behind my erotic creations in diverse global settings.

3. Short synopsis of your book

When Andrew Smith, the head honcho of Tech-Me gets into a steamy affair with Emma Atkins, the new intern in office, his secretary and ex-girlfriend Betty Wilson swears revenge. Soon strategic secrets of the company are leaked out through craftily designed torrid acts of seduction of Tech-Me bosses. As Tech-Me starts losing ground and there are storms brewing in Andrew’s private life, he realizes there is more to his predicament than professional issues. He is left searching for answers as shadows of a sinful past haunt him.

Trails of Sin is an erotic thriller in a corporate setting with a strong element of suspense and a powerful undercurrent of selfless love.

4 .How long did it take you to write it start to finish?

It took me 6 weeks to finish the first complete draft of the book, and then I worked on a few iterations as of successive drafts of my work.

5. Do you plot the entire novel from the start or can it change during writing?

Honestly, I do not follow a fixed routine when it comes to my writing.

I create a basic structure and chapter outlines and then I start writing the chapters with the basic premise in sight. And I let go, letting the sights and the sounds in my mind take over. It is, therefore, extremely important for me to be in the ‘appropriate’ frame of mind to write. I need to be in those situations myself. Therefore when I am writing a story, there are days when I am not in the ‘appropriate’ mood that the work demands, and I do not write a word.

What I always hear from my readers is that they can visualize the scenes, and relate to the characters. And now you know why.

6. When did you decide to become a writer and did somebody encourage you?

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. I have never really written for a purpose – it is just something I love to do. In my early childhood, I would spend hours writing, as well as making illustrations for my own stories. A number of my poems were published in children’s magazines back in the day. I continued to write through my teenage and later in college.

I kept writing in office magazines for a couple of years, but the demands of my career as an Information Technology professional and my travels across the world soon left me with very little time and creative energy to write fiction. I churned out technical whitepapers and non-fictional articles that got published in business and technology journals of repute.

However, as I travelled across the world, I grew as a person getting to observe people from widely varying cultural backgrounds and to study their emotions, their thoughts, their behaviour from various perspectives. And stories began to grow all over again.

Also, writing began to evolve into a cathartic experience for me. It began to help me give vent to my emotions and to create stories out of them in the process.

7. Which books you have read are your favourite ones?

I like the work of Sylvia Day in the genre of Erotica. I am also a big fan of Jackie Collins, and Nick Carter. And yes, I love going back to my collection of Nancy Friday.

8. If 'Trails of Sin' would be made into a film, which actor would you like to play the main characters?

I would love to see Bradley Cooper in the role of the smooth talking, sex-crazy corporate honcho Andrew Smith. As for the girls, without giving away details of their characters as that would be a spoiler, I think Eva Mendes, and Scarlett Johansson would form a great cast!

9. What is your life like outside of writing?

I spend a lot of time in my day job in meetings with my clients, business associates and globally distributed teams starting early in the day and stretching till late. In between, I write, blog, or catch up with my friends on social media. I make sure I read everyday, and I relax on my way to work and back by listening to music.

It is extremely important for me to be in the ‘appropriate’ frame of mind to write. I need to be in those situations myself. Therefore when I am writing a story, there are days when I am not in the ‘appropriate’ mood that the story demands, and I do not write a word.

10. What is your favourite food?

I like Indian cuisine. Next would be Italian, closely followed by Thai. I also love picking up something from a Lebanese store for snacking.

11 .What makes you laugh, what makes you sad?

I find happiness in the small joys life has to offer. I love spending time with my family. It’s wonderful to see my son growing up.

When I look around, I see far too much intolerance, and that makes me upset. We discriminate by gender, by race, by colour of our skin and even by our sexual preferences. That makes me sad. Also, cruelty to animals is something I cannot tolerate.

12. If you could invite a famous writer for dinner, who would you chose?

Jeffrey Archer, any day! He is an institution in storytelling.

13. Are you currently working on another book? What are your projects for the nearer future?

I am currently writing short stories for a collection I plan to release very soon. So, keep watching this space for more!

#inteview #writer #author #newbooks