JK Rowling's Silkworm is a favourite: Kulpreet Yadav

Combining smooth fiction-writing with all that he learnt in his 20-year-old career of overseeing naval operations in various capacities, including commanding three ships, is Kulpreet Yadav. His latest fiction novel on piracy, The Girl Who Loved A Pirate, is his second claim to fame, the first being thriller novel Catching the Departed, which was shortlisted in 'Hunt for the Next Bestseller' 2014 by Hachette-DNA.

What are your three all-time favourite books?
The Bankster by Ravi Subramanian. Having lived in Mumbai for seven years, I completely relate to the contemporary Indian setting and conflict in the lives of the characters. Then, Robert Galbraith's aka JK Rowling's The Silkworm for the fascinating Cormoran Strike, an ex-military guy with an injured leg who solves crimes against the backdrop of the politics and biases of the modern-day publishing world; something I undergo while dealing with literary agents. The Affair by Lee Child for the reporter Jack Reacher, another unique and relational character, who travels with just a toothpaste and has a beautiful romance with a policewoman.

Which writer influences you the most?
Ravi Subramanian. His stories are an intoxicating cocktail with a strong plot, high entertainment and intriguing financial frauds.

If you could ask just one question to a writer, what would it be?
I'd like to know much time does one spend on creating a character? Do they really live the life of the character, and how much control do they exercise over their mannerisms and innate personality?

If you were a fictional character, who would you be and why?
Andy Karan, the hero of my novel. I took the term 'Karan' from the Mahabharata, to symbolise how birth shapes one's destiny. All of us are Karans at the end of the day, but like Andy Karan, we must try and work against this mindset.

Given the choice what would you prefer to be: a commercial success or a literary success?
Let's be honest. Literary fiction novels do not sell. I know this because I run Open Road Review, an online literary magazine with a four-member team, 130 freelancers and three million readership globally. Also, I do not have a literary background, because of which the publishing world will not take me seriously. However, these two categories have converged to form a third category, literary thriller like a Gone Girl, and that is something I want to pursue.

Do you follow a particular routine while writing?
After an energising morning walk, I write religiously between 8am-2pm everyday. While writing a book, I first compile a 2,000-word synopsis. Then, I create a storyboard with a page-long synopsis for each chapter. These I fatten up with micro sub-plots or "mini cliffhangers", which lead to many departures that make it difficult to write at a stretch.

What inspired you to write your latest book?
The fact that women can change all kinds of men. Also, as an ex-mariner involved in anti-piracy and search-and-rescue operations in the Indian waters, I know this subject (piracy) like the back of my hand.