Interview

1. How did you come up with the title?
That's actually quite a story unto itself. It was harder for me to actually find the correct title than it was to write the novel! I struggled long and hard with this. If I told you some of the past titles that I thought about using, you probably wouldn't believe me. But to answer the question, earlier this year I was laying in bed one night, high up in the Himalayas on my way to India's highest mountain peak. I couldn't sleep because I still couldn't "feel" the right title. Then it suddenly hit me that "Lifting The Wheel Of Karma" was just perfect. My story is about karma, it's about the wheel of life, and it's about the need to take action, both physically and metaphorically, to change a great deal, and so that gave me the image of lifting, so then the title just fell into place.

2. Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

There are actually several messages in my novel, but if I have to pick one or distill it down to one concept, it's that we should all take care of each other as best we can.

3. How much of the book is realistic?

There is certainly some element of fantasy in my novel for the western mind to grasp, but a billion Hindus would probably argue that there is absolutely nothing "fantastic" about my story at all. Most of my novel is quite realistic, just in an extraordinary way.

4. If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your book?
If I could change one thing about my novel, it would be that it was much easier to write! Just kidding. There is nothing I would change.

5. What was the hardest part of writing your book?
The hardest part about writing my novel was taking what could easily have grown into thousands of pages -my novel encompasses multiple cultures, continents, and decades- and keep it to pithy provocative prose that would read quickly and easily.

6. Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
I learned a tremendous amount writing my novel. Probably the most poignant element was to never give up. Giving up is the only way you can lose in Life.

7. Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
My interest in writing, honestly, goes back as far as I can remember, but certainly it became a significant life interest/pursuit in high school, when the concept of creating something that didn't exist before simply struck me as amazing.

8. Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
My favorite author is Theodore Dreiser, who wrote AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY, which was made into the moving, "A Place In The Sun" starring Elizabeth Taylor. I love that book because it conveys the inner pain of wanting something with every fiber of your being. I also love it because it single-handedly taught me just about every single vocabulary word I needed for taking the SATs.

9. Tell us your latest news.
I just published my novel a few weeks ago and have already gotten a tremendous response from readers and reviewers. People from around the world -New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, South Korea, The Philippines, and Belgium are connecting with and resonating with my story of healing and redemption, and that's just about the most amazing feeling in the world for me.