Howard Roark is a graduate engineer who started out working for a multinational firm as a Network Engineer, a very brief stint, after which he joined a software company to work on products in the Artificial Intelligence / Neural Networks domain and later on in the Finance domain, for about 12 years. And, since 2010, he's been working for Cisco Systems in Chennai, for their products in the Digital Video Broadcasting domain. It's been a career of many a learning, joyous times, moments of achievement, all combined to give him a thoroughly satisfying 15 years of experience.
His interests include psychology, philosophy, spirituality, reading, writing, conversations and of course, Ayn Rand's books. He's a qualified hypnotherapist from the California Hypnosis Institute of India. He restricts himself to offering therapeutic help to his near and dear.
Welcome Howard on board!
Your
real name and pen name?
I’d like to known
as my pen name, Howard Roark, to my readers as that’s how I identify
the writing dimension of mine.
Please
share some of the best memories of your childhood
Playing cricket
with friends, doing homework together, stealing raw limes from neighbour’s
tree.
About your
education
A graduate engineer
from Madras University in Electronics and Communication. And, currently
pursuing an M.Sc. in Psychology.
What
career did you plan during your education days
Bus driver.
What
languages you can speak and write?
Speak & Write:
Tamil, Hindi, English
What is
your biggest source of inspiration in life
The doers of the
world, who do regardless of the results and who do because they have something
to give.
What
hurts you most in this world
Apathy and
intolerance to differences.
What is
the biggest challenge you have faced? How did you overcome it?
Stage fear;
Overcame it by facing it head-on and shoving myself on the stage several times,
to the extent of loving the flutter of butterflies in my stomach.
If you
had to live a day of your life as one of the living or dead personality, who
would it be and why?
I’d like to live a
day in the life of Ferdinand Alexander Porsche to understand how his mind
worked.
What is
your favorite genre and why?
Humour, because I
like to loosen up and laugh
When
did you start writing? What is
the purpose of your writing?
We had two dogs,
Caesar and Lizzy, which we had to give away much to our displeasure due to
coercing circumstances, on account of which I garnered deep hurt and guilt. In
order to let go of the negative feelings, I wrote a short story in which I
expressed the guilt and hurt but twisted the end to comfort myself. From then
on, I have been writing to express/vent my emotions.
Which
of your work has been published so far? Would you like to share a synopsis
of your work?
My first novel,
“Newton’s law reversed”, taglined: “Conflict: Some evade, some efface, while
most embrace”.
Synopsis:
On a trip to meet
an ailing relative in Gangaikondacholapuram, Akash is introduced to conflict
when a simple village girl, Ganga, trespasses his thoughts. His mind fails to
elude Ganga and, being overwhelmed by the new found emotion, his attempts to
free himself of his battles only grip him tighter. As his mind flits between
Ganga and Ganesan, another tormented soul, Akash's only reprieve could have
been a banter with his father, when unexpectedly he hears the news of his
father's expiry. Little did he know that his father's demise and the ensuing
trip to the village would alter his cynical view of the world. In this journey
from boyhood to manhood, Akash derives profound meaning through his
retrospective deliberations on his dead father’s words.
What
are your forthcoming writings?
I’m working on a
collection of short stories, 5 of mine and 5 each from two of my friends. And,
working on my second novel which is still in the concept stage.
What
are your future plans?
I’d like to keep
writing, mostly fiction, as many as I can.
What
four top most things you take care of while writing a book?
Proper grammar,
Ease of reading, Punch and Crispness
Your
dream destination on Earth?
Bali
Your
origin of birth and other countries you have visited/ stayed. What best things
you liked in these countries around the globe?
Indian by birth.
Visited Thailand. The thing I liked most about Thailand is the people. There’s
order, friendliness and straightforwardness.
Your
favorite time of the day?
The night
intoxicates me.
Your zodiac/
sunsign?
Leo
Your
favorite color and why?
Black, the colour
of the night resonates with me.
Your
favorite book and why?
The fountainhead,
by Ayn Rand, because it opened my eyes to the virtues of selfishness.
Your
favorite celebrity and why?
A.R. Rahman for his
talents and humility
Your favorite food?
Rice/eggs in any
form.
Some
quickies: Sun or Moon, Laughter or Smile, Morning or Evening, Coffee or Tea,
Mountain or Sea, Long Drive or Short Drive, Silence or Conversation, Water or
Fire, Air or Earth, Mars or Jupiter, Moon or Sun, Tulip or Rose, Red or Blue,
Left or Right, Glance or Stare
Sun for being the
giver
Laughter for being
contagious
Evening for being
relaxing
Neither, whiskey
rather
Both, mountain in
the early mornings, sea by the evenings
Long drives with
good company
Silence when am
alone; Conversation when with good company
Water
Earth
Mars or Jupiter,
doesn’t make a difference
Sun. Is this a
trick question?
Tulip or Rose,
doesn’t make a difference
Red for the
expression
Right
Glance should be
enough
What
three words come to your mind for each – Technology, Life, God, Humanity,
Terrorism, Racism, Childhood Abuse, Love, Parenting, Old age
Technology –
Necessity, Improvement, Luxury
Life – Mystery,
Tempering, Unforgiving
God – Supreme,
Sarcasm, Indifference
Humanity – Mercy,
Unity, Love
Terrorism –
Decadence, Death, Unjustness
Racism –
Intolerance, Rudeness, Injustice
Childhood –
Immaturity, Stumbling, Learning
Abuse – Power,
Cowardice, Crime
Parenting – Burden,
Burden, Burden
Old age – Senility,
Crankiness, Forgetfulness
State
your signature line/ tagline/ best quote
“Communication is
redundant”, one of the pillar statements of NLP.
The
last line of your autobiography would be…
If I could, I would
rewrite most parts of this book.
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