Join the conversation on Outlook Bibliofile as they delve into an insightful discussion with author Prabhav Bhagat about his debut book 'Where Satan Rules'. Explore the themes, inspiration, and captivating storytelling behind this thought-provoking work that takes readers on a compelling journey through the realms of darkness and redemption.
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00:00 So all that research you did on the internet, but when it came down to actual writing, how did you do that?
00:07 You used the pen and the paper, the traditional way of writing or you chose the laptop as your weapon?
00:14 Yeah, the pen and the paper.
00:15 The pen and the paper. Why that?
00:18 Most youngsters nowadays, they basically use laptops and mobile phones. Why do you do that?
00:25 I did try using a laptop, but most of the times instead of writing, I was just playing games on it.
00:33 So my mother would actually come over to see what I was doing and then I would quickly just shut that window.
00:40 My brother was actually the only person who realised what I was doing.
00:44 Why?
00:45 Because he does that as well.
00:47 Oh, okay. I think most of us do that.
00:49 Hello and welcome to Outlook Bibliophile.
00:58 So today my guest is only 16 years old, but with his new book, Where Satan Rules, he is here to give serious authors a run for their money.
01:07 So let us welcome Prabhav Bhagat on the show.
01:10 Hi Prabhav.
01:11 Hello.
01:12 So firstly, let me give you a description about the book.
01:16 So now this is a book which is about an American teenage boy who goes on this adventure.
01:22 It is a fantasy novel and he goes on to unravel the secret mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle.
01:30 So it is a fantastic read. Prabhav, congratulations for that.
01:33 So the first question that came to my mind was that you are just 16 and you have come up with this book.
01:38 How does it make you feel?
01:40 I feel pretty excited about it actually.
01:43 It is quite an accomplishment. I believe it to be quite an accomplishment.
01:48 And I am pretty nervous about it, about how, where it will be received.
01:55 Alright. So this is the first book and I am sure Bloomsbury is publishing it. How did that make you feel?
02:01 I was actually pretty thrilled about it because you know I am a huge fan of Harry Potter.
02:05 Yeah, of course.
02:06 So Bloomsbury was actually my first choice.
02:09 I did send it to other publishers but when Bloomsbury accepted it, I went with them.
02:14 Rejections which you faced initially, did that put your morale down or did you feel like,
02:19 "Oh, my book isn't good enough." Any of those feelings, could you take us through that?
02:22 Not really because first of all, I had already written it.
02:26 There wasn't much I could do about it anymore.
02:28 So it didn't affect me. The rejection didn't really affect me that much.
02:32 And also, they claimed that the reason why they rejected it was because
02:40 the book isn't connected to India that very much.
02:44 It's a fact, it really isn't.
02:46 The protagonist is an American and the main story occurs in the Bermuda Triangle.
02:56 So that was their issue.
03:01 So I didn't really care that much about it.
03:04 So about Bloomsbury, how did that make you feel?
03:07 When did you get to know it?
03:09 How long did it take to respond?
03:12 About half a year.
03:14 Half a year?
03:15 It's quite a long process.
03:17 Take us through that. Tell me about it. What happened?
03:20 First of all, I sent out an email.
03:22 So I believe I got a response after about a month or so.
03:29 That it had crossed the initial stage and they were going to read it once again.
03:39 So I believe I had to send the first three chapters initially
03:43 for them to just get a feel of the novel.
03:47 And then I had to send the rest of it.
03:49 I believe it was also checked for plagiarism.
03:55 Oh, okay.
03:57 They check all novels for plagiarism, I believe.
03:59 They have plagiarism checkers which scan the novel.
04:03 So they have a database of all the novels and then
04:06 they kind of compare it to their database.
04:12 So I'm sure before this novel, any other publications or any other foray into writing that you did
04:20 before this novel actually came up?
04:22 I used to write short stories actually.
04:25 A couple of them were published by the Children's Book Trust magazine, Children's World.
04:31 So you were always writing this book, was always in the plans or it just happened suddenly?
04:37 No, it actually took a long time to write it.
04:41 I wrote it in bits and pieces so it just didn't happen suddenly.
04:46 It was a very long process.
04:48 So I'm sure that since the book is about, largely about the Bermuda Triangle and the
04:54 mysteries behind it.
04:55 So what got you, who attracted you to that Bermuda Triangle and its mysteries that you
05:00 thought that, oh I should write a book about it?
05:03 I believe it's a topic that captures everybody's imagination.
05:07 It's also pretty easy to write about as nobody can even verify whether it's, you know,
05:14 true or not.
05:15 And I doubt anybody is going to actually come up with a theory that properly explains
05:21 what's happening there.
05:23 And one of the first books that I had read was about the Bermuda Triangle also.
05:32 My mother had issued it from the British Council Library.
05:36 It was one of those thin books, you know, with those glossy pages that, so I had read
05:42 that and that contained all the information I needed.
05:45 So that actually got me thinking about the Bermuda Triangle.
05:49 When was this?
05:50 Like when did you actually come across that book?
05:52 How old were you?
05:53 Around 8 or 9.
05:55 8 or 9.
05:56 So that's when you thought that, oh this is an interesting topic and then you researched
06:01 about it?
06:02 No, I was actually a bit too young to research about it properly then.
06:06 So when did you actually think that, oh I should, you know, spin a tale around Bermuda
06:12 Triangle?
06:13 A few years later I believe, around when I was 10 or 11.
06:18 So at that stage did you think about it as just a story that you're writing or you did
06:23 conceptualize it as a novel?
06:25 No, I did visualize it as a novel.
06:28 Really?
06:29 Yeah.
06:30 So, like as you said in your, lately that the book was, it was easy to write about Bermuda
06:36 Triangle but I believe that it was quite difficult because most of it, I mean around 80% of the
06:42 book was like based on imagination.
06:44 So are you blessed with an imaginative mind?
06:46 Would you say so?
06:48 I don't know really.
06:51 So how did those, like for instance when I was reading it, I got reminded of a lot of
06:58 hints of, you know, Alice in Wonderland, some sort of Aragon, I don't know whether you've
07:02 read Aragon or not, Christopher Paolini, have you?
07:05 No.
07:06 So Aragon and then a lot of Robinson Crusoe also came up, you know.
07:10 Yeah, that's because, you know, all these novels feature shipwreck and all that.
07:14 So were you aware of these, have you read these novels before this?
07:17 Yeah, of course I've read Alice in Wonderland, though I really don't feel it's connected
07:22 to it.
07:23 Of course it's not connected to it but it had a little bit of hints of it.
07:27 So that's like a compliment basically.
07:30 So your work is inspired by those novels, would you say?
07:36 Not by Alice in Wonderland surely but by a few other novels maybe.
07:41 So you're fond of reading, is that?
07:43 Yes, definitely.
07:44 Which books do you read?
07:46 I've read several.
07:48 It's hard to name any one of them.
07:53 My favourite authors would probably be Jonathan Stroud.
07:57 Have you heard of Jonathan Stroud?
07:59 Tell me about him.
08:00 He's actually written a series called Lockhart and Co.
08:04 So that is about an alternate reality in which London is, in which the entire England, the
08:14 entire world is actually infested by ghosts and in the United Kingdom it's actually a
08:24 plague.
08:25 So there are certain agents who are trying to fight this plague and to end it.
08:30 It's actually about that.
08:31 Okay, so that book fascinated you a lot?
08:34 I like it a lot.
08:35 So is this genre of science fiction and supernatural, fantasy novels, is that some genre which you
08:43 feel connected to or you feel more inclined towards?
08:48 Probably because most of the books I read are of that genre only.
08:53 I never really thought about it actually.
08:56 Probably, yeah.
08:58 Okay.
08:59 So, and apart, for instance, coming to the book, where did the title come from, Where
09:05 Satan Rules?
09:06 At the end of the book, the protagonist actually says that God's will presides even there where
09:14 Satan rules.
09:15 So I've just deleted the first outline and used the rest.
09:21 And I also found that there were a lot of theological references in the book, right,
09:26 from Greek mythology to biblical references.
09:30 You're interested in theology?
09:33 Could you tell me about it a little bit?
09:38 How did Greek mythology, I mean, when did you start researching?
09:42 Because not many youngsters, I think, would be interested in Greek mythology, for instance,
09:47 it's very, very complex.
09:49 No, Greek mythology, most of the people of my age, most of the kids of my age would be
09:53 very interested in because of Percy Jackson.
09:56 Oh, because of Percy, okay.
09:58 So you read Percy Jackson?
10:00 I read when I was around 10 or 11.
10:04 I liked it at that time, I don't like it that much now.
10:07 I've grown over it.
10:09 So which are the books that you're reading nowadays?
10:12 The most recent book I read was probably The Three-Body Problem by Jigsen Liu and The Dark
10:20 Falls, which is its sequel.
10:22 Okay, tell me about Greek mythology.
10:24 How did you research about the book?
10:27 Most of the facts that I use in the book come from the internet.
10:31 That's the most easily available source of information.
10:35 So most of them come from there.
10:38 I used a...
10:40 Most of the names are actually from there only.
10:44 There's an Amazon in the book.
10:47 So her name also I had to research.
10:50 The name actually means...
10:53 Ptolema actually means goddess of war, I believe.
10:55 She's some goddess of war.
10:57 So all that research you did on the internet, but when it came down to actual writing, how
11:03 did you do that?
11:05 You used the pen and the paper, the traditional way of writing, or you chose the laptop as
11:11 your weapon?
11:12 Yeah, the pen and the paper.
11:14 The pen and the paper.
11:15 Why that?
11:16 Most youngsters nowadays, they basically use laptops and mobile phones.
11:22 Why do you do that?
11:24 I did try using a laptop, but most of the times instead of writing, I was just playing
11:30 games on it.
11:31 So my mother would actually come over to see what I was doing, and then I would quickly
11:36 just shut that window.
11:38 My brother was actually the only person who realized what I was doing.
11:42 Because he does that as well.
11:45 Okay.
11:46 I think most of us do that.
11:48 So the other thing which is interesting is that you're obviously in school, and it's
11:54 your, among your prime of the age where you have to study a lot, your board's coming
12:02 up, and your career on one side.
12:04 So how did you think about writing a book and managing your studies all at once?
12:08 How did you do that?
12:09 I had written it a long time ago, when I was in the 8th grade or in the 9th grade.
12:14 So...
12:15 Basically you started on the book when you were in 8th grade?
12:17 Yeah.
12:18 Alright.
12:19 So studies weren't that important at that time.
12:23 So I was, it really wasn't that much, that big a problem.
12:28 Oh, you could easily, you know, juggle between the two.
12:31 Oh, that was, that's nice.
12:33 So while you were writing, as you said, you know, that your mother would come and you
12:37 would be playing games and you would just shut the window.
12:40 So did you take your writing as a work or a job which you had to do, or it was more
12:46 like, it's a hobby where you can actually kill time as well as, you know...
12:53 Probably a hobby.
12:54 Probably a hobby.
12:55 Just something to occupy my mind when I wasn't doing anything else.
12:58 There are a lot of very historical references as well as geographical references, like,
13:04 references as well, like you talk about astronomy, a lot about ships.
13:10 So, tell me about it, are you, your interest in it and how did you get to research about
13:16 all of that?
13:17 I, actually, there's a lot of reference to ships as the protagonist is the son of a sailor
13:24 primarily and also because the Bermuda Triangle being in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean,
13:30 there's only one way to reach it.
13:32 That's what I figured.
13:34 So now once you have this book behind you now, I'm sure, how do your friends react
13:40 to it?
13:41 Do they know about the book?
13:42 Obviously, they must know.
13:43 They do.
13:44 They were aware of it for a long time actually.
13:47 I used to, I sometimes used to write it when I was in school because many a times I didn't
13:56 feel like studying in school and I used it as a way to kill time there also.
14:01 Okay, so you used to write while you were in school as well.
14:05 Cutting classes or writing or you add?
14:07 In the class.
14:08 In the class you used to sit and write.
14:10 Your teachers never noticed that you were doing that?
14:13 One of my teachers did, once.
14:17 Okay.
14:18 So, then tell me about when you used to write, did anybody proofread, like your parents,
14:25 your siblings, did you send them?
14:27 My father did.
14:28 You used to send them drafts?
14:30 I actually used to write a bit of the novel and then papa would get it printed and then
14:36 he used to proofread it.
14:38 Alright.
14:39 Because my handwriting is rather illegible, so one page would have at least 20 corrections.
14:47 How frequently did that exercise take place?
14:50 Several times.
14:52 The whole book must have been corrected at least four times.
14:55 At least four times before you actually sent it to the publishers.
14:59 Alright.
15:00 So, now tell me about the process of writing, like I have never written more than a news
15:06 report.
15:07 So, how did the story evolve?
15:11 How did you think about Mike Carteson and then Alex and you know, their journey?
15:16 Tell me about it.
15:18 Did it come to you initially or while you were writing you thought that okay, I can
15:23 add certain bits and elements to it?
15:25 Yeah, while I was writing I kept on improvising.
15:28 So, I wrote about two or three versions of it and I just kept on editing them till I
15:39 was finally satisfied with what I had written.
15:42 So, apart from any advice that you would like to give to youngsters who would wish to pursue
15:49 a career in writing?
15:51 Wouldn't that be a little presumptuous?
15:55 It would be presumptuous but then you have done a commendable job.
15:58 Didn't you say that you have accomplished something?
16:01 I would say that you have to believe in yourself.
16:04 You have to believe that you can actually do it.
16:07 While I was writing initially I used to wonder whether it would actually get published or
16:12 not and whether I was just wasting my time writing it.
16:16 But at some point I realised that even if it doesn't get published it doesn't matter
16:21 and it would be better if I just finish writing it.
16:26 So, initially it did not come to you that this is something which actually I can go
16:33 ahead and publish it with?
16:35 I was always dubious about it.
16:39 Okay.
16:40 So, any other book that is in line after this or you are going to now enjoy your time in
16:48 the sunshine right now?
16:50 I am thinking of a sequel.
16:52 You are thinking of a sequel to this?
16:54 Alright.
16:55 When would you start working on it?
16:58 Have you already started working on it?
16:59 No, I don't know.
17:01 Tell me about the time when you, what was the first book that you remember reading?
17:06 The first book?
17:10 I don't know.
17:13 Do you mean those little tiny books?
17:16 No, because I remember that when I started reading it was always the cliched Famous Five
17:21 and Percy Bassey Shelley, not Percy Bassey Shelley, basically Famous Five, basically
17:27 Indian Blight and that came to my, my mother used to give it to me.
17:31 So, that's how I took to reading.
17:33 What got you into reading?
17:36 My mother also introduced me to the same novels, you know, like Secret Seven and Five Findouters
17:42 and those sorts of novels but after having read them I moved on to...
17:48 To science fiction stuff which sort of thought that, you thought that this is more interesting.
17:54 Alright.
17:55 So, Prabhav, thank you for joining us and speaking to us and I wish you all the very
18:01 best for this book and the launch and I hope that there are many other books that we'll
18:06 see soon from your side.
18:08 This is Sanya Ashraf signing off from Outlook's BiblioFile and keep watching for more videos.
18:14 Thank you so much.
18:15 [Music]