Dr. Avi Datta - Head-spinning, Time-bending Sci-fi/romance Epic

Dr. Avi Datta - Head-spinning, Time-bending Sci-fi/romance Epic
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Dr. Avi Datta is an award-winning author of the genre-bending sci-fi series, The Time Corrector. The Winding (Global Book Awards Gold Medalist, Reader’s Favorite top five SciFi-Time Travel Fiction and 5* Rating) is his first novel in the series, and The Movement is his second installment. He is a Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at Illinois State University. He is also affiliated with Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, Japan. He is an accomplished scholar in Radical Innovation, Management of Innovation, Technology Strategy, and Strategic Entrepreneurship. He is a writer, an avid painter, a watch collector, and a coffee enthusiast who enjoys classic rock and western classical music outside his day job. As our Author of the Day, he tells us all about his book, The Movement.

Please give us a short introduction to what The Movement is about.

The Movement opens dramatically in April 2027 as Vincent Abajian agonizes over possibly lacking sufficient time to save a woman with catastrophic injuries from the villain, Vandal. The story shifts backward in time to September 2026 and the situation of Emika Amari, Vincent’s former lover, following the dramatic conclusion of The Winding.

Once again, it’s a non-linear story, starting three days before the ending. Unlike the Winding, I have used multiple PoVs, and in one instance, I have recapped one entire incidence from two PoVs.

What inspired you to write this story? Was there anything in particular that made you want to tackle this?

I left The Winding on a cliffhanger, plus I still believe I have an alternate reality, and it is somewhere in Japan. In fact, I stayed in Japan for three months while writing this. I spoke with Japanese men and women to understand their nuances. It was essential to scrutinize the characters and challenges of Akane, who has to deal with problems of biracial identity and being a woman. (BTW—I went to Japan on an academic assignment)

I believe I know Akane from a different reality, and she exists in this one. Hope this book reaches her.

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Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

I am a Professor of Strategy, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation—that’s my day job. So, I do a lot of research. I have been painting since I was three years old. And I have synesthesia.

Tell us more about Vincent. What makes him tick?

In The Winding, I showed him as a profoundly emotional Intelligence. But steering away from the perfect protagonist, I repeatedly showed his dark side, his elitism, and sometimes his lack of empathy. I add more here. I show him making an orphanage for war-torn kids, and I expose the deeper nuances of his characters by showing how he interacts with them.

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This is book 2 of a Trilogy. Can it be read as a standalone?

I have included footnotes. So yes, it can be read as a standalone.

Interesting cover. Please tell us more about how it came about.

I did the wireframing of the cover. In Kyoto, two places inspired me to do so—Kiyo Mizu-dera and Fushimi Inari Taisha. The girl in the picture is Akane. The clock above her shows the Time-core. I took a lot of photographs of kimonos and discovered that a handmade chiso-kimono would befit someone of her taste and wealth. So I picked that texture.

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Readers say the near-futuristic details in this story are very realistic. How did you pull this off?

Imagination and research on Patent filings.

What fascinates you about sci-fi and the concept of time travel?

I don’t believe time is linear, and the past comes before the present. Also, I believe that memories of alternate realities and different timelines are somewhat coded in us. But we cannot fully access or interpret that. I have tackled this with a multi-layered story where an incident in 2027 affected everything around the 1970s.

What is the first thing you do when starting a new book?

I try to start in an obscure place that has no relation to how the previous book ended.

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My desk as I finished my draft one of The Reset (book 3 of the series)

What are you working on right now?

I finished the first draft of the final installment of the Time Corrector Series. I typically edit a book 10-15 times before handing it to editors.

Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?

There are numerous ways.

They can write to me through https://avi-datta.com/contact/ Join my mailing list at https://avi-datta.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avimanyu.datta/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/avimanyu_datta Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoravidatta

Do you have any interesting writing habits? What is an average writing day like for you?

I need my double-shot espresso before I start writing. It requires four bars of pre-infusion for 4-7 seconds, followed by 9 bars of extraction for 25-30 seconds. And I need my playlist (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4fHPIYv9cGeUmpDpDAxCMc). Throughout the day, I drink tea—Darjeeling first flushes Darjeeling second flush, Uji Matcha, Houji cha, etc.

My typical day is teaching, running the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at my University, writing research papers, reviewing grants and research papers, and playing with my dog. And when I get the time, I write novels. I try to steer away from time-sucking committees and meetings.

The Movement
Avi Datta

The Movement opens dramatically in April 2027 as Vincent Abajian agonizes over possibly lacking sufficient time to save a woman with catastrophic injuries from the villain, Vandal. The story shifts backward in time to September 2026 and the situation of Emika Amari, Vincent’s former lover, following the dramatic conclusion of The Winding.

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