Interview with Avi Datta, Author of The Winding

What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write The Winding (Time Corrector Series book 1)?

In 1994, I dreamed of speaking with a girl fluently in Japanese. But this dream seemed like a past life set in the future. I ignored it and dived into the world of Calculus, Statistics, and Quantum Mechanics. When I shut my eyes while listening to my favorite composers—from Chopin to Hans Zimmer, I can picture beautiful scenes of real places where I have never been and never seen on TV. They are almost always in Japan (I don’t know what connection I have with that land).

In 2020, the dream reappeared. And I began to write. That’s the best I can do to touch the fragments of an unlived life (the connection of Vincent with Japan becomes clearer in book 2).

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of The Winding (Time Corrector Series book 1), what would they be?

This is actually an excellent question. I have synesthesia, so I can easily relate. • “Time” from Hans Zimmer’s Inception (Chris Nolan Film) • Liszt’s Consolation No. 3. • Chopin’s Raindrop Prelude (Op. 28, no. 15) • Attack on Titan Appleseed theme.

What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

I mostly read non-fiction for research. Currently, I am reading Musashi’s Book of five rings. This is instrumental in developing Vicent Abajian’s skills in the sequel. I don’t like to confine myself to a genre. I know it’s essential for the market, but it fails to recognize that markets evolve.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

Rereading Brief History of Time (Hawking), Nature of things (Einstein), and watchmaking by George Daniels. All for my research about the second book. For fun, I will read the entire Shigeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan) from cover to cover for the second time.

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

The flashbacks about Akane—especially where she calls Vicent Family. And the scene where she ties her scarf around Vincent. The last three chapters connecting everything together. And especially the final chapter.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

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 25-50 seconds. And I need my playlist.

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

Yes. “It’s far better to die while dreaming than wake up every morning to find my dreams are dead.” This is my own quotation that I used in the book.

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

The structure and content of pain are universal no matter what station one is in their life. Further, the unexplained nuances of Emika’s character get some clarity in the last three chapters. More clarity will come in Book two, which begins with Emika’s POV.

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