Sqn Ldr Manu Sharma is currently serving as an Indian Air Force Officer. Her qualifications include M. Tech. (QM), M.A. (English), P.G. Diploma (AE) and B. Tech. (ECE). She has been interested in science fiction since childhood, and this interest fused with her passion for writing, which led her to bring out her book based on telekinesis. She has recently come out with the book Mr. In-Sane ...Who Moved Things With Mind.

I chat with her about her book Mr. In-Sane ...Who Moved Things With Mind, how the book came to be, book recommendations, and much more.

Hello! Tell us a bit about yourself!

I am Sqn Ldr Manu Sharma, currently serving as an Indian Air Force officer. I had a keen interest in writing since childhood and even manifested the same through other books written by me in the education domain. I am also a CBSE merit holder for achieving 98% score in English subject in intermediate.

While growing up, I had unwittingly developed an interest in science fiction as I was influenced by some of the famous science fiction works. This interest fused with my passion for writing, and led me to bring out this book based on telekinesis.

If you could only describe your book Mr. In-Sane ...Who Moved Things With Mind in one sentence, what would it be?

Readers would delve into a telekinetic boy’s life through this book.

Now tell us a little more about the book! What can readers expect?

It’s a story about a teenager named Karan Desai. For most part of his life, he was forlorn and his family also acted as a mere acquaintance to him. Karan’s impassive behaviour towards society and his inability to face the world boldly led him to be tagged as a lost and mad being. He was thus nick-named by society as ‘MR. INSANE’.

Being subjected to such an inimical life, he decided one night to end his ‘lifeless’ life. Gradually, a headache developed that grew even more severe with every passing moment. While his actions of killing himself could not complete, his tiresome body ultimately led him to fall into a peaceful sleep.

He woke up the next morning which surprised him with unusual gifts. Initially, he was perplexed to notice the bizarre things happening around, like a vase suspended in air for a fraction of seconds and dropped just an inch from his feet. Frequency of such magical instances increased with time until he realised that he was the cause.

Who was he? Was this supernatural? Or was that an extension of the theory of telekinesis? The same can be explored in the book that how ‘MR. INSANE’ turns to MR. “IN-SANE”.

The readers can expect relatable moments from their school lives and teenage years. Also, while reading, they can expect the unexpected turn of events in the protagonist’s i.e. Karan’s life. What I mean to say is that there are a lot of greys, not just blacks and whites that the readers might enjoy.

What was the moment when the idea of the book first came to be? What made you pursue it?

There was a competition held for newbie authors/novelists back in 2013.  I decided to give it a shot. That was the moment when I decided to materialise my thoughts into writing. It was then that I was struck with the idea to write something in the genre of science fiction. I had submitted my entry then and it appeared in top 10 but I did not publish it. It was in this year that I decided to finally get it published with a few amendments.

Please describe your character Karan Desai to readers who might not yet be familiar with who he is and what he’s dealing with?

Karan Desai is a manifestation of a character with very low self-esteem and low confidence. He is extremely introvert and gullible and showcases very little self-defence when he faces any odds. The people around him try to overpower and humiliate him as they regard him as a weakling. Surrounded by such humiliations, he decides one night to end his life. But he is unable to do so and eventually finds out that he has developed some superpower to control things with his brain.

Is there a scene, element, or character you really enjoyed creating and writing?

I particularly enjoyed writing the scene when Karan’s cold family finds out about his superpower. All members experience Karan’s powers individually and eventually change their behaviour towards Karan.

How have you been coping with the current pandemic and what will be the new normal for you post it?

The pandemic has changed everyone’s life, lifestyle and way of thinking. The unimaginable had happened but somehow, we are still coping with it. Being a part of Armed forces, I was working throughout the lockdown with utmost care and safety precautions. 

The new normal shall include the incorporation in our lives of all the lessons that we have learnt during the pandemic. For instance, most of the activities today can be carried out online rather than doing things physically, which saves time and effort as well.

Lastly, are you currently reading anything and do you have any book recommendations for our readers?

Currently, I am not reading anything as such. But I am planning to work on adding further to my novel’s story, and publish it in the form of the next part of the book.

The book ‘Mr. In-Sane ...Who Moved Things With Mind’ is available online and at your nearest bookstore.