WHO ARE THE KINDLE ALL-STARS?
A series of 20+ short interviews with the team behind the Kindle All-Stars short story anthology ‘Resistance Front’ posted daily in the run up to its publication.
Please be sure to check any relevant images and links for each individual at the end of their interview.
Today I’m chatting with Dwaipayan Regmi. Due to the language barrier, certain questions and answers do not appear in order to keep the interview coherent. I would rather leave them out than edit what he is saying.
Dwaipayan’s Resistance Front story is “Burden of Innocent Lady”
He has written dozens of articles for papers such as The Rising Nepal, The Kathmandu Post, The Himalayan Times and The Republica.
FS: How did you come to hear about the Kindle All-Stars project?
Dwaipayan: It was Sambidhan Acharya, who told me about the project and encouraged me to take part in it.
FS: Did you write your contribution specifically for the Kindle All-Stars, or was it written prior?
Dwaipayan: Although I write and keep on writing, the story was written for KAS itself, because I had to keep Nepali touch in the story, so that peoples abroad reading abroad could at least decorate the Nepal in their mind.
FS: How do you write? Are you a plotter? Do you fly by the seat of your pants? When do you write, and where? I write at night, at the dining table, when the kids are in bed and the place is finally peaceful and quiet. And I work everything out on paper before I sit down to write. What have you found works best for you?
Dwaipayan: There is no specific time to write as yours, however I first seek for topic to write. Then I try to develop story within mind and finally I sit down to write taking pen and paper. The time could be at two in the morning or late at night or even when I am studying in the class. It is never fixed. I remember writing one of the stories in my Psychology class.
FS: How did you find the editing process with Bernard? I found it to be like a smack in the mouth and a pat on the head at the same time, saying “I like this” at one point, to a specific sentence, and then “You need to stay in Active Voice!” the next. I learned a lot, and I think I have a much stronger piece of writing now than I did when I submitted it. What was your personal experience?
Dwaipayan: My Nepalese influence of English writing was totally different from that of US English, however Bernard helped me a lot. I must thank him for never getting irritated over my writing.
FS: We know that there will be a KAS 2 at some point. Plans are already afoot. Is there a dream name you’d like to see involved in it the next time around? Me personally, getting published in a book that includes a story by Alan Dean Foster is one of those “Wouldn’t it be great if one day…” things that I can now tick off of the list.
Dwaipayan: Paul Cohelo is the name I must take.
FS: Are you working on anything now? Anything you’d like everyone to know about?
Dwaipayan: I am with my blog. I try to update them regularly. And I am writing for National newspapers of Nepal, plus I am now planning to try for some international ones as well. Let’s see…
FS: And to your readers – both potential and existing – is there anything you would like to say? They might be reading this months after Resistance Front has landed, wanting to know more about you. What would you like to say to them?
Dwaipayan: I seriously don’t think I have got much readers of mine, but if anyone reads my story…just thank you…and you can write to me at dwaipayan.regmi@gmail.com
FS: Thats it! Time’s up! Hopefully we’ll the chance for a much more in-depth chat at some point in the near future when KAS is out on sale!
Tony Healey 
Congratulations, Dwaipayan — it’s so great to be able to read fiction from other countries and cultures. Being able to be introduced to new voices is one of the best things about this project.