Subhechcha Ganguly 
L.A. Nolan, a seasoned fiction author, has enchanted readers with his imaginative tales woven into four captivating books and ten short stories featured in various anthologies. Beyond the realms of literature, he indulges in the thrill of motorcycling and finds solace in strumming his guitar while serenading with his melodic voice. With a profound desire to entertain and a deep admiration for the transformative power of storytelling, Nolan’s journey as an author has been driven by his passion for transporting readers into richly crafted worlds.
Could you share insights into your latest release and what inspired its creation?
Answer: Blood & Bombay Black is the sequel to Blood & Brown Sugar that was released in 2022. I didn’t intentionally write Blood & Brown Sugar with a sequel in mind, although I did leave a bit of an ominous ending, it was originally supposed to be a stand alone book. So, Blood & Bombay Black was born from two separate and surprising reasons. First, was the outcry from readers of Blood & Brown Sugar. I wasn’t expecting it, but there was a real call for a part two of the book in the reviews and from people reaching out to me personally. Second, and I suppose the bigger driving force, were a few of the secondary characters from Blood & Brown Sugar wouldnt leave me alone. During the writing of the first book, these characters were getting quite pushy, demanding more focus and time on the page. After its completion, they continued to pester me. Some plot points, lines of dialogue, and great conflict ideas kept popping into my mind, especially when I was trying to work on my next book, A Crate of Rags & Bones. It got so distracting I finally had to concede that these characters needed to be explored at a much deeper level, and they apparently weren’t going to let me forget about them no matter what I did. So I put Crate of Rags & Bones on the back burner, and wrote Blood & Bombay Black. It was a valuable lesson to me as a writer, if those secondary characters are screaming out to you, don’t ignore them. They won’t go away.
Congratulations on winning The Indian Writing Projects Grand Prize! How has this recognition impacted your writing journey?
Answer:It’s an odd profession, fiction writing. It doesn’t seem to matter, for me at least, how many times I’ve been published or how well my work has been received. When I finish a novel or short story, imposter syndrome sets in. While I am writing, I’m the master of my own universe and everything is fine, but as soon as that first draft is complete, self doubt begins to creep up my spine. Is this good enough to fulfil that unwritten writer/reader contract? Will this story inspire, or unsettle, readers? Will they laugh, cry, reflect, ponder? As a storyteller, that’s my truest motivation, above all else, to entertain people. I worry about that. I hear the voices in my head questioning my ability to weave quality fiction. Winning an award as prestigious as The Indian Writing Project goes a long way to silencing those doubts. The recognition provides you with a certain level of confidence. I am a firm believer that in order to produce quality literature, you must write without fear, awards of this nature help calm the nagging questions so you can do exactly that. It was an amazing experience, and I will be forever grateful to the judges and readers of the Indian Writing Project for selecting The Peddler & The Crow as the winner.
One of your short stories is set to be included on the next moon lander, destined to be read by future generations. What emotions or thoughts does this prospect evoke for you?
Answer:That’s a funny story actually. An author I respect very highly, Sonia Rao, reached out to me and asked if I would like to contribute to an anthology she was putting together,
Chandrayarn – Wrimo India’s Spin to the Moon. I remember thinking at the time the title was a little strange, but didn’t have time to think about it as the deadline was in twenty-four hours. I rolled up my sleeves and wrote Sabbat Of The Kali Daayan and submitted it the next day. The story was accepted for the anthology, and basically I forgot about it. It takes time for these anthologies to be edited, formatted then released, so I just continued on with whatever I was working on. To my surprise, it was released quite quickly, and it wasn’t until the book was actually out that I learned it was to be included on a moon lander and left in a time capsule for future generations to read. I was thrilled to say the least and all of a sudden the anthology’s title made complete sense. It wasn’t until then I started to question my choice of story. It’s a gothic horror concerning witches and I became concerned that if it was ever picked up by aliens, it may give them a pretty grim perspective of the human race! It’s hard enough writing for people, but aliens? That puts a whole new level of pressure on you as a writer. I pray I represented us well!
How do your hobbies, such as motorcycling and music, influence your writing process or inspire your storytelling?
Answer:A little bit of my personal interests always bleed through into my fiction. It can’t be avoided really. A lot of my characters ride motorcycles, or play guitar and sing. The Blood & series are crime thrillers that centre around a motorcycle club for example. So the physical experiences are always good to draw on, they lend realism to your prose and inspire you to some degree. But I think more important than that, is as a writer, everything you do should be viewed with a writers eye. Savour every experience, catalogue every emotion, immerse yourself deeply in every conversation and store it all away for use later.
What advice would you offer to aspiring authors who wish to embark on a similar journey of crafting compelling narratives?
Answer:Most importantly, write without fear. Don’t worry about how your story will be received, don’t target an audience, don’t question your passion or stress about what people will think about it. Stay true to your tale and write it. Second most important, finish the story. You will never know if writing is for you if you don’t. So put everything else aside, believe in yourself and write. We all go through moments of self doubt, but don’t let them deter you, because the facts are simple, until you have written a novel or story, you won’t know if you are any good at it. And one last word of advice, first drafts are never any good, for any of us. So don’t be discouraged. You have lots of time to polish and fix what you wrote after your first draft is complete. So, just…get…it…done.
Looking ahead, what can readers anticipate from your future literary endeavours?
Answer:A Booker Prize I hope! But seriously, I do have several projects on the go at the moment. A historical thriller I hope to get out this year is on top of the pile. It’s being looked at by some publishing houses now. I have a dystopian thriller that is in its first round of edits and there’s the first draft of a good old fashioned gothic horror novel that I’ve just completed. On the short story front, I have four out right now that should be published in various anthologies this year or early next. The wheels never stop turning for me, so over the next few months I’ll be editing more than writing. But the short stories never stop as well, so they will pop up in between novels. You can always keep tabs on what I am up to on my social media handles at @sir_wotdsmith.
