About Sheeraz Shah
Sheeraz refers himself to as a “Delhi boy” and his close friends refer to him as an “intense storyteller”, schooled in DPS , graduated from University of Delhi and a Masters degree from Hult International Business School, he has worked in the sprawling Tea gardens in the mesmerizing Munnar in Kerala followed by two decades in the Middle East. He puts his successful life-threatening Iraq business trip at the height of terrorism as a satisfying and heartfelt achievement.
He refers to Delhi as the ” food capital of India” and believes every story should have a dash of spice, salt, oil, and history just as the food spread in Delhi, this is his maiden attempt to write a fictional book, and he intends to write many more.
LiFT: Tell us about your book, the journey of writing it and its content.
Sheeraz Shah: Papa’s Coffee Machine is a book I wrote based on an actual incident that happened last year involving my father and my two kids, I felt very strongly about it and decided to write a novel that took me three months to write, it’s about an old retired man in his late 70’s who through his grandchildren discovers a purpose of life with Coffee being a catalyst and rekindles his relationships with his family, friends and society at large.
LiFT: Why you chose this title?
Sheeraz Shah: It is directly related to the central character’s fondness for Coffee which happens because of his connection with his grandchildren which ultimately leads him to visit coffee place in Delhi, trying to make a perfect cup of Coffee and finally he buys a Coffee machine and invites his entire family to have a cup of coffee with him on new year’s eve, the Coffee machine serves a symbolic link to him finding a purpose in life and mending his relationships with his family.
LiFT: When did you realize that you want to be a writer and what’s your inspiration behind it?
Sheeraz Shah: I have published short stories and newspaper articles before, I have many stories to tell the world but due to professional commitments, I could never find time till my wife motivated me to write this particular story in a 3-month timeline which I took as a challenge and completed it.
LiFT: Where do you see yourself ten years down the line in the world of literature?
Sheeraz Shah: This is my first novel and I intend to write many more, I wish to see myself as an established Author in the genre of fiction novel writing with many interesting stories to tell.
LiFT: How much do you think marketing or quality of a book is necessary to promote a particular book and increase its readers?
Sheeraz Shah: Marketing is the ‘name of the game’, no matter how good your novel is, until it is not promoted well, it will never see the light of the day and reach its target audience.
LiFT: What is the message you want to spread among folks with your writings?
Sheeraz Shah: Every story should enrich society and influence people positively, every novel of mine should deliver an important message that stands the test of time and should inspire future generations as well.
LiFT: What do you do apart from writing?
Sheeraz Shah: Marketing Strategist and general management in FMCG space.
LiFT: What are the activities you resort to when you face a writer’s block?
Sheeraz Shah: The whole jing bang of social media tools.
LiFT: What if your story will be adopted as a movie? Whom would you want to work as a director or actors in it?
Sheeraz Shah: Imtiyaz Ali, Shimit Amin, Vishal Bhardwaj, Ram Madhvani, Zoya Akhtar, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury.
LiFT: Are you working on your next book? If yes, please tell us something about it.
Sheeraz Shah: Yes, I’m already writing my second book. It’s about a father who dies in mysterious circumstances leaving behind a strange will for his family.
LiFT: What are your suggestions to the budding writers/poets so that they could improve their writing skills?
Sheeraz Shah: Please write books in simple English so that maximum people can read them, when I was in school, I happened to meet Khishwant Singh who told me “It is very easy to write in difficult English but it is very difficult to write in simple English”. So simplification is sophistication.
Click here to order Sheeraz Shah’s Book – Papa’s Coffee Machine
