Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Choppiness on High Seas

 

Literary Fiction

Date Published: 11-01-2024

Publisher: Troubador


Born into poverty and hardship in 1930s London, Matthew’s life was one of relentless struggle. One inadvertent act in defence of his mother would haunt his conscience forever.

Matthew’s journey takes him from the poverty of a cold stone granary to the opulence of Mayfair and Kensington Palace Gardens, where he starts a family of his own. Despite working his way to the top of the business world, he remains an outsider to London’s elite. He then realises that same elite has an ugly underbelly. High society was a hot bed of depravity.

Will he correct society’s wrongs? Will the man who never succumbed to expectations be able to challenge his own destiny, or will he simply accept the futility of it all?


 A Chat with the Author

Welcome, Arvind, and thank you for giving us more insight. What inspired you to write this particular story?

I am inspired by the duality of life and the coexistence of good and evil, fortune and misfortune. I wanted to write a rags-to-riches story, which demonstrates that success is not a panacea for our existence. Personally, I was exposed to high finance and business professionally and came across some unexpected traits of ‘high society’.


Are you a plotter or pantser when you write?

Not sure what a ‘pantser’ is, but I am certainly not a plotter. I write, and the story just keeps coming.

That is precisely what we call in English a person who writes by the seat of their pants. I researched and found that in your native French, it is simply called it an improviser writer or writing au feeling. I had the privilege to study and live in Lyon, France in my youth; I love the au feeling expression.


Coffee or Tea?

Both.

Moi aussi, j'aime les deux.


Do you write on laptop or longhand?

Laptop.


What is the question (or questions) you hoped were asked?

Anything but ‘tea or coffee’?

Touché! I had not seen your bio; I see you live in Brussels, then I would have probably asked beer or wine!

Best wishes for the greatest success in all your writing endeavors. 



About the Author


Arvind is French and British with roots in India. He lives and works in Brussels.

Arvind has three adult children, who all live away from Belgium. He reads literary fiction and was motivated to write after reading three key books: The Portrait of Dorian Gray, Thérèse Raquin, 1984 and East of Eden. He is fascinated by the co-existence of good and evil. In his first book, Emma's Equilibrium, he relates the story of an Olympic winner who suffers hurt along the way. Choppiness on High Seas charts the life of Matthew from his ignominious birth to his passing away in peace after having become one of the weathiest persons in the world.

Arvind loves languages and can speak French, Spanish, Dutch, German, Italian, Hindi, Punjabi and Gujarati. He is a stroke survivor and rides, jogs and does yoga.

He is a strong believer in the duality of fortune and misfortune. He is deeply spiritual.

Arvind finds writing challenging and frustrating and editing particularly painful. He, however, believes that writing can be therapeutic and gratifying.


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