WriterStory Interviews of Writers
Greenstone completed his B.Sc and then MBA. He is currently working with IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company Ltd as Senior Manager – Learning & Development. Let us know more about his writing.
What inspired you to start writing?
After about 15yrs of observing people around me, I realized that not a single person reflected the characteristics of ONE zodiac sign. Everyone was a combination of two or more zodiac signs. I wanted to bust this age-old myth. Strangely no one had written a book on it and I thought why not?
What did you like to read when you were a boy?
I loved everything that was mystical. I used to read anything that would reveal the deepest secrets of the universe, from astronomy, psychology to spirituality.
What is the greatest challenge in writing a book?
If I talk about me, it was all about finding time from your regular work. I started writing during my long tours and weekends. Managing your family and work commitments and then squeezing in that time for writing was the biggest challenge.
How much research do you do before writing the book?
I have done almost 20yrs of research for my book, though I wouldn’t recommend the same to others. Every person I met and got to know was my research material. Every historical, mythical character to a modern day celebrity was a subject of research for my book.
What motivated you to write the book “What is Your True Zodiac Sign?”
Whenever I had told people about their TRUE zodiac combination and explained their characteristics they were baffled. Even some of the sports people whom I interact with (I write a weekly column on Sports predictions, ‘OCTOZONE’ for DNA) like Lalit Modi, Ravichandran Ashwin, Abhinav Bindra had said that they exactly identified with the traits I explained and that it differed from the Sun Sign that they originally identified with. Also the fact that there is no other book in this genre motivated me to write.
Can you tell us more about your latest book “What is Your True Zodiac Sign?”?
“What is your zodiac sign?”, a clichéd conversation starter may soon be replaced with “What is your TRUE zodiac sign?”. The chances are you aren’t belonging to your favorite zodiac sign anymore if you were born in the first 13 or the last 7 days of a month!
We all know that the earth rotates on its axis. But, many of us do not know that it also wobbles while it rotates, just like a spinning top. This wobble changes the direction of the earth’s rotational axis in relation to the fixed stars, which form the zodiac. Currently, the difference stands at about 24 degrees. A zodiac sign consists of 30 degrees, hence almost 4/5th of the people who believe they are Scorpios, are actually Librans! Ditto…all zodiac signs!
Ok now….that’s just one part of the story!
Can the mind boggling diversity of human beings be explained by just 12 zodiac signs? The fact is that our mental makeup is determined by the composition of the zodiac signs in which we have our Sun, Mercury and Moon. The Sun rules the self, the Moon our emotions and Mercury our mental processes. The permutation and combination of the zodiac signs in which you have the Sun, Mercury and Moon creates 186 different types of human beings!
Salman Khan, born on 27th of December 1965 is not a Capricorn, people! Salman has the Sun in Sagittarius, Mercury in Scorpio and the Moon in Aquarius. Salman retains the child-like charm and honesty of a Sagittarian. He is a non-conformist, but with a heart that bleeds for the underprivileged like Aquarians. He never forgives or forgets those who have wronged him like a true Scorpio. Similarly, Narendra Modi is not just a meticulous and hard working Virgo, but also a zealous and decisive Scorpio, aka VirScorp.
In about 650 pages the book describes 186 types of personalities in detail. One can get to know intricate details about all people who matter in one’s life. It would help building better relationships with all and also to co-exist with others. One can also have fun knowing the true traits of 2000+ celebrities who have been classified into these types.
How did you come up with the idea of writing non fiction genre book focused on Zodiac Signs?
See….I had an idea which I was extremely passionate about. Its genre or what category it belongs to really didn’t matter.
Who are your favourite authors?
It has to be Linda Goodman. She is probably the biggest influence on my writing. Linda has very clearly written in her book on Sun Signs that knowing someone’s Sun Sign is just the rudimentary understanding of what a person can be. If you need to know more you need to know his Moon and Mercury sign. The germ of my book originated from there.
How much time do you dedicate to writing on a daily basis?
I’m a weekend author. I dedicate about 4 hrs each on Saturday and Sunday. There have been times when I had ended up writing the whole Saturday night going with the flow. I use up all the time that I get while traveling to airports, waiting for flights, the flying time included. When I’m traveling I’m free immediately after my work at 6pm. I write till 12 on those days. My wife doesn’t like to be disturbed when her favourite reality show is on…I use up that time too.
What words of wisdom would you like to give to aspiring writers?
The first step to writing is just to get on and write….something! If you don’t get started you will never reach the destination. Don’t plan too much….just start writing. The words will start flowing and the story will start developing.
You can buy his book now:
The true zodiac sign! That sounds interesting and greatly idiosyncratic. I always have a passion of observing people’s behavior quietly and find their zodiac sign but sometimes I go wrong. But now I think, I know why I went wrong, its because I’ve never counted the moon signs and the contribution of the Mercury.
It’s gonna be awesome to find out their involvement in one’s behavioral health after reading your book.
Looking forward to reading some good zodiac properties.