In this episode of NL Recess, author Durjoy Datta joins Newslaundry’s Anukriti Malik to discuss his latest novel, A Touch of Eternity, a story of soulmates and reincarnation set in a dystopian world.

Talking about his journey from pursuing engineering to become a bestselling author, Durjoy says he’s written over 21 books and 1,000 screenplays for television shows. “I still haven’t come to terms with it,” he says, explaining how it was a tough decision to shift from a marketing career to writing.

Anukriti asks about his books’ unusual titles – Of Course I Love You…! Till I Find Someone Better… and If It’s Not Forever, It’s Not Love, for instance – and Durjoy laughs that his books were picked up due to their unorthodox titles, so it would be risky to go back in time and change them.

Given that A Touch of Eternity goes beyond his usual college romance novels to include elements of history, science and spirituality, Durjoy says, “I wrote this book to check whether this is the only reason my books work...As a 35-year-old, I cannot authentically write a story between two 19-year-olds.” He also says blogging had an impact on his career, adding, “I took the feedback seriously.”

Watch.

Text by Keshav Pransukhka.