Suresh Guptara

Suresh Guptara (born 22 November 1988) is a British-born novelist who lives in Weinfelden, Thurgau, in Switzerland. He is the twin brother of Jyoti Guptara and son of Prabhu Guptara. He is of Indian descent.

Guptara is perhaps best known as the co-author of the Insanity Saga, which he wrote along with his twin brother, Jyoti. The pair finished the first draft of Conspiracy of Calaspia, book one of the fantasy epic, at the age of eleven. After numerous rewrites, it was finally published when the brothers were seventeen and went on to become an international bestseller. The second book, Codex Culmus,was published in German translation in March 2009. The twins are reportedly nearing the completion of book three of the saga.

Early life and education

Suresh Guptara was born in Frimley, Surrey, to Prabhu and Philippa Guptara. His childhood years were spent in Farnham, Surrey. When he was seven the Guptara family moved to eastern Switzerland. He has three siblings, brother Ranjeet, a successful businessman and entrepreneur, sister Anjali who is based in London, and Jyoti, his twin brother, also an author. Suresh is the elder of the twins.)^[1]

Guptara attended Bradfield College in Berkshire and was in 'A House.' Here he had an interesting life, where he didn't study much but still gained high A-level grades (AAAABb).^[1] He would, on numerous occasions, enjoy watching the series 24 with friend, Aaron Lee, instead of studying.

In October 2008, Suresh was studying at St John's College, Durham University until he failed his exams and being forced to leave. He is reading for a degree in the Natural Sciences, specialising in Physics, Philosophy and Theology. Here he has taken up the role of thespian in his free time playing parts in productions put on by many of the university's theatre companies.

Career

During the academic year of 2007-2008, Guptara took a gap year to write full-time and promote his books, including book tours around the United States, Germany, and India.

Influences

The Guptara's literary inspirations include the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and George MacDonald. Their acknowledgments in the first book state,

"One of our earliest memories is seeing a stage performance of Watership Down and, at the show, meeting Richard Adams, the author of that much-loved novel. This occasion must have been the first to inject us with real enthusiasm for writing because it put in our minds the possibility that one could not only create for family and friends, but also share this creation with many others."

The acknowledgments also list Stephen Lawhead, whom they call a "master of mythic history, a true bard for our age." Other literary influences include David Gemmell, Terry Pratchett, J.K. Rowling, Arthur Ransome, W.E. Johns, and many more.

"We firmly believe that everything you ever see, hear, or experience in any other fashion has an impact on you at some level," the twins have stated. "Therefore, subconsciously, every fiction book we have ever consumed could be classified as a fiction influence!"

Personal life

Recent books tours, public appearances and television interviews have sparked interest and speculation about the twins personal lives, especially their availability. Outlook India notes the twins are "Enough to make a publisher insanely happy...and good-looking, to boot."

Suresh said in an interview with Fox News in the fall of 2007, "We're too filled up with our book writing" (to the question "Who are you guys dating?"). As of August 2008, he is focusing his attention on the completion of the third book of the Insanity Saga.

Bibliography

• 2006 Conspiracy of Calaspia

References