India, April 19 -- How did your training as a journalist help you write Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine's War of Independence, and the novel, No Country for Love

Paying attention to detail, and the ability to construct a narrative based on facts helped me a lot when I became an author. My non-fiction is an extension of my reportage. My novel is historical fiction, so I did a lot of research to make it as authentic as possible. I travelled, talked to people, and went through archives. As a journalist, you learn to be concise, to say a lot in a limited space. That can be an impediment; your writing can seem telegraphic. I had to find middle ground - express what was required without being verbose.

Journalism tend...