“Sometimes, we do not get a chance to thank each one who has helped us in our Journey.” Let the readers get a chance to know about all the important people who have played a part in this ‘Author Journey of Yours’.

Honestly, all the authors and poets I’ve read in my life till now have inspired me to become an author. From poets like John Keats and Pablo Neruda to writers like Rabindranath Tagore, Charlotte Bronte, Amitav Ghosh, I would like to thank everyone I’ve read for inspiring me and making me believe in the power of words. And of course, my family who stood by me like a rock and always supported me. Most importantly, I would like to thank my readers who have faith in me and send me motivating messages that keep me going on. I love all my readers and I’m grateful that I’ve been able to connect with so many people.

Please tell us a bit about your book titled “Lost Love Late Love” and share a few lines from it.

Lost Love Late Love is about toxic relationships, their psychological impacts and has the concept of soulmates within its narrative. The book is a guide to navigating toxic relationships and explores soulmate relationships in depth. Unlike other books which give out the message of what you should do, Lost Love Late Love tells you what not to do. It explores the all-consuming disastrous side of love. 

The story begins as Kashika takes her first step into a hard corporate life while being in an emotionally abusive relationship with Vivaan, which has taken a heavy toll on her lifestyle, but is unable to let go. As the circumstances turn sour with physical abuse making a way into their relationship, she meets Vidit, who compels her to walk away and start a new life. Vidit and Kashika start finding solace in each other, which causes problems for both of them as Vidit is betrothed to someone else. Kashika feels Vidit is her soulmate but can’t do anything about it. The entire situation becomes more complicated when Vivaan tries to reconnect with Kashika, and rekindle their relationship.

It’s not a conventional love triangle though. It’s a book that young people should read so that they know what is and what isn’t acceptable in love and where they should draw boundaries.

Lost Love Late Love (2021) was best ranked #3 in Romance on Amazon within ten days of release.

Quotes:

1. It felt like I always wanted him, even before I knew him. He was the dream I couldn’t explain in words but always knew it existed deep down within me. It was only when I found that dream breathing in a person that I realized that he was what I was looking for all this while.

2. The hope of uniting with you kept me alive and yet killed me,

Wrapped up in possibilities I had no control over, it ate me.

If anything could’ve stopped you, I would’ve raised wars for you,

My love couldn’t make miracles but I’ve got these scars for you.

I think you forgot that love is as much a verb as it is a noun,

It demands an action as much as it makes us swoon under its feeling.

And if not you, I’m sure I have no need for a wedding gown,

Running back to you and finding an escape in your memories will always be more thrilling.

3. Heartbreak is very hard to live with. In the morning, it made me wish that I could just snooze my alarm and hide from the sunlight. In the afternoon, I cried at work silently, then I ran to the washroom so that nobody noticed. In the late afternoon, my brain would unsuccessfully try to take control for an hour after which I would be exhausted from the emotional roller coaster led by my heart. At night, I would squeeze my pillow, howling inside and yet not being able to scream, wishing that I could stop feeling the stinging pain.

Who is your favorite character from the book and why?

All the characters have their own individual journeys in the book and contribute significantly to the plot so there’s no favourite character as such. Kashika, the female protagonist, showcases that her sufferings were caused by her reliance on others to define her, complete her, establish her worth and give a meaning to her life. Like a tragic hero, she tells the readers to learn from her mistakes and not follow her trajectory, lest they meet a similar fate. Her character also tells readers about the long-term ill-effects of staying in abusive relationships instead of cutting them off, which leads to a loss of self-esteem, self-worth, deep-rooted pain, unwillingness to carry on with life and losing one’s identity. While the first part of the narrative traces her progress from bottom to top, the latter part of the book traces her journey from the top to the bottom.

Vidit personifies everyman’s dilemma of whether to honor old customs and familial ties or follow one’s heart. In the book, he is shown to be at a crossroads and confused between two options, leaving him stuck in the middle. His character gives voice to the dilemma that plays in the readers’ head themselves when they are offered choices in life; the most prominent being that of honoring old commitments even when they have lost their meaning or following the desires of one’s hearts till the time they can be achieved. Vidit’s character tells the readers that we should be grateful for the chances while we can still take them because later on, we might end up without any chances even when we want to take them.

Vivaan personifies the negative traits of the ego like obsession, possessiveness, control, rage and jealousy. He showcases the tactics used by abusers to control the victim in abusive relationships. He is shown to be a manipulator who can resort to adopting a different personality to get what he wants. His underlying personality traits remain unaltered by the end of the book. His characters tells readers that red flags shouldn’t be ignored in a relationship and being with an abuser has long-term psychological repercussions.

According to you which are the 5 books that everyone should read and who are your top 3 Authors and what impact did they have in your journey as a writer?

The 5 books that I would recommend are first, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte because of the way patriarchy is subverted in it and how bildungsroman works magically in the book. Second is Shadow Lines by Amitav Ghosh as the book offers a deeper look at the consequences of India-Pakistan’s partition for a common man. The third is Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez because of its magic realism. Fourth is The Home and the World by Rabindranath Tagore because it beautifully elaborates the battle between the ideas of Western culture and revolution against the Western culture. Lastly, I would recommend a non-fiction book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad by by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter.

My top 3 authors are Bronte sisters, Khaled Hosseini and Agatha Christie. Like I said, they have made me fall in love with literature and inspired me to take up writing.

How and when did you first realize your calling for writing books? Can you tell us a bit about the books written by you so far? How long on average did it take you to complete a book?

I have always found my comfort and escape in literature. I started writing poems at the age of 10. My poems were published in national newspapers like Punjab Kesari when I was 10. I always used to be in the editorial team in school and college. When I was doing my graduation from Hans Raj, I had a short write-up published in Hindustan Times. I wrote my first book, A Silent Promise (2015), while I was pursuing my graduation from Hans Raj College, Delhi University.

A Silent Promise offers an alternate view on constructed notions about societal norms and makes us question humanity through the eyes of an eighteen-year-old college fresher. Making the readers a witness to the life of differently-abled, A Silent Promise incorporates ongoing debates on the favouring of boy child over girl child and the question of the real blood within its narrative.

The Full Circle captures the story of a traveller named Aditya, who on his journey to finding a ‘home’, ‘home’ in the spiritual sense, becomes a part of various stories and helps people in his own way. In the book, the concept of ‘home’ is shifted from the physical domain to the spiritual one. The book breaks stereotypes at many levels and questions ‘settlement’ as being related to ‘fixedness’.

Together We Were (W)hole is a tale of vengeance amidst distorted personal relationships, misunderstandings and masked identities set in a business environment of deceit, power plays and games. It’s a romance thriller.

Lost Love Late Love has toxic relationships, their psychological impacts and the concept of soulmate within its narrative. It shows how romantic love can make and break you. Like the genre of Tragedy, the book has a tragic hero as I wanted to write a tragedy being inspired by the traditional tragedies I grew up reading.

It usually takes me a month to complete a book.

What has been your most cherished experience as an author? Which is your best-preferred genre?

Whenever a reader reaches out to me regarding my book, I cherish that moment and it’s a beautiful feeling. Once a reader dedicated a book to me. He authored a book and mentioned me in its pages and the Dedication section saying that my books inspired him to write and gave him a new perspective on life. I have kept that book safely with me and it’s awesome how I could be to somebody what other authors I read have been to me.

I love Romance and Romance Thrillers.

Could you share a piece of advice for budding Authors and aspiring writers?

Just don’t give up on your dreams. Keep hustling. Always believe in your work. If you will, others will too.

What inspires you to write? How does it feel, being one of the Amazon best-sellers?

Writing is therapy for me. It is cathartic for me. Whenever I write a book, it requires me to reach out to my innermost and dormant emotions and feel intensely. I am usually cut off from the outside world while I turn within into the depths of my being to put down things as I feel them. My readers keep me motivated. I get overwhelmed when they reach out to me to appreciate my work or tell me that my books have helped them in some way and gave them a new perspective. Whenever I feel low, their love and support is what keeps me going.

It feels great to be on the Amazon bestsellers list. It’s a dream come true for me. The love I receive from my readers, being able to influence lives, getting a chance to make some positive impact in people’s lives, the messages I receive from my readers… all these define success for me. And this is what keeps me going.

Are you working on anything at present that you would like to share with your readers? What are your future plans?

A short story written by me, If Only Love was Enough, has just been released in August. The genre is Romance. It’s a short and engrossing read. Right now, I am working on a romance novel. I’ve just started with it so let’s see how it goes.

My plan is to release one book every year and market it well. That’s what I have thought of till now.

How can a writer keep the mental block or writer’s block away from his/her creativity?

I think everyone has different a way of dealing with it. I, personally, take a break for a few days and distract myself with other activities.

At Sharing Stories, we have an ongoing campaign ‘Let’s Empower Our Kids’. Please suggest some books here that you would want your child to read before the age of 15 which could help him in understanding certain dimensions of human life like empathy, sympathy, relationships, etc.

Catcher in the Rye to better understand the transition from childhood to adulthood; Jane Eyre for empowerment; Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to understand social themes like race, class, human rights; The Perks of Being a Wallflower for relationships and A Silent Promise for empathy.

Rapid Fire Round

1. Favorite Place, Actor & Actress, Person, Food, beverage…. Place- Home, Actor- Leonardo Di Caprio, Actress- Kiara Advani, Person- My mom, Food- Pizza, Beverage- Cold Coffee

2. Your other Talents apart from writing…. I have won awards in foosball and fashion shows

3. Your First Love… Jack Dawson in Titanic

4. Favorite Quote…. They tried to bury us. They didn’t know we were seeds.

5. Favourite Character from a book… Too many honestly.

What if Round 

1. What if you had to live with only three things all your life, what would the three things be?

If not people, they would be a mobile with wifi connectivity, my favorite pair of tee and lowers and a clutcher.

2. What if you were given the power to change one thing from this world, what would you change?

I would eliminate negativity!

3. What if you had all the money in this world, what would you do first?

Go on a world tour.

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