“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’.

I greatly believe in the power of gratitude. There are so many people to thank that the acknowledgment ran for two pages in my book and still I feel I left out a few names. Starting from my husband who encouraged me to publish this book, to my son and nieces, who will patiently listen to my stories, to The Book Bakers, my literary agents who took me under their wing, to my publishers, Locksley Hall Publishers for taking a chance on me and so many others along the way. My appreciation to everyone is enormous.

When and how did the idea of writing a book come to you? Can you tell us a bit about your debut book ‘Maya & The Sword of Gringak’? Who is your favorite character from the book?

I am a journalist by profession and have always enjoyed writing other’s stories. But after having my son I took a break for a few years. During those years I use to make up stories to him and later write it down just to entertain myself. Maya and the Sword of Gringak was a short story I told him and felt that there is more to it, thus turning it into a series. I love fantasy and of course I picked the same genre for my book too. It comes easy to me. My favourite character in my book is the protagonist Maya, because she represents every Indian girl. What the society sees as flaws, she makes it her strength. 

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 love and their authors that I consider are game-changers in their fields-

1. The Millennium Series by Stieg Larsson – The protagonist Lisbeth Salander is the most amazing female character I have ever read. 

2. Those Pricy Thakur girls by Anuja Chauhan – I am a huge fan of Anuja Chauhan and love all her books. This one in particular, for painting such a colourful picture of life in New Delhi through her immaculate narrative. 

3. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll – Lewis Carroll’s beautiful wonderland is what made me fall in love with fantasy in the first place. The characters are so influential and enigmatic that even as an adult they stayed with me. Whether one is a child or an adult, it is a book for all. 

4. The Harry Potter Series – It is impossible for me to put a list without mentioning Harry Potter. The magic, the friendships and the heroics that JK Rowling introduced to the world through the books are unparallel. 

5. The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien – The Lord of the rings is an epic that I feel everyone should read, for its magnificent language, glorious situations and heart-warming relationships. A close second to this epic if of course Game of thrones by George RR Martin. 

For me, it was Lewis Carroll, JK Rowling and JRR Tolkien, who made the difference. I fell in love with fantasy because of them, and chose the subject thanks to their legacy.

Tell us a bit about your family, likes, and dislikes as a person.

My parents from a young age encouraged me to pursue my passion. My husband, Balaji, who is in sports management, has been my greatest supporter through my journey as a writer. I have an eight-year-old son, Ankit, who loves my stories. And I have a nine-year-old dog called Toto, whose only aim is life is to eat every kind of food there is in the world! Also, he is my companion during those late nights dedicated to rewrites.  

I love reading, travelling, watching a lot of fantasy and thriller shows and movies. There are not many things I dislike frankly and even if I do, it is almost always temporary. 

What has been your most cherished experience as an author? What kind of difficulties and challenges were faced by you during the research period?

For me, the best part of writing the book was imagining the story in itself, which I always did past midnight – in silence. I enjoyed sketching out the characters and storylines that I developed in my head. It is an indescribable joy. 

The only challenge I faced really was timing, as I like to write in silence and for my thought to be clear, but with a toddler sometimes it is not easy. But I managed to do it anyway. 

Could you share a few tips for budding Authors and aspiring writers?

Just keep writing. It is not easy to write a book in the first go. It takes a lot of patience and rewrites to get a book published, but it is possible. If you have a story to tell, there is an audience for it out there. 

For aspiring writers, one of the things that holds them back is their self-doubt about their own story. Each writer gravitates towards a particular genre. So, finding the right genre is important, as the language, characterisations and plot development begins from there. I have always enjoyed the fantasy and the young adult genre, so when the story first came to me, I found it easy to develop it into a full-fledged series. 

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

This is the million-dollar question. For me whether it is for my book, articles or blogs, writer’s block occurs occasionally. The only thing that helps me is taking frequent breaks that way just for a while I distract myself. It helps me greatly, may not work everything but the majority of the time it does. 

But I think it is up to each writer to figure their solution to this age old discomfort. 

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

Maya and the Sword of Gringak is a three-part series. I am currently working on the second part of the book.

Please share with us, your amazing journey from the Chief sub-editor at Deccan Chronicle to the Deputy Editor of Culturama magazine.

I love stories and people, which is the main reason I got into journalism. But as they say, journalism is literature is hurry, the scope of exploring your creative side is limited. I think from my Deccan Chronicle days I have greatly evolved, and today I am more of a writer than a journalist. I love interviews and writing stories that explore subjects close to my heart. At Culturama magazine the focus is mostly on India centric topics, which I am passionate about. 

Rapid Fire Round

1. Favorite Place, Actor & Actress, Person, Food, beverage….

Kochi / Ranveer Singh/ Priyanka Chopra Jonas / My family / Ice cream / Coffee 

2. Your other Talents apart from writing….

I like experimenting with cooking (not good at it, but I do enjoy it and my son likes it) 

3. Your First Love…

Books 

4. Favorite Quote….

‘It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.’ Alice in Alice in Wonderland

5. Favourite Character from a book… Lisbeth Salander from the millennium series 

What if Round 

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

The Lord of the Rings series (book) / Coffee / Pasta ☺ 

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

Global warming to be reversed 

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

Give the money to find cure for diseases 

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