Read up, the Second Part of the Interview with Anita Shirodkar. She goes on to tell us, what the most challenging parts of writing the book were and the most fulfilling parts too. She also reveals her favourite books and her most loved authors, Folks...
You can read the Review here and the First Part of this Interview here, as well...
What was the most challenging part about writing ‘Nights in Pink Satin’?
Keeping it short and tight! There is always the temptation to delve deeper into the psyche of the
characters, because in my head I know them inside out!
It is difficult to curb the instinct to get more descriptive, because that would be against the nature of the genre. By and large, I think the more challenging part is selling the book;
writing is a piece of cake in comparison!
It is difficult to curb the instinct to get more descriptive, because that would be against the nature of the genre. By and large, I think the more challenging part is selling the book;
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| Anita Shirodkar |
What are the most fulfilling parts in your book?
I would say that it is most gratifying when the various threads in the
story come together seamlessly in one all-encompassing conclusion. I’ve always
like loose ends tied up, and am the quintessential happy ending type of person!
When a book or a movie has an inconclusive ending, or something too esoteric to be properly interpreted, I feel quite cheated, as if there is no closure.
Which particular character did you feel most close to? Why?
Simran would be the ideal choice, since she is the protagonist of the
book. But I have to say that I feel close to each of the characters, the reason
being pretty simple; I put a lot of thought and love into developing each one
of them.
Simran’s mother wise and practical Purnima, her dubious father Arun, her
flamboyant agent, Karan (who, I particularly enjoyed writing!) and of course her
cool, cool husband Sid.
To me, the best part of
writing is creating the characters. They become real live people, who behave a
certain way all on their own, sometimes quite unexpectedly!
Who was it
that told you that you could become the author, you are today?
No one, really. I’ve
always enjoyed writing, so I just decided one day that should write a novel. I
called my sister Madhuri and said, what do you think, should I do it? And of
course she said, go for it!
So there I was, without a clue about what I was doing,
but in the end, my first book ‘Secrets and Second Chances’ was published last
year. Madhuri was a big support.
When I sent the manuscript to a few friends to read, the response was so positive that I began to think about approaching a publisher. I guess at the end of the day you have to one, believe in yourself, and two, have a passion for what you are doing.
When I sent the manuscript to a few friends to read, the response was so positive that I began to think about approaching a publisher. I guess at the end of the day you have to one, believe in yourself, and two, have a passion for what you are doing.
When will you
next book be out?
I’m still working on
it, so hopefully by early next year! It’s set in the art world and moves from Mumbai to Italy and back.
Which book
are you currently reading?
I’ve just finished the
last book in the Ken Follett’s ‘Century Trilogy’. It’s called the ‘Edge of
Eternity’. The three books together were 3,000 pages plus, so as I said, I do
read tomes occasionally!
I enjoyed the first two
very much; being a history buff, I found the fictionalised version of WW1 and 2
riveting. The last one, I thought, was tedious and contrived. But having
started it, I decided to finish it. I’ve read everything practically Ken Follett
has written.
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| Georgette Heyer (Wikipedia) |
Arthur Hailey (great
storyteller), Georgette Heyer (charming writing style), Agatha Christie (no one
did murder like she did), Jeffrey Archer (another fantastic storyteller), Tom Clancy (superb detailing), David Baldacci (fascinating plots), Jane Austen (what can I say; I’ve read all of
them over and over!) Ken Follet and
Michael Crichton.
I read a lot of
spiritual non-fiction books as well, mainly by Indian gurus - Swami Rama,
Muktananda, Gurmayi Chidvilasananda, Osho. These constitute the majority of my
reading.
What else do
you do on a daily basis?
I divide my time
between two homes, one in Dubai and one in Mumbai, and travel up and down every
two weeks. I am a graphic designer as well, and I work as a consultant for my
husband’s company, Tamarind.
They are into
destination management and events, and I manage all he design and content
writing for them. Apart from that I help manage a water company in Dubai. So
that’s design, writing, marketing and running two homes!
I enjoy cooking and am very interested in world cuisine, so I spend a fair amount of time in the kitchen… largely because we have a lot of friends whom my husband loves to entertain!
I enjoy cooking and am very interested in world cuisine, so I spend a fair amount of time in the kitchen… largely because we have a lot of friends whom my husband loves to entertain!
What advice do you have for
the young writers of today?
I don’t
know that I’m in a position to give advice, but I will say this: persevere and
follow your passion. And I’m assuming that good writing is a given, so you
really need to focus on making yourself a brand, that is the name of, the game
today.
As I said earlier, the writing is the easy part, to make a success of your work you have to learn to sell it well.
As I said earlier, the writing is the easy part, to make a success of your work you have to learn to sell it well.
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