Interview with the Author Devlina Mukherjee

1.        Tell us something about yourself.

                I am an engineer primarily, and have spent most of my adult life writing in a language computers understand. I have always done creative things on the side. An avid reader, and enthusiastic painter from my early childhood, I have tried public speaking in school, college and later.  I have cowritten and directed many plays in school and college and written for the school magazine as a hobby. This is my first serious attempt at writing fiction.

2.       What compelled you to write this book?

                After the pandemic I wanted to do something about my creative side. I had neglected it for almost three years, and wanted to spend some dedicated time, in writing and painting. I took a break from work and started to analyse where I wanted to start. As a first time writer, I knew it would be overwhelming to swim through the sea of ideas collected over years, and land on the one that I could drive to completion. I also looked at the market and found a dearth of books for children and young adults that spoke from an Indian POV. There is a lot of fabulous literature for that age range in regional languages, but I meet a lot of kids brought up in other states or in a different country who have a problem in reading literature in their mother tongue. I wanted to fill the space where the kids can get the sensibilities and earthiness of their mother land in the language they are comfortable reading. The idea is to draw more youth into the habit of reading through something they would enjoy and crave. The added bonus is, this is a great nostalgic and comfort read for adults also.

3.       From how long have you been writing this book? What challenges did you face while writing?

                I wrote this book over a period of 6 months or so.

           It was initially challenging to make a habit of writing seriously, every day, almost like a day job. Reading my own work multiple times was boring, but very soon I realised that  it was the only way to understand if I was able to articulate everything I wanted to say to another person – who did not have any context. After writing finding a publisher was a daunting task, as I did not know the ropes of the trade being a first time writer.

4.       What is the most memorable moment for you throughout the journey of the book?

          I would send drafts of my writing to a close friend, whose literary taste I value a lot. The first time I found her getting emotional over my writing was very special.

5.       Is writing your hobby or passion?

          I feel very passionate about expressing my thoughts and my stories, be it through writing or any other mode.

6.       Are you planning to write again?

          Yes, definitely! After finishing this book, I have already started working on a novel.

7.       Do you believe that when author dies a reader is born?

          I believe many readers give birth to an author, including the reader in the author herself.

8.       For you, what is literary success?

          Literary success to me is reaching out to people across generations and touching their lives in a positive way.

9.       Do you have any piece of advice for the budding authors out there?

I am too new at this to give advice as an author. As a reader I want to say, write the book you would want to read, not the one you think will sell.

10.     What it’s like to be with 24by7 Publishing?

The process was very smooth to say the least. I had wonderful interpersonal communication with the project manager assigned to me. They explained any step that seemed alien to me and helped me with their technical know hows. The pace was right for me, to be able to take time to review and edit at every step of the way, and get back to them with my inputs. I am very happy with the overall end results!

Timeless Tales Of Kindred Souls on Golpapa, Timeless Tales Of Kindred Souls on Amazon, Timeless Tales Of Kindred Souls on Flipkart.

Powered by : 24by7Publishing