Andy Paula's Blog

Jazz Singh and Zeenat Mahal first appeared on the literary scene in 2013 under the South Asian flagship Indireads. Two years down the line, the prolific duo publishes its first omnibus Twice Upon A Time with Amazon.
Read their free-wheeling chat with Andy Paula and soak in their experiences. 
1. Tell us about your journey with this book. Whose idea was it to self-publish? 
Jazz : We thought we’d try self publishing and see where it takes us. Zeenat’s actually. She’s been the brain behind this venture and the driving force. Wish us luck. Zeenat : Haha, thanks Jazz! Well frankly we were both scared of self publishing because it seemed like such a big step. So we thought we would try it together and we did. It wasn't as scary as we thought it might be. It was a fun experiment. 
2. Were there challenges coordinating with each other across the border? Creative differences, hurling of words across the miles? ;)
Jazz : This collaboration was the result of a chit chat. Zeenat said, 'Let’s publish together'. Et voila! Here we are with Twice upon a Time. No creative differences. Sorry to disappoint. We both had novellas ready to publish and put them together in one book. Zeenat : Yeah, thankfully there weren't any differences Andy, or we might never have made it! Jazz and I are very different as writers but because these are two different novellas in one book and not a collaborative novel, we had no issues. 
3. Tell us a little about your respective novellas. Just a sneak-peak that’ll tempt the reader to click the Buy Now button.
Jazz: Sunshine Girl is about an orphan. Fending for herself has made her wise beyond her years in some ways, and left her totally innocent in others. She’d the eternal optimist and Gaurav can’t believe that her little truisms are for real. It’s another matter that he pursues her because she has something he wants desperately. Before he knows what hit him, he wants something entirely else. Zeenat : Yours Truly is about growing up, falling in love and changing perspectives. Sheru and Zoya are from the Pathan culture and as Pathans their language and culture comes through. 
 4. Jazz, this is your third published novella; Zeenat, this is your sixth book including stories in anthologies. What inspires you as writers? Where do you get your story ideas from? (Yes, I know this is a done-to-death question but remember how much our leading ladies smile & pose for the media? This is the written equivalent of the being-famous torture :) So bring it on, Ladies!) 
Jazz : Famous torture :) – I love that. It means I’m really well known. But alas! So far inspiration has not been a problem. The ideas come from anywhere. To begin with, there are all the love stories of people in my acquaintance. Not that they’d recognize themselves or the stories as theirs. But they work well as ideas and are a great way to get started.  Zeenat : I don't know why she is sad about it, eh Andy? Haha. Anyway, masha' Allah it is the same with me. I have many ideas and many stories teeming inside my head. I wish I could be more disciplined and write them more quickly. I read a lot and maybe that helps? I don't know, but I think ideas tend to find writers. 
5. What is your writing regimen like? Many aspiring (also read lazy) writers would like to know this and emulate you. 
Jazz : May I tell you, you’re good for the ego. I continue to aspire – to success, to popularity, to writing unputdownable books, to write that one book that will be everyone’s favourite. I wish I had the wisdom and the reach implied in your question. The simple truth is that I write when I get home from work. Zeenat : Sigh! Jazz's answer is so beautiful. What can I say after this? I agree with Jazz. I'm afraid I don't have a regimen either. 
6. Do you believe, like many today, that conventional publication/paperback/hard covers are passé? That digital books are the future? If yes, does this knowledge affect your creative sensibilities? Make you nostalgic? Or pragmatic about times to come? 
Jazz : Technology always remains new to each generation of ‘modern.’ When something has outlived its time it becomes obsolete automatically. Reading is important. As long as I have something to read it doesn't matter what the medium is. We listen to music whichever we get it, travel in the most convenient way, cooking changed from wood, fire to gas tops, to ovens to microwaves. From stele to clay tablets to papyrus to paper and now digital, it’s only the medium that keeps changing; who knows what it’s going to be next. Zeenat : No I don't think print books will ever be replaced. New things come and make their own place. They don't necessarily replace. 
7. Self-publication is a difficult task. You need to do all that a publisher takes care of (or ought to!) apart from your writing. Was that a satisfying experience – looking after the end-to-end process from creation to publication? Or, would you rather ‘just write’ and let experts take care of the cover design, marketing and a hazaar other things publishing entails? 
Jazz : It’s an annoying process, if you ask me. Left to myself I would have dithered forever, Zeenat took care of all that – to my eternal gratitude. Of course, I would just rather write. Zeenat : Same here. I had much rather leave it to publishers and do the writing. 
8. You have been writing as published authors for the last two years. Do you face the infamous writers’ block? How do you overcome it and proceed with your craft? 
Jazz : I think it’s best to just let it be for a while. In any case when you are in the middle of a story you are constantly thinking about your characters. So eventually you will think up a scenario or some piece of dialogue and it will all come back. It’s when you feel the pressure to write that you get blocked. What also works well is talking to a fellow writer who is familiar with you or your work. Discussing your story and characters and why they are behaving in a certain way can help because when you are explaining their situation the conversation itself helps to unblock the block. Zeenat : For me, it's not so much writers' block as not getting enough time to do the writing. Or procrastinating. Those are my evils. 
9. What is cooking next? Will the readers see you come together anytime soon? 
Jazz : There’s constantly something in the pot. When it will see the light of day is anybody’s guess. Sure. Why not. We are open to the idea, certainly.But we haven’t thought that far ahead. We were so focused on getting this one out there we didn't plan on anything beyond this one.  Zeenat : Yes I am working on something. Let's see when it will see light of day. I would love to publish again with Jazz:) 
10. How are your books different from others in the genre?
Jazz : I don’t know about different, but they are all very desi with more characters than are required. This comes from the typical Indian way with friends and family who want to know everything and who need to be avoided when on the path to love. Zeenat : Mine are sweet romances with ingredients from Lahore. My stories are heavily anchored in place and culture I think, because my characters are. I write what I would like to read myself. My romance must have humour, and relationships other than the main love story. In western romances that is not considered a strength of the writer. The secondary characters are not supposed to have too much dialogue or back stories and hero/ heroine must meet by page 5. I don't write romance like that because for me it's a story with a strong romantic detail--Not a formula. 
Wishing you two success with Twice Upon A Time and many more books to come, Jazz and Zeenat! Thank you so much for your time.

Other books by Jazz Singh:
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Other books by Zeenat Mahal:
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Zeenat Mahal (Author)
http://www.zeenatmahal.com/http://www.amazon.com/Zeenat-Mahal/e/B00H57AIGW/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1/180-7715239-6346258https://www.facebook.com/zeenatmahal.author?ref=hlhttps://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=58812403&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profilehttp://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7153244.Zeenat_Mahalhttps://twitter.com/zeemahal

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Nabanita reviews Love's Labor in her blog Random Thoughts-Naba
http://nabanita-blacknwhite.blogspot.in/2014/04/book-review-loves-labor.html#.U19jWznrbIW

So last week has been really good for my reading and I have none other than Indireads to thank for that. Love's Labor by Andy Paula is the third Indireads novella that I managed to finish within a week. So yay for me!

Coming to the book well it's essentially a love story between a Bengali girl named Piali Roy and  a Malyalam boy, Sathya Nair. Set in the steel city of India, Jamshedpur, it is takes you through the emotions of falling in love and the desire of the couple to spend their lives together. But before they can do that the differences in their families becomes an impediment. Piali finds herself torn between the love for Sathya and that for her family. Her father remains unmoved after numerous attempts while her mother chooses silence over supporting her daughter. Sathya, however, finds it easier to have his way at home since he is a boy, hence like in many Indian families privileged. But Pilai feels all the more helpless with each passing day, stretched between the pull towards Sathya and the love for her father. And then she disappears, alone. What happens then? Does love find it's way? Does her father relent? That's what the book is all about.

Now about what I liked in the book. Well I found the story believable because I know how hard it is to marry outside one's caste in India. As a country we have these quirks that sometimes makes my head bow in shame but then we still never learn. Anyways, moving on. The characters were well sketched out, another good aspect. What I found most interesting was that the story began in a manner that actually made me think that it would end another way. I wish I could tell you what I thought but that would give away the story. So one you read this we can discuss.

The only one thing that I would have liked to have been better are the conversations between Piali and Satya on occasions, for I found them a little too romantically stretched. And of-course the doses of Hindi in an English novella. But I'm no stickler for all that.

In the end, Love's Labor was a worthwhile read. So you can definitely give it a try. Let me know if you do.



 

Official Review: Love's Labor by Andy Paula
Post Number:#1  Postby Namrata » 05 Feb 2014, 05:28
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Love's Labor" by Andy Paula.]
http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17161

This book is called “Love’s labor” by Andy Paula. This is a romantic novel with its main theme on love and romance with love triumphing in the end. The publishing house is ‘Indi reads’ showcasing the wide variety of the lives of the south Asian Indian population. This book has a total of 27 chapters and seems like a laborious read at first. But as the book starts; it literally breezes through right to the end. If one has the time; it can be completed in one sitting, over a few hours.

The story opens with the picturesque hills of Mussoorie. The protagonist, Piali, is introduced here as a spirited and gifted teacher who adroitly manages to pique the curiosity of the student’s imagination. Her intellect and charm come through effortlessly. She deftly uses techniques and play of words to draw the attention of the class. Piali seems to have the magic combination of the ideal teacher’s dedication and in addition to make the subject come alive in the class.The story then broadens out to bring in other events. Apparently the school annual centenary celebrations are upcoming and Piali is in charge. She has a huge responsibility as being the newest and the youngest teacher being handed out this huge and momentous responsibility. Her dynamic personality makes her stand out among the other staff.

Next the personal life of Piali comes into the picture- a relentless pursuit by a dynamic young man, Sathya. We discover a lover in the wait. He comes across as a bold, confident and an over the bounds stepping young man who makes no qualms about his needs. We discover that Piali has been staying in Mussoorie on a self imposed exile due to problems with her father objecting to her choice in selecting Sathya as her future life partner.
As the story progresses we are drawn into the past. Six months ago; Piali was a successful teacher in a public school at Jharkhand, who bravely faced all odds in the pursuit of her beloved profession as a teacher. She becomes attracted to the magnetic personality of Sathya, who is actually the school chairman’s only son. At first Piali has a reserve in mingling with him but at last love wins over. The duos get closer at a camp. Piali finds herself getting more and more impressed with Sathya and he too spiraling towards the same end. Piali trumps all contests with the other schools at the camp. However there is a sudden break in their smoothly blossoming romance when Sathya casually announces his engagement. By this time; the story has one hooked. Piali is devastated. She becomes more cautious and somber. After several false starts; they finally confront their feelings about each other. From this end on; the story takes a predictable turn. The families are involved. However Piali’s father stands like a granite rock of opposition. Meetings between the families are futile. It is at this time that Sathya decides to detach from his family and be independent. As her father still remains unfazed; Piali leaves the protection of her doting father and takes up a job in the hills. Finally a happy reconciliation takes place between the two families.

I agree with most of the issues raised by the author and they are several. First is that of women standing for their right in their profession and going after their dreams in spite of having more superior abilities. The issue that all girls must have NCC or similar training to build up their confidence and skill as well to override any kind of challenge. This story questions trivial cultural rules about ‘marriage first and love next’ and the myth of this fact. The arguable issue of an inter caste marriage; in this case between a Bengali and a Keralite. It shows the difference in customs of north Indian and south Indian behavior. It shows how parents are really modern only in the word sense. Lastly the very real fact of a daughter forever caught pleasing the two most important men in her life- her father and her husband. The negative points in this book are the predictable aspects of the story, lack of enough surprise elements to the story and the ending seems too trivial. The positive aspects are that this is a fresh and light romance. It leaves one with pleasant and happy memories.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.

***


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View hassle-free sample of "Love's Labor"Namrata  Posts: 42Joined: 15 Oct 2013, 02:59

Aditi Saha reviews Love's Labor in her assertive blog named An Angry Indian Chick (Not For the Unopinionated). Yes, with a name like that, I was petrified. Till I reached the rating. :)
http://theangryindianyouth.wordpress.com/2014/03/04/347/



Imagine the lonesome hills standing in the middle of the valley all alone, except for two lovers who glide among the shadows of the trees with ethereal songs on their lips. Remember the guitar-playing flirt that used to play outside the college canteen to impress his girl. Romance is often not in the large gestures or the over-arching love stories. love in it’s most natural form is something that that exists everywhere.

 This book traces a love story that is not extraordinary. There aren’t any huge alpha heroes, there aren’t huge plots that mix with each other. This book celebrates human emotions. Now, I may be wrong, but, this is the kind of love story we all need in our lives. Human emotions are the most important factors in love stories, something that is quite easily forgotten in the race for wanting have the most splendid language, or the best characters. Andy Paula brings together human emotions with strong characters and she does an excellent job at it.

The Indian values and the almost oppressive society is also brought out very well, however, that does not tax the romance in the story itself. The story makes for a wonderful read and a far more wonderful conversation starter.

We need more authors like Andy Paula now, and I hope that she will keep writing.Rating – 5/5


 

Sridevi Dutta reviews Love's Labor  in her blog The Write Journey
http://sridevidatta.wordpress.com/2014/03/06/loves-labor-a-review/

Andy Paula’s “Love’s Labor” is as enchanting as it is simple in the narrative style and the characterization .The sheer Indianness of the theme creates an all too familiar ambiance of being at home and tucking in your favorite khichri. All those who know me know my all too familiar fixation with anything India ..Indian settings , Indian names , Indian values(Ok maybe more like Indian biases and idiosyncrasies) . That’s the reason I loved this book .I loved that the story cruises along Jamshedpur and the idyllic hills of  Mussoorie .

There are no sudden twists and turns in the plot as it tells us the tale of the vivacious Piali and the enigmatic Sathya who go through the usual pitfalls to bring a happy ending to their story which had begun unexpectedly in the hills .  I liked Piali ..the independent , strong woman that she was , I almost loved her . But the debatist that I am , a teeny weeny bit of me rebelled . I could not place a finger on it while reading . But once I closed the book it struck me .Piali was too perfect .Too flawless . Needed a little bit of more anger in her to make her more human .

Strangely Sathya resonated well with me . Accepting a father who was diametrically opposite to him in values , getting out to experiment with his aspirations with the idea that he would be returning home some day to change it all  is the practical stuff true Desi homes are made of .

And if only the story had not ended so abruptly ,I would have given this story  a happy 5. But for now I will smilingly give it 4 .




 

In the Book Club Blog Tour series is this interview with Author, Ruchi Vasudeva. http://ruchivasudeva.wordpress.com/2014/03/02/get-to-know-author-andy-paula/comment-page-1/#comment-140  Hi everyone! Today I have author Andy Paula on my blog with her new release, Love’s Labor. Let’s get to know her via a question and answer round :) Q: Tell us something about yourself and how you got into writing?

AP: My childhood was spent in various places of Bihar and my glory lay in the fact they people said I wrote good letters. J  Those were the days of snail mail and I was commended by friends and family as a great letter writer. They tell me they were transported to the place that I’d described in the letter, and these remarks (I learnt the word compliment later) made me feel like a great writer. Also, when my essays were read out in class, it boosted my morale. But I never really envisioned that I would be a writer.

I wanted to grow up, major in English and teach the subject so I did that. I was the most job satisfied person around me and could never understand why people didn’t choose a career they were cut out for and stop cribbing about all things work-related. After teaching for over nine years, I moved to corporate training. The company was looking for a trainer with a language background and I glided into my new role.  Here, I was happy training and sending mails to colleagues that cracked them up. The occasional article that got selected for the office magazine made me feel like a Pulitzer winner.

And then London happened. My husband, an IT professional, was headed to UK for a year and I was not to be left behind. I quit my corporate job and happily flew to meet The Queen. With no job to go to, I felt like an explorer and soaked in the English environs. After I’d had my share of cheese cakes, fish & chips and Stratford-upon-Avon, I got into blogging. Not without relentless online pestering from my mother in India about why I was ‘wasting time’ and ‘at least not writing’ about my experiences, if I hadn’t taken a job there! Blogging put me into a strict writing regimen and when a friend told me about Indirom, the flagship of Indireads, I’d gotten into the habit of sitting at the laptop and typing away. It is a fattening job, I tell you, and I’m grateful that my Love’s Labor was not lost.

Q: Your experience of writing a book – easy as pie or hard as nails?

AP: I’ve written only one just now and it was hard. I hadn’t expected that! I thought writing came easily to me- I was blogging and wrote short pieces all my life- but a full-length book is a different ball-game, I realize. The edits that came forth squashed me completely and I’d almost given up, till, with divine intervention, Love’s Labor saw the light of day.

Q: What motivates you to write?

AP: Everything. I don’t know too many other things that make me as happy as when I’m involved in the writing process.

Q: What inspired you to write this book?

AP: I could never understand the fuss surrounding love and inter-caste marriage in our society. Love’s Labor is a story that I saw unfold in my family. The drama that ordinary people are capable of, the politics that unrelenting parents play with their rebellious children and the resentment that brews in young hearts are all that I am privy to. The saga needed telling, more for my own catharsis than for the reader to critique. You can read more about the background of Love’s Labor here.

Q: Please describe your book briefly.

AP: Love’s Labor is a story about Piali Roy, an English teacher, & Sathya Nair, an animator, who are brought together by circumstances, and despite behavioural and communal differences, end up falling in love. All very well. What is not is the reaction of the two families, and a third’s. That of the girl’s who Sathya was slated to marry, when Piali took his life by storm.

Staring from a hill station in India, the book takes you on a flashback to a Steel township where the lead pair belong, to another hill station where their love blossoms, to a city in the South of India where Sathya goes away to put his beloved’s insecurities to rest to another mountain town where the heroine herself lands up. In a tale spanning over two years, Love’s Labor takes you on a journey of India and, more importantly, of the human heart.

The journey of the lead pair both inward & out is what forms the crux of the story; what adds spice to it are the deep-rooted & firmly held traditions that the families refuse to budge from and the couple’s unceasing attempts to overcome them.

Q: Tell us about the main characters in your book.

AP: Piali Roy: Twenty five year old Piali Roy is a beautiful and confident English teacher. She heads the teachers’ group that is going on an excursion to Panchgani, where she meets Sathya, the Director’s son. Not the one who believes in ‘love at first sight’, she chides her palpitating heart for playing wanton. But life has other plans for this dutiful daughter.

Sathya Nair: With his dashing looks, part- philosopher -part –academic demeanor and smouldering eyes, Sathya makes the teachers go weak. He is the Director’s son, the heir apparent, to the chain of schools his father has founded. The trip to Panchgani is his initiation into his future role. Sathya is engaged to the Principal’s daughter, Vinitha.

Vinitha Krishnan: The friendly and composed IT professional who can differentiate the grain from the chaff is betrothed to her family friend, Sathya.  Her reaction when Sathya calls off the engagement takes everyone by surprise.

Piyush Roy: A dignified government official who holds family honour above all else is Piali’s father, Mr. Roy is appalled that his loving daughter has falling for Sathya, a man from a different community.

APJ Nair: The School Chairman, Piali’s boss, is infamous in the small town of Jamshedpur for questionable practices. He smells a fish that a mere teacher in his school has ‘hooked’ Sathya, his son, the future Director. His dreams of tying his empire with the Principal’s, by marrying his son to her daughter, seems to be crashing.

Q: How do you overcome writer’s block?

AP: I read so that I can be inspired to write. Sometimes, I can’t differentiate between writer’s block and laziness, honestly!

Q: Does writing get in your way of life?

AP: Life gets in the way of my writing. There are too many other areas that demand attention and writing is relegated to the background oftentimes.

Q: What’s next in your writing plans?

AP: A novel that revolves around relationships. And Then It Was Dawn is the working title of my second.

And here comes our rapidfire round:

Your favourite movie – Shawshank Redemption
The worst movie you’ve seen – Jaani Dushman. (Yes, I sat through the whole of it.)
Any secret habit? – Won’t remain a secret if revealed!
Actor you’d fall for in a heartbeat – George Clooney
Favourite book – Soul Prints by Marc Gafni
Fallback option when the fridge is empty – Zarda Pulao
What comforts you when things go bad? – A tight hug
Your most comfortable outfit – Long skirts & top in summer, tracks in winter.


Great interacting with you, Andy! Zarda pulao – sweetened rice – sound yum! You got away from sharing your secret habit very nicely! Spoilsport ;) :)


 

This interview was a part of The Book Club Blog Tour. It first appeared here http://sundarivenkatraman.blogspot.in/2014/03/blog-tour-spotlight-review-interview-of.html

Sundari Venkatraman: Give a description of your novel ‘twitter’ style, in 140 characters. 
 
Andy Paula: #PialiRoy #SathyaNair Impossible mission-love! Domineering fathers, doting mothers. Can lovers beat odds? No Love without Labor http://www.amazon.in/dp/B00H6UARAK 
SV: Can you describe your journey from Anindita Sarkar to Andy Paula? AP: Anindita was christened Andy by her schoolmates and assured that she would win the Pulitzer some day. Andy laughed at the idea knowing full well that good compositions in the grammar paper did not translate to a literary award. She grew up, mastered in English and picked up the red pen. As an educator, she lived out her childhood dream of teaching English. Working in various public schools of India brought her the experience, the adulation and the spondylitis.  It was when the last happened -with the heaps of notebook and exam paper corrections- that a corporate training opportunity arose. Relieved at dropping the red pen and picking the mouse, the corporate trainer went on to train the IT sector in Voice and Accent, Culture and Behavioural modules. Six years into that and UK beckoned. 
Quitting my corporate career - without batting an eyelid! – it was when I was savouring the English sounds, sight and smell that the blogging bug bit me. As my dormant muse raised its pretty head, and surprised me by keeping it raised, Indireads happened. Love’s Labor, a story untold, was waiting to be told and by now I remembered the Pulitzer ‘prediction’. So revisions, edits, give-up stages later, I finally went with the flow (read, editor) and the book saw the light of the day. Some labor, that!
SV: They say that debut novels generally verge on a lot of incidents from the author’s life. How much of Love’s Labor follows yours? AP: A lot. The plot, the characters, the settings, the conversations – all are real. What is not is the end. And the names. 
SV: I see that you are a corporate trainer. Do you see yourself becoming a full-time writer?  AP: Had Love’s Labor sent me laughing to the bank, I could’ve answered this with more certainty, Sundari! Since I’m still reeling under the impact of the lack of zeroes on the paycheck, I am unable to say.  
SV: Love’s Labor was born out of the impact of a real incident in the life of someone you know. What about your next book?AP: Love’s Labor is one real life incident; my next is many people, many lives. SV: Love’s Labor is a romance. Do you plan to continue writing in the same genre or…?AP: Everyone loves a love story. So romance has a huge market that Indirom, the flagship of Indireads, decided to tap. For now, I don’t have a roadmap but my stories will always be about human relationships, I think. That is what fascinates me the most.  That was a lovely conversation with Andy Paula, the creator of Love’s Labor. It was fun talking to you about your journey as a writer Andy. I hope you get a number of ‘zeroes’ in your upcoming paycheck. Looking forward to reading your next book.     

Andy Paula is a versatile personality – a corporate trainer, an avid reader, a passionate blogger, and now, a writer. Her book, Love’s labor is a romance novella published by Indireads, a Toronto based e-publishing house. Love’s Labor was inaugurated by the Hon.Minister of State, H.R.D., Dr.Shashi Tharoor and commended by former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam for its electronic format as ‘saving the environment’. Andy has written both fiction and non-fiction for the digital and print media. Her short story Anjum was published simultaneously by Indireads and eFiction India, and earned her accolades both sides of the border. It also listed Andy as an Amazon and a Barnes & Noble author. Let’s catch Andy Paula in a tête-à-tête to find out more about her books and her literary journey so far -

M&J: How did the corporate trainer Anindita Sarkar turn into writer Andy Paula?

AP: The corporate trainer was looking for a change of scene without consciously doing much about it. So the universe took it upon itself and gave her a year in London. She quit her corporate job and accompanied her software professional husband on his onsite, and without the pressures of a regular job, took to blogging seriously as she soaked in the English sun and snow.
Like the Guru appears when the disciple is ready, the publisher appeared when the procrastinator became serious. The self-imposed discipline that blogging had brought about gave me the courage to dive headlong into writing Love’s Labor, when Naheed Hassan, the founder of the e-publishing house, Indireads, contacted me. She had envisioned a literary feast for the South Asian diaspora spread across the globe with authors from the same geography donning the chefs’ hat. Indirom, the flagship of Indireads, was specifically looking for South Asian romance, as Naheed, the avid reader was tired of reading about billionaires with Italian good-looks and blondes that they were wooing. She couldn’t see the type in the world around her – you know how shattering that can be for a romantic soul – and decided to reveal to the world what she had and was experiencing around her.
Andy Paula was born with Indireads – a classic example of being at the right place at the right time. The christening of Anindita to Andy had happened long ago at school, Paula just added to the cosmo touch! And when Love’s Labor was undergoing merciless edits, and Anindita had almost given up, Andy Paula thundered, ‘If there’s one book you write in your entire life, this has to be it!’, and Anindita relented.

Is the writer Andy Paula different from Anindita Sarkar?

They are like the two sides of the same coin. When one side flips over and becomes the other, even the coin doesn’t know.

What inspired you to write Love’s Labor?

This story had been festering inside me for over fifteen years. It had to be told. Love’s Labor has its inception in the last decade when it was discovered at home that a cousin had the audacity to fall for a man from another community. All hell broke loose and the poor girl was subjected to the worse possible form of blackmail starting from her mother threatening to swallow sleeping pills to the matriarch leaving home were the offender to not change her decision. The man in question was well-placed and even offered to take the cousin away to his place of work; she vehemently refused citing filial duty and social disgrace as reasons. And in an unexpected twist of events, one day, she disappeared from home. While initially it was suspected that she had eloped, the lover himself was at a loss because he was very much at home!

This incident, a legend during my young adulthood, left a disturbing influence on me. As a thinking individual, I replayed it in various forms in my imagination, giving it a happily-ever-after ending. And then, Love’s Labor was born. Piali, the quintessential small-town Indian girl is torn between her love for the lover on one hand and her love for her family on the other.

How much of you is in the protagonist Piali Roy?

To the extent that both of us are certain about what we want to do in life, both are Literature lovers and have a mind not easily swayed by public opinion. In many ways, the professional part of Piali reflects the professional side of me but somewhere down the narrative, she becomes her own person and I have no control over her.

If you were to do one thing differently in the book – what would that be & why?

I would possibly change the ending. Caste divide is such a menacing reality in India. Even in our modern times, the current ending of Love’s Labor is almost wishful. In a rewrite, I would let it remain as it did in real time – incomplete, unfinished, unconsummated…

What is your message to the aspiring authors?

I’d tell them what Hemingway told us. “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”  So if you cannot bear the agony of an untold story inside you, then sit and bleed at your laptop. If you can bear the agony, then stick to your day job. It pays your bills.

How was your experience while contributing to Love Across Borders- An Anthology of Short Stories? Do you feel a difference in the writing style of your counterpart across the border?

Uplifting!

Love Across Borders aims to foster goodwill between the two nations that have seen strife and tension over the last six decades. We wanted to weave a narrative of love and hope where there has been, mostly, animosity and despair. Whether it was this noble intent or something else, I’ll never know but Anjum, my story in the LAB anthology, is the quickest piece I’ve ever written.

I did not find any difference in the style of writing of my Pakistani counterparts. Love and friendship are universal concepts and the imaginary line separating the two countries does nothing to change that fact. Interestingly, there are a couple of stories in the anthology that are collaborative efforts. Best Friends Forever has been co-written by Naheed Hassan, a Pakistani who lives in Boston, and Shweta Ganesh Kumar, an Indian who is currently in El Salvador; One Stupid Comment is a dystopian fiction by Karachi-based Sabahat Muhammad and Indian author Shuchi Kalra. In That Seventies Babe, Mamun Adil poignantly tells the tale of a young, Pakistani boy madly in love with a gorgeous Indian woman. The emotions of love, longing and jealousy are so real that they could belong to any part of the world.
The waves of change are something the educated milieu both sides of the border are embracing, convinced that this is the only failsafe method to write intelligent history. LAB is an effort towards that end and I feel privileged to have been a part of the cause.

Would you like to share your future projects with our readers?

The more I talk about it, the less I seem to accomplish it! But since you ask, my next manuscript, And Then It Was Dawn, is underway. It is a story of relationships, played out of New Delhi and Banaras, two places I can write about with a certain degree of ease. And Then It Was … is more layered than Love’s Labor and I hope to complete it soon.


This interview was conducted by Morsels&Juices for their Inspired section.
http://morselsandjuices.com/inspired/
 

 The first question of the English Language paper in school was always a composition. Out of five topics, we had to write any one piece of 350-500 words. While the rest of the class would start scribbling the moment they got the paper, I spent at least twenty minutes of the allotted two hours on thinking. I marvelled at how others could write a creative piece without prior thought! Middle school upwards I started scoring the best grades in my favourite subject and was consistently delighted about it. I secretly scorned at those who ‘mugged up’ essays in a bid to score high. So deep was my satiety at doing well in English that I seemed to not notice that I was terrible at Math. Once, my composition A House on Fire was read out in class and folks hailed it as the next big thing. The same day, the Maths paper revealed that I’d failed to score the minimum forty. I pondered upon what I ought to feel more – elation at the highest or dejection at the red line in the report card. That was Class VII. The thinker was graduating to a philosopher.
I used to take Math tuitions with a neighbour who also taught English to students. He gave me to write an account - An Uninvited Guest- once, although English was not what I went to him for. When I took it to him the next day, Bijon Kaku asked me if my mother had written it for me. He was amazed that someone who was poor with numbers could have a way with words. That convoluted compliment remains one of my best ones so far. :)
Later, as a university student, I wrote a letter to my Professor complaining about my room-mate who had no concern for her health, ate khichdi day after day distressing me with her Spartan life and spent days poring over books. This girl, Subhalakshmi, was a diligent academic and would even attend those classes which she had not opted for. For the bindaas me, this was not acceptable, especially because Prof urged me to ‘look at her, learn something from Subha’ all the time! The letter I sent to him through Subha- who had no inkling about the content of the envelope- as she went to Sir’s house after class to make extra notes. He read the letter, declared it a mock epic and showed it to all who went to study under him. ‘Fame’ felt euphoric, especially as it came from someone with exacting standards. 
In retrospect, all these stray incidents may have portended toward a glorious writing career! :) Only, I was so content teaching English and writing the odd article for the school journal that I never gave any serious thought to a literary pursuit. Didn’t reclusive people who lived in the mountains or by the sea go on to become famous writers? Surely not a small-town girl with two thick, oily plaits who rode to school on a cycle and thought life was all about Jagdish’ chanachoor, reading Mills and Boon hidden in the Geography book and scraping through the Physics exam! Just that whenever life happened - and it always did - I found myself wondering how it would read in a book or look in a film were somebody to capture it. 
Significant incidents I did capture in a diary, but the task of keeping it in a secret place was so bothersome that the practice discontinued, with the silent hope that someday when I became a writer, I’d write about things from my journal. The ‘someday’ took these many years to manifest. And I thank God for making it late than never. There are so many people who sleep-walk through life without ever knowing where their heart lies that I live in eternal gratitude for my Blessing and the awareness of it. 

Love’s Labor came at a time when I was travelling for my husband’s posting and had quit my corporate training job. We were in London, from India, had visited places, tried the local cuisine, seen museums and musicals and had had our fill of the sun and the snow. Gradually, when I’d exhausted my quota of euphoria of being in the land of literary giants, I took to blogging. I wrote about whatever I observed or anything I cooked, about the places we explored and suggested our friends do. The blog was well-received and people wrote in to say they enjoyed it or they missed it when I didn’t post anything. That gave me the shove to write furiously and I did it till I was in London. Blogging put me into the discipline of writing. When Indireads (IR) approached me, I knew I could sit for hours and type. The groundwork had been done under the invisible supervision of The Greats. 

There were shockers in store for me, though. After my second round of feedback from IR, I gave up all notions about my supposed greatness and felt like a student who is pulled up for every line she writes. The manuscript came back with so many red lines that I had to strain to see the original text. I shelved the book and told myself that blogging was all that I could possibly do, not a full length book. And then, after over a month of dry spell, I got a call from the publisher urging me to ‘forget all feedback and write what you originally wanted to’! I was too stupefied to remark that by then I’d forgotten that too!  This divine intervention made me resolute, though, that if I write just one book in my life, this had to be it. The story had been festering inside me for over a decade and I wanted the catharsis as much as I needed to see myself as a published author.  
That’s how Andy Paula, the author, was born. I made my debut with a name my friends had christened me with and added Paula just gave it the right zing.  When they ask me why Paula, I ask them why not. Being a published author has brought about changes without bringing about many. There are changes in my dimension for example. Writing is a fattening job and I’d to shift to a floor arrangement when the chair shrunk without warning. It belongs to the cat now; I cannot fit into it even if I want to. What hasn’t changed is that when I go for a walk, people still don’t recognise me. :)
With the dynamic and the static is the realization that there are few other highs than seeing one’s name in print. The book reviews, the interviews, the blog posts – all so heady, so intoxicating. And ten years from now when eBooks are the norm rather than the exception, I’d like to look back and think we’ve been the pioneers. I live for those times.

This feature first appeared here http://www.b00kr3vi3ws.in/2014/03/AndyPaula.html