A Rendezvous with The Flaming Sun
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.
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.
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