In a conversation with indie author : Shilpa Menon
Hello book-lovers,today we have on board author Shilpa Menon.She is a Chemical Engineer with a bachelor and Masters Degree from the University of Cape Town in South Africa.Her recent quest for the eclectic and that un-quenched desire to walk down a road less travelled took her on a journey, at finding her passion in writing. Scars Do Heal is the first work she has published in December 2015, which is a book she has written and dedicated to victims of sexual abuse. She has recently launched her second novel, In Pursuit of a family. So without further ado, let's get started!
1.One fictional character that resembles you the most?It has to be Bridget Jones! I can so relate to her.2.What is your writing motivation?I am an avid reader so books have always meant comfort to me. Before I wrote my first novel, I would usually flip through pages in a novel so casually without really thinking about the efforts that would have gone into writing even one snippet! Writing made me view a piece of writing from an author's perspective and that taught me a great deal. Besides that, coming up with a gripping story line, maintaining a particular style of writing was a challenging task - especially to bring out expressions and emotions through words. I find writing greatly therapeutic and rewarding.I have written two novels so far and I decided to use fiction as a medium to table issues affecting the society at large. ‘Scars do heal’ was dedicated to victims of sexual assault and ‘In pursuit of a family’ was dedicated to orphans. I feel through words I can touch some people’s hearts and help them find some self-healing. In fact, for both of my novels I have had instances of people who have approached me and told me how much the books helped them on their personal path. Such kind of feedback is very rewarding contributes greatly to fuel my desire to keep writing.3.Who's your favourite author?I cannot pick one! My top 3 will be Jojo Moyes, Judith Mcnaught and Sophie Kinsella.4.Few quickies :Money or fame? Fame Commercial fiction or literary fiction? Literary fiction Blogging or vlogging? Blogging Interviews or book reviews? Book reviews Audiobooks or ebooks? Ebooks Plotter or panster? A combination of both5.How long does it take to write the first draft? You've written 2 books now. Did you slow down or speed up your writing process?My first novel was drafted in 6 months. Post publication I had a good curve of learning and I realized my weaknesses and I wanted to address them meticulously for my second book. The second novel took over a year. The writing process sped down because I wanted to challenge myself and do better. I played with the writing style. I wanted the readers to get gripped and the only way one can achieve that is by bringing the right intensity. All this takes extra time. 6. How was your experience? Did it differ from your expectations?My experience as a writer has been very rewarding so far. I now enjoy reading even more because I have seen the literary world both from a reader and author’s perspective. I have been able to write on topics which are close to my heart and I am proud of that. Many people want to write but get discouraged by how to go about and how to publish. Having pursued my dreams to write and actually get them out to readers’ world is a big milestone for me. It has surely helped me grow in my personal front.7.What do you think is the most exciting thing about a book release?After having spent a lot of time crafting and perfecting a manuscript, a book release is a very critical step. The last thing you need after all you’ve invested as time and effort is for your book not to reach out to readers. If you want your books to succeed, to get into the hands of your readers, to potentially achieve bestseller status a good book release is key. Besides that, there is the whole excitement and the anticipation as to how the readers have received your work.8.Who's your favourite author so far and why?I really like JoJo Moyes, for her impeccable style of writing.9.Could you kindly introduce us to your latest book in brief?My first novel, Scars do heal, was published in December 2015. I had dedicated that novel to the survivors of sexual assaults. I had used fiction as a means to achieve two aims - The first was to increase awareness and sensitize people about the rampant crime against women and its aftermath and provide an understanding what the victims of sexual abuse go through. The second aspect was regarding self-healing. The research that went into the work behind the writing of Scars do Heal all paid off. Scars do Heal has been well received by readers across many countries. The reviews were very encouraging and that fueled the desire for me to pen my second novel, “In Pursuit of a Family”.For the story-line of the second novel, I maintained my stance of wanting to write about less discussed topics. I chose to write about a topic which is close to my heart – about orphans, those who have no mother or father to guide them, protect them or love them. Unless adopted or taken in by an orphanage, these children are left to wander the streets, beg or steal for food and find shelter wherever they can. This cycle results in a high rate of suicide, physical and sexual abuse, the need to turn to organised crime and prostitution for survival. Their rights to adequate standards of living, health care and education are often violated. My journey of writing my second novel began towards the end of 2016. The first step was to do a fair amount of research about the main challenges orphans face. Once I was satisfied with the kind of issues I wanted to table in the novel, I started developing and weaving the story. It took me around a year and a half to bring the novel to fruition.The lead protagonist in the plot is, Zsofia. She had lost her parents at the tender age of 4. By the time she got to her twenties, she had gone through so much of struggles on her own that she turned into an introvert. What kept her sanity were the walls which she built around her over the years to keep herself protected and her determination on building a bright career for stability. She then meets Kevin, someone who shares similar career aspirations with Zsofia. The story revolves around them — how they help, challenge and complement each other despite their having radically different upbringing. The story also focuses on how the lead protagonist brings out her suppressed desire of having a family of her own.I have started conceptualizing my third novel. The topic I have chosen to write around is domestic violence. The initial reading I am doing around domestic violence are shocking, to say the least. I feel the urge to write around this sensitive topic as soon as possible. This novel will be having a fresh crew of characters. If all goes by plan, I hope to see this novel published by end of 2020.10.A lesson that you've learnt throughout the process of publishing your book babies?There have been many enriching learning from publishing my books. The main ones are definitely related to believing in your own story and Manuscript, paying attention to the flow and style of writing and the actual publishing do’s and don’t’s.11.Your advice to aspiring authors?If you have a good story and if you have written a good manuscript, remember that for every book there is a reader out there somewhere. Just believe in yourself, write from the heart and achieve your dream. Many authors are scared how to go about publishing. Don’t let that dampen your spirits! Once you are in it, the process will unfold and the book will see the day. Everyone has a different taste in reading. So, some will love your work, some will be overly critical and some may not appreciate. As authors we have to receive all feedback and reviews with an open mind.Shilpa Menon received her primary and secondary education from Mauritius. She is a Chemical Engineer with a bachelor and Masters Degree from the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Her research work related to the slurry precipitate and recycle reverse osmosis process has been published in various scientific journals. She began her career in the Petroleum field where she worked for few years before she turned into a serial entrepreneur. She then moved to India and founded the luxury lifestyle brand -Jolie. Her export house deals in a wide array of niche lifestyle products friendly to the environment, a whole host of educational aids/tools and a range of toys for children. Her other interests include baking, painting, photography, travelling, Pranic healing and reading. Her recent quest for the eclectic and that un-quenched desire to walk down a road less travelled took her on a journey, at finding her passion in writing. Scars Do Heal is the first work she has published in December 2015, which is a book she has written and dedicated to victims of sexual abuse. She has recently launched her second novel, In Pursuit of a family. https://notionpress.com/read/in-pursu... Page: http://amzn.to/2mVi80YGoodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4... Links: Amazon India, Amazon USAhttps://www.amazon.in/Pursuit-Family-...
1.One fictional character that resembles you the most?It has to be Bridget Jones! I can so relate to her.2.What is your writing motivation?I am an avid reader so books have always meant comfort to me. Before I wrote my first novel, I would usually flip through pages in a novel so casually without really thinking about the efforts that would have gone into writing even one snippet! Writing made me view a piece of writing from an author's perspective and that taught me a great deal. Besides that, coming up with a gripping story line, maintaining a particular style of writing was a challenging task - especially to bring out expressions and emotions through words. I find writing greatly therapeutic and rewarding.I have written two novels so far and I decided to use fiction as a medium to table issues affecting the society at large. ‘Scars do heal’ was dedicated to victims of sexual assault and ‘In pursuit of a family’ was dedicated to orphans. I feel through words I can touch some people’s hearts and help them find some self-healing. In fact, for both of my novels I have had instances of people who have approached me and told me how much the books helped them on their personal path. Such kind of feedback is very rewarding contributes greatly to fuel my desire to keep writing.3.Who's your favourite author?I cannot pick one! My top 3 will be Jojo Moyes, Judith Mcnaught and Sophie Kinsella.4.Few quickies :Money or fame? Fame Commercial fiction or literary fiction? Literary fiction Blogging or vlogging? Blogging Interviews or book reviews? Book reviews Audiobooks or ebooks? Ebooks Plotter or panster? A combination of both5.How long does it take to write the first draft? You've written 2 books now. Did you slow down or speed up your writing process?My first novel was drafted in 6 months. Post publication I had a good curve of learning and I realized my weaknesses and I wanted to address them meticulously for my second book. The second novel took over a year. The writing process sped down because I wanted to challenge myself and do better. I played with the writing style. I wanted the readers to get gripped and the only way one can achieve that is by bringing the right intensity. All this takes extra time. 6. How was your experience? Did it differ from your expectations?My experience as a writer has been very rewarding so far. I now enjoy reading even more because I have seen the literary world both from a reader and author’s perspective. I have been able to write on topics which are close to my heart and I am proud of that. Many people want to write but get discouraged by how to go about and how to publish. Having pursued my dreams to write and actually get them out to readers’ world is a big milestone for me. It has surely helped me grow in my personal front.7.What do you think is the most exciting thing about a book release?After having spent a lot of time crafting and perfecting a manuscript, a book release is a very critical step. The last thing you need after all you’ve invested as time and effort is for your book not to reach out to readers. If you want your books to succeed, to get into the hands of your readers, to potentially achieve bestseller status a good book release is key. Besides that, there is the whole excitement and the anticipation as to how the readers have received your work.8.Who's your favourite author so far and why?I really like JoJo Moyes, for her impeccable style of writing.9.Could you kindly introduce us to your latest book in brief?My first novel, Scars do heal, was published in December 2015. I had dedicated that novel to the survivors of sexual assaults. I had used fiction as a means to achieve two aims - The first was to increase awareness and sensitize people about the rampant crime against women and its aftermath and provide an understanding what the victims of sexual abuse go through. The second aspect was regarding self-healing. The research that went into the work behind the writing of Scars do Heal all paid off. Scars do Heal has been well received by readers across many countries. The reviews were very encouraging and that fueled the desire for me to pen my second novel, “In Pursuit of a Family”.For the story-line of the second novel, I maintained my stance of wanting to write about less discussed topics. I chose to write about a topic which is close to my heart – about orphans, those who have no mother or father to guide them, protect them or love them. Unless adopted or taken in by an orphanage, these children are left to wander the streets, beg or steal for food and find shelter wherever they can. This cycle results in a high rate of suicide, physical and sexual abuse, the need to turn to organised crime and prostitution for survival. Their rights to adequate standards of living, health care and education are often violated. My journey of writing my second novel began towards the end of 2016. The first step was to do a fair amount of research about the main challenges orphans face. Once I was satisfied with the kind of issues I wanted to table in the novel, I started developing and weaving the story. It took me around a year and a half to bring the novel to fruition.The lead protagonist in the plot is, Zsofia. She had lost her parents at the tender age of 4. By the time she got to her twenties, she had gone through so much of struggles on her own that she turned into an introvert. What kept her sanity were the walls which she built around her over the years to keep herself protected and her determination on building a bright career for stability. She then meets Kevin, someone who shares similar career aspirations with Zsofia. The story revolves around them — how they help, challenge and complement each other despite their having radically different upbringing. The story also focuses on how the lead protagonist brings out her suppressed desire of having a family of her own.I have started conceptualizing my third novel. The topic I have chosen to write around is domestic violence. The initial reading I am doing around domestic violence are shocking, to say the least. I feel the urge to write around this sensitive topic as soon as possible. This novel will be having a fresh crew of characters. If all goes by plan, I hope to see this novel published by end of 2020.10.A lesson that you've learnt throughout the process of publishing your book babies?There have been many enriching learning from publishing my books. The main ones are definitely related to believing in your own story and Manuscript, paying attention to the flow and style of writing and the actual publishing do’s and don’t’s.11.Your advice to aspiring authors?If you have a good story and if you have written a good manuscript, remember that for every book there is a reader out there somewhere. Just believe in yourself, write from the heart and achieve your dream. Many authors are scared how to go about publishing. Don’t let that dampen your spirits! Once you are in it, the process will unfold and the book will see the day. Everyone has a different taste in reading. So, some will love your work, some will be overly critical and some may not appreciate. As authors we have to receive all feedback and reviews with an open mind.Shilpa Menon received her primary and secondary education from Mauritius. She is a Chemical Engineer with a bachelor and Masters Degree from the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Her research work related to the slurry precipitate and recycle reverse osmosis process has been published in various scientific journals. She began her career in the Petroleum field where she worked for few years before she turned into a serial entrepreneur. She then moved to India and founded the luxury lifestyle brand -Jolie. Her export house deals in a wide array of niche lifestyle products friendly to the environment, a whole host of educational aids/tools and a range of toys for children. Her other interests include baking, painting, photography, travelling, Pranic healing and reading. Her recent quest for the eclectic and that un-quenched desire to walk down a road less travelled took her on a journey, at finding her passion in writing. Scars Do Heal is the first work she has published in December 2015, which is a book she has written and dedicated to victims of sexual abuse. She has recently launched her second novel, In Pursuit of a family. https://notionpress.com/read/in-pursu... Page: http://amzn.to/2mVi80YGoodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4... Links: Amazon India, Amazon USAhttps://www.amazon.in/Pursuit-Family-...
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