Spectralhues recently got in touch with young and talented author Anjali Vaswani who made a scintillating entry into the literary world with critically acclaimed dark thriller ‘The Lost Paradise’.
A prolific reader and huge cricket fan Anjali is currently works at India’s most popular job portal as a test Engineer and is ready with her next book ‘Tangy Orange’ from Dream House Publications.
In an exclusive interview with Susmita Bose, Anajali reveals herself than ever before.
Congratulations Anjali on your debut book ‘The Lost Paradise’. Please tell us how much your life changed after the release of your book.
Thanks a lot Susmita. Life changed much after release of the novel. My novel was released last year in April 2013 and after that many readers have contacted me through fb, emails. They wanted to know about Riya, Vivaan and even how I manage my professional life as a ‘Software Tester’ and an ‘Author’ [Laughs a bit], they even see me as their idol and seriously it feels great. It even feels awesome when someone comments that my life is an inspiration for them.
How and when did the idea of “The Lost Paradise” cross your mind? What inspires you to write this particular story?
The Lost Paradise was an idea which had stroked my and Vikas’s mind at the same time. We didn’t want to experiment only romance but want to writer something inspirational for the youth of this country. We came across a young girl who wished not to reveal her identity studying in Delhi University in 2010. She told us how she was forced into prostitution and sex racket, and how big names were involved. So we decided to give our readers a dose of romance with a social message.
What kind of response have you been getting?
Response of the book is good. I don’t believe in selling 10,000 books, however I believe even if my one book is sold that should be appreciated. My readers are satisfied with the book content and I’m happy they have accepted us with their love and fan mails.
How was the experience in co-authoring the book with Vikas Bansal?
Vikas is awesome person to work with, but sometimes he can be really rigid over the things. In whole journey of ‘The Lost Paradise’ we have fought over little issues, we felt the pain of Riya and Vivaan, however these issues will not keep me away from working with him again.
How much the story is taken from real life incidents? How much Riya is Anjali?
Message which ‘The Lost Paradise’ wanted to give are inspired from real incidents. As I earlier told you, in 2010 we came across a young girl [who wished not to reveal her identity] studying in Delhi University. She told us how she was forced into prostitution and sex racket, and how big names were involved that protected the culprits to get the desired punishment
For your next question I’ll just say Riya is 100% Anjali. Riya is sensitive, loving, caring, but when needed she is most strong headed person. I believe there is some percentage of Riya in every young girl of India.
Are the central characters like Vivaan and Kamini known to you?
Kamini is known to me however Vivaan is a fictitious character, a dream man who every girl wants to marry.
What is love according to you? How do you rate Friendship?
I believe love is feeling which makes us weak and strong at the same time. Love is not only between two lovers but also between two friends, between parents and a daughter, between a brother and a sister. Friendship is the foundation of love. Without friendship no relationship can survive.
What is the message you wanted to convey through your book?
Message which we want to convey to youth of the nation is about sex rackets occurring in our country in which innocent young girl are forced into, we want youth to take step forward and report matters, raise voice so that at least these young girls can be saved.
Does writing come easy to you? How was your journey to become a writer?
Aha , writing a novel is not an easy task and especially when you are coauthoring a novel with Vikas. He is so strict and had even scolded me even for a single grammatical mistake. Writer’s biggest responsibility is to convince and satisfy his readers. My each day began with my office, in the night when I used to devote my time for my novel. For completing the novel I just slept for 3-4 hours in a day. Same schedule was followed by Vikas. Then when the novel was released we realized our hard work paid off .
Do tell us little bit about you. What interests do you have other than writing?
Oh I’m a fun loving gal. I love chilling out with my friends and family. I love to watch Bollywood movies and cricket. I’m a huge fan of Sachin Tendulkar and one day will like to present him my novel.
What kind of support you are getting?
I believe everyone in this world is on their own. I believe im getting the biggest support from myself. Other than that, there are several people who supported me in the whole journey, Vikas Bansal my coauthor, My friends, my family, my husband. Also I would like to thank Mauzam Beg [Co script writer of Rockstar movie, Director of SaddaAdda], Shirish Sharma [Bollywood Actor], Umesh Shukla [Director of Oh My god], Farhad Accidwala who took time from their busy schedule to read my novel and gave their valuable comments.
What was your experience with publisher?
My experience with Mahaveer has not been a smooth road. Traditional publishers so carry tantrums and as a debut author had to face those tantrums of the publishers. However
What kind of books do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors?
I like to read suspense, thriller and romance. My favorite all time author is Agatha Christie. Her books have been just superb. Also I love to read Sidney Shelton.
Could you tell us something about your future plans? Have you started planning for your next book? What would be the topic?
My second novel ‘Tangy Orange’ is about to release in June 2014. This novel is based on a life story of a breast cancer patient. In the story I have touched a sensitive issue which we come across every day of our life, that why we want to see the person we love as the most beautiful person in the world. In Tangy Orange I have described the journey of protagonist in which she was ditched and left by her love when she was diagnosed with breast cancer because cancer has left her ugly. I hope readers enjoy this novel as they did The Lost Paradise.
Thanks for your time, Anjali! We shall meet again. Wish you all the best for your future endeavours.
Details of “The Lost Paradise”:
Author: Vikas Bansal , Anjali Vaswani
Publisher: Mahaveer Publishers
ISBN 13 : 9789350880524
Cover: Paperback
Pages: 168
Date of Publication: 2013
MRP: Rs. 139
Buy The Lost Paradise from:
Synopsis of Anjali’s upcoming book ‘Tangy Orange’:
The story revolves around a young girl Anjali MIttal, who is the star of the college, the ultimate diva. Fame followed her at every point. With Mittal surname and daughter of a rich business tycoon her every dream turned into reality. Her life revolved around his dad, his nurse and his bunch of friends whom she stated her gang. Shaan her best friend was deeply in love with her silently. It was yet another year of school when she met Aryan , a new guy in school. She fell in love with him. However the guy turned villainsh and used her for her looks and beauty when she came to know that she is suffering from rear breast cancer. Ditched by Aryan and defeated by breast cancer she was all broken. This time Shaan came to her rescue.It was then she realized the actual meaning of love. She realized that love doesn’t mean to have a beautiful partner but a partner who cares for you at any given point. Anjali then fights all odds and at last fought cancer to live life with her true love.
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