AUTHOR’S BIO:
Debleena has worked for over 20 years in leadership roles in Finance, Strategy and in Education acrosss everal global firms apart from co-founding Kahaniyah, a company to simplify strategy with data storytelling.Her business articles have been published in Economic Times,Economic Times Prime, Huffington Post, Business Insider,Your Story. She has also written plays that have been performed in Bengaluru. She is the author of the bestselling crime thriller, A Marketplace for Murder, which was featured by ANI as one of the top five fiction reads of 2019.
1. Who and what inspired you to write?
Growing up, I loved both numbers and words. I loved the logic of Math, the fact that I knew exactly what to expect when I worked with numbers and that I could craft neat equations and balance everything.I also loved words and stories – the sheer magic and beauty and their ability to transport me to a world I had never imagined. But there were never any easy equations for me, with words. So, for the longest time, I was content to just read books that my favourite authors had written and never dared to think that I could become one.When it came to choosing a profession, I chose to work with numbers. Statistics and Finance were my domain and my writing at that time was restricted to assumptions for formulae or strategy updates in bullet points, if you discounted the crazy limericks that I wrote during long meetings.
It was only a few years back that I simultaneously took the plunge to both explore entrepreneurship and writing, saying goodbye to my till then, well-known world of corporate leadership roles. My family believes that it was an early onset of mid-life crisis. I claim it is because my husband loved the horrible poems that I wrote for him as part of his birthday gifts and because my daughter found the fairy tale retellings, I created for her where women did not wait to be saved, but did the saving, on their own, funny, and real. Whatever the reason, I am grateful that I took the plunge when I did. Writing today is a way for me to find meaning in a world that is often difficult to navigate. Like my personal map finder.
2. What challenges did you face while writing and getting published?
I guess the biggest challenge for me was believing that I could be an author. It was a big mental shift for me from revering authors to finding the courage to join the club. It was the early belief of Suhail Mathur, of THE BOOK BAKERS that made this transition easier for me. He believed in my first book when I did not know if it was good enough to be called a book. He also helped me identify the genres which could help me grow in my craft.
After that, it was a smooth process, with the guidance and support at every step from Mr. Suhail Mathur. Along with that, as I started writing more on business and my articles started being published in leading business newspapers from Economic Times to Huffington Post, Business Insider etc., the feedback from those who read those articles and connected with me, boosted my confidence.I would not have become an author without Mr. Suhail Mathur’s support. I am forever grateful.
3. How did you come to know about the literary agency THE BOOK BAKERS?
Once I had finished writing my first book, I was not yet sure what to do with it. I came from a mathematical background. And I approached writing, the way I would, any new learning. I read as much as I could. I researched everything I could find on authors whose books I loved. To be honest, I must have collected enough research material on Agatha Christie to create more than one book. I compulsively searched for the haunts of authors when I travelled. Meanwhile, I honed my writing skills with constant practice and feedback and also attended a couple of workshops.
As part of that research, I found the name of The BOOK BAKERS. I contacted them. And the confidence that Mr. Suhail Mathur showed in me, helped me leapfrog the confusion that is inevitable in a new journey like this.
4. How did THE BOOK BAKERS help you and what would you like to say about them?
I would not have become an author without the support of THE BOOK BAKERS. From believing in me to guiding and supporting me at every step and from sharing new opportunities with me to helping me hone my specific focus areas for writing; it has been a marvellous partnership. I cannot imagine how I would have made this journey without the support of THE BOOK BAKERS. And I am just getting started. There are many ideas and stories spinning in my head, and I am looking forward to a long and meaningful partnership with the team.
5. How supportive is your publisher of your work?
The publisher is extremely supportive of my work. They have guided and helped me navigate the entire publishing journey and been extremely supportive of how I had envisioned the book, with a combination of research on the life of Sabu,research on his movies as well as on the historical backdrop of that time. We managed the entire editing and publishing during successive lockdowns and COVID imposed restrictions, But I never felt a lack of support, even without meeting the team, face-to-face. We managed everything virtually, seamlessly.
They also helped me think through how to add the right pictures to bring out the visual feel of the story. I am grateful for their support and for their belief in me.
6. How do you see literary success for yourself?
For me, success would be able to keep being able to tell stories that matter and stories that can engage, entertain, educate, or inspire people. I love writing on History, Finance and on Crime and the chance to keep researching and writing on the stories I can tell in these areas, is what motivates me to keep writing. The authors whose books I have loved reading have always given me countless moments of joy and their books have adorned my forever bulging bookshelves with multi-hued dreams. I dream of finding readers who could find joy through my books and in whose bookshelves my books could add colour. So, if people find what I write meaningful, well, that is all the success I am looking for.
7. When can we expect your next book?
Very soon. I am currently completing a children’s book that introduces them to Finance in a fun, storytelling-led way. Money is a topic that is strangely absent from most education curriculums. And that leads to confusion and lack of awareness around financial decisions as kids grow up. I wanted to make this topic fun and meaningful for kids. And as accessible as a story they would love to read.I am also researching on Bengal in the 1700s. I love historical research and this period was a turbulent time in the history of Bengal. Through this lens, I am trying to build well-researched non-fiction stories based on characters that lived through this period and fought, won, and lost battles, of various kinds.
8. How has your experience being working with Locksley Hall Publishing?
The experience has been immensely enjoyable and a great learning for me. At every step, the team helped me finalize my manuscript into the final shape of the book that people could read. From the editing to the promotions, the team has been extremely helpful, and their guidance has been invaluable for me.
9. Any message or tips for aspiring authors?
I doubt that I am experienced enough to share tips for other authors. But, if there’s one thing I’ve learnt over the last few years is that beyond the stories that pull us and we want to write on, beyond the creative aspects of language and the craft of storytelling, and beyond the long journey across editing, publishing, promoting the book and more, the thing that defines writing is the discipline to keep working at our craft, every day. I am an entrepreneur along with being an author so if I can take an analogy from the world of entrepreneurship, the founder is the first one who believes in he/his/their idea. And then that idea, over time, with constant work and fine-tuning, hopefully finds other believers. It is a similar story, with writing. Unless we discipline ourselves to author our stories and to build our craft, word by word, we will not find other believers.“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”
Ernest Hemingway was supposed to have said.
Discipline, I believe, helps us hone that craft. And I remain an apprentice of the craft.
BOOK NAME: SABU, THE REMARKABLE STORY OF INDIA'S FIRST ACTOR IN HOLLYWOOD
PUBLISHER: LOCKSLEY HALL PUBLISHING
BOOK SYNOPSIS/BLURB:
The year was 1937. A new movie released in London. Elephant Boy. Across movie halls, the audience watched, enraptured, as a young smiling boy gracefully perched himself atop a giant elephant. An illustrious career in movies followed, taking the boy to the echelons of Hollywood. The boy was Sabu.His real life was no less dramatic than a movie. Orphaned at an early age, he worked in the stables as the ward of the Maharaja of Mysuru (Mysore) before being discovered during the shooting of Elephant Boy.
How did the young boy make the impossible journey across the ocean to the silver screen? How did he become India’s first Hollywood star?And just when life was becoming a perfect fairy-tale for him,what changed his story? How did he reinvent himself multiple times, fighting for the US during World War II, working as a businessperson, and even conducting a circus act?
Read Sabu, to know the untold and forgotten story of the boy who became one of India’s first actors in Hollywood.
ORDER YOUR COPY FROM:
https://www.amazon.in/dp/8195405509?ref=myi_title_dp
https://www.pustakmandi.com/SABU-The-Remarkable-Story-Of-India-First-Actor-In-Hollywood