AUTHOR’S BIO :
Fazza Chelkar is a 27 years old IT professional and the author of “Murder in Quarantine”. She is born and brought up Mumbai and works as a freelancer for Technical support. She loves reading fiction and has grown up writing short stories for her family since the age of twelve. Being a technical support engineer, she got an opportunity to communicate with the people from around the globe which made her understand that human nature is same wherever you go and each one has his own story. She claims that while she was working for past four years, her one eye had been on the computer screen while the other saw this story unfold itself in front of it, chapter by chapter.
1. Who and what inspired you to write?
It was my grandmother. She loved reading and she always shared her stories with me. Some were real and some were the ones she made up. I have been listening to her stories since I was a child and it never ceased to amaze me how she would make up a story on spot when I wouldn’t go to sleep. She always told me that a story that we write never dies. Our stories can be enjoyed by some people, hated by some but it is our legacy and we should never feel self-conscious to share what we create. I used to write short stories for my family. Now when I read them it makes me laugh. However, the books that I read by some amazing authors like JK Rowling, Agatha Christie, Dan Brown, Amish Tripathi and many more made me think that I can also share my story with everyone. I had been thinking about this story for many years until I sat down one day to start writing it.
2. What challenges did you face while writing and getting published?
Mainly my work. I was a full-time employee in an IT company and after 9 and half hours of shift and 3 hours of travelling I hardly got a few hours for sleep and my family. I still remember that I put leave for a month in order to sit down and finish my book. The biggest challenge in getting published is finding the publisher. I read about self-publishing. I did not want to do that because I trusted my book and I wanted to get it published in a traditional way. I then tried to contact publishers on my own and failed. We do not get responses from the publishers if we contact them directly which is very understandable as they must be getting thousands of manuscripts every month. One day I read about literary agents. I contacted all the agents who were mentioned in different websites and Suhail Mathur was the one who was very nice, very polite and very helpful in any query that I asked. Suhail has been helping me with everything related to my book. I genuinely feel that I am very lucky to come across him. This wouldn’t have been possible without him.
3. How did you come to know about the literary agency THE BOOK BAKERS?
When I read about literary agents in India, I got a list of 10 to 15 agents. I emailed everyone. I got a few responses but Suhail was the one who was the best. I was very new in the world of publishing and Suhail was so empathetic. I would ask him childish questions sometimes about the process, I still do and he always explains with so much patience. The best thing that I like about him is how quickly he responds to our queries. He believed in me, inspired me and sometimes trusted me more than I trusted myself.
4. How did THE BOOK BAKERS help you and what would you like to say about them ?
I think for a new author (even for the published authors), The Book Bakers is one of the best literary agency to work with. They are so talented! They have helped me with editing, cover design and everything else related to getting published. They make the entire process so easy for the authors. The process of getting a book edited, getting the trailer designed, cover designed along with many small things can be very challenging especially if you are a working professional. However, The Book Bakers are a team of talented and dedicate people. I loved working with them and I will consider working with them in future as well.
5. How supportive is your publisher of your work?
Locksley Hall Publishing is very supportive and transparent. It is the transparency that I love the most. Being a novice author, I never thought it would be so easy to work with such a reputed publisher.
6. How do you see literary success for yourself?
If my book inspires even one person to start reading or one person to write his/her first book that will be Literary success for me.
7. When can we expect your next book?
Hopefully, soon. I am working on a book and I hope to complete it in few months. However, I will be concentrating on this one for now. Insha Allah, the next book will come out next year.
8. How has your experience being working with Locksley Hall Publishing?
Locksley Hall Publishing has been understanding and patient with me. They trusted my book and helped me with every small query. I don’t think I would’ve had such an experience to work with any other publisher!
9. Any message or tips for aspiring authors?
I want to tell all the aspiring authors to never stop writing.
BOOK NAME : MURDER IN QUARANTINE
PUBLISHER : LOCKSLEY HALL PUBLISHING
BOOK SYNOPSIS/BLURB :
Each person has his own version of skeleton in his closet – Nandan Paraiyar is summoned by his former colleague to help him with a murder investigation as it is a “Locked-room” murder. What was expected to be a simple case soon turns out to be one of the most complicated ones that Nandan had come across as he discovers that this little gathering had been a planned one in the wake of the pandemic and each person had his own little secret and motive to want the victim dead.
The Bakshis’ are a typical Punjabi family staying in Mumbai. A sudden relocation of Anika and Ashar, by their controversial boss Mahira Mirza leads Bakshi family to Goa. On their first night in Goa at Mahira’s house, Kajal lays dead in the bathroom with a suicide note. Their sadness then turns into horror as detective Nandan Paraiyar suggests the possibility of Murder. Nandan soon finds himself baffled due to the entangled relations of past and present and suspects each individual as he soon discovers that each one could have their own motive for wanting the woman dead.
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