EXCHANGING WORDS WITH ANKITA SRIVASTAVA

AUTHOR'S BIO :    

A lady born with a flair of natural narration has many feathers in her multiple hats that she wears with great ease.She started as a poet and apart from getting published , her poems got broadcast on AIR and also got published in American Poetry anthology. Having joined Indian Army as a first girl from Allahabad in 1993 ,was also the first lady officer to be posted in counter insurgency in 1998 . She provided logistics support to the fighting arms during Kargil War and during Op PARAKARAM. Besides being a dedicated Army officer ,she occasionally switched between her guns and pens .She had become the student editor of a military magazine in her Army Officers Training Academy and continued to write military articles in various army journals . She hung her boots after 14 years of military life and went on to gain some new experience. 

She walked beauty pageant ramps and won Tanishq Big Memsaab 2008 and Gladrags Mrs India 2009 winning the “Most Vivacious” award , thus creating history in its own unique way . She returned to her base after the grand show and now took writing as a full time hobby .Her debut book is “The Pink Scarecrow” published by Leadstart Publishers.

A motivational speaker and a trainer by passion she conducts lectures across the country .

1. Who and what inspired you to write ?

 Ok so when I won the Tanishq and Gladrags Beauty pageants , everyone in my fauji circle was so curious to know the details . I realised I couldn’t just tell them in one or two sentences .. I needed chapters to tell so I thought of bringing my fauji life’s 180 degree opposite life experience in a book .

2. What challenges did you face while writing and getting published?

 Firstly it took me 10 years to write this book as in between I had suffered writer's block and couldn’t think of a great conclusion . After finishing I sent my submission to all the big publishing houses but got no response. Few responded appreciating the idea but due to onset of covid , they couldn’t take it .

3. How did you come to know about the literary agency The Book Bakers ?

I had noticed some big publishing houses announcing that they do not accept

unsolicited submissions and they only accept from literary agencies. I googled and found The Book Bakers and I sent them my submission .

4. How did The Book Bakers help you and what would you like to say about them ?

The personal touch and guidance given by Mr. Suhail Mathur has helped me a lot in

understanding the nuances of getting the right publisher . His presence in every step and even his nudging has helped me gain visibility in the author fraternity . It’s a big help !

5. How do you see literary success for yourself ?

Obviously name and fame and lots of applause. Jokes apart, I feel this field is th

most intellectual method of self evolution . The taste of it makes me more and more grounded when my readers appreciate my hard work . Yes writing is simply hard work and I strongly believe that hard work is equal to gratification that leads towards success of our minds .

6. When can we expect your next book ?

This one is my third book and my fourth book will hit the stands in early 2023 . It’s already with a publisher .

7. Any message or tips for aspiring authors?

Keep writing. It’s the best way to de-stress. But do read all genres as well to broaden

your horizons. Writing and reading helps churning your brain with new ideas unlike watching movies on Netflix!

BOOK NAME : OLIVE GREEN TO BEAUTY QUEEN

PUBLISHER : SRISHTI PUBLISHERS

BOOK SYNOPSIS/BLURB :

Lt Col Ankita Srivastava created history and multiple footprints in the tough male dominated domain spending her prime fourteen years by proving to the nation that she was not a woman but a soldier.

When in spite of fighting tooth and nail even with the help of Indian Judiciary, she couldn’t get extension of service and retires prematurely at the age of 38; she finds herself lost. She didn’t know how to behave like a whole packaged woman!

And then she embarks on a very intriguing journey that was first a state level and then a national level Beauty pageant which she involuntarily undertakes only when she gives a challenge to the organizers that they have to teach her how to be a woman!

At the national beauty pageant in Mumbai amidst all the very prepared and utter womanly contestants, Ankita with only two poses- saavdhaan and vishraam known to her, struggles hard to unlearn the toughness of her exterior and to embrace feminine softness. Finale of the contest makes her believe she was about to finally acquire back her lost femininity when she daintily walks in that royal blue saree with makeup and stilettoes on the beauty

pageant ramp.But as she thought she would be given a certificate of being a woman in all possible spheres; a

situation that arose during the ongoing beauty pageant demanded high degree of military courage, discipline and toughness to save mankind.The lehenga clad, high heeled, makeup faced Ankita though outwardly looked utter feminine, her inner strength passed from her mind to her limbs. She with the Police Motorola

communication set in hand, managed to navigate to the most vulnerable point which was to be manned till the police assistance came as the news of terrorists being accepted by enemy country as their residents had got out and there was inputs from the intelligence bureau that there could be more terrorists hiding in Mumbai and there were plans to launch attack at public events this time.

The external femininity faded as she took position in that pitch-dark area and resorted to military tactics. Doing a ghost walk to recce the area for any suspicious movements which she did spot with her eyes that were trained to see through the dark hour! With no options she utilizes her military skills to her fullest to delay and deter the suspected terrorist activity till the police reinforcements arrives and neutralizes the operations.Her post Army stint that started as learning the womanly traits at the beauty pageant, however

ended up by bringing out her toughness in the end. She wonders if she had lost on the eligibility of getting certified for being a true-blue woman. She stealthily walks to the stage and joins the gang of contestants when every round was over.

The awards were being announced and she is taken aback when the anchor announces her name as a sub award winner of “Most Vivacious woman”!

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EXCHANGING WORDS WITH AASHISHA CHAKRABORTY

AUTHOR'S BIO : 

Aashisha was chosen as one of the 75 pan-India authors under 30 for the PM-YUVA scheme for her work of historical fiction, tentatively titled ‘The 13-year-old Queen’, with National Book Trust, India. Her debut novel- ‘Mis(s)adventures of a Salesgirl’ by Rupa Publications is loosely based on her experiences as a sales manager. She was the winner of Times of India Write India Season 2 for Shobhaa De and among the top 6 for both Manu Joseph and Twinkle Khanna. She has written for various Readomania anthologies and e-books by Women’s Web and InsideIIM. Her articles have appeared in The Hindu and she has a Star Wars fan fiction column on SilverLeaf Poetry. A winner of Kaafiya (the Delhi Poetry Festival), she showcases her short stories on Readomania Premium. A compulsive reader and an avid traveler, she is an MBA from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi and a computer engineer from Jamia Millia Islamia. She blogs on her online diary of sorts - ‘The Mind Bin’.

1. Who and what inspired you to write? 

Writing has always been an integral part of my life. Human emotions, reactions and expressions have always amazed me (I know I am writing as if I am not a human myself but trust me, at times, I do feel like I am from another planet). I don't think there is a specific person or incident that inspired me to write but there have been experiences that prompted instant expression.

I write about things I feel strongly about- inclusion of people, kindness, determination, will, persistence. I care deeply when someone is hurt or feels excluded, when someone gets a rough deal for no fault of their own, when someone wins after long hard struggles. I sometimes feel I am a fish in a tree, a chipped sun over a red mountain,a cold brittle flame, basically unreal things which don't make sense and yet somehow exist. I feel somewhere inside, I want to champion the unsaid and the unknown. I want to unravel the thoughts of little mice and feelings of dogs, even when I am thoroughly frightened of both. I share a love-hate relationship with many elements of life and being a deeply emotional and sensitive person, writing automatically comes to me as a reaction.   

The authors who fired my feelings and compelled me to overcome self-doubt and let my pen loose are Ayn Rand, Sylvia Plath and JRR Tolkien.

2. What challenges did you face while writing and getting published?

Primarily, I felt a lacunae in the structural understanding of how the publishing system works and how the selections happen. I found it difficult to figure out the authenticity of the publishing platforms and I got duped quite a bit initially. Another key problem was realizing when the written work becomes good enough to be put out into the world. There are times when one's work is unrefined and unready to publish and enthusiasm might result in early exposure. I feel there is no clear stage when one gets to know that a certain work is ready to be published but expert advice surely helps. All these things helped shape my journey and brought me to where I am today.

3. How did you come to know about the literary agency THE BOOK BAKERS?  

I googled about the top ten literary agents in the country and The Book Bakers was one of them. I had also heard about it from a couple of authors whose book launches I had attended.

4. How did THE BOOK BAKERS help you and what would you like to say about them? 

The Book Bakers opened up a new world for me; I interacted with authors from diverse fields, learnt about the various stages of publishing, starting with the most important one i.e. pitching one’s manuscript. At every stage, I understood the intricacies and the challenges I could face in the publishing process, helping me circumvent them at appropriate times. The people at The Book Bakers are rich in experience and of course, empathy. They know what an author wants and needs.   

5. How do you see literary success for yourself?

Literary success could mean anything, right from book sales to becoming a household name. However, when I come to think of it, I feel success for me would be when a reader reads my book and not just tells about it to their friends, but also picks it up again for a comfort read in their times of distress. When this happens, I feel I will have arrived.

6. When can we expect your next book?

By 2022 or max 2023, I am expecting a work of historical fantasy fiction tentatively titled ‘The 13-year-old queen and her inherited destiny’ by the National Book Trust, India.

7. Any message or tips for aspiring authors?

I would say three things: read, read and don’t stop reading. Keep writing. And most of all, trust your gut. You are enough. 

BOOK NAME: MIS(S)ADVENTURES OF A SALESGIRL

PUBLISHER :RUPA PUBLICATIONS

BOOK SYNOPSIS/BLURB:

This is the story of a young feisty girl out of college who charges headlong into the sales domain storming the male bastion.

Life is rosy at 25, with love in the air and red-hot ambition flowing through the veins.

Or is it?

Ask twenty-five-year-old Enakshi Chatterji, who is uprooted from Delhi and sent to Chennai to work as a sales intern in the fiercely competitive and heavily male-dominated territory of sales with no place for a city-bred sophisticated girl. Add to that the fact she does not speak a word of Tamil, and you get a heady cocktail of events that promises to take you on a roller-coaster ride.

When a twenty-five-year-old family secret comes back to haunt her, she starts on a course of self-destruction with a weekend getaway with her stalker, a movie date with her manager and a quest to uncover an old family secret.

Will Enakshi be able to battle all the sexual advances, language barriers, male chauvinism, hygiene complications and the scorching Chennai sun and emerge victorious? Will she finally unearth the truth about her mother?

Find out in this thrilling, fast-paced and tumultuous journey how Enakshi learns the hard truths about relationships, life and work while trying to prove herself.

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EXCHANGING WORDS WITH MANJU JAIDKA

AUTHOR’S BIO:

Manju Jaidka, now a Senior Professor and Dean at Shoolini University, Solan, HP, is a former Professor and Chairperson of the Department of English at Panjab University, Chandigarh. She is the recipient of several national and international fellowships, including a Fulbright, and two Rockefeller awards. 

As a speaker and academician, she is much sought after and has made presentations in forums across India and abroad (in universities including Harvard, UPenn, MIT Boston, NYU, Pittsburgh, Illinois, Dartmouth, Honolulu, Concordia, Colchester, Oxford, Leeds, Nottingham, Leicester, London, Madrid, Heidelberg, Graz, Kathmandu, Taipei, Bangladesh, Beijing, Italy, etc.). 

Jaidka has published more than 25 books in her entire career and more than sixty research papers in reputed national and international journals. As a creative writer she has written two collections of poems, a play, and four novels, including Scandal Point (Rupa, 2011), Amaltas Avenue, (Lifi 2014), and Gumshoe Mania (Vishwakarma, 2021). Her non-fiction publication titled The Next Milestone (2017), was commissioned by the WHO, on the management of disability. 

As the Chairperson of Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi from 2008 to 2015, she curated and held in six full-fledged Literature Festivals. At Shoolini University she organized the University’s first literature festival in February 2021, followed by another edition in April 2022. She is presently the President and chief functionary of MELOW (the Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literatures of the World). In this capacity she has held twenty-one international conferences since 1998. Additionally, she has held the post of Executive Director of the International American Studies Association and also serves on the advisory board of several international organizations.  

Manju Jaidka lives on the Shoolini University campus, in a wooden hut surrounded by a pine forest and warbling birds. Still busy with academic duties, she organizes literary events on a weekly basis for the University. These events are live-streamed and have a massive reach, bringing together literature aficionados from across the world. 

1. Who and what inspired you to write? 

Stories should come to the teller as leaves to a tree, or they should not come at all. It is hard to say what inspired me. Perhaps it was the adventure stories I read in my junior school days. Or perhaps that golden treasury of modern verse that I stumbled upon in my father’s collection. Or the literature teacher we had in high school who could rattle off quotations at the drop of a hat. Whatever it was, I cannot pinpoint any one source of inspiration. But what I do know is that stories and poems, writers and their lives – bohemian or conventional – fascinated me and I thirsted for more than I could get. The more I read the more was I inspired. Shakespeare was not too old or dull; Cervantes was evergreen, Rushdie invigorating, Coetzee fascinating, T.S. Eliot mesmerising. All of them played a major role in influencing me, worming their way into my consciousness, shaping my thoughts and feelings, giving words and expressions to ideas which would have otherwise remain muted.

2. What challenges did you face while writing and getting published? 

The challenges I faced related primarily to locating a good, reliable publisher. While I have had the good fortune of being published by leading publishers, every book that wanted to be born had to face a struggle, locating publishers who would be interested in taking up the project.

 3. How did you come to know about the literary agency THE BOOK BAKERS?  

A friend recommended The Book Bakers.

4. How did THE BOOK BAKERS help you and what would you like to say about them? 

The Book Bakers helped me find a publisher twice over. I am grateful to the company.

5. How do you see literary success for yourself?

I am not satisfied with my “literary success”. I feel my books deserve more attention than they have received. I wish I was better at marketing my publications. IF only I had more time at my disposal!

 6. When can we expect your next book?

I am working on it. Hope to have it ready in a few months.

7. Any message or tips for aspiring authors?

“Lage raho, Munna Bhai.” You’ll get there eventually!

BOOK NAME: WHEN CATO PLAYED CUPID & OTHER STORIES 

PUBLISHER : PETALS

BOOK SYNOPSIS/BLURB:

Turn the pages and you hear the story of unrequited love: a young man silently idolizing the love of his life who, incidentally, has no clue of his amorous intentions. As you sink into the story, don’t get too lost; look what’s coming behind you. You hold your breath, climb on to the nearest table or chair, terrified. For here comes a man who thinks he’s a cockroach. He comes scuttling across the floor and tries to crawl up your leg. As you struggle to free yourself from his clutches, the sound of the Indian Ocean sweeps over your senses and almost drowns you. You hear the susurrous whisper of the waves as they rise and fall in a rhythmic pattern, lulling you to sleep. But, what’s that? The bow-wow of a dog that zealously guards his mistress’s chastity and barks away all prospective suitors? Strange happenings and unusual characters, indeed, like a mysterious barber who comes in the dead of the night to steal the crowning glory of young girls. To make it curiouser and curiouser, there’s a witch in the park that scares the wits out of little boys. 

It is, indeed, a motley crowd that peoples this collection of stories. 

There’s more to come. Three creatures – two human and one inanimate – bearing the same name. Whoever said that names determine destinies was certainly wrong, for the three Appus of the story have lives as dissimilar as could be. Then there is the local baddie who deserves the worst of punishments, a geriatric lover-boy who moons over his childhood sweetheart, another who thrives on seducing young girls.  

All this and much more in this extraordinary collection of stories inspired by true-life events, with a liberal sprinkling of wit, irony, and assorted jeu de mots.

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EXCHANGING WORDS WITH SHUBHA VIJ

AUTHOR’S BIO:

Shubha is a geneticist who has been a researcher for more than half her life. Her first love and passion is writing - be it letters, emails, academic, or fiction. She has wanted to be an author ever since she can remember - this book marks the realization of that aspiration.

1. Who and what inspired you to write? 

Nothing in particular. I imagined myself being an author ever since I can remember. I am able to recollect innumerable instances where an entire plot used to flash in my mind, and this was as early as seven years or probably even before. As an avid reader and writer, many of my unused school/college notebooks were filled with unfinished drafts of stories. Sadly, I lost the writeups either while moving to a new residence or at least a few times, due to flooding in the house. I have also been an avid reader. In addition to the usual books, I have almost gone through the entire English literature syllabus of BA English (Hons) as my elder sister was enrolled in this course. I love reading books again and again as it is surreal to discover new aspects of the novel each time. For instance, I have read Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women and Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights more than a dozen times.

2. What challenges did you face while writing and getting published?

I did not face particular challenges while writing as it comes naturally to me. Once I had finished writing, I got connected with the publisher through my literary agent. 

3.How did you come to know about the literary agency THE BOOK BAKERS?  

Through online searches.

4. How did THE BOOK BAKERS help you and what would you like to say about them?

The Book Bakers believe in giving first time authors a chance and think that is commendable.

5. How do you see literary success for yourself?

Writing makes me happy and that in itself is success.

 6. When can we expect your next book?

As soon as I get a block of time to write it.

7. Any message or tips for aspiring authors?

Persevere. 

BOOK NAME:  SHORT OF SCIENCE

PUBLISHER : VISHWAKARMA PUBLICATIONS 

BOOK SYNOPSIS/BLURB:

Sanyukta, a driven 21-year-old embarks on her PhD journey in the lab of a laid-back, obscure Professor. She harbors the usual stereotypes…scientists symbolizing superlatives in the academic, intellectual way and the research lab epitomizing the highest altar of research ethics. A different world awaits her though…Sanyukta finds herself woven in a maze of contradictions. A PhD ‘guide’ who chooses not to show the way, gifted authorships, sabotaged experiments and a PhD student who shoots to fame because he happens to be the professor’s lunch buddy! Will Sanyukta be able to reconcile these paradoxes and find her way around in this conflicting world?

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EXCHANGING WORDS WITH AKASH KHURANA

AUTHOR’S BIO:

Akash Khurana is a compulsive and consummate multitasker, who has segued between theatre, film, television, academia and corporate life for over four decades. An Engineer with an MBA, M.Phil and Ph.D, he has taught at several business schools and his corporate roles include Marketing Executive, HR Advisor, Chief Creative Officer, and CEO. He has written over 20 screenplays, including Baazigar, for which he received the Filmfare Award. He has acted in nearly 60 films and has won the Nandi Award of Andhra Pradesh for playing the lead in the Telugu film Dr. Ambedkar. The River of Love, a feature film directed by him, has garnered a host of international awards. In the theatre, he has been a core member of some of India's foremost theatre companies. His production of Vijay Tendulkar's A Friend's Story, was performed at the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London.

1. Who and what inspired you to write?

My mentors. The book is about that too.

 2. What challenges did you face while writing and getting published?

Barring the usual challenges during the pandemic, it was a good collaborative process.

3.  How did you come to know about the literary agency THE BOOK BAKERS? 

Suhail Mathur got in touch with me and then Meghna Pant's book reinforced it.

4. How did THE BOOK BAKERS help you and what would you  like to say about them?

Cooperative, positive.

5. How do you see literary success for yourself?

That it's out is a big deal and I can't thank Rudra Sharma of Rupa Publications enough.

6. When can we expect your next book?

 Hahahaha. No idea.

7. Any message or tips for aspiring authors?

Read my book.

BOOK NAME : MENTOR MORPHOSIS 

PUBLISHER : RUPA PUBLICATIONS 

BOOK SYNOPSIS/ BLURB : 

In Mentor-Morphosis, Akash Khurana chronicles how his mentors shaped the early years of his life, and with that as reference, he generates a model of various mentoring stages and mentor types that may be applicable to everyone’s life. Readers are then guided to revisit their own mentoring history and recall certain learnings that could enrich their perspective on their journey into the future. By sharing experiences through a memoir, the author replicates the tradition of storytelling where emotionally compelling tales are handed down over generations. Based on his own experiences in Management, Academics, Media and the Performing Arts, Khurana believes that developing the passion to be creative embellishes the leader in you and is an eminent stairway to excellence, and in this casebook, he stimulates answers to the interestingly poised question: How do you find a mentor who can fuel tht passion?

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