ON WRITING WITH A REALISTIC PERSPECTIVE

Author Interview: Pooja Agrawal

Pooja Agrawal has written and published four books. The love for books has made her an avid reader, and the love of reading worthwhile stuff inspired her to write. She believes that her journey as an author has just begun and she is trying to put her sincere efforts in writing meaningful content for the readers. She has ambitious plans to write diversified content falling in different genres. Her first book was “ICU” – a short stories collection, the second was “Maya” – a mystery book, and the third was “Courageous” – a poetry collection. She has recently come out with her fourth book “Kismet or Karma ..... Unleash the Mystery”, which is a thriller story and is now an Amazon bestseller. In a candid chat with Chirdeep Malhotra, she talks about her latest book, her writing journey, her favourite books and authors, and much more. Read on!



Please tell us more about Pooja Agrawal as a person.

She is a simple woman and a home maker. She enjoys being with her family, and also with books. She believes that books never cheat you, in fact they are the best zone to explore yourself and enhance your knowledge. She has pursued her education with Commerce background. After doing M.Com, she has done MBA (Finance), M.Ed in psychology, MA (Economics), Mass Communication, PhD on Industrial estate. She would have gone for some other good profile job but she was dedicated to her passion, and she decided to become a writer and storyteller.



This is your 4th book. Can you tell us more about your writing journey?

I came across many people and readers, and through their views and reviews, I learned much beyond my knowledge. Many times, I faced rejection of my novels from publishers due to lack of marketing skills, and then sometimes due to lack of my professional skills. Today the writing world is like an ocean, which is filled with many writers and to get your manuscript accepted by good leading publishing houses is a jack for a budding writer. Initially I had to go for self publishing after getting my manuscript rejected from many publishing houses. It took me years to get known in this field and flourish as an author.



Please tell us more about your book “Kismet or Karma: Unleash the Mystery”.

“Kismet or Karma” is a mystery thriller which consists of two parts. The story has various twists and turns which clearly depicts the fact behind destiny and karmas. The story revolves around a girl name Trisha, who lacked love and concern since childhood due to which she got obsessed in herself. In youth again she felt cheated when she did not get the love and affection from the person she loved the most. She tried to fight against destiny brutally. That turned up as a nightmare for her leaving an ugly scar behind. The story is all about our destiny and the karmas we do.



From where did the idea of writing this book come from?

In this novel, there are some characters which have been written from a realistic viewpoint, as some of them were my friends and some were around me. I wrote this book with the experiences I had gained in my life. The main antagonist is Trisha who is always taken for granted since childhood, first by her parents, and then in youth by the one whom she loved. Due to this, she always felt cheated and betrayed and got obsessed in herself.
Then in the other part of the book, I have shared about the problems of children who are born with specific disabilities. I have exhibited some examples where their own parents don’t accept them and their life become more challenging and depressing.
Our society has a bad habit of judging people by their looks, beauty and intelligence. I have written about the pathetic journey of some children having Down’s syndrome, vitiligo or albinism who are treated as a taboo in our patriarchal society.
I feel that instead of treating them as a burden for the society they should be treated as different. I have written this book with a view to change perception of people and bring some light in the dark shadow of life of such children. These are unpolished gems that need proper finishing to make them precious. They also have equal rights that other children enjoy in this society. These children also have the right to enjoy the blessings of nature and live and enjoy a normal life.



In terms of the complexity of the character and the nuances of the dialogues, the character development of whom was the most difficult in this book?

I had to get the detailed knowledge about the character Temple in this book, who is born with the health problem of Down’s syndrome. I had to find out the complete health history about it before writing about it.



What type of research went into writing this book?

Every child is born with a different nature and grows up in different conditions and with a different lifestyle. Today in the world of advanced technology and medical facilities, we are more prone to disease which sometimes get out of our control. Some children take birth with a specific disability. These children exhibit more challenges that interrupt the daily routine. I went through quality research by interacting and communicating with parents of such children who are mentally challenged or have skin problems like albinism.



What challenges did you face while writing this book?

Trisha is like a real character for me in this novel. I was hooked up with her, due to which I suffered from many sleepless nights.



Having written across genres — short stories, mystery, thrillers, poetry — which do you feel is the most challenging, as an author?

I feel that writing short stories is difficult because they have to be crisp and also carry an important message to gain attention of readers.



Can you recommend books from any genre, for our readers to add to their reading lists, that you particularly cherish?

These are “Nothing Lasts Forever” by Sydney Sheldon, “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari” by Robin Sharma, and “The Anatomy of Success” by Dr. Rakesh Sinha.



What are you working on next? Are there any literary projects that our readers should look out for?

I like to write fiction and non-fiction both. I want to write more on real characters which would be more relatable to readers. At present, I am not busy with any write-up; rather I am searching something which would hook my mind. This is because when I write something, I get connected to it.



Can you share with our readers a motivational quote that keeps you going?

Destiny is opportunity and fate is karma. Believe in yourself and keep doing good deeds. Success will definitely cherish your tomorrow.