Congratulations on the release of 'Unfinished'. What is the feedback from your friends and readers who have already read your book?

 

Thank you! Everyone who has read it have loved it and told me that it was a very compelling read and they could not put the book down once they started. The reviews are still pouring in and will be incorporated on the web soon.  It is also a very intense and difficult book to read as it involves shedding light on atrocities that exist in the world and addresses the nonchalant behavior of human beings who forget that their actions have consequences.

 

What kind of books inspire you as a writer? Who are your favorite authors?

 

Very tough to categorize. However, books that are motivational, inspirational, biographies, and fictions or non-fiction with a strong message inspire me. I also like to read romances, sometimes lazing around with a Mills & Boon, Barbara Cartland, Harlequin, or Silhouette Romances. My favorite authors are Paulo Coelho, Rhonda Byrnes, Robin Sharma, Jojo Moyes, Abdul Kalam, and poets like Mirza Ghalib, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Khalil Gibran, etc. just to name a few as the list is way too long to name all here.

 

Why did you want to become a writer? Who inspired you to become a writer? 

 

I have always wanted to inspire people across the world and make a difference in people's lives.  It started when a few of my close friends who knew me and my struggles in life mentioned that I should write as everyone can take a leaf out of my story as a lesson of inspiration and that is why I decided to write about a cause close to my heart.  There is a long way to go and I have much more to do.  My mother, my mentor, my children, and my friends inspired me to become a writer.

 

What triggered you to come into writing?

  

The instances, incidences, and circumstances surrounding my life triggered me to write to create a change in how people view single women.  I wanted to do this for people who are survivors of abuse, address the importance of proper upbringing of children, and shed light on the ill-effects of the ignorance around many issues in our country and around the world that needs acknowledgement and strict action.

  

Every tragedy or happening you will read in the book you will notice has an impact on the life of a child.  We are a product of our circumstances they say, but I wanted to show that you do not necessarily have to be.  Once can turn any tragedy into something positive and succeed in life thereby never giving satisfaction to the sadism of the ones who would love to destroy another’s life mercilessly.  I have done that and I hope I can inspire others to do the same.

 

What are you doing to let readers know about your book?

 

Spreading the word via social media marketing, word of mouth, friends, planning book launches in different cities, book signing events, etc.  My friends, acquaintances, children, and their friends are great advocates of marketing for this book as they believe in me and my cause.

 

Tell me something about your book. Some highlights.

 

It is a story about a young girl, her mother, and her daughter all of whom portray extraordinary strength irrespective of their situations, circumstances, and hardships.  It portrays a positive and optimistic attitude, resilience, empowerment by right of choice, empathy, undeterred strength, forgiveness, and acceptance of change in women which is paramount to overcome difficulties and succeed in life. 

 

I believe everyone, young adults and above should read it as I am sure everyone will relate to one or the other characteristic or event about the characters and their lives. This book is special to me as it revolves around my lifetoo and a story of someone very close to my heart.  

 

Although I started it six years ago when I got divorced, I wrote three chapters and stopped.  I completed it in three straight days in May 2018 when a tragedy hit my life and I was determined to put my voice out there to be heard and create a difference, sort of be the change you want to see in this world so to speak.  So, it is a very special accomplishment for me which my children and friends are very proud of.  Everything in the book that is written is from the heart that I have personally expressed from my soul and involves the stories of real people in this world.  It addresses very sensitive issues and I am one who calls a spade a spade and have written about things courageously with unflinching candidness.

 

Tell me something about yourself and your background.

 

I was an extremely rebellious young girl in my days always going against societal norms, which gave my mother and family nightmares sometimes.  As an adult, I have been a serial entrepreneur, motivational speaker, business consultant, and mentor.  I am an extremely independent, empowered woman who believes in pro-choice and living life on my terms.  I have had a very strong background in literature with a very educated mother who was extremely empowered for someone in her era, a grandfather who loved to write poetry and another who was a principal, aunts who were educators, and extended family, one of whom is also a scriptwriter. I grew up in the United States in my formative years i.e. teenage to young adult, where I studied to become a lab technologist. I am supported by two wonderful children who have stood by me and are my inspiration to succeed.  I started writing poetry in English and Urdu at a young age. I have been told that I have inspired many lives around me and have motivated people to succeed and this gives me immense satisfaction.

 

Do you plan to take it up as a full time profession if response is good?

 

I would definitely continue to write irrespective of what the response is as I do not believe in giving up in life and have always been a positive person.  I do have a profession that is very satisfying as I have always followed my passion and I think I can balance both.  Having said that I do believe this book will touch a lot of lives across the world, especially where people could draw a parallel to Anusha's life because it is a story where one has to make choices albeit tough ones, but choices that define an empowered human being, irrespective of whether it is a man or woman.  As Robert Frost poem goes, I have miles to go before I sleep.