27 November, 2017

#Interview with Jyoti Arora, #Author of You Came Like Hope

About the Book:
Peehu:
“I heard them mourn my death. I lay in the next room. Motionless, silent, and staring at the ceiling.”
Adih:
“When it comes to a broken person, some of them are expert at blinding you. Spend an entire evening with such a person, but you may still not know how he is crushing inside.”
Uday:
“Who would say no to him? He is smart, intelligent, super handsome, rich, suave and sophisticated. He’s perfect!”
Pooja:
“Pooja gave no explanation. She asked no forgiveness. She just arrived in his home, resenting him for being her husband.”
Arunav:
“He had smiled as if nothing was wrong.
He had behaved as if he still had his dreams and hopes.
He had pretended as if it didn’t hurt.
But it did.”



Does Destiny hold the key to our happiness?
Is it always the feeble that is the victim?
Love can be the embrace of heaven. But what happens when it unleashes hellfire?

Lose yourself in the intense narrative of You Came Like Hope as it unleashes a rollercoaster of emotions, uncovers some bitter truths, challenges widespread prejudices, and forces you to reconsider your beliefs.

Check out the Free Sample of the novel

Book Trailer:

Book Links:


An Interview with the Author:


When did you first realize that you wanted to be a writer/ a storyteller?
This dream first took hold of me when I studied literature. I’ve done B.A. and M.A. in English Literature. While I was studying literature, I was amazed to see how much skill and craft went into writing of novels. I knew I could write well. I decided to practice the craft of writing to try and create books people would love to read. I was also amazed at the immortality that authors of great classics enjoyed. I started aspiring for that immortality too.

What inspires you to write?
My dreams and my love of books. I dream of being read by people all over the world and to be loved by them just as I love my favourite authors. 

How did you come up with the idea for your current story?
It was actually a Twitter trolling attack on me that gave me the idea of You Came Like Hope. My second novel Lemon Girl is a Feminist Fiction. One of my tweets about it was attacked by some anti-feminist Twitter trolls. That day, I realized that there was an opposite side of the problem that I’ve discussed in Lemon Girl. Instead of getting angry by those trolls, I was attracted to the problem they were tweeting about. So, I decided to write a book about it too.


Are there some stories tucked away in some drawer that was written before and never saw the light of the day?
I wrote 7 original books for a publisher on For Hire basis. These include Science Fiction novels for kids and a YA Fiction. However, that publisher suspended his business to concentrate on other projects. And as the books were written on For Hire basis, I don’t hold their rights and can’t get them published by another publisher. 

Tell us about your writing process.
When once I have an idea, I start by developing a rough plot outline. I’m not a big Planner. So, I don’t build up a very strict plan of the book before I start writing it. I just create a rough outline indicating major points of the story. Then I decide the characters. Once I have the rough plot and the characters ready, I start writing. Once my book is written, I revise and re-revise it. I spend almost as much time in editing and revising a book as I spend in writing it.

Do you read? Who are your favourite authors and how have they influenced your writing style?
I became a bookworm the day I read my first book. My love of reading started with comics but by the time I was in class sixth, I could finish reading three Nancy Drew books in one week. I have read books by mane different authors now. But the ones I read while growing up still remain my favourites. I still love Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte best because they are the ones that inspired me to become a novelist.
I have read many classics and even abridged about 30 classics while working as a freelance writer. I think all those books left their mark on my writing. I’ve been told my writing style has the feel of the classics.

What is the best piece of advice you have received, as a writer, till date?
Don’t try to be perfect from the start. Write what you want to write and then revise, revise, revise.

How do you spend your free time? Do you have a favorite place to go and unwind?
I love reading. No matter how busy I am, I can’t give up on reading. It’s more of an addiction, than a hobby. I also enjoy listening to old Bollywood songs, watching English TV shows and Bollywood/Hollywood movies. I like travelling too but don’t indulge in it much due to various reasons. My favourite place to unwind? On my bed with my Kindle 😊

Can you share with us something off your bucket list?
I want to make a pilgrimage to see the homes or places associated with at least some of my favourite writers. 

Tell us three fun facts about yourself.
- I hate milk. If I have to drink milk, it feels nothing short of torture.
- When I was a kid, I used to be scared of trees. I had heard my mother say one must not sleep under a tree at night. I did not know the reason for this, but I guessed it was because of ghosts. And so, I started feeling scared of trees.
- When I was in school, I was a very good and obedient kid. But when I read Enid Blyton’s Naughtiest Girl in the World, I felt I was wasting my childhood. So, I did something naughty at school just because I considered it my duty towards my childhood.

What do you have in store next for your readers?
I’m not very sure yet. However, all my three novels so far have discussed a serious issue through their love stories. Now, I want to try my hand at something fun and purely romantic.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with your readers?
I love hearing from readers. I welcome all to contact me at my website jyotiarora.com. Readers can also follow my blog, sample my novels and download a free ebook of short stories at this site.
Also, readers’ reviews are precious for writers. So, I’d like to request readers to adopt the habit of reviewing the books that they love on sites like Amazon and Goodreads etc. Their one sentence can reward the writer for all the hard work that goes into writing of books.



Read an Excerpt:


Prologue

I heard them mourn my death. I lay in the next room. Motionless, silent, and staring at the ceiling.

Darkness stretched out from every direction, engulfing me in it. The heavy curtains on the window kept the sunshine away. One streak of sunlight still managed to trespass into the territory of gloom. Like a torturous, lingering hope of a broken heart. My eyes marked its path. My brain failed to recognize it.

In the next room, voices kept on rising, trembling my heart with their every word.

‘Peehu! My child!’ my mother cried. Amid the muffled murmurs of other people, I could also hear another voice of sorrow. It was my father. That was the first time I had heard him cry. It was terrifying.

‘My poor child,’ my mother wailed. ‘She always said she was my unlucky daughter. We said she was careless and rash. We scolded her so much. Now look what has happened. My poor Peehu, dead at such a young age.’

‘I’m not dead!’ I called out. My lips didn’t move, no voice came out.


Something was weighing me down, robbing me of the power to move or speak. An aching longing that screamed there had been an irreparable loss. Something had gone away from me that I would never get back. Something had ended. I just couldn’t remember what.


Mother kept on crying. I heard the word again in mother’s wails. Unlucky. Yes, I had said that to mother. Often. I had believed it too, for as long as I remember. My twin sister had all the good luck. I had all the bad luck. Or so it seemed to me, at least. My life had done a marvellous job so far in proving this to be true.

But it takes only a moment for the destiny to flip over…

About the Author:

Jyoti Arora is a novelist and blogger from Ghaziabad. You Came Like Hope is her third novel, coming after Dream’s Sake and Lemon Girl. She is Post Graduate in English Literature and Applied Psychology.
Jyoti has over five years of experience working as a freelance writer. This experience includes abridging over 24 famous English classics like Jane Eyre, Moby Dick etc.
Jyoti Arora is a patient of Thalassemia Major. But she does not let this stop or discourage her. For her determination and achievements, Jyoti has received appreciation from Ms Sheila Dixit, Ms Maneka Gandhi and the Ghaziabad wing of BJP. Her life story has been covered in various local and national TV shows, radio programs, newspapers, magazines and websites like YourStory and Inspire India. She was also one of the ‘100 Women Achievers of India’ that were invited to witness the Republic Day parade of India (2016) as special guests.
Besides reading and writing novels, Jyoti also enjoys blogging and has won several blogging competitions. She loves checking out latest technological innovations, watching movies, and listening to old Bollywood songs. Reach her at jyotiarora.com.

Contact the Author:




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