#SpecialFeature :: #Interview with @shilpaauthor, #Author of Saved By Love

*** Special Feature - February 2020 ***

Quick Recap:
1st February - Meet Shilpa Suraj
8th February - Books about Love that I Love
15th February - Writing Tips
22nd February - What wouldn’t you do for a second chance with the one you love?

About the Author:

A published author with Harlequin India, Locksley Hall and Juggernaut, Shilpa Suraj’s books have hit both the Hot New Releases and Bestseller lists on Amazon. Her next novel, tentatively titled ‘Wrong,’ has been contracted by Rupa Publications and will release later this year.
She is currently working on ‘Frazzled and Fabulous,’ a humorous, true-to-life parenting story that is part memoir and part nonfiction.
Shilpa has also been a panelist at the Womens Writers Fest and New Age Lit Fest Hyderabad and an active participant at the Hyderabad Literary Festival.
An avid reader with a passion for creative writing and storytelling saw her participating in writing competitions at school and dabbling in copy writing for an ad agency as a teenager. Ten years in the corporate space, including a stint in Corporate Communications for Google, India, and a spell at entrepreneurship all hold her in good stead for her multiple current roles of author, wife, mother and Head of Human Resources at an architecture and interior design firm.

Look up the Author:
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * LinkedIn

Interview with Shilpa Suraj

When did you first realize that you wanted to be a writer/ a storyteller?

I’ve always told a lot of stories. The only difference is earlier I got punished for it and now I get paid for it.
Jokes apart, I’ve been writing since I was a child. Essays, copywriting, student journalism – the entire gamut. The idea of writing a story was always at the back of my mind but I only managed to find the time during a six month sabbatical from work. The manuscript I wrote then is what eventually was published as The Girl He Left Behind. I haven’t stopped writing since.

What inspires you to write?

I’ve always had an overactive imagination. I spent more time daydreaming than I did focusing on the real world around me. Books and the wonderful worlds they opened up for me were both my refuge and in many ways, my natural habitat.
Most of my inspiration comes from inside my head and the constant stories my imagination weaves. Some of course, comes from the crazy, quirky world we live in, the people we interact with and the experiences that generates.

What are you working on at the moment?

I’m currently writing Frazzled and Fabulous, which is part memoir and part non fiction. It is a self-deprecating, humorous and brutally honest take on parenting in this stressed out, judgmental world.

How did you come up with the idea for your current story?

What do you choose when the right thing to do is in complete opposition to what your heart wants to do?
This was the basic premise that triggered the story of Saved by Love. Arjun and Naina love each other…to distraction. That’s never up for debate but reaching for it would be wrong and not because they are wrong for each other. Circumstances, familial pressures and a strong moral code…all very difficult factors to ignore. What will they choose? More importantly, who will they choose?

Please share three interesting facts about the characters in your book.

Arjun is in many ways my dream man. Strong, caring, considerate, honorable…I often think he might be too good to be true.
In complete contrast, Naina is my perfect mess. A bundle of issues, she is all heart with a spine of steel. I love her spirit – she stays, until the end, undaunted, resilient and honest.
Aryan, Arjun’s brother, has my heart for his irreverent, optimistic take on life. He is the quintessential younger brother.

If you could pick any famous author to review your book who would you pick and why?

Nalini Singh. I would pick her in a heartbeat. I am such a huge fan of two of her series, Psy-Changeling and Guild Hunter. She writes incredible stories with real, flawed leads and makes you fall in love with them with an intensity that stays with you long after the book is over. Her stories grip you by the heart and end up with you laughing, crying and bleeding along with the characters. If my stories could exude some of the same magic, I would be more than thrilled. Her review/feedback to me would be pure gold.

Name three things that you believe are important to character development?

- Your characters need to be honest, their flaws believable and their growth relatable.
- They need to lead fully fleshed out lives. Work, family, friends…it’s important that they don’t exist in a bubble.
- Secondary characters add a lot of insight. Strong, vibrant secondary characters add depth to both your character and story development.

Do you ever experience writer’s block? If so what helps you to get over it?

Yes, of course. There are days when the writing flows so easily that I end up finishing an entire chapter at a stretch and then there are the days when I type one sentence and delete it. Then type another and delete. And continue like that for hours until I give up for the day.
I think it’s important to take a break and step away from it when that happens. If the words aren’t coming, there is no forcing them. I usually end up reading. Nothing triggers my creative juices like a good book. It both exhilarates and inspires me to try harder.

What part of the writing process do you enjoy the most?

Writing the first draft. There is nothing as exhilarating as seeing the story in your head take shape on the page.

Do you know the ending of your books before you finish writing them?

Yes, I do. When I sit down to write, I have the general story in my head. It’s only the minor details and the myriad twists and turns along the way that need to be worked out. Also, since I mostly write romance it’s easy to know the ending of my books…They all end with the happy-ever-after. 😊

What is the best piece of advice you have received, as a writer, till date?

The only way to write is to sit down and do it. Waiting for the perfect moment to start is pointless as it doesn’t exist.

What is the best piece of advice you would give to someone that wants to get into writing?

Don’t overthink it. Also, don’t worry about who will publish your book before you’ve even started writing it. Write the story in your head, in your heart…the rest will fall into place.

Anything else that you would like to share with your readers?

Thank you for reading my work. I write because you read. If you didn’t, my books would have no haven.

About the Book:

They meet under impossible circumstances!

She is kidnapped by terrorists blackmailing her father, a Supreme Court Judge. He leads the team sent to rescue her.

Trekking to safety through Ladakh... They are in danger of falling in love. But, Lt. Col. Arjun Rathod knows that Naina Ahuja, engaged to politics' rising star, is not meant for him.

Forever changed by her trauma, Naina walks out of her controlling family and forges a new life.

And then, she meets Arjun again. But this time, he is engaged to someone else.

Can they save their love or is it too late?

Book Links:
Goodreads * Amazon

Giveaway: