Write every day even when you don’t feel like it until it becomes an innate part of your routine. Read anything and everything that catches your fancy. And, chase your curiosity to stumble upon your next big idea!
1. Tell us more about your background and journey.
I’m an author from Bangalore, India. I write crime thrillers and contemporary fiction novels. The Murder Of Jay Shekhar and When I Find You are my crime thriller novellas; whereas Confessions Of An IT Employee is my rom-com novel. I’m currently working with the celebrated filmmaker Mr Saad Khan and also being mentored by him at FirstAction Studios.
I studied computer science engineering and worked in the software industry before moving into full-time writing. And I’m happy to share that my journey has been quite rewarding so far.
I’m grateful to have received the Coimbatore Literary Awards 2020 for the Most Promising Author in General Fiction for my book Confessions Of An IT Employee, and awarded as one of the Top 100 Debut Authors of India 2018-2019 for my book The Murder Of Jay Shekhar.
I am also a Finalist in the Karnataka Women Achiever’s Awards 2020. I’m grateful for all the love that my readers have showered on my books.
2. When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?
I wanted to be a writer when I was 10 years old. I had written a few books back then, though they were never published. But after I began to work in the IT industry as an engineer, my passion for storytelling started coming back to me. And I knew I wanted to take it up professionally, and so I did since 2017.
3. Is it a financially stable career?
I would say it takes time to make it big in any field and it’s not any different when it comes to the literary field. Not initially but, in the long run, it can definitely bring about financial stability. But then again, the idea of success and satisfaction differs from one person to another.
4. Who is your favourite writer and why?
Growing up as an avid reader, I admire a lot of authors, but if I had to pick one, it would be Sidney Sheldon. His personal journey of discovering his creative gift as a writer is larger than life and truly inspiring; and so are his books.
2. When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?
I wanted to be a writer when I was 10 years old. I had written a few books back then, though they were never published. But after I began to work in the IT industry as an engineer, my passion for storytelling started coming back to me. And I knew I wanted to take it up professionally, and so I did since 2017.
3. Is it a financially stable career?
I would say it takes time to make it big in any field and it’s not any different when it comes to the literary field. Not initially but, in the long run, it can definitely bring about financial stability. But then again, the idea of success and satisfaction differs from one person to another.
4. Who is your favourite writer and why?
Growing up as an avid reader, I admire a lot of authors, but if I had to pick one, it would be Sidney Sheldon. His personal journey of discovering his creative gift as a writer is larger than life and truly inspiring; and so are his books.
Not only are his plots intricately interwoven and full of twists, but also the central characters of his novels are strong, determined women who rise to their potential despite their misfortunes. They had a major role during my formative years.
5. Where does your inspiration lie?
I find that my inspiration lies in the middle or towards the end of the tale that I’m writing when words begin to fly off the page on their own. But in the general sense, places, people, conversations, and real-life incidents spark my imagination.
5. Where does your inspiration lie?
I find that my inspiration lies in the middle or towards the end of the tale that I’m writing when words begin to fly off the page on their own. But in the general sense, places, people, conversations, and real-life incidents spark my imagination.
Having travelled extensively across India, Europe, and South East Asia among others, I think travelling has also been one of my biggest sources of inspiration.
6. What piece of advice would you like to give to future aspiring writers?
Write every day even when you don’t feel like it until it becomes an innate part of your routine. Read anything and everything that catches your fancy. And, chase your curiosity to stumble upon your next big idea!
7. Which is your favourite book and why?
My all-time favourite novel has been Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, simply because the protagonist Howard Roark, whose ideas are portrayed as futuristic, stands his ground throughout the book in the face of several adversities.
6. What piece of advice would you like to give to future aspiring writers?
Write every day even when you don’t feel like it until it becomes an innate part of your routine. Read anything and everything that catches your fancy. And, chase your curiosity to stumble upon your next big idea!
7. Which is your favourite book and why?
My all-time favourite novel has been Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, simply because the protagonist Howard Roark, whose ideas are portrayed as futuristic, stands his ground throughout the book in the face of several adversities.
On a deeper level, the book deals with principles of integrity, creativity, and individualism that truly strike a chord.
- Shalini P Sawkar (Author, Columnist, Speaker)
Shalini P Sawkar is an Author, Columnist, and Speaker. She won the Most Promising Author in Coimbatore Literary Awards 2020 for her book Confessions Of An IT Employee and has been a Finalist in the Karnataka Women Achiever’s Awards 2020. Her other crime thrillers include The Murder Of Jay Shekhar and When I Find You. She was invited as a Speaker at TED Circles Kolkata in 2020.
Interviewed By Tuhina Rana
- Shalini P Sawkar (Author, Columnist, Speaker)
Interviewed By Tuhina Rana
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