A WRITER'S YELLOW BRICK ROAD to DEPRESSION

Recently, I came across this article featuring Jhumpa Lahiri, best known for her novel, the Namesake. 

WHY PULITZER-PRIZE WINNER JHUMPA LAHIRI QUIT THE US FOR ITALY.

Expecting some great life-affirming truths the author wished to impart on the world (which in a way, she did), I was shocked by what the article did clarify for me. Truth: I am not a fan of Lahiri's work. I think she's a brilliant writer, and has written brilliant books. But, I am a happy-ending kind of reader and I find her stories a bit too melancholy...actually I find them depressing.

Even before I started writing, when I looked at novels purely from a reader's perspective, I found something missing in her stories. I've read only two: the Namesake and Unaccustomed Earth. What I found missing was sunshine. Happiness. A meaning to the sadness within her characters and stories. For me, there has to be one. It's fine to write about the sadder truths of life, but there must be a reason for it. In fiction especially, I want to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I want to be left with that glimmer of a rainbow. And I don't get that from Lahiri's works. I understand that others might. But I don't, at all.

So, the article about her move to Italy and back validated some things I'd always thought about her. That she's uncomfortable with her lot in life. She feels misplaced in most surroundings. Mainly, she's a depressive personality. And maybe the reason why her work reflects that. She could've chosen to paint the article in a positive light about experiencing a new culture or broadening the horizons of her family, but she chose to focus on her inner displacement and non-fulfillment issues.

What I don't understand is if she doesn't feel like an "expert" then why teach Creative Writing at Princeton? Those students enrolled in that class expect an expert teacher. If being a writer feels "fraudulent" in some way then find another way to fulfill your creative side. The world has many, many options, you know. Find one that appeals to you, speaks to you. Don't beat the same door, if it doesn't make you happy. Some people don't have a choice and are stuck in professions that don't fulfill them. Lahiri does have a choice (after several bestsellers and a pulitzer, you bet she does) and yet is choosing to be stuck. Why?

Which brings me to this article: WHY WRITER'S ARE PRONE TO DEPRESSION The gist:

~ some writers feel the need to FEEL all what their characters feel. If the character is suffering or is miserable, well then, the writer is screwed. (Bloody hell, Hemingway!)

~ it's a solitary occupation. Writers tend not to interact much with the outside world, especially while writing. 

~ that leads to feelings of loneliness and of being misunderstood. 

~ sometimes writing leads to lack of exercise, lack of basking in the sunshine and/or people-bonding, which are recipes for depression.

The article gives some great advice on how to combat the Writer Syndrome...or at least try to voluntarily or by force. Get exercise. Go look at the sun, flowers, water or forest. Socialize. Get those endorphins chugging. 

The only point I sort of disagree with is about joining writer groups. While it may be a necessary beast to tackle, I think if you're not a group sort of person, then it's not for you. Though for a beginner writer writing groups can be the boost you need to push forward. 

So, long story short, this is what I picked up from the two articles: Every writer must follow his/her own Yellow Brick Road home. A writer's journey is individual and personal, there isn't a ONE SIZE FITS ALL Dorothy Shoe. I am a happy writer. :) 

Terrible, horrible, very bad villains I love.

ICYMI I'm writing a romantic suspense novel so villains are on my mind. The best villains I'm told are frightfully relatable and/or sympathetic characters. They are often the polar opposite of the protagonist, in fact the villain is the reason the protagonist displays goodness. A "good" villain isn't evil simply for the sake of being evil, he/she will have a good reason for his evilness. He'll give you gooseflesh because he'll make you want to tame him, change him, make him better. He'll make you like him in spite of himself. And if that's not scarier than scary, I don't know what is.

Villains that made an impression on me (listed in order of appearance in my life):

Freddie Krueger - Nightmare on Elm Street

This less-than-human evildoer literally brought on a fever. I was sick for 2 days, and did not sleep peacefully the whole month after I was tricked into watching Nightmare. 

Norman Bates - Psycho

This one put me off impulsive, spontaneous travel for life. Not to mention curtained bathtubs. And until Bates I truly thought villains could not be human...or a human being could not be truly evil.

Hannibal Lecter - character created by Thomas Harris

A cannibal as repulsive as he is beguiling to the detectives who try to catch him. He's highly intelligent, sophisticated, a gentleman...in other words, every woman's dream apart from his flesh-eating fetish.

Amy Dunne - Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

A nasty piece of work who takes jealousy and retribution to a transcendental level. Psycho is too tame a word for this villainess. Notice that there's only one villainess in this list. She's scary but not as scary as the dudes. Which simply means that women aren't as bad as men.

Paul Spector - The Fall

My latest villainous - ahem - obsession is an everyday dad and husband, a bereavement counselor who genuinely seems to care about his patients. However...in his secret serial killer life, he's a stalker, a sadist, a misogynist, a possible pedophile, a psychopath whose sense of self deteriorates with every episode. You know you must hate him absolutely...but the thing is you might not. And that's scary as hell. (The absolutely slow-cooker storyline of The Fall is riveting, and IMO brilliant in the way it's handled some very uncomfortable and hard to watch subjects.)

Who are the villains that keep you sweating through the night?

HIT and RUN: a test of character

There's a Bollywood actor, SALMAN KHAN, a superstar with a massive fan-following. His movies are more often hits than misses, for sure they are entertainment of a certain kind. But, the reason he's trending in the news around the world hasn't got anything to do with a box office hit. It's to do with a hit and run he was in 13 years ago.

Driving drunk, he'd run his car over a pavement where unfortunately (for all concerned) some street-sleepers were squatting. This was late at night, and the homeless were fast asleep oblivious of what fate had in store. Salman Khan killed a man that night. I'm not sure of the particulars of the accident. Honestly, I don't know if Salman Khan even stopped his car or sped away? Did he even realize, as he was drunk, what he'd done? If he did stop, did he call the police or an ambulance? Did he feel remorse much less show it?

I don't know any of that, and I don't care. What happened next is  what concerns me. Unbelievably, it took the Mumbai's sessions court 13 years to bring this case to hearing. 13 years where the star of Salman Khan continued/continues to reach new heights. Then 2 days ago, the court found him guilty and sentenced him to 5 years jail.

Then, Salman Khan appealed the sentencing at the High Court, where his sentence has now been reduced to a year, while multiple advance bail/ paroles are in place already. So, long story short, Salman Khan's glitterati, for all intents and purposes, is free to rise even higher over the coming years.

Is this fair? Depends on whose side you're on. For the dead homeless man obviously there has been no justice. But he's been dead for 13 years. Does he even care about justice at this point?

It's most certainly more than fair for Salman Khan...and forgetting for a minute that he did do a very very heinous thing and that he seems to be getting away scott free, he must be feeling some kind of remorse and guilt and will for the rest of his life. We hope you are, Salman Khan. We hope you don't sleep well at night at all.  We hope you know the real meaning of BEING HUMAN and not simply the title of a charity you run. Otherwise, you are an awful awful man. 

So, is lifelong guilt and remorse enough of a punishment? 

What about justice for justice itself? Let's forget that the hit and run was between a superstar and a homeless man. There was a crime committed...and was there justice served? I don't think so, but again if you take the above 2 explanations, in some weird way maybe it was.

Let's put ourselves in his shoes...oh you don't wanna? Fine, I'll put myself in his shoes. If I were him would I want to go to jail? Yes, it was awful of me to drink and drive, but I made a mistake. And I swear I'll never repeat it...have not repeated it in 13 years. I did not mean to kill anyone. What kind of a person do you think I am? And I have this awful lot of money and power that can get me off. And I have tens of millions of fans rooting for me. Am I a big enough man to want justice for justice's sake and surrender to fate? 

Honestly, I don't know what I would've done in his shoes. We hope we're the good, noble people we actually think we are. We make judgements against people we think are less...but in their shoes would we be any different? I wouldn't want to be jailed if there was a way I could keep out of it and yet feel that I've appropriately paid for my crime...through remorse and charity and community service hours. Forget me personally, I would do/feel the same for a loved one. I'd do everything in my power to keep them out of jail. 

Wrong or right, who is to say? Because each man is right in his own shoes. Each man is right and has the right to defend himself.

What would you do? Have you thought?

Related articles worth reading:
HIT AND RUN survivor.
Bail tamasha.

WRITING in the AGE OF AMAZON

These days, the advice writers, writing blogs, Twitter, Facebook author groups, writer's conferences, author/agent/publishing panels, your neighbor's grandmother's niece's dog walker's writing guru gives is to WRITE FAST AND PUBLISH FASTER.

Get a book out every three months and beat Amazon's algorithm. Which is fine if you're a fast writer and confident of the quality of the product you're putting out. But what happens if you're not?
Does the slow writer need to pack up shop and move to Tahiti in hopes of securing a neverending muse? Does he need to compromise on his end product? Does anyone even care what the end product is anymore? Evidently, bad writing and bad editing has become so much the norm that its actually a shock to read a really good book these days. 

I've been plagued with these questions these last few weeks. I even got lost in the rat race for a bit, trying to churn out pages, make ulcer-inspiring deadlines, shmooze with agents and editors who all seem as confused by the changing book market as me...until I asked myself what I hoped to accomplish with my writing?

Did I simply want to become an author who beat Amazon's algorithm? Why do I write? What do I hope to accomplish at the end of a book?

I won't deny being a bestseller would be appealing. But do I want that at the cost of my end product...not to mention my sanity? I don't think so. What I want most is to find a few patient readers who'll love my book and the care I've taken to bring it to life. 

This is not writing advice. This is just me remembering what I love about writing is...to simply write.

AUTHOR'S CIRCLE interviews ANIESHA BRAHMA

On Author’s Circle today, meet author and Mphil student, ANIESHA BRAHMA, to talk about writing, life and her book, THE GUITAR GIRL. 

Hi ANIESHA, thanks for dropping in and letting us have a peek into your life. So, what’s THE GUITAR GIRL about?

The Guitar Girl is the story of a sixteen-year-old girl named Rhea Shah, who harbours a crush on her brother’s best friend and finds an innovative way to give vent to her feelings. I used a modern day epistolary format to tell this tale between a cast of characters...which I hope readers like.

What’s your favorite line from your novel? Why?

‘Only you can mess up telling the truth, you know’ – Sophie Ghosh to Rhea Shah.

Because I can identify with this accusation. More often than not, even I have messed up – all because I told the truth.

How did you become a writer? In other words, tell us YOUR STORY.

I wanted to become a writer since the age of six, when I was first introduced to Fairy Tales. In my bucket list, I wanted to be published before I completed my MA, which was in 2013. In 2012, General Press published by debut novel, The Secret Proposal. But I learned that being published and being an established writer are two different things. And no matter happens, writers need to keep writing. J

Why write what you write? As in romance or suspense or thrillers?

I write the stories that I write because it makes me feel good. And I believe when readers come across it, they’ll feel good reading it too. I’m just trying a spread a little joy to people who take the time out to read my stories! :D

Is there a certain scene you find difficult to write? Eg: Racy or action etc.? Why?

I find it difficult to describe settings. Probably because I get too focused on the dialogue exchanges between characters (something I love writing a lot of). Probably why I chose the format I did for The Guitar Girl. I’m working on my skills though. And hey, no one’s perfect! ;-)

What can we expect from you next?

I signed a contract with LiFi Publications for my novel, Sparks of Memories, and it should be out sometime this year or the next. Not entirely sure when since the contract has a two-year window. If you like my stories you can always follow me on my blog: Aniesha’s Musings.

To end lets try a Rapid Fire round. Your answer should be the first word/s that pops into your head when you think of:

LIFE: adventure

PASSION: Meh

HERO: my mother

LOVE: Pippo

HATE: nothing

Thank you once again, ANIESHA, for being here and talking to us. 

About the Book:

Sixteen year old Rhea Shah never thought that she would find herself falling for her brother’s best friend, Joy Fernandez, when they come home from college. Because she never thought that the dork who used to go to school with them would suddenly reinvent himself in college.

The only people she’s able to talk to about her absurd crush, are her best friends, Sophie and Arjav. Both of whom at first encourage, and then almost blackmail, Rhea to confess her feelings, which leaves the poor girl more muddled than ever!

Plagued with upcoming Board Examinations along with her friends’ suggestions, Rhea finds it difficult to concentrate, because she’s fallen for Joy, hook, line and sinker. In an attempt to vent to her feelings, she begins a blog, where she publishes all her songs and poems, dedicated to Joy, keeping her identity a secret.

But things do not go quite how she planned when a certain blogger named J. Fern begins to read her blog, and wishes to work with her…

Will Rhea ever confess her feelings to Joy? And will Joy find out the real identity of The Guitar Girl?

Book Links:

Amazon.com / Amazon.in / Goodreads

Meet the Characters of The Guitar Girl

Rhea Shah: 16-year-old Rhea Shah develops a crush on her brother, Robbie's, best friend, Joy Fernandez. She adopts the alias The Guitar Girl in a misguided way to keep a hold on her feelings. Rhea cares about her two best friends, Sophie and Arjav, although the latter knows how to push her buttons. She is pretty awful at hiding her feelings.

Joy Fernandez: 18-year-old Joy is Rhea's brother's best friend, as well as Arjav's cousin. He takes on Rhea as his student, teaching her how to play the guitar, unaware that she harbours feelings for him. He can be pretty dense at times - refusing to see what is really happening right in front of his eyes. He dates a rather crazy girl in college, Rosetta, who later becomes Robbie's girlfriend.

Sophie Ghosh: Rhea's best friend in school, who discovers her secret at the beginning of the novel and keeps encouraging her to confess to Joy about it. Initially united with Rhea on the front by finding Arjav, she begins liking him more than a friend. Both she and Arjav believe in meddling with 'destiny'. 

Robbie Shah: Rhea's older brother who has no idea has his sister has fallen for his best friend. He is too preoccupied with his band and his girlfriend, Rosetta, who Joy had dated before him. 

Arjav: Rhea's oldest friend, who knows her secret and wants her to tell Joy as well. He and Sophie like each other and likes to meddle with 'Fate'. 

About the Author:

Aniesha Brahma has loved writing since the age of six. She was schooled in Dolna Day School, and then pursued BA honors in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur University, where she went on to complete her MA in the same. Currently, she’s pursuing MPhil in Comparative Literature from the same place. Her hobbies include reading, writing, playing with her favorite pet, Pippo the cat, (and other kittens too), traveling and blogging.She has written innumerable short stories and poems, most of which can be found on her blog and in various magazines and newsletters. Her debut novel was, The Secret Proposal, published by General Press in September 2012. She won the Editor’s Pick for Romance genre in the IndiReads Second Short Story Competition, and her story The Difference, was subsequently published in the anthology, Voices, Old & New. She has interned with www.womanistan.com and www.zapondo.com, as their content writer. She has volunteered at Hope Foundation, Kolkata, teaching the children who attend the Chetla Lock Gate Coaching Center. Aniesha also had a brief stint as a writer for the Kolkata-based travel magazine, Touriosity.

Contact the Author:

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NAMRATA joins the AUTHOR/BLOGGER'S CIRCLE

On the blog today, we have avid reader and blogger, NAMRATA, aka Privy Trifles, and author of 

METRO DIARIES.

About the Book: Love is one of the most amazing feelings on this earth, one that makes you the most powerful person or the most helpless person in a split second. These stories capture those feelings of despair, longing, love, lust, desire, want, dejection and admiration to create deja vu. Hold onto your hearts as you flip through these pages and take a walk down the memory lane as "Metro Diaries" will revive your innermost feelings and imbibe in you the magic of love. Touching, amusing and deeply moving, Metro Diaries - Love Classics are 20 tales that will hold you from start till end.

The book cover is a photograph by a very dear friend. I selected it for it conveys love in the most perfect manner in that one glimpse.

Book Links:

Goodreads I Amazon I Flipkart

All right, with the introductions out of the way, let's get on with the interview.

What genre(s) do you consider your book classified as?

My book can be classified under romance and drama.

What made you write a book?

I somehow feel the real meaning of love is getting lost in today’s times. I have witnessed so many love stories around me that every time someone says true love doesn’t exist in this world I want to tell them no! My book is an attempt to tell them that true love exists around us and it is there is its truest form. You just need to look for it.

Describe your book like a message in a bottle.

~You are holding a piece of my heart, I hope it finds a place into yours. ~

Where would you live if you could live anywhere in the world?

Somewhere in the mountains, having a library of my own!

What’s your current guilty pleasure?

Chocolates!

Isn't it everyones? :) When did you decide to become a blogger and now a writer?

Blogging started 4 years ago and I feel anyone who writes is a writer in their own way. Even if its writing a personal diary daily or letters to loved ones. We all are writers.

Becoming an author was never a choice, it was something that happened to me and I am so glad it did. It showed me I could make a difference through my words.

Who is your mentor? Who do you look up to?

When I started I was more of a recluse. But over the period of time during one of the book reviews I came across someone who not only encouraged me to write my own book but also took time to read my entire blog and choose stories from it to show how they could be worked upon more to make them a full length novel. His words that I cannot forget till now, “You write because that is what you are born to do. “

Aside from writing, what do you enjoy doing on your spare time?

I love reading, dancing and painting too in my spare time.

What do you love about books?

The very fact that within those pages they carry people, places, feelings, dreams and desires is what makes them very special to me. For me they are the ticket to a new world altogether.

Name a book you wish you’d written or a book you wish someone would write.

P.S: I Love you is a book I would have loved to have write for it portrays love so beautifully. And yes I would love to read a book in which the reader falls in love with the writer. It has always been my fantasy to read or write something like this.

Your favorite books and authors?

Paulo Coelho, R K Narayan, Nicholas Sparks, Cecilia Ahern, Novoneel Chakraborthy are some of my favourite authors.

The list of my favourite books is too long. To name a few Aleph, Malgudi Days, A Walk to remember, P.S: I Love you, Seven steps in the sky, Mirror City etc are some of my favourite reads.

Which genres do you prefer to read?

I love reading various genres like romance, drama, self-help, spirituality, travel, memoirs etc.

What book is currently on your nightstand?

The Rise of Superman is the book on my nightstand.

How interesting. Is that a Marvel thing? Wait. Is Superman part of the Marvel franchise. Anyway, how many books do you read/month?

Usually 7-10.

Nice average. Be it blogging or writing, how important do you find the communication between you and your readers? Do you reply to their messages or read their reviews?

It is absolutely important. I reply to each and every email, feedback, comment and reviews for I believe that they spare some moments of their precious time in writing to us and it is truly valuable.

Do you prefer Twitter or Facebook?

Facebook for I find it more user friendly for a tech handicapped person like me.

Where can your fans find you?

Website I Facebook I Twitter

OK. Let’s do a THIS or THAT:

Vampires or werewolves? 

Vampires

Female or male authors? 

(That’s a difficult one!) Female authors

Morning person or a night owl? 

Night Owl

Jeans or salwar kameez? 

Jeans

E-books or real books? 

Real books anyday!

If I give you a time machine, what time period and in what place would you travel to?

The 70s or 80s. In any country I would like to witness this era.

What projects are you currently working on right now? Would you mind sharing them with us? 

I am currently working on my own manuscript which is a story in two parts and hence might have a sequel too. The first part is 80% ready and in the process of being polished further to be presented.

LAST question: favorite line or quote from a book.

Love stories exist for love is always beautiful then now and forever. It is people who make it ugly. Amongst this ugliness there will only be one heart that will be able to sing back the song your heart wants to hear and they day you find that heart, never let it go at any cost.

Thanks for doing this interview, Namrata. This was fun!

Thank you so much for having me over, it was a pleasure talking to you!

But wait, there's more...

Random Fun Facts:

1. All the stories in the book are real. Name of places and people have been changed to maintain confidentiality.
2. Metro Diaries is a segment on my blog which consists of stories across genres though this book has only got the romance collection.
3. One of the characters in the book is me and NO I am not telling you which one ;) If you think you have the right answer do write to me and I will let you know how close or far you are.
4. All the stories in the book have not been "ended", they have been brought to conclusion in a manner that there can always be a next part to it and the story can go on with the same characters.
5. If observed closely you will notice the stories are not technically love stories where boy meets girl and they fall in love to live happily ever after for I believe love stories are also about what doesn't happen between the lovers.

About the Author:

Namrata is a prolific blogger known by the name Privy Trifles in the blogosphere who romances life through her writings and aspires to make love the universal language. She dons various hats between that of a contributing author to 7 anthologies a reviewer for leading publishing houses an editor to various books and a columnist. Apart from that she is also the editor for an online magazine called Writer's Ezine. Having mastered the nuances of finance till recently she also held the title of an investment banker closely to let it go to embrace her love for writing fully.

Contact the Author:

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THE ACCIDENTAL WIFE: SPOTLIGHT

About the Book:

From the author of Inconvenient Relations Simi K Rao!

If you enjoyed Inconvenient Relations, you'll love The Accidental Wife, a new contemporary romance from Simi K. Rao.

Some accidents are meant to happen…

Dr. Rihaan Mehta is a brilliant young neurosurgeon who has no inclination for love or marriage. According to him wives and girlfriends are annoying accessories that one can do without. But when his mother dangles the sword over his head in classic Bollywood style, he succumbs, and sets out in search of a bride who would fit his 'requirements'. But can Rihaan deal with what he gets instead?

Book Links:
Goodreads I Amazon.in I Amazon.com

The Accidental Wife is now available on kindle for 99 cents Only! Go get it now as the offer is for a short period only !!

Excerpt:

PROLOGUE

“Another beer to calm the nerves?” A distant cousin who Rihaan had never the pleasure of meeting before, suggested with a knowing smirk.

This was followed by a loud burst of laughter. It was close to midnight, but the party had just begun at the usually serene Mehta abode in South Delhi. “Rihaan doesn’t need anything to cool him down. He’s going to be a full-on man tonight! Can’t afford to disappoint bhabhi, right?” This was promptly followed by another outburst of mirth.

Rihaan submitted to several friendly thumps on his back, returning them with the obligatory wry smile that could be interpreted any which way they desired. He didn’t care about their opinions.

It was true, he hadn’t let a single drop of alcohol pass through his lips. Not because he was anxious to perform well on his wedding night and impress his new wife. On the contrary, he wanted to keep all his faculties intact so he could confirm the suspicion that had been gnawing at his brain ever since the wedding ceremony. And with each moment that passed, his unease had grown steadily.

Unable to bide his time any longer, he stood up and went toward his room paying no heed to the numerous whistles and catcalls that followed in his wake.

Thrusting the door wide open he strode toward the marital bed. It was bare except for his bride’s wedding finery that lay in a neat pile in one corner. His heart now thudding at a frantic pace inside his chest, he scanned the vicinity, fervently hoping his concerns were for nothing.

He approached the wide open balcony door, and his pulse slowed down slightly. Perhaps he’d just been imagining it all?

A girl stood there leaning against the railing, her face upturned toward the full moon. On hearing him approach, she turned around. “Finally! I’ve been waiting like forever!”

He frowned, straining to decipher her features obscured by deep shadow. “Deepika?”

“Naa…, not Deepika.” She stepped forward into the light, a bright smile illuminating her strikingly graceful features.

His heart sank. Not Deepika.

“I am Naina—the girl you married. Goodbye, Rihaan.”

About the Author:

Simi K. Rao was born and grew up in both northern and southern India before relocating to the U.S., where she has lived for several years. She is the author of multicultural contemporary romantic fiction.

The inspiration for her books and other creative projects comes from her own experience with cross-cultural traditions, lifestyles and familial relationships, as well as stories and anecdotes collected from friends, family and acquaintances.

Rao enjoys exploring the dynamics of contemporary American culture blended with Indian customs and heritage to reflect the challenges and opportunities many Indian-American women face in real life.

Much of Rao's down time is devoted to creative pursuits, including writing fiction, poetry and photography. She is an avid traveler and has visited many locations around the world.

A practicing physician, Rao lives in Denver with her family. Her published works include Inconvenient Relations and The Accidental Wife. She is currently at work on her next release.

Contact the Author:
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