A passionate and a head
strong woman who loves to read, watch cricket and take care of her 3year old
kiddo apart from being an assistant editor in Bangalore Mirror, this is Sowmya
Aji’s way of living! A book in Oxford Top 10 list for quite some time, she is
here to make a mark! ‘Delirium’ an interesting, nail biting read is surely
ready to give the readers goose bumps! So, let’s see what Sowmya has to say
about herself and of course…. Delirium
….
Sowmya—I
find it very difficult to name my books or my short stories. Somehow, it’s very
difficult to come up with intelligent ones like The Monk who sold his Ferrari or even something simple like The Three Mistakes of my life. I was
just trying to capture the state of mind all my characters are in, except for
the minor ones and felt that they were all in the state of Delirium which means
not really conscious of what they are doing or a state of nervous excitement.
The name is really important and initially my publisher HarperCollins was not
very convinced that Delirium was the right name. But as my commissioning editor
Neelini Sarkar put it, it kind of ‘grew on all of us’. I hope it catches the
attention of the reader.
Vanya’s
Notebook- Why all of a sudden this idea of a romantic thriller?
Sowmya—It’s
been in the works for a while. In fact, I got the idea in 1998 and started to
write. I wanted to set it around the 1996 India-Pakistan Match in Bangalore,
which is what the book opens with. That match, which bowler Venkatesh Prasad
turned around for India after Amir Sohail insulted him, is part of every
cricket lover’s memory and history. I just did a ‘what if’… as in what if a TV reporter falls in love with a
cricketer? What if there is a cricket scandal on the scale of the match fixing
one at the same time? And from them, the book evolved.
Vanya’s
Notebook- Your book has a character, the main male protagonist Avinash Katagi as
a vice-captain of Indian cricket team who is quite a charmer as far as I have
read! Was the character, his charm specifically, in any case similar to our
Vice captain? Virat Kohli I mean!
Sowmya—Ha
ha! When I wrote the book—completed in 2004—Virat Kohli was probably still in
school! It’s not based on any actual person, its imagination! And while we are
at it, Kohli is aggressive not charming, surely! J
Vanya’s
Notebook- As far as I know, you write mostly about politics culture and all,
cricket not being in your genre; how much research did your book need?
Sowmya—I
am a cricket fan, used to be a fanatical fan. So I would read avidly and also
had to interact with cricketers a bit and cover them during my TV days in
1996-2000. The way the TV industry functions is authentic for those days, and
all the actions are set around 1996. I had to research a lot to ensure we
didn’t get anything wrong technically and otherwise those days. For example-
mobile phones had just made an appearance and were too costly to use. My
cricketer hero had to own the hottest car in those days which was a Pajero...
All that!! Cricket is not something I cover for work, but I do keep track of it
always J and yes, I did speak of some cricketers of
those days for background, but informally. The book is set in 1996 and all
actions including cricket is authentic for that period.
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Vanya’s
Notebook- The second main character, Anjana, of your book is a Journalist just
like you! Do you have any connection with Anjana? I mean, how much of you is
Anjana or how much of Anjana are you?
Sowmya—I
have tried to make Anju as distinct from me as possible, but she does share
several of my traits. She loves coffee, hates to wake up too early in the
mornings and things like that. The voice all through is also mine, and my
friends tell me it’s very much like talking to me, to read the book. But the
choices she makes, her actions and decisions in this book are very different from
what I would do in the same situation. It’s imaginary and that’s why it’s fun! Incidentally,
Anju is the main character, she is the narrator and the whole book is from her
point of view. Avinash Katagi is the second main character.
Vanya’s
Notebook- What is writing for you? And what if you meet someone like Avinash to
woo you in real life?
Sowmya—Writing
is probably my escape valve. And no, I don’t think I would like Avinash Katagi
in real life, except for some of his traits like reading poetry.
Vanya’s Notebook- http://avinashkatagi.blogspot.com and the novel- Delirium are two sides of the
same coin! One from Avinash’s point of view and the other from Anjana’s; which
part was more interesting to write? Which was the most relatable to you?
Sowmya—I
have enjoyed writing both. I hope Delirium becomes successful enough for me to
turn Avinash’s blog into a full-fledged sequel J
Anjana was easier as it’s a woman and a fellow journalist. AK I had to explore
a bit more and research a bit more. I found it very interesting to try and
think like a man J I hope I’ve succeeded…
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Vanya’s
Notebook- Has Avinash’s blog been a part of your marketing strategy? And what are
your other marketing strategies?
Sowmya—I
have been working on facebook and Twitter. My hero, cricketer Avinash Katagi
has a FB page https://www.facebook.com/Delirium.AvinashKatagi where he responds to questions, comments on
on-going cricket matches, spouts some poetry of his own and so on.. There is
also another page for Anjana Narendra, my heroine, the TV journalist. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Anjana-Narendra/624342930973638 she will also answer questions and talk about
the book and about AK, besides there, I have a page for the book itself,
Delirium by Sowmya Aji, where all details of the book, the reviews and updates
are posted. https://www.facebook.com/DeliriumbySowmyaAji I am also planning to
post a few sample pages there. There is also a twitter handle @AvinashKatagi,
where Avinash comments and chats; I am hoping to do a Twitter chat with readers
and interested book lovers at some point. I also have a personal handle
@kolminchu
Vanya’s
Notebook- When every second person is writing a book a few talented people at
times loose the market and fail to get what they deserve! In such a market
condition, how tough was it in getting a publisher?
Sowmya—
It was incredibly tough, I finished the book and went to Delhi with two
manuscripts (I have another unpublished novel ready in a different genre) and
did the rounds of all the publishers. Nothing came of it I don’t think they
even looked at it. Sometime in 2012 I accidentally met Neelini Sarkar of
HarperCollins and asked her if she would take a look at the manuscript. She
agreed and when she did, she said she had finished the book in one go! That has
been the standard response to whoever has read the book. So, Neelini took it up
and Harper Collins put it into the market on Dec31, 2013 and did a launch here
in Bangalore at the Oxford Bookstore on Feb28. NDTV star reporter Maya Sharma
and Former India and Ranji cricketer Vijay Bharadwaj released the book.
Vanya’s
Notebook- And after everything you got Harper Collins! Yes, a big name it is! How
was it working with them?
Sowmya—The
experience of working with a major publishing house was interesting. I was not
aware of how much work they handled on a day-to-day basis and it gave me an
insight into how big the Indian Publishing industry has become. I am definitely
a very small fish in this ocean, and I hope I learn to swim!
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Vanya’s
Notebook- Now that your book is out (finally) and hitting the stands; of course
getting such a good response, reviews are pouring in, your book is in huge
demand(top 10 in oxford), how are you feeling?
Sowmya—Feels
great, I am so happy that so many people feel it’s an easy read and a
page-turner, which have been the most common responses that I have got. I am
glad that what I wrote has been received so well. I enjoyed writing it and am
simply thrilled that so many people have enjoyed reading it J People are also telling me it will make a great film. I hope so and
am keeping my fingers crossed.
“Did it go as your expectations?”
“I am still hoping that it will do better, but
am happy with what has come in Delirium’s way so far” J
Vanya’s
Notebook- What is Sowmya Aji in real life? Describe her in a few words! I mean,
your hobbies, what you like to do etc!
Sowmya—I
spend most of my time reading and day dreaming… most of my ME time, that is. I
am mostly busy with being mom to my 3year old and my job as an assistant editor
at Bangalore Mirror. My friends, however are Absolem, Elizabeth Bennett,
Hamlet, Gimli, Katniss Everdeen and Dangny Taggarat.. J My passion is cricket and I still follow it as much as possible. I
used to play in my college days. My other hobbies are films, theaters, music,
dance and knitting J
“What about your next?”
“I have a novel already completed, called The
Wall. It is an adult fantasy, with mythological, historical, social and
political plot-lines, for which I am looking for a publisher. I am also working
on another mass market novel like Delirium, which I have tentatively titled
Cinders. And I am hoping to write the delirium sequel from AK’s point of viewJ”
Vanya’s
Notebook- Words for your readers and Vanya’s Notebook!
Sowmya—Writing
is a very lonely professional despite all the friends in the head. Feels great
to reach out to readers through your blog, which is itself very diverse and
interesting. I saw short stories, poems—including by you—and I think it’s a
great way to celebrate the joy of writing. Am very happy to have had this chat
with you and with your readers J it made me think about what I have done so
far, and what I intend to do. It’s the nice part of the lonely life J
You can get the book from:
http://www.flipkart.com/delirium/p/itmdqxagbyhhe56j?pid=9789350297575&otracker=from-search&srno=t_1&query=Delirium+by+sowmya+aji&ref=1215f2e5-7f85-4e58-b3ef-d7dbfabfb962
http://www.homeshop18.com/delirium/author:sowmya-aji/isbn:9789350297575/books/fiction/product:31216805/cid:10916/
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