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Author Interview- Priyanka Bhuyan


Author Interview

Author- Priyanka Bhuyan

Interviewer- Animesh Das
 
A.D- First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the immense success of your short-story collection “Kaleidoscope of Love”.

P.B- Thank you so much

A.D- Tell us a bit about yourself.

P.B- What to say… Well my life is an open book. I am born and brought up in Guwahati and did my higher education in Delhi. I have a degree in Masters in Journalism and Mass Communication and recently also completed my MBA in Human Resource Management. I have my parents and brother. I am working as a Corporate Communications professional and apart from writing I love reading books, travel a lot in fact, playing with my dog and listening to music. I am also a trained Reiki III A Master Healer and a certified Angel Reader.

A.D- When did it dawn upon you that you want to be a writer?

P.B-I used to freelance since my school days and it was my mother who always encouraged me and pushed me to further hone my writing skills. And I always wanted to write something which people can enjoy in a go while being on a bus, train or flight. So one day I finally thought why not give it a shot.

A.D- You are currently working as the Corp Communication professional at a leading PSU. How do you keep a balance between your profession and passion?

P.B- I believe we all maintain a balance somewhere in our life. But for me work always comes first and when I am working I remain focused on that. But since I don’t have much of a social life the rest of the time you will find me with my tablet noting down something or working upon something. I find early mornings peaceful followed by a constructive day at work. The later part of the evening if I don’t have any social do’s I do what I love best doing whether it is blogging or writing. My Mantra if you really love something you will always find the time for it.

A.D-Does your family support your career as a writer?

P.B-Off course my family has always supported me in whatever I wish to do. They have always been more than encouraging in helping me pursue my passions.

A.D- Where do you get your ideas for your stories?

P.B- Being an Assamese, you will get to see glimpses of Assam and its culture in my book. I believe very few people in India knows about Assamese culture and it was my small initiative to introduce its elements in my stories. One fact which I must state all the stories and characters in my book have or are drawn from real life experiences or from people I have met somewhere downs the line.

A.D- What do you think makes a good story?

P.B- A good plot, strong characters and an interesting ending are essential for a good story. There should be a proper start, middle and ending. Also we must try to connect with our readers and audience if a story becomes too long or too short it somehow loses its charm in the middle.

A.D- It is often said that in order to write something, you must believe in what you are writing. Do you agree with that?

P.B- Completely hands down! Unless you believe in what you are writing how can you make the readers or audiences believe in it. I believe the baseline for each one of us to have complete trust in our story and the characters  and develop the plot around it.

A.D-Which character from your stories do you relate yourself the most and why?

P.B- Quite a few but I believe Anjali from the story Past and Present is very much like me. She is extremely loyal and in love but at the same time she has got her self-respect and did not compromise on it. At the same time she had such an inherent strength to herself walk out of a deadlock marriage. Often times in life we have to make difficult decisions and sometimes taking correct decisions is the most painful but then that’s where human strength is tested. I am very much like her as I too believe that whatever be the circumstances be we must stand for what we believe for.

A.D- Now when you are a published author, you must have gone through the exhausting process of Book Publishing and may have experienced a few things which are not ethical, what according to you is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry?

P.B- I don’t think I have come across anything unethical hopefully till now. But yes today being an author is more than writing. There is a whole exercise behind it so you need time and effort for it.

A.D- You have recently been awarded the “India’s Top 100 Debut Authors” Certificate by LiteraturesLight. How does it feel when others acknowledge your hard work?

P.B- First of all, a big thank you to all my readers and people like you who reviewed my book and supported me. I never expected it when I made the entry but then when I did receive the certificate you can imagine I was on Cloud 9. This has given me a further boost and encouragement to continue with my passion of writing and bring more such tales and stories that can be enjoyed by everyone. Stories that reflect slices of life.

A.D-If you could be famous at something other than writing, what would that be?

P.B- That’s an interesting question. But I love talking and interacting with people so anything related with public speaking I would love to associate myself with it. I also think that someday I may you tubing and video blogging. There is so much to share and learn from each other.

A.D- Do you read your book-reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?

P.B- I personally read each review as I believe there are lots to take away from it whether it is bad or good. Even if it is a negative review I take it constructively as there are so much scope to improve in my writing and this is the best way to know where are my lacunas so that next time I can work upon it and make myself better.

A.D- You have a penchant for travelling and food. How many places have you visited so far and what is the weirdest food you have ever tasted?

P.B- Yes travelling is one of my biggest mode of relaxing. It helps me set myself free and believe me it is a great learning experience for life. I have literally travelled the entire India although there are lot of places still to explore. I would love to go to Ladakh and Gujarat next . Internationally I have been to nearly 10 countries so far. Next Poland and the Baltic region are on my bucket list. Food every place has got its own flavor however I was in Spain recently and I wanted to taste the famed Spanish omlette but since English is not spoken there I tried to explain it to the waitress and she turned up with a dish of Spinach and chickpeas and it did not taste so good. All thanks to the communication gap!

A.D- Are you working on something new at the moment?

P.B- Currently yes. I am working on my next book but due to some personal setbacks I have not been able to work on it for the last few days. But hopefully it should come out by the end of this year.

A.D- Have any new author grasped your attention recently?

P.B- I have heard rave reviews of Namish Tanna and his latest offering Divyastra. So I am looking forward to get a copy and read it.

A.D- There are many young people in India who aspires to be a writer like you, Do you have any advice for them?

P.B- The only thing I can say is believe in yourself, believe in your story and believe in your characters. Also write for the joy of writing and whatever be the outcomes take it positively.

A.D- Thank you for sharing your experiences with us and best of Luck for your future projects.

P.B- Thank you.


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About

A freelance blogger and Bookstagrammer,Animesh Das is a Gold Medalist alumnus of Guru Ghasidas Central University, Chhattisgarh. A large number of his Research articles, poems, book-reviews and short-stories have been published in various national and International Journals, Magazines and Anthologies. He has a penchant for music, photography and recitation. You can catch him on Instagram @booksandbeard

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