Krusha Sahjwani is an Author of the book A steaming cup of Tea. Check the review here: https://www.instagram.com/p/B5pKCqeALFO/
About the Book:
Anju is an Indian housewife, living in Mumbai, in an upper middle-class home, with her husband, two daughters and in-laws. Her days are passing exactly as they have in the past twenty years until she begins to notice a sudden anomaly.
She is doing everything she can to rid herself of this unwelcome surprise but is struggling to shake it off. The subservient housewife is now ready to cross lines to set herself free. How far will she go?
Unlike in her life, this story is centered around her.She loves her daily cup of tea, so I suggest you make yourself a cup, sit back and join her. Happy Reading!
Get your copy here:
Interview
1. What are your interests other than writing?
I head the APAC subsidiary for a French SaaS company called Sociabble. It is a platform for employee engagement, and we work with some of the best brands in the region. I am very passionate about my work. In addition, I absolutely love dancing. It is second nature to me and very therapeutic. I am also very drawn to service and would like to do more of it. Topics such as child education, feminism/women rights and mental health are very close to my heart. That is why they even reflect in my writing.
2. What inspires you in life?
I think I am someone who is constantly seeking inspiration in the ordinary. It is probably a common trait in a writer. We tend to romanticize the mundane. I am not someone who needs to seek fantasy to be inspired. Reality, in fact, can often do it even better. Stories of people who have overcome such unimaginable hardships, miracles that happen every day if we choose to look and of course, my sunsets. I chase sunsets everywhere I go.
3. Tell us about your favourite books?
My favourite book of all time is The Alchemist. It is a beautiful marriage between motivation and storytelling. It teaches you the essence of life without being preachy about it. It is also the perfect length I seek in a book. A definite 5 star! A model book for me.
4. How often do you write?
I have written for myself and for my loved ones all my life, but I only took my work public early this year in 2019 with my Instagram page called @write_the_world_pink. I followed that with being published in a few anthologies and then ‘A Steaming Cup of Tea’ is my debut e-book that came out in November this year. I hope to be writing a lot more in 2020.
5. Do you have a set schedule for writing, or are you one of those who write only when they feel inspired?
I think it is a mix of both. I am someone who finds spontaneity in structure. I believe that to feel inspired you have to create the environment for it. I have been observant and scribbling thoughts in my journal all my life but it was only when I created the mindset to write a book and the structure to wake up and write each morning, was I inspired enough to complete my first book. Of course, there will be days that you are unmotivated and days where you are motivated enough to write for hours and I allow myself to encourage that as long as there is general rule of thumb maintaining an overarching structure.
6. What other genres do you enjoy reading?
I enjoy contemporary fiction a lot. I also enjoy nonfiction because the stories of real people are very inspirational for me. I even enjoy certain motivational books like the 5 am club and I am now looking forward to Jay Shetty’s first book. The genres I honestly haven’t explored are horror and fantasy. I would like to broaden my horizons in the near future though.
7. Have you ever written a character based on the real you in some part?
Since this is my first book, I have limited characters to choose from to answer your question. This particular book isn’t based on me, but it is indeed inspired by women in my life. My mother, my mother in law and mothers of friends and cousins. My work is definitely very inspired by reality.
8. Can you tell us about your current projects?
It already feels amazing to have my first book out. It was all very unplanned and fast. And now that I have completed the process, I am in love with it even more. I just want to write more. I don’t have my next story chalked out as yet but there will definitely be another book in 2020. I am currently in the brainstorming phase with a lot of different ideas bubbling.
9. If you were to change your genre, which one would you choose?
If I were to switch genres, I would probably try non-fiction. I would be honored and very interested in writing the story of someone who really inspires me, in the future.
10. What does literary success look like to you?
As naïve/cheesy as it probably sounds, literary success to me is being able to write stories that move people and maybe even influence society. My first book ‘A Steaming Cup of Tea’ that you read has resulted in so many women messaging me about how they resonated with the story and finally felt heard and represented. I also had men confide in me about their mental health issues, saying they had a tear in their eye at the end of the book. These messages to me is success. Of course, if you want to be able to write more and reach a wider audience, you have to be able reap monetary benefits and have publishers and marketing backing your work.
