About The Author
Vaishnavi Anantha is an 9th grader who enjoys drawing, reading thrillers books, playing badminton and swimming. She holds a black belt in Taekwondo and writing is her newfound interest. She lives with her family in Hyderabad, India
Interviews
Q) Tell us about the idea behind the book?
The JAZ Gang series is about 3 teens who discover a time machine and visit the Ramayana era. The idea behind the books is to try and explore Ancient India alongside a lot of action and adventure.
Q) How much time did it take in the process of writing?
The process of writing was definitely not easy as it also involved a lot of research, so it took me nearly 6-8 months to complete each book.
Q) What did the process of writing this book teach you?
The entire process of writing these books taught me a lot of things. Some of it being improving my creative writing skills, vocabulary, becoming a keen reader and learning so much more about my country.
Q) What inspired you to write this book?
A desire to know more about India’s rich past inspired me to write this book. Despite having a magnificent past, today many of us feel that westerners are far superior than us. There’s nothing wrong in admiring and enjoying different cultures. However, I want us youngsters to know more about our culture and take pride in our traditions too.
Q) Which is your favourite part from the book?
The favourite part from the book is when the JAZ Gang discover the time-machine. I wouldn’t tell why because I don’t want to give away the spoilers!
Q) A book that had an impact on you, which helped you in writing this one?
I’m sure quite a lot of people would be shocked to know that I started reading books at the age of 12 only. Before that, I literally used to dislike reading books. It’s only after I started writing my book that I began to enjoy reading books.
Also Read: Interview with Berjis Desai – Author of Oh! Those Parsis and The Bawaji
Q) Tell us about your plans? Planning a new book?
I’m currently writing the 3rd book in the JAZ Gang series, and that would be the last book in this series. After that I am planning to write a historical fiction which would revolve around the life of an unsung woman freedom fighter. The story would be set during the British Raj.
Q) How has your life changed after the book was published?
My friends, and family members were totally thrilled and quite excited that a young girl from their circle managed to write a book. Everyone’s reaction was ‘Really? That’s awesome!’ I’ve received so much love, affection, and blessings from people within my family and community that I’ve started realising that it’s a big responsibility being an author as people now look up to me.
Q) What is a literary success for you?
As I’m only 14, I think I’m too young to comment on literary success. All I can say is that anyone can achieve anything. All we have to do is just believe in ourselves.
Q) A message for all the readers.
Just one thing- we must feel proud of our nation. Today youngsters know a lot about Greek or Roman mythology, thanks to books like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. Indian youngsters are more inclined towards western dance & western music and feel our traditional dance or music forms are outdated. We take pride in speaking foreign languages rather than our mother tongue. In countries like China, France, Germany, and Japan, people strictly follow their culture. I feel we should also value our culture alongside enjoying other cultures.
Get your Book Reviewed by Vidhya Thakkar – Connect us Now.
