Blurb:
"I leaned closer to her and within no time our lips met and we ended up kissing each other fervently. For me it was the most blissful experience. But then I saw the tears streaming down her eyes. Even though she tried to stop them but they flew like a river from a glacier. I wanted to ask her the reason for this when suddenly myself phone rang. My mother was angry as I had not informed her about my whereabouts. So I had to go. She tried to stop me but I had to go."
Often love happens in the most unlikely situations, Satvik, Nikhil and Anukriti had realized this evident truth too late. Satvik and Nikhil whom she considered her support system, has fallen in love at the same time. What will she do especially at a time when she is herself going through a lot of turmoil?
Embark on their journey as they discover the lines between friendship and true love.
My Impression: I am not a sucker for romantic stories. But I am glad I chose this sad and bittersweet but totally engrossing love saga.
Interview:
Q. What made you to write a story on genre romance?
A. I wrote romance because I am quite comfortable writing it, even though I haven't read much romantic novels. Also as you can see in The Hardest Choice, I am good at portraying emotions(don't intend to praise myself), rather than suspense, so I chose romance. It is the genre I read on Wattpad mostly.
Q. What is the agenda to develop your characters?
A. My characters are not developed for an agenda, they are developed so that they touch Hearts. I want my readers to feel the same anguish, same happiness, same pain that they feel. Also I feel that if through my characters some social evil can be represented then nothing more good can happen. My every book has some problem highlighted either in the whole book or in a particular chapter.
Q. Who is your favorite character and why?
A. My favorite character is Dr Sujay Malhotra actually. The reason being that he is balanced, pragmatic person and doesn't lose his sanity for love. He keeps his duty over love. I wish that I could be as sane as Sujay.
I like Nikhil from because of the fact that he is sweet, genuine, caring. He is sensitive. Though he has faults, but overall his personality is endearing.
Also I somewhat like Ayesha, although I don't support what she does later on in The Backfired Plan but her boldness in handling with creepy men is something which I want
Q. Why did you decide to make your main character Anukrithi suffer from Cancer?
A. The Hardest Choice is basically trying to show the futility of love triangles. So to make the theme more serious I included the Cancer part. Fighting over love is stupid according to me.
Q. Which book have you recently read that inspired you to write your story?
A. Definitely A Walk To Remember by Nicholas Sparks made me write this story. Also my second short story(not published on Wattpad), The rejuvenation of Soul inspired me to write a bit of it.
Q. How do you compare your book with other romantic novels out there on wattpad?
A. I don't compare my novels because every novel has a different writing style. But I do feel that my novel has not got enough attention as it should have. I feel that here, the similar kind of Arranged Marriage kind of novels attention, even though they have same plots and are somewhat predictable.
People still love the Cliché kind of novels with either Mafia or Billionaire Novels and so other good novels don't get attention here.
Q. Are you planning a sequel?
A. Not a sequel. It does not have any scope for a sequel. But I had planned to write a short story based on Nikhil and Shreya. Though I don't know whether I will write it or not. I feel that sequel should be made only when there is a scope. Otherwise it becomes irritating to read.
Q. What is your opinion about other genres? Do you intend to write any other story that doesn't include romance?
A. To be frank on Wattpad I find that Fantasy and Paranormal are much better written than Romance. I think that Fantasy Genre should become more popular. Fantasy should be given a chance.
My first short story was of Paranormal Genre. If I feel like I would definitely publish it on Wattpad. Also I plan to write a Mystery novel without romance. It will be published next year I suppose if everything goes right. I can't write Fantasy and Science Fiction though.
Q. Do you think romantic genre books get more attention than any other?
A. Yes I do feel that romantic books get more attention but that is because most of the Wattpad authors and readers are teenagers who are lover of Bollywood and Tollywood (for Indians) or romance readers, so romance definitely gets more attention.
Q. What makes a great romantic novel?
A. According to me a perfect romantic novel should leave an impact on your heart. You should feel the same emotional turbulence as the character feels. The novel should be realistic and should not promote violence against women. For example I feel A Walk To Remember is a perfect example of what I am talking about.
Q. What is your favorite novel of all time? (On and off Wattpad)
A. Favourite novel outside Wattpad :
The Odessa File - Frederick Forsyth Paths of Glory - Jeffrey Archer
The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo series - Steig Larsson
False Impression - Jeffrey Archer
In Wattpad :-
Stolen Hearts series by KatherineArlene
Hayden Mackay series by @jyothi89
The White Capes by trueathenian
My Love, My Fate and Love And Love Only by NATASHAJESS
Q. What is you upcoming story "The Backfired Plan" about?
A. It is based on a simple theme- love or country? Rest of it can't be revealed now.
Q. What is the best and worst comment you received lately on your story?
A. "You really have the potential to be a great author someday, just a little suggestion though. Try to add more description. Otherwise the story starts out pretty fine and I want to figure out what happens next" said by @MehnaazTabassum
"You have the talent to be a bestseller" said by Colocasia22
About worst comments I would say that no comment is worse. We writers get criticism but that helps us to improve only. So in a way they are good. I am glad that the people are liking my book.
Q. Why do you read/write?
A. For me writing acts as a stress buster. Writing is something which brought down my depression levels. It kind of helped me to get over my self harming tendencies. Also I love the world of books. My interest in writing came from writing diary entries. Honestly I am writing since I was 10 years old. After that I moved on to writing poetry and since I turned 16 I started writing stories.
Q. What is only thing that you think you need to change in your writing style?
A. There is not one but many things to improve. For example, I need to improve my chapter endings. Also I need to add more description. Plus the stories need to be made more organic and entertaining. I really got into depression when I read the first draft of my books. My feelings were-what the heck have you written? Were you even in your senses?
Q. Why are you on Wattpad?
A. I am here on Wattpad due to many reasons. First of all due to the fact that I love writing and want to improve. Also I am here to meet good people from diverse background and make friends with them.
Q. What is the only thing you don't like about Wattpad?
A. What I don't like about Wattpad is its glitchy notifications system, plus the fact that all the genres don't get equal attention.
Q. What books are you reading now and planning to read in future? (On and off Wattpad)
A. What I am reading now:
Gleeman's Tales by MatthewTravagline
Ten and Levan by HayleyMonroe
The White Capes by trueathenian
My Billionaire Prince by satwri
Husband for Hire by Krazy_Kiran
What make me a man by yagappar
The Story of Us :Her fate by
Stories I am Planning to read
Love, Lust 'n Geology by seema_ahmad
Hayden Mackay series Part 2 by jyothi89
Sara's Trilemma by Ms_Enigmatic
The Boy in the woods by KatherineArlene
Q. Who is you favorite Author on Wattpad and why?
A. My favorite authors on Wattpad are KatherineArlene, trueathenian and @jyothi89. These authors have good plots and have gripping narrative. Also the level of language that they use is very good. They are must read on Wattpad.
Q. Why do you review books?
A. Many a times when you read, you feel that this book has this particular fault or to mention the amazing writing and vocabulary. But what we do not get is that how much it would help the author if we directly communicate that to the author instead of keeping it to ourselves. So I started reviewing books.
Q. How do you select books to review and how long does it take to review each book?
A. I actually randomly select books. The books which are Fantasy are chosen first to be pretty frank. Then Romance and then other genres. About the length of time, that depends on whether I am being intrigued by the plot. If I am being intrigued then it will take a day or two otherwise the time would be more.
Q. What is your intention to write articles in your "Review and Rants" book?
A. My intention to write articles is that I feel a lot about social issues but I haven't got any platform to express my feelings. Wattpad has given me the platform to write what I feel truly about things. I even talk to people on social evils. If my articles can change some existing dogmas in minds of people then I would be happy.
Q. Can you give a brief description about your experiences on wattpad?(Likes and Dislikes)
A. I joined Wattpad because of SamantaSachdev. After coming to Wattpad, initially my book didn't gain much reads or votes. I was depressed. Then I joined book clubs which helped increase my reader base. After that people found me and many were willing to read my stories and many liked it, some of them liked it immensely. After an initial struggle, if you keep hope then Wattpad has many things to offer. On Wattpad I got amazing friends, a brother worth cherishing and so many others people of different cultures. My horizons have broadened.
Q. Describe your personal feelings in writing you stories?
A. In The Hardest Choice, Anukriti is my alter ego. Also the other characters are based from real life. In Second Proposal, when Anukriti cries, even I cried. When my characters laugh, even I laugh. I am emotionally attached to them. I love them but willing to improve. I feel what my characters feel while writing.
Q. What advice would you give to an aspiring writer (One aspiring writer to another)?
A. My advice to all the Wattpad authors is to write from your heart. When you feel like writing, only then write. Don't update due to pressure. Pressure reduces the quality of the chapters. When a person writes just for the sake of it, even though the book is perfect but we don't feel that attachment that a reader should feel. It looks like it has been made up.
Second advice is that read published authors and observe where they have went wrong and what are their qualities. Look at their language. You will learn a lot.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you sweetimagica for some wonderful answers. You are going a great job and I wish you all the best. :)