Friday, August 09, 2013

An Interview With Ruchi Vasudeva: Author of Bollywood Fiance For A Day: Book of the Month at Harlequin India




Her book is currently starring as Book of the Month at Harlequin India home page. She is an amazing writer who loves to write intense emotional tender stories. Her author page on facebook is full of her fans. You can check her book on flipkart or may visit her author page on Goodreads



Let us all welcome Ruchi Vasudeva and have a detailed chat with her.

Please share some of the best memories of your childhood.

I think most people must love to reminisce about their childhood. For me it holds charming memories. Running around and playing without restraint till you're called home. Never even worrying about whether you’ve eaten. I like to especially recall the role playing I and my friends used to do as small kids...acting lots of characters ranging from doctors to shop lifters and fashion divas to pirates. It used to be great fun.
Tell us about your education.

I'm MBBS, MD. I did my post graduation in Physiology which happened after a gap during which I got married and had kids. With two tiny tots it wasn’t easy to hassle with studies and the day I finished exams, I swore I wouldn’t touch books ever again! J
   


What career did you plan during your education days?


I wanted to be a doctor since childhood, to be exact since when I was two years old and playing those role-play games I told you about. However during pre med years (+1 and +2) I began to dream of studying English literature and becoming a writer. However I managed to fulfill my earlier expectation first. 



What is your biggest source of inspiration in life?


For writing? It's the everyday experiences, random tidbits I gather in conversation or while travelling. I think everything is inspirational if you're in the write or should I say, right mode, pun intended. J


I'm also inspired by others' achievements. Especially by stories of people beating the odds and coming out winning. Reader's Digest has a section like that which is called Everyday Heroes that just fills you with determination. I’m friends online with many authors and they are inspiration in themselves, struggling with day jobs while making time to write. Authors like John Grisham who, I've heard,  used to write for as much as three hours before courtroom, are shining examples for budding writers.



What hurts you most in this world?


People who can't or won't give your efforts recognition/credit when you deserve it. People who think their growth is better when they are down putting and stunting others’ progress. Which is the reverse of what actually happens. These people only harm themselves in the end.


What is the biggest challenge you have faced? Were you able to overcome it? How?


Hmm I think it was when I began writing. It became difficult to juggle my work, writing and family life. So family time used to suffer. However after several storms in the tea cup, the grumbles subsided, though they are still audible sometimes. Actually I had no idea I would become so absorbed in writing. It took a while to find some balance. I’m working on balancing it even more in future. It’s all a matter of setting your priorities.

If you had to live a day of your life as one of the living or dead personality, who would it be and why?

Maybe Shakespeare. I would like to know what way his Muse worked :)



What is your favorite genre and why?


Romance and mystery. That's two I know but when I get enough of reading one, I switch to the other. For my writing, it's contemporary romantic fiction at the moment.



What is the purpose of your writing?


That's a tough one! Does fiction writing have a purpose other than it's spontaneous frothing of imagination which has to be spilled on paper? That said, the reason does begin to get defined gradually. 
When I began to write to be published, it used to be for myself. To fulfil my own dream. Now that sword of Damocles is off, one obvious purpose that emerges is to entertain...which is why I read. Another is to express...to delve into characters and find answers to questions that their conflict brings up. I find these questions are relatable to our everyday. For instance in my book Bollywood Fiancé for a Day, the heroine has mixed feelings towards her step sister who has run off with the heroine's fiancé. She wants to be the dutiful sister but at the same time she's feeling cheated and sidelined. So what should she do? Haven't all of us faced similar situations when loved ones seem to be careless towards us? So what can be the answer to such a situation? Several other issues come up in the book as the heroine meets the hero who is a wordly actor in complete contrast to her own humdrum routine of being a medico. So it’s all about exploring fiction with the compass of reality in hand.
Sorry to go so long about it!   





Which of your work has been published so far?




My first book will be released early in August. Anyone interested can follow its release on the Harlequin MBIndia’s facebook page. Here’s the link to follow:  https://www.facebook.com/MNBIndia


What are your forthcoming writings?



My second book will be out in December. It's about a Rajput prince who's dealing with past hurts and meets a girl who's divorced and searching for her new life. Like the first one, it's also being published by Harlequin. In other news, I've been chosen for an anthology through a contest by Harper Collins India, which should be out in December as well.


What are your future plans?

To continue writing contemporay romantic fiction exploring relationships and how they effect people. I might bring out a paranormal on of these days.  



What four top most things you take care of while writing a book?




Well, when you're writing you're winging away with a story, so reality takes a back seat but when you focus and go back, you see how many holes are there. So foremost for me is to make the motivation of my characters reasonable and convincing. Secondly, are the characters someone I would like to spend time with? Are they what is called three dimentional – with faults and past sins yet humaneness and integrity? Does the book have lighter moments?

Your dream destination on Earth?



Mmm somewhere near water. Like Costa Smeralda, northern Sardinia, Italy. 
…….
Thank you so much for hosting me, Jaideep. I had great fun answering your very in-depth questions. Now, I'll leave you with the blurb of book.

The man of her Bollywood dreams 




Winning the chance to meet the ultimate Bollywood heart-throb, Zaheer Saxena, is just what Vishakha needs to take her mind off her recent humiliation—being jilted the week before her wedding! And when gorgeous Zaheer offers to be her fake fiancé, the chance to save face with her family is just too tempting… 


It’s a deal that benefits them both—Zaheer is warding off any unwanted female attention until his next film is finished—but can Vishakha trust herself not to hope that her dream fiancé for a day will be her forever man?



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