Author Interview: Interview with Sushumna

Readool Books March 7, 2021 Blog

Deal Score+4

267

Deal Score+4

267

About Sushumna

Today, we have the pleasure to interview Sushumna, a self-published author on Amazon via Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). Sushumna grew up in Bangalore, India, and loves coffee, classic rock and the smell of old paper. She wrote her first poem aged four and has written ever since. Her first published story, Bubblegum Tape, was just released on Amazon in February 2021.

Talking About Her Book

What motivated you to write this book?

I had a near idyllic childhood. We lived in a beautiful neighborhood in Bangalore, back in the 1990s and the city was a much simpler place in many ways. My brother and I had a lot of friends, and we spent our days cycling around the neighborhood, going for long walks, exploring everything around us. While my brother was a quiet, sweet child, I was always making plans to run away or concocting fantastic stories about everything and everyone around us. I remember telling a friend I had a rocket hidden in the attic of our house and that I’d go pick her up in the middle of the night so we could fly away someplace and lead adventurous lives. She hadn’t believed me. We are still friends. I wanted to to write a story inspired by who I was then and the people I used to know. Bubblegum Tape is that story.

Where did you get your information or ideas for your books?

Most of my books are inspired by people and incidents from my own life or the stories others tell me. Everyone has a story, sometimes several. But very often there’s just a framework or a beginning or a middle or an end. What’s exciting is filling in the details. I am also inspired by all the content I consume – growing up, my parents used to get me a book every weekend and we’d also swap books with friends. Roald Dahl and Ruskin Bond were favorites, still are. Today, technology makes all of it even more accessible, whether it’s being able to choose, download and read a book on Kindle in seconds, or watching movies and shows from all over the world on Prime or Netflix. There’s so much great storytelling out there. It’s very inspiring.

What was your favorite part of the book? Why?

My favorite part was writing it through the eyes of an eight year old child. It distilled everything to a simplicity that we sometimes forget to appreciate as adults. It was liberating. It was also wonderful reliving what it felt like to be a child through the little girl in the story. It made me wish I could keep writing about her.

How long did it take to write a book? Why?

For me, it depends on the book. There are stories I’ve written in one straight six or eight hour sitting and there are others I’ve started and scribbled about or made notes on my phone for over weeks and months before finally putting it all together. The more fleshed out an idea is the faster I find I finish writing it. A more complete idea also impels me to write faster, and to finish the story faster.

How did the book get published? Why did you choose to publish your book in this way?

I’m not entirely familiar with how traditional publishing works. I know that one submits a manuscript, waits for a publisher to pick it up and then takes it from there. Because I wasn’t familiar with it, I found traditional publishing slightly daunting. KDP on the other hand felt more accessible. It was an easier way to get my story out. I’ll definitely try the traditional publishing route too, hopefully soon. I hope luck favors me, and helps my manuscript land in the hands of editors who like it!