Ask the Author: Adite Banerjie
Answered Questions (21)
Adite Banerjie
Hi Leena. Here's the link to my book on Amazon. It's an ebook and is available globally. https://amazon.com/dp/B079MJDM3K. :)
Adite Banerjie
I prefer to be taken where the author of the book I'm reading leads me. One of the most fascinating rides I have had is in the semi-historical, semi-fictional world of Amitava Ghosh's Ibis Trilogy.
Adite Banerjie
My reading is random and impulsive and is often not dictated by ever-growing TBR list. These days I'm into memoirs. I recently read Go Kiss the World by Subroto Bagchi. And am currently enjoying Becoming Michelle Obama. My next read will be a sci-fi/fantasy, Karen Bryson's Private Skies.
Adite Banerjie
Interesting question. :) During my first visit to a foreign land (Hungary) way back in the 1990s, I was robbed while traveling from Budapest to Venice. Without any papers on me or any money I was well and truly stuck. Though I did manage to find myself back to safety thanks to helpful strangers, it could have been one scary ride. Have always thought of mining that for a fiction plot. Will do it some day!
Adite Banerjie
Hi Mandira. Thanks for your question. I am inspired by different authors at different times. I am currently reading William Dalrymple & Anita Anand's "Kohinoor" and am totally inspired by their fast-paced narration of historical events. Among romance authors I love Sarah Morgan because she totally rocks romantic chemistry between her lead characters. I love how Kristan Higgins uses humour in her romances. So, in short, I am inspired by many many authors and their storytelling techniques. :)
Adite Banerjie
Hi Archit. Thanks for your question. I have always wanted to write a thriller but was doubtful whether I could pull off a pure, mainstream thriller. By mixing the two genres, I could have the best of both worlds.
Every book presents its own set of challenges and this one did too. Particularly in the pacing and structure of the book. I had to make sure that there was just the right mix of romantic and action scenes. It's for the readers now to decide whether I have been able to pull it off. :)
Every book presents its own set of challenges and this one did too. Particularly in the pacing and structure of the book. I had to make sure that there was just the right mix of romantic and action scenes. It's for the readers now to decide whether I have been able to pull it off. :)
Adite Banerjie
Hi Surbhi. Thanks for your very interesting question. I am only three novels old and they are all close to my heart. Each of them in some way or another reflect my own experience or have been inspired by people I have come across. Even so, if I were to pick a favorite, it would have to be Indian Tycoon's Marriage Deal. Being my debut book, it will always be special. :)
Adite Banerjie
Hi Sue. Thank you for your question and am so glad you enjoyed NSZ. Well, I love reading thrillers and have wanted to write one for a long time. Except that I wondered whether I would be able to do justice to it. Telling an action-driven story with rising stakes was a bit daunting. But I decided to go for it once I had worked out the plotline and was confident that the story wouldn't run out of steam mid-way! :)
Adite Banerjie
Hi Anindita. I have never felt any constraints to write about any topic that I choose to. There is discrimination and anti-women sentiment all over the world and India is not a special case in that regard. :)
Adite Banerjie
Congrats, Daniel. I look forward to reading it. :)
Best wishes,
Adite
Best wishes,
Adite
Adite Banerjie
Hi Ashwini. Thank you for your question. Characters are the heart and soul of any story. So I try to create protagonists that I would personally love to meet and interact with. People I can spend time with and want to know more about. Every individual has shades of grey within them -- after all, no human being is perfect -- and adding these tinges make for more interesting stories. I do hope my characters are real enough to touch people's hearts. :)
Adite Banerjie
Hi Heather. Thanks for asking. My father was a terrific storyteller and he has always inspired me to write. I started off my fiction adventure by writing screenplays -- and that too happened because my dad worked in the movie industry in India. From screenplays to writing novels was another huge leap. But I'm loving it! :)
Adite Banerjie
Hi Shilpa. Thanks for your question. I prefer to outline before I start writing. I find that with every book my process changes a wee bit. For instance, for Trouble Has A New Name, I had the characters fully sketched out and a couple of key events charted out before I started writing whereas for the first book, the plot was in place and the characters evolved as I went along.
Adite Banerjie
Thanks, Usha, for your question. The road to the final draft of my second book was a little less bumpy than my first. In my first book, many of the plot devices that I'd outlined had to be totally reworked during the writing and editing process. However, with my second book, which was more character driven, the first draft was more or less the final draft. But of course it was tweaked and edited and polished over and over again to get it into final shape.
Adite Banerjie
Thanks for your question, Eshal Smith. My characters are almost always inspired by real life people. They need not be celebrities but real people with interesting character traits. As I develop the characters they begin to acquire their own individual personalities and that's the most interesting part for me as an author.
Adite Banerjie
You know what they say about authors loving all their characters....well I totally get it now that I'm an author of two books! So, I'll just pick "one" of my characters from my new book Trouble has a New Name. No favouritism, here ;)
Rayna Dutt is independent, feisty and mostly has her head on her shoulders but sometimes she can be impulsive. She believes that in life anything that can go wrong usually does! She has a whole set of these "immutable laws" and more often than not these laws come to bite her in her butt! :) I had a lot of fun writing her character and the troubles she gets into.
Rayna Dutt is independent, feisty and mostly has her head on her shoulders but sometimes she can be impulsive. She believes that in life anything that can go wrong usually does! She has a whole set of these "immutable laws" and more often than not these laws come to bite her in her butt! :) I had a lot of fun writing her character and the troubles she gets into.
Adite Banerjie
Tough one, Dola! :) I enjoyed being a journalist. But after a point, I wanted to explore other kinds of writing. So I turned to screenwriting and writing books. They both have their own sets of challenges and are very different forms of fiction writing. They are also very creatively fulfilling and would love to do more of both.
Adite Banerjie
My name for writer's block is "story block". Whenever I feel unable to write on, it's probably because something in the story is not working. I take some time off from my WIP and when I get back to it, try to look at it with fresh eyes, think through some of the scenes or brainstorm new ones. Reworking some elements of the story always helps me to get back to writing.
Adite Banerjie
Inspiration is a strange thing. It comes from many sources: pictures, newspapers, TV ads, or an overheard conversation. I always knew I would write a book set in the beautiful Andaman Islands. So that was a given. I'd come across a news story about couples breaking up by sending text messages. That's how I got the inspiration for the heroine of Trouble has a New Name: Rayna Dutt whose boyfriend has just dumped her via a text message.
Adite Banerjie
Hey Reet. I agree...the cover for Trouble... is absolutely lovely. Not only is it eye catching it also depicts the concept of the book beautifully. I'm so lucky that the design team for Harlequin has come up with such brilliant covers for both my books. :)
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