The Q-ing Hour with Adite Banerjie

Hello!! Welcome to another session of The Q-ing Hour. This time, Adite Banerjie is with us to answer a few fun questions. Let me first say a few lines about her before we delve into her life and her books.

Adite Banerjie discovered the wonderful world of books at an early age which sparked her interest in writing. After a fulfilling and exciting career as a business journalist she turned her attention to fiction.

Her latest book is a romantic-thriller, No Safe Zone, published by Harper Collins India. She has penned two books for Mills & Boon (The Indian Tycoon’s Marriage Deal and Trouble Has a New Name) and written several screenplays.

When she is not grappling with her current work-in-progress, she enjoys spending time with her husband and watching back-to-back movies.

Links:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7083664.Adite_Banerjie

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00I63GOQC

So with no more delay, let me welcome her onto the forum! 

So, Adite, tell us a few words about yourself. Something which isn't well known to your readers?

I grew up in Bombay and soon after I graduated I decided I wanted to be a journalist. After two decades of a career in journalism, I started trying my hand at writing fiction. I would—and still do—write financial articles and research reports by day and fiction by night.

What and who inspired you to become a writer? Any specific person or incident?

My father worked as an art director in the Indian film industry. He also acted in amateur theatre in his youth. His love and passion for storytelling has always inspired me. He could spin the greatest yarns from the most mundane of things. But more importantly, he would tell the stories in a most entertaining fashion. When I write, I often think of how my dad would have narrated the story and that continues to be a constant source of inspiration.

What was the breakthrough in your writing?

I had been doing online screenwriting workshops for a while and I had also written several screenplays. However, the crucial breakthrough was elusive. On a whim, I decided to send in my application for the Aspiring Authors Contest which was being organized by Harlequin India. To my great surprise, I ended up as one of the winners of the contest. My first book was based on the winning short story.

Is there any ritual or schedule or a creative process you follow in your writing?

I would love to say that I write every day and I sit down at my computer every day at a specific time and write for a couple of hours. I TRULY wish I could be such a disciplined writer. Fact, however, is that I have a very haphazard way of working. While at times I like to outline my story, at others, I just go with the flow. I tend to keep notes about characters, random ideas, situations, locations. And only after I have a fairly good idea of what some of the major plot points in the story will be, do I start writing.

Tell us a bit about your childhood? How were you as a kid? Were you a writer or a reader?

I was always a reader and a watcher of movies. I read voraciously—especially mainstream fiction! Right on top of my reading list were Archie Comics, Enid Blyton, Agatha Christie, Harold Robbins, James Herriot, Danielle Steele, Mills & Boon, Leon Uris, James Hadley Chase and many many others. While it might seem a sacrilege for a romance author to say this, I never much fancied Mr. Darcy!

I know you get to interact a lot with other authors and readers. What are your experiences with them?

A book is a very personal experience. So, even though I may be the author, the way a reader interacts with my book is very special. Readers bring their own imagination into play when they are reading a book. And when they connect with the characters and make them part of their lives even for a few days...that itself is very fulfilling for me as an author. I love to know from my readers what they enjoyed about the book or things that they didn’t care for. It gives me a different perspective to the characters I have created.

As for interacting with other writers, it’s always fun to share notes about creative processes. These days, of course, the bane of every author’s life is marketing. And most of the time, we seem to be discussing marketing do’s and don’ts. Sigh!

What is your writing kryptonite? What was the hardest book / scene to write?

While I have enjoyed writing all my books, each one presented different challenges. I can sincerely say that I envy every author who says, ‘the book wrote itself’. I’m waiting for the day that happens to me. I do remember when I was writing my first book I was terrified at the thought of writing a love scene. :D

What was your very first book? How was your experience writing it? Is it published?

The Indian Tycoon’s Marriage Deal was the first book I wrote and it was published by Harlequin India. It was a great experience as it was the first time I was writing a mainstream romance.

What are you working on right now?

I am currently working on a web series which has lots of comedy and drama. And I am enjoying it thoroughly.

Are there any genres you would like to explore? What do you see yourself writing in the future?

I have written romantic-drama, chick-lit and romantic-suspense. I would love to write full blown thrillers and historical sagas—both for film and books.

Is there anything in your writing career which you would change if you get a chance?

Writing fiction was never really a career path for me. I have written screenplays not because someone was paying me to write them, but because I enjoyed writing them. And then before I knew it someone did commission me to write a script. Likewise, winning the Harlequin contest was a happy accident which led to the opportunity of writing a series of books. So, you never know how things will pan out. But hard work and positivity does ultimately pay off.

So far we know you as a writer, tell us about Adite the reader? Your favourite book and author and genre? Books you would recommend to your readers?

As I said earlier, I grew up on a diet of mainstream commercial fiction. I also like reading non-fiction, particularly William Dalrymple and Malcolm Gladwell. There was a phase when I binge-read all of Dan Brown’s novels back to back over a period of two weeks. Amitava Ghosh, Jhumpa Lahiri and Robert Galbraith are among my favourite authors. I have recently discovered the works Bernhard Schlink—and I am devouring his books.

What would you like to say to the aspiring authors out there?

Read. Read. Read. To be a writer you need to be a voracious reader.

Any more information you would like to share with your readers?

If you happen to read any of my books, I would love to hear your opinion about them. Feel free to connect with me through my website (http://aditebanerjie.com), Facebook page (https://facebook.com/AditeBanerjieWriter) or twitter: @adite.

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Thank you so much, Adite, for spending your valuable time with us. I loved knowing more about you and your books. And I hope to get to know your stories more in the future.

And guys, there is a special Valentine Day contest taking place at present. The last date is February 20. All you have to do is tweet your perfect V Day gift ideas with the #NoSafeZone hashtag and/or on her Facebook page: https://facebook.com/AditeBanerjieWriter to win a signed copy of her book, No Safe zone. So hurry guys! The countdown has started!

Floryie