Arti Honrao is author of books titled MyLife-story (Fiction) and Is This Love & Autumn - The Last Leaf and Novel - Resemblance - The Journey of a Doppelganger and writes poems and short stories based mainly on Relationships. She writes at
Straight From The Heart.
Most of her writings depict human feelings and emotions,
which she tries to bring out onto the page and into the minds of the reader.
She believes that essence of writing lies in not only entertaining the reader,
but speaking to them through words. Her style of writing makes it easier for
the readers to visualize the story unfolding around them. She is of the opinion
that being good at writing a story is not about the story being unpredictable,
it is about the way you narrate the predictable story and still keep the reader
interested.
Hello Arti! Your real name and pen name? Real Name: Arti Honrao. During the early days I used to write on a poetry site as “Akansha” however, now, I prefer to use my real name for all my writings. Please share some of the best memories of your childhood I would like to share one memory in particular about which I have also written on my blog. I remember going on a trip to Matheran with my parents. One late afternoon, I had a severe headache and decided to rest in the hotel room but my dad dragged me out for a walk. I was reluctant and too tired to go and I told my dad that I am not in the mood to go. But he insisted. You can read more about it here.
About your education Studied Medicine but have now dedicated myself completely to writing.
What career did
you plan during your education days
My mind was always set on
becoming a doctor (a doctor who also writes)
What languages
you can speak and write?
English, Hindi
and Marathi.
What is your
biggest source of inspiration in life?
I believe in
myself and my faith in God inspires me to do what I am doing and live each day
as it comes. I am a firm believer of Saibaba.
What hurts you
most in this world
It really hurts
to see how manipulation and pretention has become a way of living for most of the
people. Honesty is being lost somewhere amidst the race for survival. What
hurts the most is that manipulation and pretention are also affecting human
relationships.
What is the
biggest challenge you have faced? How did you overcome it?
Cannot really
put finger on a particular challenge as such but in general, whatever I have
faced in life that seemed challenging, I could and I did overcome it by
believing in myself and having faith in God.
If you had to
live a day of your life as one of the living or dead personality, who would it
be and why?
Mother Teresa. I
admire her for the caring nature and the heart. How she dedicated her life to
people and did what she believed she had to do and was sent on earth to do.
What is your
favorite genre and why?
Romance Fiction.
Why? I don’t know how to answer this. Maybe, because of my nature and also
because this is the genre in which I write? People who read my blog would know
that almost all my posts are on Relationships.
When did you
start writing?What is the purpose of your writing?
I started
writing (as such) when I was twelve. To begin with, my writings were only
journal entries that helped me vent out. I became really serious about writing
when a short story of mine was published in my college magazine. The purpose of
my writing is to give people something to read which will help them unwind in
this fast paced life. That is one of the reasons why most of my writings are
for free reading on my blog.
Which of your
work has been published so far? Would you like to share a synopsis of your
work?
I have
self-published two short-story books so far. My Life-Story (Fiction) and
another book of two short stories (Is This Love & Autumn – The Last Leaf).
Latest book released is my Novel : Resemblance – The Journey of a Doppelganger.
The details of
all the books can be found under “Books at SFTH” in Navigation Menu of Straight
From The Heart. Another two books listed there are the titles I had published
as a publisher, few years ago.
I would like to
share the synopsis of the Novel (Resemblance – The Journey of a Doppelganger) here:
When you perform on stage in
school or college days, you try your best to become one with the character you
portray in the play. The applause from audience is the prize you get for your
performance and dedication.
However, it is totally
different if you have to play the role in your real life. Portraying someone
else, being one with someone, giving your best shot to be that person is not as
easy as acting on stage. And, the applause does not come. Silent gratitude from
the person to whom it makes the difference and hostility from those who are
offended, without you wanting to offend them, is all you get in real life for
role-playing.
When Sneha sees Ajay for the
first time, she is not aware her life is going to turn upside – down. She does
not know she is about to lose her individuality and step into someone else’s
shoes willingly. What seems like love at first sight for her also means facing
responsibilities which she is not sure, initially, whether she is ready to
accept. The intensity of her feelings for Ajay, however, finally makes her take
up the challenge of role playing of a wife and a mother.
Resemblance begins with Sneha
being exposed to the shocking fact that she resembles a woman she has never met
before in her life, a woman who is the wife of the man she falls in love with.
The story completes a full circle when in the end Sneha finally reaches where
she is meant to be, being who she is really meant to be. She faces the
hostility of few people, swims through the sea of emotions, accepts the
challenge of life and battles the desires which take a toll on her peace of
mind to finally fulfill her true purpose in life.
On one hand, Resemblance takes
us on a journey of Sneha’s life and on other hand it also tells us about the
depth of mother’s love for her child, which overcomes even the barrier set by
death.
What are your
forthcoming writings?
I write poems
and stories as and when I get ideas for the same and publish them on my blog
for free reading. All of my short stories (even those published as series) are
instant write-ups and published immediately. The latest short story written is
Here Now … There The Next Moment (it can be read here).
I am also working on a Novel.
What are your
future plans?
Like I have
mentioned before, I am working on a Novel. At the same time, poems and short
stories would keep coming on Straight From The Heart (so make sure you keep
visiting).
What four top
most things you take care of while writing a book?
Most
importantly, I take care that whatever I write is in simple language, which
makes it easy for the readers to visualize my writings. Secondly, I try to
convey a positive message through my work. Thirdly, like most of my readers
already know, I pay more attention to the emotional aspect rather than
character description.
One of my quotes
states, “Instead of writing about the color of lipstick the female protagonist
wears, I prefer to write about how her lips quiver as she tries desperately to
hold back the flood of tears from flowing out of her eyes and revealing her
weakness to the person she wants to hide it from.”
Listed fourth but
equally important is making sure the writing is properly edited.
Your dream
destination on Earth?
A place amidst nature where I
can sit and write as long as I wish to :)
Your origin of
birth and other countries you have visited/ stayed. What best things you liked
in these countries around the globe?
Born in Mumbai.
Your favorite
time of the day?
Night. Since
it is peaceful and I can concentrate on reading and/or writing.
Your zodiac/ sunsign? Sunsign: Virgo. Moonsign: Sagittarius Your favorite color and why? Blue. Calms me down when I am angry and helps me to relax. Your favorite book and why? So many, cannot really pick one. Though, special mention to “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne which influenced my life is a very important and positive way.
Your favorite food? Steam rice and dal with ghee and lemon :) Some quickies: Sun or Moon, Laughter or Smile, Morning or Evening, Coffee or Tea, Mountain or Sea, Long Drive or Short Drive, Silence or Conversation, Water or Fire, Air or Earth, Mars or Jupiter, Moon or Sun, Tulip or Rose, Red or Blue, Left or Right, Glance or Stare. Moon. Laughter. Evening. Coffee. Sea. Long drive. Silence. Water. Earth. Mars. (Repeat: Moon). Rose. Blue. Right. Glance.
State your signature line/ tagline/ best quote “Always keep smiling; someone might be needing it more than you do. The last line of your autobiography would be… Every writer has a story to tell...
And a story, which he / she can never tell! The book is currently available for sale online on Pothi.com
http://pothi.com/pothi/book/arti-honrao-resemblance-journey-doppelganger
