Author Interview: Yashodhara Lal: A Live Interaction At HarperCollins Office

A very comfortable and confident entry by the Author of one debut bestseller and another becoming a bestseller (it is about to be launched formally and is projected to become another bestseller in a few months from now), Yashodhara Lal, in the conference room of HarperCollins India office, where 5 bloggers were excitedly waiting for her for a face to face interaction and ready to shoot their questions/ queries after reading her new book Sorting Out Sid. The book has already gone for a soft launch and is ready to go for hard launch officially planned for 8^th Feb 2014.  The book is available online, and print copies would be hitting the stores by end of this month. After a warm handshaking with each of the member in the room Yashodhara seated herself in one of the seat and was all set to answer our queries. On her career: She had a steady career in corporate world but decided to call it off at the time of delivery. During the time of birth of her twins, it got quite complex when she had to undergo two severe surgeries. After the delivery during her toughest period she was spending with her newborn twins, her passion of writing took real shape and her biographical debut novel  Just Married Please Excuse was born and became a bestseller. Sorting Out Sid is her second novel. On Sid, the character: Sid is a character of fiction but projecting a male lead character and making him natural in his real life (in Sorting Out Sid) was a real challenge for Yashodhara. The way Sid faced different situations and his behavior under those situations has Yashodhara’s projection on how she would have faced and overcome those situations, had she been a male in her life. On humor and fun in her writing: In corporate world you find all kind of colors – politics, fun, humor and lot more. It depends on what you focus on and what you discard. Fun in Sorting Out Sid is the outcome of that. On Sid as CTO: Don’t take Sid as CTO of technology world as he is VP sales in an MNC that is engaged in selling toilet products. Sid is full of many characteristics. He is 36 and youngest among his peers to acquire the position of vice president in a corporate. On Her Writing: Book is like a newborn baby whom you give birth as a writer. No plot theory: Plot first or the character, it depends on what kind of writer you are. There are a group of authors working on the philosophy of “No Plot Theory” where character is built so strong that it carves its course of action and the path that story takes on its own without the requirement of any plot on the first place. On Writer As An Editor Of Her Own Book: The first draft of Sorting Out Sid was three times the one that is out in the market. When an author becomes editor of her own book and starts censoring parts out of it, a lot goes out of it.
First draft or Later Part: The first draft of a book takes lesser time than the time given to it for its revision and finally coming out with a final cut.