Today I am very proud that the busy , bubbly, talented, intelligent and an absolutely awesome author has graced #EloquentArticulation
She is the amazing Aarti V Raman – author of the smashing romantic suspense #KingdomCome & With You I Dance I have always enjoyed her writing and blog. Be sure to check out the latest and enjoy sublime writing .
Welcome, Aarti. Thank you for being here.
- When did you decide to become a writer? Why do you write?
I write because I am. I decided to become a writer a long time ago because it seemed the best way to explore, discover and understand different people, places and time periods and put all the knowledge to good, creative use.
- Give us three “Good to Know” facts about you. Be creative.
I turn 30 this month but I am still mistaken for a teenager. Previously, I used to take it as an affront, now I enjoy it for the compliment it is.
I love French fries. You buy me fries, I am sold!
I wear nail paint while I am writing/editing/banging on the keyboard. The color gets determined by my mood when I begin the project.
3.The cover is worth a thousand words, how much of the cover designs for the books did you choose or were they designed by someone else?
So luckily for me, the book covers have always been a collaborative process wherein I first give a small brief as to what I think the covers could be like. The editorial/marketing/designing team sits down and brainstorms mockups for the same while adding their own twist to the brief. The mockups are seen and judged by all of us and with our different viewpoints, the chosen few go through iterations until a final cover is chosen.
If you see WYID’s cover after reading the book, you’ll realize how significant and on-the-nose it is.
4. How important are names of the characters in your books? Do you choose the names etc. based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning? Do you have any name choosing resources you recommend?
Names decide the course of the book. You can’t really write about Mr X or Miss Y until they are properly named. They are flesh and blood beings and as such, they have backgrounds and history and context and things even I don’t know of. I have no particular process I follow for picking names, TBH. It’s a combination of luck, research, filing unusual names for future reference and hounding all and sundry for recommendations. In fact, you never know Inderpreet you might make your way into my book too one day 😀
5. What can your readers look forward to next? Share some details about your WIP?
I am currently focusing on work at the moment and just researching what I want to write next. Will share more when I have something share-worthy.
6. Do you read your reviews? Do you respond to them, good or bad? Do you have any advice on how to deal with the bad?
I feel if someone has taken the trouble to sit and write down their thoughts about a certain product, it behooves the creator to thank them for it. Beyond that, it doesn’t matter too much to me what reviewers have to say. It’s their opinion. I respect it. If there are factual errors that they point out, then I make it a point to reach out and have a discussion about. If they don’t like the story, plot or characters it’s not really my business, because it’s their opinion and they are entitled to it.
Yes, the number of reviews matter on platforms like Amazon with regard to sales but it doesn’t affect my thought process unless it comes from someone very dear to me and who I have expectations of.
7. How do you think you have evolved creatively? If you could have been the original author of any book, what would it have been and why?
I think I edit a lot more in my head before I begin writing now. I don’t want to write just vanilla romance when there are many more exciting subjects and genres to pursue and I definitely think I have gained a bit more knowledge in the big, bad world of marketing that I never had before I got published.
The second part has already been answered in backcover of Fingerprint DIARIES of WYID.
8. Where do you see publishing going in the future? How do you think we can promote and increase diversity within the literary industry?
I am too small a cog to give macro-wide answers to an industry-related question. I suppose in a market that is dominated by a few authors in India, the best thing to do would be to ask chain bookstores and publishers to take a lot more care while distributing mid-range author works’ and to not stick to the one-book contract mentality that is prevalent in the industry at the moment.
9. How can readers discover more about you and your work?
Social media, email and buying me fries! I also have a website which I do not update as regularly as I should www.aartivramanwordpress.com
You can find me on these platforms regularly.
Thank you for having me.
It is pleasure to read you books and I am honored that you shared so much with me . Thanks a ton for being here .
Keep writing and I look forward to many more wonderful spellbinding books from you .