Feels Great To Be Recognized As An Author – Namrata Gupta

Author Namrata Gupta, whose second book, The Full Circle: Stumbling Upon a Sinful Mystery has just released, talks with Writers Melon about her new book, writing, and her journey as an author.

About ‘The Full Circle: Stumbling Upon a Sinful Mystery’:

The Full Circle: Stumbling Upon a Sinful Mystery is a romantic thriller that captures the story of a traveller, who on his journey to finding a home, becomes a part of various stories and helps people in his own way. The concept of home shifts from the physical domain to the spiritual one. “Writing my second book involved a lot of brainstorming. Figuring out what the traveller could help them with, creating different narratives around those situations and weaving them into the main narrative, was challenging for me. At the same time, it gave me immense satisfaction as a writer to have been able to do justice to such a task. The book breaks stereotypes at many levels and questions settlement as being related to fixedness. Amidst all the happenings, there is a mystery that Aditya, the protagonist, stumbles upon and resolves which would turn the life of Zinnia, the female lead, upside down.”

Namrata Gupta – The Beginning of the Journey:

Namrata Gupta published her first book, A Silent Promise, in 2015, setting her on a journey that brought her to watching her next ideas take flight. “I wrote my first book, A Silent Promise when I was pursuing my graduation from Hans Raj College, Delhi University. When I started writing it, I wasn’t sure of the ending. I had the entire plot scattered in bits and pieces in my mind, in the form of major events in the novel. Whenever I wrote a chapter, I made sure I held the string that would connect it to the next one. It was through these linkages that I formed the entire book. Writing my first book involved bringing to the forth my dormant emotions because it is a very intense work and I had to actually feel the events happening in the book. So it was like a roller coaster ride full of emotions for me. And in a sense, it also served as my catharsis.”

Being a New Author:

“Being new to any industry has its challenges. As a new author, the biggest hurdle that came my way was of making my way into a publisher’s list of authors. It’s a business in the end, so any good publisher isn’t willing to take a chance with a new writer, especially nowadays when we have so many writers coming up and a limited number of readers to cater to. The harsh truth of today’s times is that the number of readers is decreasing and the number of new writers is on a rise. The demand for paperbacks is decreasing with e-books coming into the picture. Nobody wants to invest in you if you aren’t a known name. Nobody wants to take the risk. So getting there and getting my first book published posed a challenge. But I never gave up, be it getting the book published or working for its marketing. I made sure I implemented whatever new strategy came into my mind without getting disheartened.”

Namrata Gupta – Connecting with Characters:

It is important for an author to connect with the people they are writing about in any form. For many, the characters speak to them. While for others, the characters show them in not as many words, and it is the author’s responsibility to put them into words. Namrata Gupta talks to us about her relationship with her characters. “Whenever I write a book, I feel with my characters. I feel sad for them whenever something wrong happens to them, I get angry when someone wrongs them and I do my best to do justice to them while portraying their individualities. That’s one of the perks of being a reader and a writer I guess. You get so connected to different people, who are not even real. You just read about them and you fall in love with them. But that’s also the hard part because you feel bad when you don’t do justice to them. You fight their life battles with them, live their life struggles so there’s this pressure on you to do the utmost justice to them.”

Developing Characters – Coming ‘The Full Circle’:

“Developing the characters of The Full Circle did require some effort. Zinnia’s is a complex character. She has had her own struggles to fight with, she is tough yet soft, she exhibits motherly care yet is a young girl at heart. This range in her character had to be charted out carefully. In the same manner, Jacqueline and Aditya too have had their own past. For Jacqueline, an entire emotional journey had to be given a closure. Her character had to be reformed from an emotionally distraught girl to an empowered one. Aditya had to be showcased with fine degrees of empathy, understanding, maturity and kindness and all of this had to be done with precision.”

Getting Recognized As an Author:

There is quite a bit of a struggle before an author can get in the public eye. But once that happens, the feeling that engulfs them is unparalleled. Namrata Gupta tells us how she feels about readers recognizing her. “It felt great to have myself recognized as an author after being published. I could see my books in bookstores. I received some amazing fan mails. Nothing beats the happiness of getting good reviews and fan mails. They are immensely satisfying and encouraging. Some of the fans I made from my first book pre-ordered my second book. They sent me screenshots with the delivery dates. I felt so loved, and the love you receive after the initial struggle is worth the struggle. It is worth fighting for.”

Advice for New Authors:

“Believe in yourself and you’ll sail through. Just don’t give up.” Connect with the author here: Facebook | GoodreadsAuthor(s): Namrata GuptaPublisher: Srishti PublishersRelease: July 2018Genre: Fiction/RomanceBuy this book from Amazon – Please buy this book via affiliate links and show us some love! If you are an author, share about you and your book(s) in Author’s corner and do take a look at our unique community approach to Book Marketing.