I Am A Compulsive Writer -- Vibha Batra

Vibha Batra writes short stories, YA novels, travelogues, Hindi lyrics, tv and radio scripts when she’s not working as an advertising consultant! A conversation with the young author.�\n

Who is Vibha Batra?

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Who am I? Well, sages have spent lifetimes trying to figure that out. Will be back as soon as I discover the answer.

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What made you write this book?

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I�d just finished writing my first romance novel The Activist and The Capitalist. And the withdrawal symptoms � shudder – they were severe. So like any addict, I decided to get my fix. And lo, Glitter and Gloss came about!

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About the book

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Imagine if you truly/madly/deeply loved a boy.�Imagine if he loved you back.�Imagine if the only obstacle standing in the way was his hard-to-please Third Parent.�What would you do?

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1. Crib and bear it

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2. Undergo a personality change

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3. See a shrink

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Meet M.A.C. Misha.�The Lovestruck Laila who does all the above (in that particular order).�She is (according to Didi-in-law) everything a Bahu shouldn�t be: garrulous, geeky, gawky, gainfully employed (especially the last bit).

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The apple of her friends� eyes.�The love of Akshay�s life.�The up and coming bridal make-up artist.�Misha is so many things.�But all she wants is to be accepted.

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Will Misha win Didi (and the Kha-Pee Panchayat) over with her Stepford Wife Act? Will she continue to be the poster child for the inherent evils of the Bahu Brigade? Or will she learn to �lau� herself before the whole world and its wife can do the same?

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What do you think readers will love about the book?

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Everything, I hope. Amen!

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Do you balance writing with a day job?

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Yes, of course. I�m an advertising consultant by day. Because unless you are Chetan Bhagat or Amish Tripathi, your royalty cheques sure as heck aren�t going to pay your bills!

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Why do you write and how do you deal with writer’s block?

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Okay, here�s a confession: I�m a compulsive writer. I�ve got to write!

\nWriter�s block? Remember that famous line from F.R.I.E.N.D.S – �Joey, don�t let them know that we know that they know…��Now replace the word �them� with writer�s block. Simple yet effective. Beats me why denial gets a bad rap.\n\nYour advice to aspiring writers\n

I�m not a big fan (and that�s putting it mildly!) of unsolicited advice, it makes me want to run the other way. But if I must, here�s something I swear by:

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Never ever give up!

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\nYour favourite books and authors\n\nI can only hope that all that reading has had a positive impact on my writing. God know, all those hours on social media haven�t! My favourite writers (and poets) include: my grandfather (the late Shri Vishnukant Shastri), Ruskin Bond, Bill Bryson, Nick Hornby, JK Rowling, Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella, Helen Fielding, Saki, Maupassant, Rabindranath Tagore, Ogden Nash, Ghalib, Rumi, Jagdish Gupt, and Harivansh Rai Bachchan.\n\nAbout the author:\n\nVibha Batra is a copywriter by profession and a popular fiction writer too. Her literary pursuits took off when she translated her grandfather Late Shri Vishnu Kant Shastri�s book on the Ishaavaasya Upanishad. Among her recent titles are Sweet Sixteen (Yeah, Right!) and Seventeen And Done (You Bet!), published by Penguin, Tongue in Cheek, a collection of poetry and A Twist of Lime, a collection of short stories. Another collection of short stories, Family Crossword, is due to release.\n\nAuthor: Vibha Batra\nPublisher: Bloomsbury\nRelease: August 2016\nGenre: Fiction / Romance\nBuy from�Amazon\n\n Book lovers can �Contribute articles �& �join our Review program to receive review copies of new release books.� And if you are an author, share about you & your book(s) in Author�s corner & do take a look at our unique community approach to Book Marketing.!