An Exclusive Interview with Indian Bestseller & Amazon Top Listed Author – Sundari Venkatraman

Her writing has kept Indians hooked for a long time. She has been writing & seems that she is unstoppable as once she rides her train of words. The Malhotra Bride, Her Secret Husband, The Madras Affair and The Casanova’s Wife and god knows what not! Her factory of words keep churning out fantastic but mainly romance. 

If Mills & Boon have kept you all intrigued for years, it’s our Indian writer who keeps Indian romance going on. 

I am talking about the one and only Indie author who has managed to write 16 titles and has been a top 100 bestsellers across Amazon India, Amazon USA, UK, Canada, and Australia – “Sundari Venkatraman”.

Indian Bestseller - Sundari Venkatraman

Can you believe that? This author has really got something in her veins. She keeps throwing words that keep you engaged hours by hours.

Interestingly, this down-to-earth personality has finally agreed to interview for my blog and gave her precious time to answer my questions. I feel very obliged that I got an opportunity to interview this renowned author and got to get invaluable insights from her.  

Here’s an exclusive interview of Sundari Venkatraman:

Q. 1: Which authors inspired your writing?

First and foremost it’s Nora Roberts, an author who has published 200+ novels so far and is still writing—her romances are intense and beautiful portraying deep emotions. I would be thrilled if I could churn out half the number of books that she has. 

Secondly, Georgette Heyer, who has written and published 50+ books from the historical romance genre—her dialogues are extremely witty and intelligent. I roll on the floor laughing every time I read her work. 

Finally, it’s JK Rowling. I am an avid fan of the Harry Potter series and believe in the inspiring success and fame of this author. All three of them inspire me totally.

Q. 2: As a child, which books or fictional characters fascinated you the most? 

Available on Amazon

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens and Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, though I read only many abridged versions of the second. I also loved Phantom and Mandrake comics. 

Q. 3: For writers, they say they need inspiration or an idea to write about it? Where do you usually get your inspiration from?

I started reading romances published by Mills & Boon when I was barely thirteen. I always used to imagine the stories set in India. This was where it all began. Other than that, snippets from newspapers, books I read, films that I watch and the rare TV serial episode that I watch, all make my imagination go haywire.

Q 4: Some writers enjoy writing for a particular genre and some pen down their creative thoughts into almost every genre? What genre you enjoy the most?

I mainly write novels, though I have written and published two short story collections. Matches Made in Heaven is the romance genre and consists of thirteen stories and the other collection called Tales of Sunshine is about human beings, their aspirations, daily life and the challenges they face and how they come out of those. These are tales that give hope and hence the title. I call them human interest stories.

Q. 5: What was the inspiration behind your recent book?

My latest batch of books is a trilogy called The Bansal Legacy. The first one is Simha International and is already published. I am penning the second one called Rose Garden International even as I answer your questions here. I love the atmosphere of 5-star hotels and hence decided to set these three stories in imaginary 5-star hotels that belong to the three Bansal siblings. It was lucky that I got to study two hotels in Mumbai, namely The Orchid, an Ecotel Hotel & JW Marriott. That helped a lot with my writing.

Q. 6: What does your family think of your writing?

My husband does not read books, only newspapers. My son and daughter read on and off, though my daughter has fallen in love with my books. Otherwise, I can say that they are extremely proud of me.

Q. 7: People have high expectations especially from the bestsellers where they keep publishing title after title. So, it is obvious that my readers would like to know about next novel?  

I have been writing and publishing one book every month since June 2016. February 2017 was when I published Simha International (The Bansal Legacy Book #1). I took a 4-week break in between and will be publishing Rose Garden International (The Bansal Legacy Book #2) in April 2017. I will continue to write and publish as and when my books are ready. I have around 14 more ideas chalked out. 

Click here to check out a newspaper article on my book-a-month marathon:

https://goo.gl/JkhDq3

Q. 8: Lastly, what valuable tips you’d like to give to our budding writers?

Write every day, even if you manage to write only 500 words. Practice goes a long way in making a good writer. Read as much as you can. Only reading can make a great writer. 

You can follow our lovely author on Facebook or visit her site to keep in touch with her.

Novels by Author Sundari Venkatraman

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We are, They are #MoreIndianThanYouThink!

 I was 17 years old when I started working with the herbal practitioner. I occupied the place in their office cum house. After few days, I first time saw a foreigner in their house & I was intrigued by the sight of her. For 17 years old, it was intriguing in many ways.  

A blue-eyed Katrina flew down to India. She used to practice yoga in the morning & used to teach English to education-deprived boys. Rest of the evening, Katrina used to spend time exploring nearby places. 

It captivated me how one could fly down just to explore the huge & diverse country like us, thousands of miles away from her own home. She took a lot of interest in knowing about small things that made a huge difference for her. When it was time for her to go back, I gifted a set of colorful nail paints to her as I knew it would look beautiful on her fairy hands. 

Her entire stay with this herbal practitioner’s family made me ponder about several questions. Slowly & gradually, all the answers were unfolded right in front of me. 

Ayurveda (herbal) is as old as a hill in India & has been popular worldwide for ages. She chose to stay with the herbal practitioner's family. It was her first step not only to learn about India but think like an Indian. 

 

Indian herbs

Her keen interest in learning yoga wasn’t just a health purpose but it was another art, a science that India has always treasured & inherited from their forefathers while she learned it right here. 

My interaction with her was limited but I realized that Katrina was more mesmerized about my Indianness than I was with her foreign identity. She strongly felt about doing something for those children who were deprived of basic education. She taught foreign language while she was on an Indian soil. After initial hiccups, it wasn’t difficult for her to teach English to those boys who did not share the same mother-tongue. Both Katrina & the boys mingled so well as if the foreign word never existed in their dictionary. 

When she was departing back to her country, she not only took with her those eternal memories but her bag was a mix of everything. She took the essence of Indian culture with her. When she reached to her home country, she wrote back to us about things that kept her fuelled all these years. She left the country with being #MoreIndianThanYouThink. 

It was my first personal encounter with any foreigner. Now it’s been more than 12 years & I could see our culture, our ideology has made its presence felt everywhere. 

No matter what how much spicy we eat, it’s our sweetness that makes outsiders stay in our heart. No matter how much diverse we are in our culture or nature, it’s our unity that makes people wonder. 

It’s not just crackers in Diwali or colors in Holi, it’s the way we celebrate with our family and friends. It’s not just hip-hop or salsa but people still want to shake their leg on Bollywood thumka. 

Indians don’t count calories or cash when it comes to Indian weddings. For us, it’s another huge celebration where families of the family gather. Indian wedding is another season that we have & boast of. 

I have found even having a food is a fiesta for us as Kerala’s Masala dosa getting served on the plate while butter on hot stuffed parathas melts. If food is very appetizing for people, then the six-yard cloth is fascinating for foreign women. 

My personal encounter with Katrina made me realize that she wanted to absorb as much Indianness as she could do while she was here. She tried to learn and explore the tiniest detail of Indian thing, culture, its people and more. 

Today, India has marked its global presence with its colorful culture, warm hospitality, genuineness & diversity where people keep coming back. They behave as if they are #MoreIndianThanYouThink.

  

While in the air, they are #MoreIndianThanYouThink

It’s a very nice gesture to know that while in the air or on the ground, people outside of our country want to be #MoreIndianThanYouThink in many ways.

Katrina could not visit India again but she had that indelible impression about India that she always carried. 

Certainly, we are, they are #MoreIndianThanYouThink!