Mommy Tincture Anupriya is an engineer, MBA a mother of two, an author, blogger and is from Kolkata!My favorite city forever.
When I invited her to share her story, I was surprised at her range of professional expertise. But the surprise just reinforced the belief that education, you understand or not, gives you the confidence to let go, start new, challenge ourselves and constantly reinvent. Life and professional experiences give men and women unique perspectives, which education help shape. Even when you feel it makes no difference, your brain absorbs the knowledge and reshapes into what your soul needs.
Celebrating another Blog to Book Journey, today on my Blog, please welcome AnupriyaGupta, the talented author of Parenting and a Slice of Everything.
Why did you want to write a book?
I got introduced to the world of books rather late in my life. The only books that my middle-class roots constantly urged me to pick up during school were my textbooks. Once I did start reading, I got enchanted by the magic of books. As I started penning my thoughts on my blog, explored the blog-o-sphere and discovered Blogchatter, I realized that I too have an opportunity to write and publish a book. The possibility to have my name on a book cover was something that gave me many sleepless nights. It was then that I knew that I had to do it.
What is this book about?
My parents and people, who know me well, know that I derive my confidence from what I do. When I had to finalize my theme for the AtoZ Challenge, I knew from the start that at this juncture in my life, parenting is what I am doing practically all the time. So the theme had to be parenting. Yet I did not feel equipped enough to write a self-help guide to any aspect of parenting. (I am an extremely imperfect parent who needs a lot of working on my parenting style). I pondered for months, on what is it that I could write about. Eventually, I decided to draw inspiration from everyday incidents that were occurring around me and turned them into short stories. This book is about those little emotions, actions, and words which are a result of that single relationship that governs the various equations of all our other relationships. That central relationship is that of ‘a parent’.
Who helped you write the book?
My book is an amalgamation of real life experiences – my own and of those who I know or observe around me. I would say that everyone who has been a muse in each of my stories deserves to be thanked for helping me write my book.
Apart from that, my mom-in-law deserves all the credit to help in managing my kids and get me the time that I needed to complete the AtoZ challenge. Given that the average word length of each of my stories is over 1200 words, it in fact called for a huge time commitment. All thanks to her for having my back covered.
And I have to mention my husband here, who never says no to anything. If in a moment of madness I were to tell him that I want to jump of the roof of our house, he would sigh calmly, raise his hands and say,
“Well, if that’s what you want to do, think about an after-life on a wheelchair. Just incase, if you don’t die!”
Jokes apart, he really helps me maneuver my risk-taking ability.
Tell me a little about your writing habits. (How many hours a day, how do you proofread, edit, format, to help those who are inspired by you)
Well! My boys still need hand-holding with a lot of their chores. Also, I live in a joint family with a huge extended family, all in the same city. This takes up a lot of my time and energy to be able to set a definite routine for writing. Yet! I have set myself a target to write at least 500 words every day. There are days when I am in the flow and am able to dole out double or triple that stipulated word length. Such days help me have a free day once in a while when I can relax or catch up on reading or do other personal stuff.
Proofreading and editing happen mostly when I am fresh and not tired because writing is like giving my emotions a channel to flow out (it’s spontaneous), but I have to be more clearheaded while editing. I have recently discovered Grammarly, but haven’t explored it completely.
Tell me a little about your background. Your Story.
I belong to that herd of idiots, who did their engineering first and then figured what they really wanted to do. Engineering happened for the simple reason that I grew up in the era of the big IT dream and this particular professional course ensured a career with a good pay package. It ensured my financial independence. But then life happened and I explored and realized that I wanted to be a Human Resources professional. The way to make the switch was to do MBA. So I did that! Life happened again and I went on to conceive my second child and realized that I couldn’t continue with my job any further. The person who I consider to be my friend, philosopher and guide professionally and personally also happens to be an extremely popular food and photography blogger. He put this idea in my head that given I have a way with words I should start blogging about my parenting experiences. I was anyway looking for an avenue to keep myself busy after leaving my job. So blogging it was! And here I am on the blogging bus. I still don’t consider myself to be qualified enough to call myself a blogger though.
Do you think this has helped you write?
Before I set up my blog, I was using my creative juices to write fanfiction in a public forum. I wrote around two dozens of short and not-so-short stories there. I was really encouraged by the feedback I received. A colleague who is also a literary fanatic did not give me any negative reviews when I coaxed her into reading one of my works. This encouraged me further.
‘Parenting & a Slice of Everything’ contains snippets of my own life, my parents’ life and of those who I have known very closely. So yes, every experience has helped me shape my perspective and come up with the stories that this book contains.
When you started blogging, did you have a plan of writing a book?
No. I planned to write a book much before that. The thought of writing a book first occurred to me years back, when Mills & Boons launched their first book with an Indian Author. I am a sucker for romance and I often dreamt of telling a love story to the world. Books were mostly published the traditional way then, with publication houses. It wasn’t an easy feat. My blog, mommytincture happened quite late in the timeline. As I explored the blogging world, I realized that book publishing was now a very achievable goal, with ebooks gaining immense popularity. I realized that my secret wish could actually see the light of the day.
What about BlogchatterEBookCarnival? What is your favorite part?
The best part of BlogChatterEBookCarnival is that it is for everyone who is committed to their dream of becoming a published author. It is like that one big magnetic horse-shoe that attracts all the metal pieces and combines into a huge mass body resulting in the accentuated attraction of success for an entire community.
Woah! That sounds a little weird to my own ears. But that is the truth. Imagine 55 e-books, launched on the same day. I look at it as 55 dreams curated for long, realized in a flash.
Your Favorite Quote
[bctt tweet=”Desire. Deserve. Derive- Anupriya @Anupriya_Guptaa #Healthwealthbridge #Authorinterview” username=”misra_amrita”]I feel these three words sum up the story of every dream manifested into achievement. It could be personal or professional, anything.
Did you have a launch plan?
No. Until my book got published recently, I had not much clue about how e-book publishing works. I obviously wanted to promote my book on the social media and all, but there was no formal launch plan. I decided to go with the flow and follow BlogChatter’s plan of action. I am not regretting it. The way they have touched upon various aspects of launching a book has had me trained and equipped with all know-how that will count for a successful launch plan.
How happy are you with this milestone?
Happy! Happy is an understatement. The launch of this book has reinstated my belief in the Alchemist theory. As I have already mentioned that I have harbored a secret wish to write and publish a romance novel for long. My first book isn’t a romance, yet it is a book no less. And I have enthralled that the universe tuned into my thoughts, and equipped me with everything I needed to carve them into a reality.
Tell me about your future plans and goals.
My dream to write romance remains, so I am working on another manuscript. For that, I have to thank you, for informing me about the NaNoWriMo Challenge that happens every year in the month of November. The original manuscript has been reviewed by a couple of beta readers and needs some working around. The plan is to get that published within a year.
For two years, I have struggled to keep my blog active. Creating quality content has posed a real challenge. But I have learned a lot in the last two years and now have a content plan for my blog. I am really excited to take my blog to the next level now. I think the day when I can call myself a blogger officially is quite near.
With Blogchatter as a confidence boosting companion and the annual AtoZ challenge, I hope to bring forth at least one ebook every year.
One wish you have for your journey as a writer.
How so ever clichéd it may sound, but every writer aims to reach out to more and more readers who identify with their work and appreciate it. I also wish the same. At the same time, I do not want to restrict myself to any one genre. Writing for me is a way to absolve my soul of its inhibitions. While I will always be drawn towards romance, I also wish to explore relationships in different hues and not restrict myself to fiction only. A concept for a non-fiction book is already brewing in my mind. I think I have my theme for the next AtoZ Challenge ready. Above all, through my work in the writing world (blogs or books) I wish to evolve into the kind of person that my kids will be proud of.
Find Anupriya here
Blog: http://mommytincture.com
Buy here book here
Parenting & A Slice Of Everything
About the author: A mom by day & a reader/writer by night, Anupriya believes in the magical power of stories and story-telling. Her blog www.mommytincture.com is an account of her experiences as a mother/daughter/woman/human being, all churned together.
Book Blurb: ‘Parenting & A Slice Of Everything’ is a collection of 26 short stories that bring forth a galore of characters, incidents and emotions directly or remotely related to the life-cycle of parenting and its tyranny on life and relationships.