A Gripping Romantic Thriller

In a freewheeling chat with Citadel, SHRUTI UPADHYAYA introduces readers to her debut novel, WHITE NOISE, and also sheds light on her second tome, THE CHOSEN MANY.

- Nishad Shinde

Tell us a little about yourself...

I have a vivid imagination and a flair for writing, so much so that I have always surrounded myself with literature. Also, I am a dreamer by nature, so I live in my own little world. At any given point, my head is brimming with multiple stories; for which one lifetime may not be enough to tell them all. (laughs)

What made you take up writing as a career?

I was always fond of writing; I used to write essays and poems in schools for competitions. As for the love of the English language, I was always interested in attending literature classes. During my college days, I started a blog wherein I used to write poems, and also wrote for The Times of India (Calcutta and Pune). However, I never thought I could write fiction until the year 2015, when I started to write short stories. Consequently, I wrote three short stories; each story was meant to explore the various relationships that women could share with each other. As regards my debut novel, White Noise, the story idea came to my mind in February 2016.

What are the different challenges you had to face in the beginning of your career?

A career in writing isn’t all that easy, because there isn’t any dearth of creativity around us. However, if you truly believe that your writing has something unique to offer and your stories have the power to engage readers till the very end, then you must go for it, and that’s exactly how I didn’t succumb to the challenges that came my way.

Out of all the books that you have had read so far, which book is closest to your heart? Why?