Preeti Shenoy - Queen Of Bestsellers

Phenomenally successful author, artist and motivational speaker, Preeti Shenoy is a woman of many talents

- Aekta Kapoor

She has authored 13 novels in 12 years, and her name always figures at the top of Amazon’s bestsellers list. She is one of the few women rated among the highest selling authors in India, has been on Forbes’ most influential celebrities list for years, and her blog is rated among the top 50 from India. She has represented India at international literature festivals, and her books are translated into many Indian languages, also into Turkish.

But being a bestselling author and columnist is not enough for Preeti Shenoy. She is also a motivational speaker, an artist, photographer and a fitness enthusiast. And all her exciting experiences make it in some way or the other into the plots of her engaging books. “I think the best teacher is life itself,” muses the Bengaluru-based 48-year-old.

Indeed, it was observing transitions in society that informs the theme of her new young-adult fiction title When Love Came Calling, launched during the Covid lockdown this year. “The issues the youth of today face are nothing that their parents have ever faced. Today, because of social media, the young have an immense pressure of looking good and putting up a fake front. They have a lot of ‘followers’ but no genuine friends. Anything they do is immediately publicised on Instagram or other social media,” says Preeti.

She adds that the yardsticks parents set for their children are based on experiences from their own youth decades ago, which simply don’t work in the current context. “The parents themselves have never faced the problems the youth of today do. The lure of social media is such that we all crave instant gratification through ‘likes’. The art of real conversation is lost,” says Preeti, whose son is 23 and daughter 19.