I would never break the rules or bunk lectures:Interview with Priyanka Bhardwaj,Author of Red is for Love, Black is for Kohl.

Priyanka posing with her book

Meet Priyanka Bharadwaj, Author of the book ‘Red is for Love, Black is for Kohl’

Hi Priyanka,Tell us a little about yourself and your background?

For starters, I claim to be 5’3 while I am 5’1. I do that just to so save myself from being sent to the land of Lilliputians. I photoshop all my pictures to look pretty enough. I don’t like people ordering French fries and then eating up from my plate. I like to say I am doing my Masters in Business Administration instead of plain MBA just because it sounds fancy. And, I have no clue as to why I am doing my Masters in Business Administration. (It does sound fancy, isn’t it?!)

What were you like at school?

I was a complete teacher’s pet. I would never break the rules or bunk lectures. I would wear my tie up there with the button closed always, I would do a pony as neat as it could be with spectacles on my nose. To sum up, I was pathetically boring.

What are your ambitions for your writing career?

I like to write. It gives a vent to everything that builds up within me. I intend to write forever. If it is liked, I will be more than pleased. If it’s not, I will stop showing.

So, what have you written?

I have written a novel, ‘Red is for Love, Black is for Kohl’ published by LiFi Publications in August’2013. It’s a romantic campus fiction. I have a blog, ‘Gossamer Diaries’ where I unfurl the poet that lies somewhere within me.

Also, I had written a song for a friend who wanted to woo a girl (sadly, it didn’t help), a few messages for a friend who wanted to wanted to give a hard time to her boyfriend.
And now the friend who wanted to woo the girl wants me to write a song for his new girlfriend. So basically, I do all this, when I am not penning down anything else. My friends are too kind, they don’t let the writer in me catch rust.

Where can we buy or see them?

You can grab copies of Red is for Love, Black is for Kohl at all bookstores near you. Also, you can get it online at Infibeam & Flipkart.

To buy your copy- http://bit.ly/15mOaE8

Give us an insight into your main character. What does he/she do that is so special?

The protagonist, Naina, is a Jalandhar girl, who has come down to pursue graduation at University of Delhi. She is headstrong, super-smart, ambitious, and like several others her age, juggling so many college activities with her search of the perfect love. She has the best of friends. Only that, her life is a little too dramatic and she doesn’t know how to go about it.

You can see yourself in her if you’re a girl. You can see the girl you are dating/ want to date, in her if you’re a boy. This makes Naina special.

What are you working on at the minute?

I am working around a line right now. A line someone told me. It’s going to be romantic fiction yet again. Although, it hasn’t shaped yet. Besides this, I am trying very hard to get myself a job.

What draws you to this genre?

Life. Life draws me to romance. Everywhere I see, people, nature, animals, romance just doesn’t cease to exist. It inspires me to write.

Which actor/actress would you like to see playing the lead character from your most recent book?

Haha! Aren’t we going too far there? I am just a debutante! But hello? We have dreams right? Yea, so Anushka Sharma. I think she will do justice to Naina.

How much research do you do?

I live. I speak. I hear. I retain. I pen.

When did you decide to become a writer?

I never decided. I happened to have written Red is for Love out of boredom and shot mails here and there to publishers. I never knew I would become one until I signed the contract.

What made you decide to sit down and actually start something?

Boredom. After my graduation I had a year off on me and the wall of my room started to look boring after a while, so I instead took a dive into my laptop.

Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?

I write whenever an idea strikes my head. If I am somewhere outside I make notes in my phone and use them when I get back to writing on my laptop.

Do you aim for a set amount of words/pages per day?

I love writing. Till the time I write out of love, I keep writing day in and day out. When I don’t feel like it, I sit and read.

Where do the your ideas come from?

From life and people around me.

Do you work with an outline or plot or do you prefer to just see where an idea takes you?

Oh no, I just start with one line, or one word for that matter and it takes me along wherever it wishes to. I am a slave to the pen. The pen has all the power. I never ever work with a plot in the head.