Revathi Suresh: In, Now and Then

 

Author Revathi Suresh is out with her second book for young adults, In Now& Then. A sequel to Jobless,Clueless, Reckless, the book delves into the latest challenges in Kavya's life. Revathi shares more about her latest book.

 

                                  

 

1.Your second book has arrived after many years. Readers of the first book are no longer teens. Do you think they will connect with Kavya easily?

I should think so…Kavya has grown with them, too—she’s no longer 15/16. I also hope new readers will connect with her. In Now & Then is a standalone novel, about that I’m very clear. The older Kavya’s experiences are very relatable too, but that’s for readers to discover for themselves.

2.  Was your mom as cool as Kavya’s mom when you were a teenager?

My mother was nothing like Kavya’s mother, but she was very cool in her own way.

3.  Your book is the first novel from 1inchmargin publishing house? What was your experience of working with Shyam and Anam?

I had a really great time with the 1inch team. A lot of our work took place via Google Docx and WhatsApp owing to present circumstances, but that didn’t take away from their care and attention to detail. Anam’s sharp eyes averted many an editing/proofing disaster and Shyam with his fantastic knowledge of current children’s writing and critical judgement is also a gee whiz in so many other ways, he’s a great guy to have on your side. As a team they are super responsive, very creative and full of ideas. But most importantly, we have the same thoughts about writing and what makes a good book. For example, I am not a fan of ‘issue’ driven writing—I’d rather take great storytelling over driving home messages through books—and with Shyam and Anam I found we were exactly on the same page.

4.Did the second book idea arrive even as you were working on the first book?

Not really. At least for some time I was pretty sure I had finished telling Kavya’s story. Then many readers started making sequel noises and slowly I began to see the gaps in the first story. Who were those people in Jobless that we saw only through Kavya’s eyes? The mother, the father, the brother, the aunt, the ‘love’ interest, the friends…all of them. I began to get curious about their stories, and that’s what led me to the second book.

5. Was it easy to live with the characters for seven years as you wrote the book? Were they impatient to get their part written asap?

I wrote some very strange drafts before I arrived at the one that made it possible to actually work on. In those versions the characters were weird and distorted and I couldn’t relate with them at all, leave alone think of things for them to say and do. Then, suddenly, one day something opened up and I began to write furiously. When I got three-fourths of the way through, I knew that this time I wouldn’t give up—I’d go all the way. Chapters began to unfurl organically, and I could see the way ahead clearly (though I worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the pace at which things began to happen). In the time that it took me to get the writing done I lived with the characters in my head all the time, to the point where it maddened me, gave me sleepless nights. Scenes would play out in my head at inconvenient times—like when I was sleeping—and I would wake with a start, try to get the words down on the computer before they disappeared by morning.

6. Do you think it would have been faster if an editor would have given you a deadline to finish the story?

I don’t think that would have worked well for me at all. I work best in fits and starts with no fixed hours. Sometimes I’m at it the whole day, at others I may ignore a manuscript for days on end till I resolve whatever it is that’s got me in a spot. But there were times when I wished for someone to get me out of the jams I got myself into.

7. If you were as old as Kavya and had to choose Vinay or Vendelin as a dinner date, whom would you choose and why?

I can’t imagine myself that young anymore! But if I were to meet Vinay or Vendelin today I’d take them out for chai and a bite to eat, for sure. Post pandemic, of course.

 

8.Any advice to authors who are writing and rewriting books for over seven years...Some advice which works best for others and not yourself. 

There are those who work steadily though the day and by number of words—that has never worked for me. There are those who have a designated work space that is meant to get them into the right head space—I don’t have that either. I’m nervy and jumpy and keep looking for distractions.

Writing is such a lonely job, and I feel my aloneness keenly when I’m at it. But if you’re struggling, whether for weeks, months or years, I would say hang in there, especially when the going gets tough. Believe in your book and your characters, and if you have to delete entire drafts and start from scratch, do it if you think the story is worth telling. Don’t compare yourself and get yourself down. That last is very important.

 Check out In, Now & Then here.

To familiarise with Kavya's past read Jobless,Clueless, Reckless.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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