— Can you tell me a bit about your personal life? What do you do in your day-to-day life, and do you have any hobbies or favorite activities?

— So I'm 23 years old, I`m from Bengal, India. My graduation is over. I did my graduation in English Literature.
Currently I'm working as a Web Developer intern at AlmaBetter and my hobbies are writing, reading books and gardening. And, of course, there's lots of things I want to do yet. I want to learn Martial arts, Oil painting. I am a learner through out my life I've learnt lots of things. It brings me joy.

— What led you to choose the Faculty of English Literature?

— Firstly, it's a great subject to study here in India because there's lots of job for students who studied English literature. However, after I started my learning it was really enjoyable. I enjoyed learning about literature from every part of the world and that is what led me to read books and write.

— You said that you like reading books. Can you share some of your favorite books that have left a lasting impact on you?

— I like reading psychological Thrillers, most of the books that I read are from that genre. Two thriller book that left me speechless was "Pretty Girls" from Karin Slaughter and "The Kind Worth Killing" by Peter Swanson. There's this another book that left a long lasting effect, changing my world view is "The City of Girls" by Elizabeth Gilbert.

— Are there specific authors whose work you find particularly influential?

— Yes, Peter Swanson is one of my favourite author. He's work is something admire. The way he writes his thriller with complexity of character and creating a detailed and complex story line, yet simplistic is something commendable. I am writing and psychology thriller by the name of "When I Was You" and it's heavily influenced by Peter Swanson's writing style.

— Okay, when it comes to movies, do you have a go-to genre or any all-time favorite films? And are there any upcoming books or movies that you're looking forward to?

— Yes, while it's about movies still I do enjoy thriller movies and "Black Swan" is one of my favourite movies of all time. Other than Thriller I love Sci-fi, horror. "Interstellar" is an amazing movie. Even through I don't enjoy romance thar much in movies or in literature yet my the favourite movie is from Romance genre it's called "The Portrait of the Lady on Fire". It's a French movie and I can go on and on about why I love that movie.
I'm excited about next Marvel movie, in books always excited about another Peter Swanson or Karin Slaughter books.

— God, i love Interstellar too. I guess, it's the best movie thriller!

— Yes, it's amazing, the music and the cinematography and the story everything is amazing.

— You have a good taste!
So, in terms of personal growth, have there been any books or films that played a role in shaping your outlook on life?

— From the book "City of Girls" I had a major change in my philosophy and the out look on "Love". My view of love was very shallow back then but after reading that book it challenged my notion. I started seeing love more as a spiritual and intellectual connection than a physical bond. So that is a book that left a big impact on my thought process.

— Interesting! How do your personal experiences shape your perspective on life and influence your creative work? Do you have personal values that guide your life?

— My personal life is something that I would consider something very sorrowful and the fact that I'm an overthinker and pessimistic person doesn't help either. naturally because I am a thinker I enjoy thrillers and dark tales so that's why I think I am able to write characters that has a complex background and how there emotions and decisions contributes to their characteristics.

— If you don't mind, can you share a memorable experience or moment that significantly influenced your life?

— Now this is a silly story but when I was in 10th standard I had my board exams and I was not a studios person so naturally my grades where pretty horrible. I used to hide it from my mom, but one time she found out and told me a single line that had an impact on me more than anything else. She said "I didn't expect this from you." and she was heart broken and I decided that I will give my 100% for next 3 months and got a pretty decent marks in my final exam. That is a moment that changed my life because after that I was more inclined towards making a good futures for me.

— The time for students to take exams is coming, and i would to ask you the next question: How did you manage to stay motivated and focused during the three months leading up to your final exams?

— The event I earlier talked about guilt was working as a motivation for me. I felt guilty that I betrayed my mom and I had to do it for her. I stopped watching t.v and only studied. Even when I didn't study I would force myself to stare at nothing rather than watching TV or going through phone. Because it's easy to lost track of time while we are watching TV or on our phone. But after that I motivated myself with healthy competition. In my batch I had a good reputation for studying and delivering results so that's why I had to keep myself motivated so that I can keep my image and also achieve independence when I'm an adult. Because for everyone and specially for women it's really important to be independent.

— I totally agree with you. Are there specific authors or works in the dark tales genre that have inspired your writing style or thematic choices?

— Other than the author I mentioned, Agatha Christie is an Author that also inspired me. Even though her work is more of mystery but still how she writes her stories with so much intricacies and details, as well as her clever plots inspires me a lot to include plot twists in my stories.

— Do you believe that writing about complex emotions and backgrounds serves as a therapeutic outlet for you and, for example, other authors?

— It does servers as therapy for me. There was a point in my life where my own life felt like a novel to me and the line between fiction and non fiction was blurry. While writing about people's dark emotions there's lots of possibilities that I can write about. It's interesting for me to think how people actually process thoughts and more than "how?" the word "why?" intrigues me more. So it helps me distract myself from my own life problems from once and when I am done writing I always feel proud and nice about myself. So, that also helps.

— So, the final question in this theme: What countries do you want to visit? What places have you visited that have impressed you? And why?

— I haven't visited many places in my life. I would love to visit European countries like Germany, France, Italy because of the architecture and art. I would love to visit Ukraine as well as I have heard it's a beautiful place. Japan is another place I want to visit because of all the anime I watch. 

— Hope that as soon as possible you visit the whole world :)
Moving on to your writing, how did you first get started as a writer?
And when did you first call yourself a writer?

— During my college days because I started reading about lots of books I started having lots of ideas about short stories and novels I wanted to write. So, that is the time I started writing. I wrote couple of short stories and poems in my mother tongue (Bengali) then I started writing in English once I was confident about the language.

I don't call myself a writer even now. Cause writing is more of a hobby for me. I'm more of a reader than writer and I think calling myself writer would be insult to those who are actually way more passionate about writing than I am.

— Have you ever considered writing under a pseudonym, and why or why not?

— I do write under a pseudonym which is "Sarah Stewart" I don't know why I chose that name hahaha, actually it's been long time since I have opened a Surgebook account and started writing there. I think I chose a name that is easier to remember than my name which is Moitri.

— Do you remember the first time when you downloaded Surgebook? How did you find this app and do you like this platform?

— I first downloaded the app I guess when I was 18 years old or so. I found it from Play Store and I remember being really excited because there was an app where I can share my writings. The first time when I posted a poem I was so excited that I couldn't even sleep I was keep watching who liked my poem who commented and it was a very thrilling experience to be honest.

— Do you have your favorite blogs or websites for writers except Surgebook?

— I tried writing in Wattpad but even though the audience is huge there I feel like it doesn't have the personal touch what Surgebook has. So, that's why I don't write anywhere else other than Surgebook. I would like more people in Surgebook to read my writings.

— Now the platform isn't as active as before, but I think over time everything will change for the better. And hopefully the foreign content will become popular again.

— I hope that too from the beginning I have notice that there aren't many English speaking or writing people there but I have still enjoyed the app because of the genuine people I have came across. From what I have observed, my friends still comment on the works of other foreign authors in English! Yes I have a friend in the app too. He's very supportive and keep me motivated to write the next chapter. It's always amazing knowing his perspective on my writing

— In terms of your personal life, how do your experiences and interests influence your writing now?

— Nowadays I don't have much time to work on my writings but nowadays I am more thinking than feeling my writings. I think more of the structure and how I am going to frame the next chapter. How it can be thrilling and exciting for the readers.

— And how do you manage to balance your personal life with your writing before?

— It is pretty difficult to be honest because most of the time when I get free time I try to rest or maybe I have to spend time with my friends and my family. So that's why they are really less time when I can actually think about writing but whenever I can I take my diary and plan for the next chapter and then start writing. I'm a little slow on my novel but it's a long journey for me and I will not give up on my novel.

— Can you share a bit about your writing process? Do you have any routines that help you stay focused during writing?

— I write about the main character first in my diary and the characteristics of them ( for example : Shy, Critical thinker, timid etc.) then I try to frame the story and few crucial events in the novel and then I connect the dots every chapter going towards the next crucial event.

I am always focused during writing because it's something I truly enjoy.

— So, the characters comes first for you, and then the plot, right?

— Yes, for me the characters are the one that drives the plot not the other way round. Because that is something that ensures a solid foundation for my stories so there's no inconsistencies with the characters.

— What, to you, are the most important elements of good writing?

— For me a good piece of writing will always have strong character development and it's plot should be captivating in any way, genre doesn't matter. The ending should feel organic not forced and It should be thought provoking.

— Can you remember how many books you have written? And which one is your favorite?

— I have written 6 books on Surgebook, some of them are unfinished. I'm most connected with the novel "When I Was You" because I'm confident that if I can capture the plot the way it plays in mind on paper, it is going to be a really great novel that will give readers a rollercoaster ride.

https://www.surgebook.com/lady_with_sweets/book/when-i-was-you

— Okay, and which character in your published books do you feel most connected to and why?

— I feel most connected to Viola Claire from "Portrait of the French Poet" because she loves art and literature and values beauty in individual something that I do often. Also she is ambitious and takes risks which is somewhat similar to me.

https://www.surgebook.com/lady_with_sweets/book/portrait-of-the-french-poet

— Which book was the most challenging for you to write?

— A book called "Dethroning the King" because it's a fantasy genre book and I am not well versed in fantasy genre so it was difficult to write.

https://www.surgebook.com/lady_with_sweets/book/dethroning-the-king

— Okay, can you tell about your latest or current work? What was the theme of this book? What inspired you to explore this topic?

— One short story that I recently wrote was "The Funeral" is a thriller and it explores the psyche of people who choses violence and how we all once or twice think about murdering someone but we control the urge. Hahaha it might sound intense but it's not my philosophy it's one of the character's philosophy.

https://www.surgebook.com/lady_with_sweets/book/the-funeral

— What inspired you to write "The Funeral" and delve into the psychological aspects of violence?

— The idea of two different perspective on a same matter and then clashing made me wrote this. The idea of deception and how in the world most of the people construct their identity to put forward but underneath they are something else is conveyed in the story

— And what was your hardest scene to write in "The Funeral" or another work and why?

— The hardest scene was for me a scene in my fantasy book ( "Dethroning the King") because of its complex environmental atmosphere. I feel like in fantasy world building is a really important aspect so if the readers can't visualize the scene then it's not a good world building. That is why it was difficult.

— Are there particular messages you aim to convey through your writing?

— There is no moral I want to convey as I believe mortality is subjective I just want to write stories that portraits human psyche and how different people perceive things differently.

— Well, next question: If your book were made into a movie, which actors would play for your characters?

—Wow, this is a great question! Rachel Mcadams as Nina and Natalie Portman as Cassandra I guess in my book "When I was You".
Rachel Mcadams playing the mysterious role and Natalie portman playing the character that requires innocence. I feel like she gives off an innocent vibe.

— Interesting choice! As a writer, what would you choose as your spirit animal?

— As a writer I guess I would choose snake because it easily hides itself and is really poisonous. I feel like my stories are like that, which hides actual motives and are deadly. If that makes sense lol.

— Good. How do you handle challenges during writing when they arise? Especially when you lose motivation. Do you have any specific habits that help you find inspiration?

— My mom keeps me motivated to be honest. She like the the idea of me writing more than me. She always asks me if I have finished the story and always eager to listen to my ideas. Even in Surgebook few people who read and appreciate my writings are huge motivation for me to write more. It always feels nice knowing there's someone who is enjoying something you wrote.

— How do you engage with your readership, and what role does reader feedback play in your work?

— The Readers feedback matters a lot to me. As I said it's a motivation for me to write. When they like what what I have written and leave a good review it always makes my day better and even if they have some constructive feedback for me I'm more than happy to work on that. I always make sure that I have read their feedback by replying to them and thanking them for reading. I'm really grateful for them.

— Would you share something about yourself that your readers don’t know (yet)?

— They don't want many things, one thing would be I love dogs. I don't know if they want to know that lol but I love dog and adore them. I enjoy rain a lot. I'm forever grateful for their feedbacks on my story.

— Is it possible to not fall in love with dogs? :)
So, what do the words “literary success” mean to you? How do you picture it?

— Hahaha, definitely they are irresistible.

For me literary success would be more people reading my stories, that's it. I hope they enjoy my writings and we can start a book club and share book recommendations. For me these little things are not just little they are everything.

— Finally, looking ahead, do you have any upcoming projects or ideas you'd like to share?

— I have planned my book "When I was you" in three parts. Right now it's "Hidden faces" going on. I want to finish this novel then move on to something new. My first book is towards its one of the biggest crucial event in the plot. So I am excited about that.

— What are your future plans or aspirations as a writer? Are there specific literary goals or achievements you hope to reach in the coming years?

— My goals are really humble towards my writing field. I want to finish the projects that I have started. Start new project in the future and finish them as well. I will keep on doing what I am good at rest I will let it be. Finger crossed!

—I hope you achieve all your goals!
Well, what advices would you give to writers working on their first book? What are common traps for new authors?
And, what is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?

— I will say one thing that often happens with me if they can relate then they will understand what I'm trying to say. Always the thought of the plot in your mind is more exciting then actually working on them and it doesn't matter how exciting a story sounds in your head if you can't express your story well and strategize well then it's a waste of a good idea. So, spend more time on creating a structure and starting to write rather than just daydreaming about the story in your head (It's one of my fault). Build a routine and write at least one page every day if you have time.

The most valuable advice that I have given about writing is that I need to think from what the character will do in this circumstances not what you want the character to do in this situation. This way you can write the organically and character will stay true to their nature.

— Well, our interview is over. Thank you, Moitri! Your thoughts and experiences have enriched our conversation, and I appreciate your openness.
Thank you for sharing your insights.
Wishing you continued success in your writing endeavors!

— Thank you so much! I enjoyed my time with this conversation.


Interviewed by: Diana May @dianamay
The author who participated in the interview: Sarah Stewart @Lady_with_sweets