Interview with Anusha

We have been privileged to publish Anusha's Potpourri, so I've invited her on to my blog in order to get to know her a little better.



What do you write? Why this in particular?
I have an affinity towards flash fiction and short stories as they manage to capture a myriad of themes in very few words. Off-late, I have been trying my hand at poetry as well. As far as genres go, I have no preferences. I write in any genre that strikes my fancy.
What got you started on writing in the first place?I have always found solace in books. As a child, I remember my aunt reading bed time stories to me. Soon I started making up tiny stories of my own to share with her. She would listen to all my far-fetched stories with the utmost patience. So I credit my entire writing career to her.
Do you have a particular routine?I don’t have the luxury of sitting down at a designated hour to write because of my hectic work hours. All of my writing happens when I am commuting to work. As far as my “to-read” list goes, I catch up on reading in airports or when I am on vacation. 



 

When did you decide you could call yourself a writer? Do you do that in fact?On most days, I describe myself as a corporate sellout. I had never really given much thought to getting my work published. I scribbled in notebooks just so that I could put all the thoughts swimming in my head onto paper. But when I was 19 I sent out a short story and to my surprise it got picked up for publication which encouraged me to send more of my work out into the world. Over the past two years I have contributed to around thirty anthologies. Yet, I am not comfortable calling myself a writer as I feel I have a long way to go. 


How supportive are your friends and family? Do they understand what you're doing?I have an incredibly supportive family and for that I am grateful. My mum is the first to read all of my published pieces and the first to give a completely biased and glowing review. My father is extremely proud of me but he has read only couple of my short stories since he prefers political editorials which in turn I loathe. My friends on the other hand always have an undercurrent of bitterness running through their facade of niceties.
What are you most proud of in your writing?I am never truly content with what I write but there are two pieces of my work I am proud of. One is a short story titled a Bloody Miracle (published in a “Book of Blasphemous Words” by A Murder of Storytellers) and the other one is a spoken word piece called “Closet Feminism” I have performed a couple of times in Kuala Lumpur and Bangalore.




Do you have any goals for the future?Despite the time constraints I currently face, I have managed to pen two chapbooks this year - Potpourri (Chapeltown Books, 2018) and Rotting Fruit (slated for publication by Writing Knights Press). I hope next year I will be able to carve out time to work on a full length novel. 


Which writers have inspired you? I picked up Rebecca at a school book fair in the 7th grade and ever since then I have been devoted to Daphne du Maurier’s works. Emily Bronte, Margaret Mitchell, Joanne Harris, Ruskin Bond and Khaled Hosseini also rank as my all time favorites.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anusha.vr.1?ref=br_rsGoodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16083517.Anusha_V_R_