From being part of a ladies drama troupe specialising in male roles, to writing plays, from living on a remote island near Madagascar to skydiving from 18,000 feet, Sudha Ramnathan has quite the penchant for crafting experiences. She has formed a Theatre club Indardanush made of Indian expats in Tanzania, Africa. She has also written, directed and staged three plays in Indian English there. While others like her drew up grocery lists and laundry schedules, Sudha made plans to live the moments and stuck by it. This collection of thrillers is another check off against the bucket-list and a dream come true, but true to her spirit, there’s bound to more for where there is an end, Sudha Ramanathan sees a beginning.
Can you tell us more about your book?
Who doesn’t love thrillers and suspense endings? But in today’s fast paced world, not many like long explanatory books. So I got this idea of short stories with suspense endings so people are tempted to read and enjoy the thrills.
What do you feel is the USP of your book?
I want to take the readers through the narration, without them getting an inkling
of how it is going to end. As thrillers are an all-age favourite, and my language is very simple,
I think, anyone with English reading capacity is a potential target audience.
How long have you been working on this manuscript.
It’s been a long journey indeed; it took me close to 1 and a half year to complete the manuscript.
Could you share some interesting incidents that you encountered on the course of
building your manuscript?
Once when I was a kid and was travelling in a train, I happened to be awake late night and
was watching out through the window. The train had stopped at a sleepy, unknown town.
Suddenly, I saw a mentally unsound, unshaven young man, crying his heart out in a soul rending voice. He kept repeating the word Rosie Rosie. Neither the image nor his voice ever left me, taunting me all through these years. This is the genesis of the story, Rosie Rosie, though the premise of what had happened to him is purely my imagination.
How did you make up your mind for self publishing?
Once I had decided to publish, I explored all options and I realised that either you needed
to be already a famous author or you knew someone in the publishing world to get your book event to be considered. But at the same time when I was looking to self publish; I came across this publishing house which promised me that it would get my book printed even if my material was not good. That put me off publishing for a while. But my son who lives in the US did some research and gave me the links of a few good self publishing houses and Notion Press topped the list. I had sent my queries to a few publishing houses and Notion press got promptly.
Your views on the Publishing process that you underwent at Notion Press
Notion Press held my hand through the process and made it a smooth experience. Actually it was a very hectic period of time for me, as I was involved in other tough situations, My daughter’s marriage and relocation to Kenya. I realized that whenever I got calls from my travel agent or personal department of the bank from Kenya or the wedding related people, I would always get tensed, But Gracies calls were always smooth, and she made me comfortable. I have to mention here, how she rushed a copy to me before I left India, so that I could actually see my book and have a physical copy to carry with me. I am really thankful to Notion Press for the great experience.
What do you think has been the advantages working with Notion Press?
I could realise a dream of mine to publish a book, thanks to the quick and smart way
Notion Press took the process through. It was all done less than 2 months. There were absolutely no
hiccups. No delays at all. In fact even when I lagged, Notion Press patiently got me to finish all the
tedious work.
What is the reach of your book now and what are your marketing strategies?
Even though I got close to 300 likes and some 250 comments to my facebook post, I think
less than 20 books have been sold. I am guessing another 15 will be sold when it is available
to be downloaded on e-books.
I have asked a few of my friends who have good following on facebook to write a few lines about the book so that it will reach new people. Other than that I am still working on other strategies to sell the
books.
A small piece of advice to upcoming authors.
A book to be liked has to be interesting or inspiring or instigating. Make sure your book
is one of the three.