“Natasha Sharma is a storyteller with a unique voice, weaving humor, social awareness, and insightful observations into her narratives. By day, she navigates the world of IT; by night, she crafts worlds of her own, her words finding homes in publications like MoneyControl.com, YouthKiAwaz, and eShe.
A passionate advocate for the community, Natasha co-runs a book club, ‘BookItUp’, fostering space for readers and writers to connect. Her short fiction has graced eight international anthologies, earning accolades, including a Certificate of Excellence from York University, for her poignant story ‘Wind Beneath Your Wings.’ Her latest work, ‘The White Noise Lullaby,’ won the prestigious Asian Prize for Short Story 2024.
With her debut historical novel, ‘Beneath Divided Skies,’ Natasha delves into the personal, untold stories of women during Partition, shedding light on their courage amidst chaos. The novel’s selection for the MAMI WordtoScreen Market’24 underscores its potential to engage audiences on a global scale.”
1) Tell us briefly about yourself and how you manage your professional commitments as a published author.
I have been a hardcore coding nerd for the past few decades. Books have been my constant companion at every stage of my life, and writing is not something I thought I would end up doing. As part of my professional duties, I have published a few white papers and articles, mostly in the technical domain, but never fictional ones. Somewhere in my mind lay a dormant idea; all it wanted was to grow wings and write. I was always good at making up stories, and my daughter ate her meals only if I narrated a new story to her every day, which gave me the impetus. Slowly, I started writing children’s stories, and a few were even published! I gradually moved on to adult fiction, which was well-received, and was all the encouragement I needed.
As a published author, one’s primary job (of course, after writing) is to market one’s book. And trust me, for most authors, it is a tough sell. But putting yourself out every single day helps in promoting your work.
2) The Partition of India is still a pain point for many families across the subcontinent. What inspired you to write a book on the Partition of India?
Both my parents hail from unpartitioned India, but my maternal and paternal families independently migrated to India before the rioting started. Unfortunately for me, my parents were very young and remember very little of their journey.
Partition is still a massive and painful chapter in our joined histories, and it is not surprising to note that many minor events fell through the cracks in its aftermath. This is especially true for a gendered view of the biggest migration of the twentieth century. And I wanted to tell those stories to talk about the women, their unheard stories deserved to have a voice.
3) How did you come up with the theme of the book that is based on stories of women who were abducted during Partition?
My ‘nanaji’ often spoke about the advertisements in the newspapers/pamphlets that were ‘looking for lost women’. He’d mention that India and Pakistan were jointly pressurised to take action from social workers, families, and political associates, but I never took him seriously. It was when COVID struck and my bandwidth freed up, did I start researching on the topic, and was surprised to discover it was the truth and what struck me the most was there was no fictional literature on it!
4) Did you prepare yourself by going to any writing retreats or having mentoring sessions with other published authors?
Unfortunately, no. I would have loved to do that, but as a working professional and a parent, it is not always easy to take a break, however appealing and helpful retreats may be!
But I am always very thankful for having an excellent set of writer and reader friends who were pivotal in shaping the novel. A few of the beta readers input was crucial in shaping the book’s plotlines.
Once I was done writing, my writer friends took over and provided excellent insights and techniques to better the prose and also reached out to me with development edits. I was part of an online community called Penmancy and it helped me to become the writer I am today. And I will always be grateful to them. The writer community is very helpful and always ready with an encouraging word. And when moments of self-doubts strike you (and as writers, they are fairly often); it is this set of friends who know the drill and how to get you out of the doldrums.
5) When you were writing the book, did you have any specific group of audience in mind?
Not at all. I just wanted to tell the untold stories of the women and bring out the horrors and how they flourished despite them (in a fictional format). But what is heartwarming to know is the youngest reader who read Beneath Divided Skies is 10 and the oldest is 83! I have had Army officers, men and women, who have written to me appreciating the book, and that is manna from heaven for me.
6) What was your favorite part of being a writer? And when did you feel demotivated to continue with your writing?
The best freedom a writer gets is to create a world, a place she has control over (at least as much as her characters permit!). And the joys of creating a fictional world—and its people—are so gratifying, and when readers read and discuss your creations, it is akin to being on cloud nine.
Another part I look forward to, because I am a nerd, is research. Research forms a very intrinsic part of my writing process. When I know everything (or closest to everything) about a place/situation/event/illness/anything I am writing about, I can visualize the scenes clearly in my mind and they translate well on paper.
7) How did you get your book deal?
I have an agent, Ms Lalitha Ravindran from First Forays and she brokered a deal between Vishwakarma Publications and me.
8) How did you negotiate your book deals? Did you have a multi-book deal?
Oh, no. In India, for debutant authors (and those with no contacts), it is quite tough to land a traditional publisher, and a multi-book deal is a dream come true that stays a dream! So, one doesn’t really negotiate the contract.
9) After becoming an author, have your reading habits changed. Are you now reading a book not only to gain knowledge or enjoy good fiction but to learn more skills about writing?
Yes. I still read for the joy of reading, but sometimes I have read a not-so-interesting book because I love the writing devices or techniques the author has employed. And I firmly believe, ‘read, read, read’ is the only way to become a better writer.
10) One of the interesting aspects of your book and the one that we liked was weaving fabric into your narrative and how it healed the characters. How did you come up with this thought? In fact, the illustration was on point, did you design the illustration?
Phulkari–comprising two words, phul and kari–or flower artwork is Punjab’s identity. Every household has its own set of geometric patterns! As soon as a girl is born, her grandmothers, aunts, cousins, and mother sit together to embroider various numbers of phulkari work for her. In many ways, phulkari is the language of the women, and they infuse their handiwork with love. After the migration too, when the rescued women were not admitted back into their homes, they relied on this craft to eke out a living. I believe phulkari is the metaphor for women and the lives we are forced to lead.
The idea for the book cover was conceived by me and designed by Ms Charumathy, who freelanced with my publisher, and brought my vision to life. An interesting point to be noted is the phulkari (actually bagh is the right word for it) on the design is based on my mother’s 100-year-old heirloom. And I have it with me!
11) As a consumer of web series on OTT platforms, it seems your book may have a good chance of being converted into a web series. Any thoughts on how you’d like to go about this route if given an opportunity?
Thank you! Beneath Divided Skies was shortlisted for the MAMI WordtoScreen Market’24 and we are in talks with a few producers about it. The process is unending and I hope at the end of the tunnel is a cinematic version of my novel.
Women can do so much and risk their lives to save, nurture, give a new beginning, and in my humble opinion, this is one story we all need to hear. About powerlessness and power of women. Women, who were abused and kidnapped, instead of being survivors, chose to become rescuers and changed the lives of other women.
12) And finally, the question all our readers have in their minds by now! How do you find time to write?
By sacrificing sleep! Just kidding, weekends and late nights are my best options!
Dear Readers you can buy the book Beneath Divided Skies by Natasha from Amazon.
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