What is it about fiction that takes your breath away?
The characters? The plot? The conflicts?
Perhaps it’s the secondary characters and their problems?
Or the world the characters live in and the issues they face?
Or maybe it’s the simple “escape’ fiction offers from the real world.
I can’t remember exactly when I read my first word or wrote my first letter of the alphabet ““ I’m not a child prodigy, that’s for sure! But I do remember one of the first few books I read and what those experiences did for me.
“Charlotte’s Web’ ““ I loved Wilbur the pig (I still do!) and could picture the farm, the animals and the feel of what it must be like in Wilbur’s world even though I had never been to a farm. I grew up in Hong Kong and this mammoth, metropolitan, concrete jungle offered the occasional tree, shrub and bush for greenery. “Charlie & The Chocolate Factory’ ““ whenever I opened the pages of this book all I’d smell was chocolate, candy, sugary syrups, more chocolate and”¦ – one day I ate an entire bar of chocolate while reading. That was the best experience ever!
Then there was “My Sweet Audrina’ and “Flowers in the Attic’ by Virginia Andrews. I remember travelling to the deep, dark, hidden places of the characters’ minds while they remained locked and traumatized in their physical world. Then I read novels by Sidney Sheldon and I was travelling across continents at lightning speed (by the chapter, actually), and breaking the speed of sound with the characters’ voices in my head long after I’d put the book to rest ““ only to pick it up minutes later. I read every book Mr. Sheldon had written at the time and was devastated to learn, years later, he passed away.
There was an invisible power in those pages that hooked my attention. There still is.
Now when I open the pages of “Charlotte’s Web’ or “Charlie & The Chocolate Factory’, my childhood floods back. When I see the cover of Virginia Andrews’ books, I’m a teenager again. And when I pick up an old Sidney Sheldon novel, I’m an aspiring writer once more. All I must do is pick up the pen and let the words flow.
Imagine the thrill when I saw my childhood fantasies playing to perfection on theatre screens! I wasn’t just flying in fantasy, but re-living my childhood – one that used to be words on paper. And when my childhood comes alive, the writer in me does too.
What about you?
Author Bio:
Anju Gattani, fiction author, freelance journalist and former news reporter, has been published for over 2 decades in leading Asian and US publications. DUTY AND DESIRE, her debut novel, is available worldwide in hardcopy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and most leading book stores and also on: Kindle, Nook, Kobo and all Apple products.
Anju writes fiction to bridge cultures and break barriers. She hopes to inspire readers one book at a time.
Visit Anju at: www.anjugattani.com, Twitter: @Anju_Gattani, Facebook: Anju Gattani Author
As Sheetal peels back the layers of deceit in the glittering world of India, she’s threatened by the rage she harbors and the passion she ignites.
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