Lakshmi is still trying to figure out if she is a writer pretending to be a home-maker, or the other way around. She likes to believe that her stories write themselves, forgetting the minor detail of their needing a physical manifestation by putting pen to paper. Naturally, there are grave doubts that she ever majored in Physics from IIT. She freely admits that most of the time her head is in the clouds. However, her feet are almost always on the ground. Incidentally, that is the title of her blog as well.
It all started when she got published in Eve’s Weekly while still in school. This was followed by short stories and articles in Femina, Woman’s Era, Good Housekeeping, and Today, the afternoon paper by India Today. The original bedtime stories she used to tell her children were published as a book by Pauline Publications. Another story for children can be found in the anthology, Airavata: Elephant Tales, published by Mayaakatha. More recently, her stories have appeared online at Women’s Web and Readomania.
Having grown up in cantonments across the country, she doesn’t mind if her house looks like a war zone, when she is in the mood to write.
She slips in and out of teaching mode without warning. It was quite a relief to her children when she took up assignments as a volunteer with Teach India.
When she is not writing, she is reading for herself, and editing other people’s works. For her, the journey is more interesting than the destination. She lives in the NCR.
Readomania: Hi Lakshmi, congratulations on the launch of your first book, Bebey’s Day Out & Other Stories.
CV Lakshmi: Thank you! The whole journey has been a delight.
Readomania: You are a physicist and have been in academics all your life. How did you start writing fiction?
CV Lakshmi: I have been an ardent reader from a very young age. From reading to writing was but a short step. I developed it as a hobby by contributing to school and college magazines, taking part in essay-, elocution-, and debate competitions, and later on, being the student editor of the school and college magazines. While science was work, writing was leisure.
Readomania: Your first book is a collection of remarkable short stories. Tell us, do you prefer writing short stories more than the long format? What are the challenges of writing short stories?
CV Lakshmi: I do prefer writing short stories to the longer format. Short stories are my comfort zone. One challenge in writing short stories is the optimum length. One has to put across the story without ‘wasting’ any words. On the other hand, the story should not finish too soon and leave the reader hanging. The other challenge is that one does not have the luxury of too much description.
Readomania: From the IT hubs of Gurgaon and Bangalore to the cotton fields of seventeenth-century Deccan, from the struggle for existence to the battle with loneliness, from the diverse dynamics of matrimony to the promise of nascent love, this collection of stories reveals a plethora of emotions. How did you get the inspiration to write so many wonderful stories on such varied themes?
CV Lakshmi: Many of the themes have been with me for years. I used to note down ideas and even apt phrases, as they came to me. I then wove each into a story. As for the variety in the themes, these stem from various emotions that I may experience or observe. I then spin a situation to portray the emotion.
Readomania: What was the research process like for you?
CV Lakshmi: I was used to doing research in my days as a Physics student. However, for this book, I did not have to do much research, since all the stories are pure fiction. Only in the story of Aruna, I had to be mindful of the century I had set it in. For that a basic search on the Net was enough. On the other hand, the story, “The Future is Here” has a little bit of science fiction in a very basic sense. For that my research involved checking that the terms I was using were not really terms already in in use! So it was more of a ‘ruling out’ research!
Readomania: You are part of many tight-knit literary groups that have lovely women authors as members. Does being in such great literary company inspire you? Is there also some amount of pressure on who is writing what and who gets published by whom?
CV Lakshmi: I am truly fortunate to be a part of great literary groups. Certainly the company is inspiring. The sheer range of opinion, outlook and writing style is stimulating. I don’t think there is pressure regarding who is writing what, or who gets published by whom, because everyone has their own niche. Even if two writers share a genre, their writing styles differ considerably. Rather than feel pressured, authors get motivated to write consistently and give their best.
Readomania: What is your favourite genre to read? Do you intend to explore that genre as a writer?
CV Lakshmi: My favourite genre is humour (the more subtle the better) closely followed by whodunits. While I do infuse my writing with a little humour, I am not yet ready to write a full blown whodunit. But I never say never!
Readomania: Your mother is an acclaimed Telugu writer. How was it growing up with such an inspirational figure?
CV Lakshmi: Growing up as children of a writer was rather exciting. There used to be sheets of Telugu handwriting all over the house. Unfortunately we were Telugu illiterate, but that worked well for my mother, because she could write in peace without us reading over her shoulder. Yet, she would discuss the themes of her stories with us, and we used to have animated discussions about society, traditions, characters and their convictions.
As for the publishing process, it was all about the post in those days. She would send off the manuscript by registered post, then wait for the acknowledgement, then wait for the letter from the magazine/publisher. Her novels would get serialized in popular Telugu weeklies, and these issues would also come by post. In many of the towns we were stationed at, Telugu magazines were unheard of, so she could not just buy them from a news stand. All this was a great lesson in patience, and the virtue of waiting. Then there would be fan mail. We were party to the thrill and excitement she felt. I think that translated into my wanting to write too.
Readomania: How was the process of getting published by Readomania?
CV Lakshmi: Having come to know of Readomania on social media, I contributed somestories and articles to the site. They saw fit to put up my stories for Readomania Premium, their pay-and-read platform. Then they asked me to put together a collection of short stories to be published. It was an absolute pleasure to do so. I enjoyed the process of editing too, and the brainstorming over the cover design.
Readomania: Which story in Bebey’s Day Out & Other Stories was the more difficult to conceptualize and execute? And which one is closest to your heart?
CV Lakshmi: I would say “Premonition” was the most difficult, both in concept and execution. Without giving out any spoilers, I can only say the protagonist in this one is different. I wanted to explore the concept subtly yet the execution could not be obscure. I am waiting for readers to comment on this one particularly. While all my stories are equally dear to me, “Ration My Rice” has a special place in my heart, because it questions the concept of guilt in relation to the supernatural. Also the incidents in it dovetailed rather satisfyingly.
Readomania: What are you working on next?
CV Lakshmi: I am attempting a novel next, which means going right out of my comfort zone!
Readomania: Thank you, Lakshmi, it was a pleasure talking to you. We look forward to reading more of your amazing writing. Her book is available on Amazon. Click on the link below.
https://www.amazon.in/Bebeys-Day-Out-Other-Stories/dp/9391800718
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