Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings — Stephen King
Following his advice, Bhargavi Balachandran went from being a sensitive editor to a ruthless hacker of her own writing. The author of The Crossover Year says, “When I wrote the story the word count was about a lakh. After I edited it, it came down to 60,000 words.”
The Crossover Year is her second novel. “Actually I wrote this one first but by the time it got published my second book Seven Across was already out,” says Bhargavi. Currently based out of Chennai, the 34-year-old has lived all over the country but it is this city that she loves the most. No wonder then that the book is set in Chennai with all her preferred hangouts making an appearance in it. There’s Alsa Mall, Cornucopia, Spencer Plaza, Marina beach... “All my favourites from 2008 because that’s when I wrote it and that’s the year the story is set in,” she says.
With an MBA degree from Manipal University, and quite a few years of experience in the corporate field what made her quit and take up writing? “I quit as I felt my job wasn’t giving me creative satisfaction. I took time to figure out what I wanted to do. After a few months of blogging I started writing this book,” says Bhargavi.
Although a voracious reader — she spent her school years poring over novels — she never really wrote or took part in contests. “So I was really surprised when I started writing my book. I finished the first draft in three months.” The book revolves around Sri Anuprabha aka Anu, an over-the-top, scatter-brained young girl who quits her job as a banker to discover herself. The premise of the story is almost autobiographical. “People tell me that they either are like my protagonist or know someone just like her,” she says.
Bhargavi’s book falls under the women’s fiction genre but tips heavily towards chick-lit. “For some reason the term chick-lit is looked down upon,” she says and adds “I would like office-goers to get back home and have fun reading it and say it’s full paisa vasool ,” she adds.
One of the most assuring moments for her was when her husband, a reader of serious non-fiction, read through her draft and immensely enjoyed it. She also has a two-year-old daughter and when she’s not tending to her she divides her time between writing and other pursuits. “I write when she’s asleep…that would be between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. and afternoons between 2 to 4 p.m. and the full day on Saturdays because that’s my husband’s day off. See, marriage has its advantages,” she laughs. Bhargavi is also done with the draft of her upcoming novels — a murder mystery and a romance drama.
The Crossover Year (Rs. 200) is available online and in bookstores.
