With no intention of publishing, Preeti Shenoy — known for titles such as A Hundred Little Flames and 34 Bubblegums and Candies – wrote Love a Little Stronger as an account of the things that happened in her life.
“I had written this book 10 years ago,” Preeti begins. “I didn’t expect it to be published. I was writing for myself, on my blog, which a lot of people could relate to, I started getting mails from readers. I wasn’t thinking about a purpose but I was glad that whatever I was sharing was helping so many people.”
“I felt it was time to revisit the first book ( 34 Bubblegums and Candies) because when people read that book, it is new for them, but my life has changed in 10 years, my kids are grown up and I felt there was a need for such a book. I’ve grown as a writer. A lot of people who read the first book think that that’s how my life is now which it’s not.”
Love a Little Stronger is similar to 34 Bubblegums and Candies , where she provides snippets of real-life incidents. She admitted that there were a number of challenges she faced while revisiting the book. “When you are doing something, you grow as a writer. So the first book had 34 stories, this one has 50 stories. I’ve removed stories that I felt were no longer relevant and I put in new stories. I have so much of material from my blogs, I can write three books just with that so choosing the stories was a challenge and of course when I look at the writing I can spot so many things which I had to change.”
Apart from tear-jerking stories and stories that tickle the funny bone, Preeti says there is other things readers can expect this time around. “There is more content and there is also one particular chapter on what it means to be a writer; a lot of people have asked me that. That is why I have included that chapter. The book is divided into five sections including Parent Trap (stories on parenting) and Gift of Laughter (funny stories).”
The author feels proudest moment in her career was, “When I was interviewed by BBC. It was telecast 14 times across the world. People from all over the world started writing to me. Another proud moment was when I had my cover launch at Birmingham Literature Festival for A Hundred Little Flames and being invited to many international literature festivals.”
Preeti says writing is second nature to her. “For me writing is something to make sense of what is going on around me. I was writing when nobody was reading me and I will continue to write when everyone is reading me. I’m very happy, it’s not to diminish my readers in any way and not to diminish my achievements or anything, but even when I was unknown I was still writing every single day. Writing is not a release because from when I was a child I have written, I love writing, for me it’s as natural as breathing and if I didn’t write I would go insane. I cannot imagine not writing.”
Finally, when asked about a piece of advice she’d like to give an aspiring writer, Preeti says, “I would say read every single day, read as much as you can; read at least 100 books before you write one, also read everything and don’t stick to one genre. If you are an aspiring writer, write every single day; write an email, write a blog, write a diary entry, write whatever. Just scribble something, it is very important,” she concludes.
