Vachaknavi Sarma is the author of two books— Reflection of Life and Wild Imagination. She is a passionate writer who has been writing since 2013. Her first book “Wild Imagination” got published in 2017 which was loved by readers across the country. People are able to relate to the words of Vachaknavi Sarma and she was recently appreciated for her work by Author Pages Magazine and renown author Savi Sharma.
Read on as Vachaknavi talks about her latest book, life as a writer, her other passions, and more in this interview.
1. Let’s begin with a brief introduction of yours and a quick overview of your latest book—Reflection of Life.
I’m Vachaknavi Sarma aka Hiya. I was born and bred in Digboi and I currently live in Detroit. Reflection of Life is a collection of poems and letters portraying vivid emotions.
2. What was your inspiration behind writing the Reflection of Life book?
See, I don’t know if I’ll ever be a well-known writer, but my main reason behind writing both the books and anything in the future is to make a place in people’s hearts. I wish to be that writer whom people will look at in the streets and say, “oh her… her poetry is something I can connect to.”
3. What sort of reviews you are getting for this book?
As of now, there are no official reviews. But people have been telling me they are enjoying the book thoroughly, and it is very similar to the incidents that have happened in their lives.
Related interview: “You cannot back out because of negative reviews, since a story can never make everybody happy”— Chirasree Bose
4. Please tell our readers about your debut book—Wild Imagination. When did you write it and how it felt to hold the first copy of your own book?
Wild Imagination is a collection of poetry worrying during the years 2013-2016. I compiled it in 2017 and the book was published on 24th Dec 2017.
Holding it for the first time felt like holding my new-born child.
5. What were the main challenges that you faced to find the right publisher?
I didn’t go for traditional publishing. I self-published it on Amazon.
6. When did you realize that you were meant to be a writer?
I started writing in 2013 when I was facing a dark time in my life. That’s when writing came to my rescue. It became my medium to flush out negativity and anger. And eventually, it became a part of my life and wellbeing.
Related interview: “I wrote the book so that coming generations read it and feel lucky to have born in India”— Shrinivas Hinge
7. Whom do you consider your icons when it comes to writing? Any favorite authors?
I consider my dad my icon. He writes in our mother language- Assamese.
My all-time favorite author is J K Rowling. I know it’s very clichéd, but it’s only after reading her books that I fell in love with words.
Related read: 39 Best Chetan Bhagat quotes about life, success, youth, and love
8. What is that dream goal you want to achieve before you die?
I don’t have such long-term dreams or goals, but short-term goals. Because I consider life as a real bummer… unpredictable!
So, right now, my short-term goal or rather dream is to at least reach the top 10 in the general non-fiction genre of the www.authoracademyawards.com (My book Wild Imagination has been nominated for it) and I’m among the very rare few Indians to be nominated.
9. A quick-fire round:
Books that have influenced your life?
The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma
What are your other passions?
Dancing and working out (I’m a fitness freak)
Whose advice do you seek when in a dilemma?
Whenever in a dilemma, I don’t trust anyone (not even myself because I know I’d make the stupidest decisions). I just trust my mom and dad.
A line said by your closed one that you never forget?
You win that very day you give up on the thought of giving up, and fight against anything to perfect those things in you that you think are imperfect.
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10. What’s next for Vachaknavi Sarma?
Ummm… Right now, I’m just focused on getting more votes for my book on the Author Academy Award website. And book-wise, I have not started anything new yet. But maybe by the end of 2021, I’ll publish another one.
This was such a sweet and innocent interview