Bijal Talekar (B. Talekar) is an award-winning author from India who has written two well-known books— ‘The Dark Dekken‘ and ‘Alamana- The secret of Indian Ocean‘. Her work has been recognized by many renowned organizations and platforms including Your Story India and Wattpad. She has won the ‘Global Author of the Year” awards for two consecutive years for both her books.
Read on as Author Bijal Talekar talks about her books, life as a writer, experience with publishing houses in India, inspiration behind writing, other passions, and much more.
1. Let’s begin with a brief introduction of yours and an overview of your latest book— Alamana: The Secret of Indian Ocean.
Hello everyone, this is Author B. Talekar. Till today I have written more than 15 stories and books in both Hindi & English. Out of these, I self-published my two books, ‘The Dark Dekken’ and ‘Alamana- The secret of Indian Ocean’ in 2016. These both books are the first part of two different series of books.
‘Alamana – the secret of Indian Ocean‘ is historical fiction. It’s the story of an ordinary boy who becomes a great warrior. ‘Alamana’ word means ‘as deep as the Indian Ocean’. This story is about infinite love, history, reverence and Bharat’s great disaster. This oceanic adventure will show you a new aspect of Indian mythology.
2. From where do you get the ideas and concepts behind your stories?
Actually, I had written this story for a unique competition called ‘Your Story India’. It was arranged by a Canadian company ‘Global business coalition’ and Wattpad.com. The Wattpad is a global literature platform where the fictional stories are preferred. I wanted to write a story for this competition that could bring the ancient stories of Bharat to the younger generation in a new way.
Must read: 27 best Arch Hades quotes about modern romance
3. What was your inspiration behind writing the Alamana book?
I have always loved Indian mythology. And it is always my endeavor that I can reach people of Indian origin, especially the younger generation. And when I read the stories of Western culture, I realized that we do not promote our culture as much as the Western people do. While most of our mythology is many times better than their fictional stories, but many facts are hidden. And this idea eventually inspired me to write the story of Alamana.
4. Please tell our readers about your debut book— The Dark Dekken. When did you write it and what sort of reviews you received from the readers?
The Dark Dekken is a mysterious story. It was published in 2016. Dekken’s story is about five best friends who get stuck in a mysterious place. Unaware of the dark secrets of the deep jungle and supernatural creatures, they get trapped in dangerous circumstances. And in this critical phase, it was a puzzle to recognize who is a true friend or an enemy.
So, basically, this story is about friendship, mystery, adventure, suspense, supernatural powers, and exceptional love. This book has been appreciated by many readers. And I am very satisfied to see the good reviews received from people.
5. Three lessons that you learnt after publishing your first book. How did these help you to craft the second one?
Yes, while publishing my first book, I have learnt many lessons. But those lessons did not help me to publish my second book. But these lessons are proving helpful to me in publishing my upcoming third book.
The most important lesson I have learned during my publishing journey is that whatever amount your publisher takes for publishing; they will not promote your book properly. So, whenever you get a chance to promote your book, you should grab it.
And the third lesson I learnt is that if you want to become an author, then you have to take the responsibility to reach as many readers as possible.
Related reading: 39 Best Chetan Bhagat quotes about life, success, youth, and love
6. Whom do you consider your icons when it comes to writing? Any favourite authors?
Personally, I do not know who I consider my icon. But I like to read many types of Indian stories. Stories like Panchatantra, Betal Pachisi are my most favourite stories since my childhood. Along with these, I love the story of Guru Rabindranath Tagore.
7. Have you received any awards for your work? Please share with our readers, if yes.
Yes, until today I have received more than 12 awards and titles. My journey began in 2016 when I won a competition conducted by Your Story India and Wattpad. After that, I was honoured by many awards and titles like, ‘Global Author of the Year – 2017’ for Alamana, ‘Global Author of the Year – 2018’ for The Dark Dekken, ‘Youth Icon 2019 – Bharat Seva Samvad’, ‘Women Leadership Day 2019 -Valsad Jilla’, ‘Women of Distinction Award – 2020’, and many more.
8. What do you do to improve your writing and become a better writer?
Reading. Yes, most of the writers avoid reading even their own stuff. But I think if you keep reading your own stuff, then you can improve writing content by yourself.
9. Quick-fire round:
Books that have influenced your life?
There are so many books but my own books have influenced my life the most.
What are your other passions in life?
Piano. I love to play the piano and love listening to music, especially instrumental in Bharatiya songs.
What is that dream goal you want to achieve before you die?
🙂 I want to present all my published and future books to my family and all of you.
Whose advice do you seek when in a dilemma?
Mostly I like to solve my problems on my own. But if ever I have to take advice, then I take advice from my mother or Lord Shri Krishna.
If you could change one thing in the world today, what would it be?
There are so many things I want to change in this world. But if I could change one thing today then I want to stop Corona from spreading everywhere. I want to go back to my past and I want to change all problematic incidents step by step.
One song that you always hum?
As you may have known that music is my hobby. So, there is not a single song that always I hum in my mind. But often I hum many songs.
10. What’s next in the roadmap for author Bijal Talekar?
Currently, I am working on my third novel. Dark in the City will be published as part of my first book series called ‘The seven shades of dark’. It is the second part of The Dark Dekken.
And after that, I will start working on the second book of the second series second. It will be the second part of Alamana – the secret of Indian Ocean’. Along with that, I am also trying to help other new authors with providing them needful services and guidance which are important for every author. Please visit my new Instagram or Facebook page Ocean Drop for publishing and guidance. And I hope, in this endeavour, you all will support me.
————-
Thank you so much for contacting me and giving me an opportunity to share my thoughts and experience. Thank you, Virendra Soni and team Burning Desire.
Stay safe, Stay Happy.!
Our Book Marketing Services For Authors
