Author Highlight: Geetika Saigal Discusses her Book ‘Finding Your G-Spot in Life’ and Stories from her Life
It’s time for
another author interview. Today, with us, we have Geetika Saigal, she lives in
New Delhi, India.
Kindly tell us a bit about you.
Oh damn!
Readers may stop reading this article after this first question!
You see,
I’m just another girl – happy childhood, crazy warm family, tones of memories,
usual confusions of youth, typical chasing-success career, a fair number of
‘successes’ and some grave ‘mis-hits…
But if
there’s one thing about me, it’s that I’ve always taken life head-on and tried
so whilst being myself. Sometimes, I realize that only after a while of getting
lost in the maddening race of life, but eventually it becomes clear to me that
life is a race and I don’t want to come first in…I don’t want to reach the
end…I want to cherish and squeeze everything possible from every single moment
and day I live it.
That’s me
in a nutshell – brutally honest, tad-bit sarcastic, fair bit opinionated, easy
to be around, difficult to manage, impossible to forget.
For my
formal information, feel free to checkout my LinkedIn account!
How do you handle the response of the book, ‘Finding Your G-Spot in Life’?
You know I
wrote without inhibitions. But once it reached the pre-order phase on Amazon, I
was shitting bricks.
This is
the first time in my life I’ve formally done anything creative. It’s always
been about numbers, excel sheets, power point presentations, clinching deals,
building businesses, motivating teams, driving business plans.
Writing,
like all things creative, is abstract. One may think it’s the most brilliant
piece of work, and another might consider it a waste of their time.
As of now,
the response has been touchingly positive; I’ve had no trouble handling it! I
have to admit though I’d had a few teary sessions in my bedroom, when I first
started getting reactions – started with family, then friends and then people
in this world I’ve never met. But hey that’s me, I go strong as nails in
difficult times, and in happy moments I get all emotional.
To be able
to touch anyone’s life in any manner, however small, leaves you with a sense of
fulfillment that can get you through any day, even days of 45 degree scorching
summer heat.
Do you think that writing an entertaining self-help book is as easy as writing a normal novel? Please highlight your thoughts on it.
It’s not
about ease or difficulty; it’s about what drives you! If we choose things-to-do
based on ease and comfort we’ll simply end up with trivial and fleeting…
I write
not because I want to but because I have to. The feeling I get after penning
down or typing away, is like the aftermath of…(ahem) you know what I’m saying
(wink wink).
To
specifically answer your question, as a writer, whilst some may have chosen
their areas overtime, essentially it comes down to what’s burning inside of
your head. If it’s a protagonist, then go ahead and share his/her story; if
it’s a topic, then approach it, toy with it, thrash it, turn-it-around on it
heads, do whatever but completely nail it down in the sheets of your paper.
Whether a
book turns out to be entertaining or not, heavy or light, tough or complicated,
deep or funny really depends on the writing style of the author; and that I
believe will remain unchanged across genres coz that is true to his/her
sensibilities.
Now, tell us what’s your area of interest (genre) when it comes to writing novels? Is it non-fiction or something else that you want to reveal later with the upcoming books?
I hate to
be boxed. There are more than 50 shades to me! Even my hair’s got a fair number
of shades. I’m primarily a Thinker. My mind is very rarely at rest. Even when
I de-clutter my mind, my objective is not to simply empty it all, but to make
space for what’s more important.
I write.
Simply write. Genre-agnostic. But yea, the underlying thread would probably be
that there is always a theme that runs through whatever I write. In
non-fiction, that’s but obvious, but even in fiction, the innumerable twists
and turns will all still have an invisible thread joining them. That theme or
essence is what drives me to write that piece, which only I know when I write,
but hopefully the reader will sense too when it’s read.
In fact,
last night I wrote a poem, coz the rain that came to Delhi after weeks of
waiting, ignited a feeling that turned into thoughts that poured into a draft
email to someone I probably won’t send it to!
Do you think writing a book from the comfort of bedroom or study room is possible?
Hmmm, so I
guess this is different for different people. I believe some people write in
busy spots etc, but for me, I need peace and quiet. In fact I get majorly
irritated if someone so much as opens my bedroom door when I’m writing! I know
I know I’m a crazy lady :)
For me
honestly, I don’t understand how people say they write their books in cafes! It
sounds to me like they are trying to glamorize the profession (or themselves).
I agree I very often carry my diary around and pen down random stuff
here-n-there (check my Instagram!), but that’s exactly what walking around is
for – to be hit by something unexpected in the randomness of it all. The actual
writing, the building up around those stray thoughts, all that needs a calm mind
and equally calm place – my own little place in this world, my bedroom; not
just my bedroom, but on the same side of the bed, on the same spot, every time.
There’s something comfortable in that, in familiarity, like knowing how my
Mom’s Rajma-Chawal will taste every single time!
Where do you write from? Do you go to some specific place, like beachside or into the hills?
Hell no!
I’ll be damned if I sit in one spot when on the move.
Travel to
me is food for my soul. When I discover new places, I want to walk. Move.
Explore. Discover. I’m so full of energy I wake up earlier than normal, I stop
wearing heels and trade them for sneakers, I don’t bother about my selfies coz
all I want to capture is what’s around me. You will not see me sitting in a
spot and writing :) In fact if I’m lazing around alone, you might just see me
exchange a smile and start chatting up with strangers I share a vibe with.
Travelling
is about breaking free. Exploring the unknown. Sometimes finding yourself,
sometimes losing yourself.
But yea,
if I ever move to a beachside or the hills for say a couple of months, I’m sure
I’ll do a lot of writing. But that’s coz then it won’t be travel, it’ll be
home.
Did you do proper research before penning down this book?
Zilch.
Zero. Nada.
If I have
to research before I write, why am I writing about it in the first place!
I know
this may not be the traditional answer, but it’s my honest one. I never claim
to be an expert. I simply share what I experience, what it teaches me, my
realisations, my answers. I believe I’m just another girl, and hence many of my
thoughts will be the same as yours. If I strike accord, then hey, give my
writing a reading. But I will never ever preach people to follow what I say,
coz in the end we are all a little bit different thanks to our unique little
issues. So feel free to fine-tune whatever I say to make it your own.
What inspired you to write this book? Any tales to tell...
It’s only
when I stopped doing everything, did I realized what I wanted to do.
I was 40
(ouch that hurt!). I had been through shutting down my business venture,
something that I was emotionally locked into for years. In the process I had
also lost all of my life savings (that’s the fine print at the bottom!). Family
expected to me to ‘put it behind me’ and go back to the ‘successful’ corporate
career I was flying high on, before that phase.
But with
all due respect to everyone I love and admire, there is one person is simply
listen to all times - that 6th sense, that inner voice in me. It didn’t know what
I wanted, but it did know what I didn’t want! And that was as good enough a
starting point as any.
I decided
to take time off. From where I come, and who I am known to be, a ‘sabbatical’
sounded strange; it was what people who are lost do or who have too much money
to know what they want, but not what
‘sensible grounded smart educated’ people do.
But hey, l
don’t like to get boxed remember. And so I decided to do something new, I
decided to do ‘Nothing’. And slowly, as
the noises faded, and the clutter dissolved, I started trying out new things,
meeting new people. Writing just came naturally then. It was almost like it had
been waiting all this while, politely, in a corner, till I acknowledged the
elephant in the room. And boy am I glad I did!
What was your biggest learning experience throughout the publishing process?
Be Strong.
Don’t lose hope. Don’t doubt yourself.
The
publishing world has nothing unique about it. I’ve worked in the Corporate
sector for donkey years, travelled on work to so many countries and then jumped
into another world of start-up and entrepreneurship. Having experienced it all,
I’ve realized, nothing worth-while comes easy. Not everyone will see you for
who you are and what you can bring to the table.
In the
publishing world it’s a tad bit worse, because you may not even get rejected!
You may never even get a response. Yeah.
But when
one door closes, hell, look for a window! There are opportunities and ways
everywhere, we just need a positive, relaxed and purposeful frame of mind to
recognize and convert them.
Looking back, what did you do right that helped you break in as a writer?
I stopped
trying to be someone, and just let me be me.
You see,
I’ve come from a family where education, career, life were all considered
serious matters. I’ve handled positions and roles where people expected
seniority and seriousness. And so initially when I started writing I thought I
should write deep and complex stuff. But it didn’t come naturally. Then I
realized that the moments I cherish the most are when I’ve been myself, not who
I’m supposed to be.
And I let
that reflect in my writing. Some may like it, some may not. But I dream of a
day, when people read a piece somewhere and are able to instantly know I wrote
it.
Any best piece of writing advice from your side that we haven’t discussed?
“We die
with every breath we take, yet every breath we take is testimony that we are
still alive.” - From Finding Your G-Spot.
Don’t
procrastinate, just do it.
Let it
flow, make it happen.
Seize the
moment, there’s no better time that now.
Don’t just
aspire. Be.
…be a
writer. Now.
Worry
about publishing and selling later!
Something personal about you people may be surprised to know?
Even
people who know me well are surprised by so many things in the book itself!
I’ve had
friends say to me they know me better after reading my book.
You see,
everyone can see I’m a bundle of energy but not many see me when I’m drained;
every thinks I’m driven and passionate but few see me on the days I seem lost;
everyone sees this crazy girl dancing silly at the party but almost no one’s
heard me sing; each and every person knows I’m a foodie but just a few poor
souls have tried my cooking
There’s a
lot of stuff that makes us who we are, so I could go on and on. Yeah, one thing
is obvious – I’m fairly narcissistic!
Anyways,
please do read the book to get to know me more!
Any future books that you would like to discuss now?
Well, I’m
not sure what I’ll get published next. There’s a fiction novel about a young
woman and there’s a non-fiction topic in my head I want to write about…for now
though I want to do justice to my baby and do everything I can to give it wings
to fly. If you’ve read my banterings here, please do read Finding Your G-Spot, and hopefully recommend to your friends and
family (or enemies if you didn’t like it!) to read.
Connect with Geetika Saigal:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/saigal_geetika
Website: https://about.me/geetikasaigal
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