Monica Bhide is the author of the new story collection The Devil in Us. Her other books include Modern Spice, The Everything Indian Cookbook, The Spice is Right, and In Conversation with Exceptional Women. She is based in the Washington, D.C., area.
Q: Why did you decide to write a collection of short
stories, and for how long a period did you work on them?
A: I started on this collection ten years ago. When I quit
my corporate engineering job to write, I wanted to write fiction. I sort of
fell into food writing! That has really been a blessing for me. However, my
fiction has always had a soft spot in my heart and so I decided last year to
pursue it and now, here is the collection!
Q: You dedicated your book to the writer Cheryl Tan. What
role did she play in the book’s creation?
A: I met Cheryl Tan last year and just fell in love with her
work and her words. She actually selected one of the stories from my collection
and included it her wonderful book, Singapore Noir.
Her faith in me gave me great strength and hope that I could
actually get my stories published. I dedicated the book to her because she gave
me the inspiration and strength I needed to move this forward.
Q: Many of the stories feature babies in some way. Why was
that one of the themes you focused on?
A: To be honest, it was not! The stories are written over
several years and, perhaps, since I became a mom over the years, maybe whatever
was on top of mind got reflected in the book!
Q: Is your writing process different depending on the type
of work you’re doing?
A: Yes, it is. For my non-fiction work, my writing is very
different, very much research oriented and very "proper." With my
fiction, I feel I have more leeway to play with my words, experiment with
viewpoints, and create glorious magical worlds!
Q: What are you working on now?
A: My two next books. One is a collection of food essays that releases in December and the other is a novel told in stories and that is set
for a March 2015 release.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I hope your readers will enjoy the book!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb. For a previous Q&A with Monica Bhide, please click here.
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