Author Interview: Nilakshi Garg

Indian romance author, Nilakshi Garg, is a talented boss lady. She has recently launched her debut novel “Mirage” on platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, and Google Play store. She is not just an author but also an entrepreneur, owning a digital magazine named Popularity. Other than being an author, she is also a professional writer with an experience of 4 years in its making.

She graduated from Maharaja Surajmal Institute, GGSIPU, Delhi. Whereas, she did her MBA in Finance and Operations from Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management. She did her Diploma in Data Science in R and Python from NIIT, Delhi.

Earlier, she has participated in multiple anthologies. As per her records, she claims to have read more than 500+ romance novels blended with other genres in her life to date. So, yes, she is an avid reader too.

Ravi: What’s your favorite short story?

Nilakshi Garg: I haven’t read many short stories. I guess it would be the one I wrote. It’s a part of an anthology already published. The story is called A Secret Affair. It is a romantic-suspense short story that I wrote for the first time to get published commercially.

Ravi: The Best piece of writing advice?

Nilakshi: Practice writing dialogues, scenes, character interactions, emotions, drama, separately and that too daily, if you get time. This is an exercise when you plan to write a heavily invest novel. This is what I am doing while writing my next project. It helps a lot and makes the characters genuine, authentic, and relatable.

Ravi: Where do you write?

Nilakshi: Word document, personal blogs, notepads in my mobile, Wattpad, Journals, Whiteboard at my house. I keep writing here and there.

Ravi: Where do you get your ideas?

Nilakshi: From people, scenes, conversations, other novels, online content. From the life itself.

Ravi: Does writing energize or exhaust you?

Nilakshi: Both.

Ravi: How long on average does it take you to write a book?

Nilakshi: The first novel took me a year from one to another.

Ravi: If you had to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do?

Nilakshi: I would have joined the theatre, learning to act.

Ravi: What is your favorite childhood book?

Nilakshi: Hansel and Gretel and Cinderella.

Ravi: What are your favorite literary journals?

Nilakshi: I don’t remember as such. I read too many and too much at once when I am in the mood. But, recently, I have started reading a lot about spacetime, quantum mechanics, and the theory of relativity. But I would say any paper from Kurt Godel or Bertrand Russell would be good if you want to know about their viewpoints and hypothesis on spacetime or time travel.

Ravi: What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?

Nilakshi: I think I have already given up too much. I am a very non-social person right now keeping COVID-19 aside. Besides that, perhaps, social media distraction at this point.

Ravi: What was your hardest scene to write?

Nilakshi: The past of Bethany Carlson.

Ravi: Do you Google yourself?

Nilakshi: Lol, yes, some times.

Ravi: Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

Nilakshi: Yup.

Ravi: Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?

Nilakshi: Not many. I do not have time. But, initially, I read each one of them. I deal with each one with equal curiosity. The good ones boost me up, but the bad ones challenge me. I love getting both of them, though. There should be a balance between both of them. It keeps you in check with the reality of your talent in front of the critics.

Ravi: Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?

Nilakshi: I have read multiple books from Tarryn Fisher, Coollen Hoover, Rachel Van Dyken, EL James, Pepper Winters, and BL Paris. These women have the guts to write fiction by breaking the laws of this genre. the

Ravi: What did you edit out of this book?

Nilakshi: Oops, that’s an interesting question. I think, not many people know this but actually the first few scenes of the first chapter were very different. Later on, it was not making sense at all! The first chapter which readers get to read now is what I wrote last minute. :D

Ravi: How many hours a day do you write?

Nilakshi: I write practically all day. 10-12 hours easily. But not only novel. I write blogs, scripts, scenes, dialogues, characters plots. The list goes on.

Ravi: How long were you a part-time writer before you became a full-time one?

Nilakshi: I have been writing since 10th class as far as I know. And I became a full-time writer maybe 3-4 years ago. So, considering writing as a hobby, it’s 8-9 years before I was finally fully into writing as a business or profession.

Ravi: What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

Nilakshi: I research people. It can be endless. I study people around me and the content I watch or read online. It can take me an entire day when I am not getting a particular scene out of my head, or it can be just a few hours. It depends upon the complexity of the scene or the chapter.

Ravi: What’s the best way to market your books?

Nilakshi: Get it made into a movie, book trailer, song, or series. That’s the peak of our industry right now.

Ravi: How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

Nilakshi: uncountable, hah. Joking, but easily 20+

Ravi: How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?

Nilakshi: I became more professional, disciplined, and focused on developing the story, character, and scenes, despite what people around thought of me.

Ravi: If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Nilakshi: That, you will get that novel published soon, woman. Hold on, it’s almost there.

Ravi: What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?

Nilakshi: I can’t name them yet. Some are already published and some are on the edge of their book editing before the final publishing process. We discuss scenes, genres, and trendy content. We motivate each other when there’s no one else to listen to our dramatic inner sides.

Ravi: Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

Nilakshi: I keep myself original as of now. I am not really following the already hyped up romance novels in India. I am planning some crazy projects which maybe Indians have not written before. However, some genres which I am planning to launch in India have already been discovered in other countries.

Ravi: What advice do you have for writers?

Nilakshi: Keep writing and build honest writer’s community. Many writers do not get acknowledgment because they do not have the right tribe. Find your tribe, or else build it. Build your fan clubs, get the appreciation, and that’s all you would need to start writing again after the writer’s block.

Ravi: What are the most important magazines for writers to subscribe to?

Nilakshi: Popularity, Forbes, Outlook, Vogue, Cosmopolitan.

Ravi: Tell me about your recent book to our Ravi Reads Blog Readers?

Nilakshi: Mirage is the story of a woman who finds the life love of her live in the trickiest or the most vulnerable stage of her life. From there on, she gets a wake-up call. However, if she doesn’t take the right steps on time, she might end up losing everything in her life. So, this novel is a blend of mental health and romance. You would get to know a slight hint about those people who are alone, depressed, and who overthink without having any additional support emotionally.

To Know more about Nilakshi's Mirage check out this link

Thanks to Nilakshi Garg for agreeing to this interview! If you know of an author who’d like to be featured in an interview (or you are an author who would like to be featured), feel free to email me at the address on my contact page.