CHENNAI: Have you ever thought of quitting your cushy job to chase your passion and live the life you love? That’s what author Indu Balachandran’s second book Runaway Writers deals with. After a bestselling first book that had anecdotes on advertising, the author is back with a tale that talks about three young women who quit their jobs and travel to Greece for a writers’ workshop, in pursuit of their dreams.
So, how was her experience while writing a book that has a pinch of everything, including romance? “I had fun writing this book and it has fulfilled my publishers brief,” she laughs. Taking inspiration from her recent visit to Greece for a writing workshop, the author says that Santorini is the most romantic place in the world and it helped her a lot while writing.
With a background in economics, Indu shares that she always wanted to be a published author. “I did economics! Can you believe I did that? Later I realised numbers weren’t my forte and jumped into advertising at J Walter Thompson and totally loved my job. But, I always wanted to become a writer, a funny, quirky and humorous writer who has a witty response to everything,” she giggles.
From being a copy-trainee to become the executive creative director at JWT, the author also began travel writing, “Isn’t it wonderful when you get paid to travel the world and also to write about it?” she says looking at the coverage of her book that has an illustration of three young girls chatting over a cup of coffee with the Picturesque Santorini in the backdrop.
“A French girl from Delhi had tweeted me saying how she loved the use of Tamil words in the book. That’s gratifying as I consciously decided to use Tamil words in it. Why not? I think its high time the rest of the world warms up to the words we use as well. Don’t you think?” she asks.
So, since a girl is the protagonist of the story, does she think it will work well with men? “Oh! Yes, definitely. Men might call them less sensitive when it comes to romance. What’s wrong in liking a light hearted romantic book? A lot of my guy friends have started buying the book and I am waiting to hear from them,” she shares.
Her contents page is filled with quotes instead of chapter heads. Was it a conscious decision? “Yes! I have been collecting quotes from school days. It’s not like how people google now. I used to write them down while watching a movie or a TV show. I have stuck them all over my room!” she confides. With so many quotes in her kitty, she picks her favourite one out of the book, ‘Find a guy who messes up your lipstick, not your mascara’, “Isn’t it beautiful?” she smiles.
“It has a lot of Chennai connect to it and I am sure it will be a self-help book for people who want to ‘Find the life they love and the love of their life’,” she adds.
Runaway Writers will be launched on February 11, at The Folly, Amethyst at 6 30pm.