How my tryst with writing started!
Books have been my companions since childhood. My parents and teachers encouraged me to read as much as I could. Amar Chitra Katha comics, Chandamama and Champak; soon gave way to Readers’ Digest, mystery novels by Enid Blyton; Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mystery novels; followed closely by the mushy and romantic, Mills & Boon novels. Later, classics by great littérateurs like Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Munshi Premchand; the great Bard of Avon, William Shakespeare, and the philosophical novelist, Paulo Coelho; were devoured by me. Thrillers by Sidney Sheldon, Agatha Christie, Dan Brown, John Grisham, Robin Cook, Roald Dahl; and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle‘s Sherlock Holmes series are my all-time favorites. Jeffrey Archer and his works have also played a key role in helping me develop a penchant for reading. I am a proud bookworm!
What sparked off my passion for reading was, undoubtedly, a chance criticism by my eighth standard teacher who taught us English at school! She challenged me to write the answers in my own words, instead of relying on the usual rote learning method that was (and still is) so commonplace in the great Indian education system. Stung to the core, I started brushing up on my vocabulary and language skills by reading everything that I could lay my hands on! I filled up notebooks with as many words as I could. The dictionary became my constant companion. Thanks to my continuous learning, I gained confidence in writing essays, articles, poems and stories.
After my Bachelor in Science degree, I obtained a degree in Communication and Journalism (B.C.J) from the Pune University. It was the best decision of my life. I have been freelancing from then till date. I have several published writings to my credit in reputed publications like Woman’s Era, Alive, Sakaal Times, and some websites.
I have contributed to prestigious travel-websites like Holidayiq.com and TripAdvisor.in. I am in the top 10% of contributors from Pune, to TripAdvisor.in.
I maintain four blogs. They are as follows:
I have published 28 books, 25 of which are available on Amazon. They are as follows:
1. The Enigma and other stories
2. The Obsession
3. The Mysterious Basement of Summer City (Prize-winning, debut novel)
4. Wow! Wrong Number
5. You Compromise, I Won’t!
6. Unconditional Love in Exchange
7. Just Not Meant For Marriage!
8. The Byline and other stories
9. A Good Old Rumor! and other stories
10. The Celestial Souls of Khambetka
11. Of Siblings and E-Friends
12. Dad's Great, Boys! (e-book also published at www.draft2digital.com)
13. God's Will
14. The Trophy Wife
15. Neha’s Quest
16. Ghosts of the Past
17. The Unending Nightmare
18. Shadows in the Dark
19. Everyone
20. My Life, My Way!
21. Once Again
22. The Long-distance Relationship
23. When Chikoo Was Very Bitter…
24. ‘Operation Chikoo’
25. Chikoo Saves Chikki
Three other books of mine have been published at other websites/blogs:
1. A Suitor for the Princess - radiantpriyasvision.blogspot.com (my blog)
2. The Love-addict - www.freeditorial.com
3. No Mother-in-law, Please! - Serialized at www.wattpad.com
I have won several writing competitions, including a novel-writing contest, organized by Vishwakarma Publications, Pune. I won the second prize for my debut novel titled The Mysterious Basement of Summer City. My reading habit had thus spurred me to become an author!
I have also won the third prize in an essay-writing contest organized by Garima Manch of the Indian Medical Association, Pune. (I.M.A.) for my essay on ‘Should self-defense be a part of curriculum for girls?’
I have won several writing contests apart from the above-mentioned ones too!
Recently, I was awarded the ‘Writers’ Award Certificate’ by www.penfactor.com.
I love reading books for information, inspiration, insight, motivation and entertainment. Conversing about bestsellers is a great ice-breaker at social events. Bonding over books, with friends and family, at leisure, is a pleasurable experience. To encourage budding talent, I conduct creative-writing classes too.
Kindly refer to my blog-post dated 13th June, 2020 for details about the
Online Creative Writing Classes-cum-workshops conducted by Priya's Vision Academy.
To sum up, I can’t imagine a life without books. My tryst with reading and writing is sure to be a life-long affair!
Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan
Proprietor,
Priya's Vision Academy
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