Author Interview: Rishika Chopra

Hello everyone! Today, I bring you something fresh and exciting. I am excited to invite author Rishika Chopra to visit my website and celebrate the release of her new book My Mother’s Love. It is a Mystery Novel which is sure to captivate everyone who reads it.

Shreya: Hello Rishika! It is a pleasure to have you here with us today! First of all, congratulations on the release of your debut novel My Mother’s Love.

Rishika: Thank you so much Shreya. I am happy to be here too.

Shreya Vijay: Great! So Rishika, what pushed you to write and become an author?

Rishika Chopra: I didn’t have this sudden dawning that I want to write a book, I’ve always had an inclination towards writing since childhood. I just realised it late. When it comes to writing a book, I think I never had a great idea before this one. 

Shreya: Since this is your debut novel, how did you feel when you first held a copy of your novel in your hands?

Rishika: Debuts are always special as well as hard. There are some specific instances that stay engraved in your memories. Holding my first copy was like that. It felt like holding a tiny little piece of my heart in my hands. Whiskerson to me always felt like a real place and holding the book, taking in those fresh crisp words and pages made it more real. 

P.S. I just received the first copy but due to the lock down my publisher had to shut down for sometime. The paperbacks will be out in a month or so.

Shreya: How did you get the idea for your book ‘My Mother’s Love’?

Rishika: I still don’t consider myself worthy enough to have thought of this amazing story. I feel like this story came to me one night and demanded that I write it. This was just one of those random moments in life when an idea hits you and you know if you don’t act upon it, you’d curse yourself for the rest of your life. I just feel very lucky that this story came to me, it could have been anybody’s. 

Shreya: Which is your favourite character from the book and why?

Rishika: Alicia is the one I connect to the most since she’s the protagonist. I just love her and the way she tackled her life. She taught me a lot too. But Cliff remains my absolute favourite. I’m so in love with that guy, he’s happy, handsome, loyal, stand-up, chirpy and so much more. Ali’s death and his pain was too much for me to take in too. He’s basically the guy of all of our dreams!

Shreya: What is your favourite genre to read and why?

Rishika: When it comes to genres, I am not very picky. I read what’s good and what I feel will help me or amuse me. Right now, I’m reading a lot of self help books along with some thrillers on my Tbr list. CR – Mindful to Mind Full by Om Swami ( an advance birthday present from a very special friend)

Shreya: Is writing your full-time career? Or would you like it to be?

Rishika: I feel when you write you just want to write and there’s nothing else that interests you even for the slightest moment. So when I’m in a story, I just want to be a writer but when I’m in reality, writing as a career would take years for it to be lucrative. Moreover, I feel if I write professionally, I’ll always be concerned about the monetary aspect of it and right now I feel writing is too pure of an art to taint with money and the greed that follows.

Shreya: What do you do when you are not writing?

Rishika: I’m a lazy person who’s very productive in her laziness. Haha. I watch a lot of Netflix, in fact the reason why too many people have told me that my writings are more like a movie is because of Netflix. I also like to go out to party or travel with my friends. I love to work; it’s something that keeps me happy. I have worked with some good startups and I’m still working with one. 

Shreya: What is your Writer’s Kryptonite?

Rishika: Oh, this is a difficult one. My Kryptonite would be the days I don’t get many sales or reviews, I get very disappointed then. As a new author in this industry, it’s hard to get the right readers and exposure. But after a few hours of mental torture that I put myself through, I remind myself that each day is a new one and usually I get something or the other the very next day.

Shreya: What book is currently on your bedside table?

Rishika: Currently I have a lot of books on my bedside table. Some of them are: Eleven Minutes, Mind full to Mindful, A Million Thoughts, My Own, I too had a Love Story, The Power. 

Shreya: Do you believe in Writer’s block? And if you do, how do you suggest one can overcome it?

Rishika: I never believed in writer’s block before this devilish book that I wrote. (10th continued) I was a content writer for many years before being a novelist. I never ever had even one instance of writer’s block and always used to think that if you want to write something, ideas just flow. But little did I know! When I began with this story, I wrote 4-5 chapters with ease and then I faced the worst block. I sat in front of my laptop for hours without producing anything. I remember specific chapters I struggled with. 

To overcome, I just let it pass most of the time and in the meantime I used to watch some good TV that’d inspire me and put some ideas in my head that I can pen down. Since this book was gloomy and dark, I remember watching a lot of depressing shows at the time. To me watching something even remotely related to what you’re writing can be very helpful. It’s all about invoking the right emotion.

Lastly, I would also like to thank you, Shreya, for this amazing blog that you have created and the greatest review you gave me! 

Shreya: Thank you so much for your kind words, Rishika! It was wonderful to have you join us here today. It was a fun session. I wish you all the very best for your future. 

Purchase My Mother’s Love on Amazon – https://www.amazon.in/My-Mothers-Love-Ever-Trickery-ebook/dp/B0886L1XFT