The Literature Times: Welcome to The Literature Times, author. Congratulations on the release of your book. What responses are you getting from your readers? Please share your experience with this book.
Sarah Khan: Thanks for your wishes. I had been updating the audience on my social media channels. They had been jumpy for my book release. As of now, I’m getting good responses from the public. They’re loving it. Looking forward to more feedback once others receive the copy of the book too! I had a great time working into this book.
The Literature Times: What encourages you to become an Author?
Sarah Khan: Actually I want to share a part of my imagination to the public because I want to influence their lives in a better way, to give them something of value. I want them to explore the world I had been fantasizing about. I’ve stories to share which can add meaning to their world. And as you know, books are a ‘reality stimulator’; my stories can create an impact on my readers in tackling their real life problems. My family has always encouraged me to build this passion. Along with that, it’s a challenging field and I like to deal with challenges.
The Literature Times: What are your favourite topics of writing? Please tell us something about your areas of interest in literature.
Sarah Khan: I love to write on topics that can make a good impact on people’s everyday lives and help them overcome their pitfalls. I want to add value to their lives as a result of which I mostly like to share my views on equality, empowerment, love and success.
Adventure, philosophy, astronomy and suspense thriller are my favourite areas in literature.
The Literature Times: We were hoping you could tell us about some of those writers who had inspired you and whom you follow!
Sarah Khan: I’ve mostly read the novels of foreign authors. One of the writers and authors who inspire me is Eva Ibbotson. I feel her words and her book, “Journey to the River Sea” has been my all-time favourite. I used to keep predicting the left story for the rest of the day. I want to write the way she used to but in my own way. We all have different ways of expressing ourselves, so I can never completely imitate a writer but I can take the inspiration to do as good as her or even better.
The Literature Times: The titles seem different and catchy; how did you decide it? Please let us know the story behind it.
Sarah Khan: When I was wondering about an apt title of the story, I tried to figure out the main essence of it. The story has something that is “Lost” and needs to be found out. I was sure of either using the word “Journey” or “Search” in the title. Then it struck me that ‘Journey’ word wouldn’t provide the detail as to what the journey was all about. “The Journey of the Lost” wasn’t expressing the search because of which “In Search of the Lost” title was decided.
The Literature Times: What are your achievements so far? Tell us something about your writing career.
Sarah Khan: I’ve often participated in poetry and other writing competitions at institute and outer level. Apart from minor competitions and participating certifications, I won 1st prize (cash) in Poetry writing competition 2020 organised by HISI, 2nd prize (cash) in Alpha Poetry contest 1.0, Won the Best Opposition Award (cash prize) in Editorial Board’s Shadow Cabinet Debate 2020 and participated in the IMUN conference. I’ve also been quite active on stage events and speeches at school and college levels. Along with that, currently I’m holding a blog page, “My Creations” where I post my poetries, stories and all other write-ups that I compose. I’ve Instagram as well as Facebook handle with username @vibes_of_a_lost_girl and name “My Creations” where I post my content. Also, I’ve created a YouTube channel recently as “Sarah’s Creativity Hub” to share my content with the world.
My writing career has evolved since my childhood. I loved to write down things I imagined and felt into my secret diaries. My interest developed and proficiency improved as I continued writing.
The Literature Times: What is your current goal in your writing career? How do you see your future in writing?
Sarah Khan: Currently, my goal is to get this book, “In Search of the Lost” , to work well in the market. Working onto this book was very challenging as well as enjoyable. If people love the book and give their best feedback and reviews, then my efforts will be accomplished.
I’ll continue this writing passion and share my write ups through websites and social media channels. I see my books being a great reading experience in the future and providing a good impact in people’s daily lives.
The Literature Times: Are there any other books being worked on by you? Please let us know about your future projects.
Sarah Khan: It might sound shocking but the novel that I had been writing since my 10th class has yet not been completed due to its complex and long story. I had started writing the book “In Search of the Lost ” this year itself and completed it within a month. So I’ll be publishing the former novel sometime later whenever I get it finished. Also I’m working on compiling an anthology which will take some time to be launched.
The Literature Times: How do you see Indian writing in the 21st century? What changes do you see in the modern way of writing? Do you feel it has changed by the time?
Sarah Khan: As far as I’ve heard, most of the Indian authors write on the same theme of love and romance. Though, I’m not sure but I hardly see some out of the box fantasy thrillers. There are some writers who write uniquely but most of the Indian authors write on romance I guess. Although, it’s a good theme but I think we need diverse genres for our audience having different preferences.
Indian literature has evolved over the years as the tastes of readers also changed by time. Fiction is loved more nowadays and I think it’s more preferred by teenagers and young adults.
The Literature Times: How easy/ difficult it was for you to publish your book? What message would you like to give to budding authors?
Sarah Khan: Preparing and writing the story was challenging for me and required hard work. But it was enjoyable, too. I was into the story and living it while writing. Step by step the story proceeded and finally when it was over, I found it worth sharing. I always had a dream of publishing a book of my own. This was a good chance for achieving this dream, so I had a talk with my family regarding the same and now I’m glad I’ve finally done it.
To the budding authors, I’d just say that keep writing, don’t consider yourself perfect and always try to improve. Write what you imagine, feel or dream and make the audience connect to your imaginary world through it. Don’t lose your confidence if your work is not appreciated enough. When you improve, you’ll get what you deserve ultimately, you just have to keep patience.