Author Interview : Priyanka Sharma Kaintura

Meet Priyanka Sharma Kaintura, author of My Jiffies, a beautiful collection of experiences and bite-sized narrations that I very recently reviewed on this blog. Here's a little tete-a-tete with her.

BookVue: Priyanka, welcome to Book Vue. Your book, My Jiffies, is very unique. What gave you the idea for such a book?

Priyanka Sharma Kaintura: Thank you Chitra, but I didn’t know that I was making something unique! What I did know is that a good structure is the backbone of a good book, or shall I say the ‘spine’ of a book. So my challenge was either to divide the writings by the format of rendering or by the emotions they recite. I chose a mix of both. Orations, Monologues & Dialogues, Stories, Life Aphorisms and Eclogues are the five formats, while Pathos & Satire express two different emotions.

Also I haven’t come across very many books carrying sections such as Monologues and Dialogues or Orations. So that was done to add a unique and delectable flavor
for the reader.

Another differentiator is the bespectacled owl, who is taking the reader through the
excursion of experiencing the book in seven different sections. Owl is commonly
known for wisdom which makes a rather good fit for taking up the role of
deciphering the tacit sentiments and messages turned upside down, netted in my book.

I have been penning my fragmented thoughts. And as I met more people, more
situations my observations became wider and richer. Most of my writings were met
with a response which told me that these observations are striking a chord with my
readers. And that’s because they see themselves in it. I found that it was quite like I was telling their untold musings. That is when the idea for the book came about. I
decided to reach out to more such hearts.
The observations are continuing and My Jiffies are being rolled out even after the
book.

BV: Are you in the habit of recording daily events yourself?
PSK: Writing is an extension of my personality. It is simply who I am. Anything that touches my heart or makes me reflect becomes a story. I try to blog every few days to keep in touch with my readers and share these reflections through My Jiffies.

BV: Where do you draw your inspirations from?
PSK: Human vulnerabilities and their tussles to dress them in words or in silence, inspire me to write. I am a compulsive observer and explorer which is why I write on subjects related to society, love, relationships and mythological interpretation.

Every noteworthy or insignificant, radical or mundane moment around us is a story,
only if watched closely. A contained expression, a slightly longer pause, an anxiousembrace, expectant silence, disquiet farewell; our jiffies can come from anywhere. Life is but a sequence of moments and I call them jiffies. My Jiffies, the book captures a string of such jiffies reciting tacit sentiments or messages turned upside down in our everyday life.

BV: Has writing always been your forte?
PSK: I studied science at school and then hopped into business management and gathered myself a career in marketing and communication. I have been working for
more than 18 years now with both local and global organizations.

So yes, my work-life has been about drawing observations and deriving correlations for business, fostering a perpetual spectator in her. The aptitude therefore went way beyond business and turned out to be the foundation of my storytelling through My Jiffies.

BV: Who are some of your favourite authors?
PSK: Elif Shafak, J K Rowling, Khushwant Singh, Paulo Coelho.

BV: When can we expect your next book?
PSK: Writing is a journey which will continue. In the course of this excursion, I cannot predict what I will run into. I have a few book structures in my mind that I am toying with, it could be all poetry, or a love story or something mythological. I would really like my readers to stay tuned. Still better tell me what book they want from me!

So feel free to reach out to me at My Jiffies FB page, Twitter or Instagram. You can also visit www.priyankasharmakaintura.com


Thank you so much Priyanka for your time and here's wishing you all the very best for your future endeavours.

Read my review of My Jiffies here.