Serendipity is the secret of my craft: Isha Singh

ISHA SINGH teaches at Lucknow University and specialises in writing short stories in the genre of horror. Where Do You Go in the Dark, My Love is her first book.

Q Why do you write?
For that elusive feeling that a writer gets upon writing a really good story or a poem. It is a rush but short-lived because then you have other deadlines etc. I think I am always trying to replicate that rush, trying to write something that makes me feel satisfied after writing it.

Q Do you have a writing schedule?
Not really. Even if I make one, I rarely follow it. I am not a stickler for schedules. If I love the idea, I will continue to write till I get tired otherwise I delay the process.

Q Best piece of advice you've ever got?
Someone told me to try not to control things, be it with writing or with my life. I think that’s pretty solid advice. Learning to go with the flow is a process that takes a while.

Q Do you keep a diary?
No.

Q. Describe your favourite writing space.
I can write anywhere and mostly I use my writing desk but my favourite writing space is any space with a view of the mountains. Possibly a small desk on a balcony, at some place in Kasol, with a gorgeous view of the Parvati valley.

Q. Who are your favourite authors?
Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain, Barbara Kingsolver, Joyce Carol Oates.

Q Which book/author should be banned on grounds of bad taste?
I don’t believe in banning things but if I had to, I would definitely ban Chetan Bhagat. I don’t think the ban would deprive us of any literary genius. I would also ban his columns along with the books, as reading them in my morning paper makes my coffee taste like hemlock.

Q. Which is the most under-rated book?
I came upon a forlorn copy of The Day of the Locusts by Nathaniel West at a book fair many years ago. It merely took me half a day to finish as I found it unputdownable. It takes a scathing look at 1930s Hollywood and the many broken dreams of those who exist on its periphery.

Q. Which classics do you want to read?
I want to re-read The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I would also like to complete reading Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. I picked it up during college for a class but couldn’t plod through it.

Q Your favourite literary character.
My all-time favourite is Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger but currently I am also in love with Ishan Fauzdaar from Baaz by Anuja Chauhan. I have a long list of favourites actually.

Q Which is the funniest book you have read?
The Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith. I find P.G. Wodehouse very funny too.

Q Which is the most erotic book you have read?
I find Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson to be  a wonderfully balanced book with beautiful imagery. The prose is almost luscious.

Q Your favourite word?
Both Sunday and Sundae these days.