Out with her first book ‘Coffee Days, Champagne Nights, and Other Secrets’, Kainaz Jussawalla says that she hopes that readers realize what she has written is just pure fiction but relate to it nonetheless.
The book which has been published by Crosswords and is available on Amazon’s website is a collection of seven short stories that, each in its own way deals with a strange sense of romanticism, mingled with a very human dichotomy that will leave readers baffled.
A dark fiction that deals with the complexities of the human mind, Kainaz’s book is mostly woman-oriented with male figures being a part of the periphery, a catalyst perhaps for her plot to move forward but never the central character.
In an interaction with us Kainaz reveals more about her debut work.
“The idea behind the book was to capture human emotions in a new light, perhaps a more realistic one,” she says before adding, “The stories tell it like it is.”
A dream come true for the debutante author, Kainaz reveals that it was a shared vision that she had with her late grand mum Bapus. “She was a great story teller,” she says before adding, “I guess a mix of good genes and a need to fulfill one of her last wishes, so to speak, made the book happen.”
The characters in Kainaz’s book might leave you baffled, well rounded, they are a far cry from the conventional hero/ heroine or the damsel in distress. While Kainaz says that they are not based on anyone she knows per se, she does go on to reveal a bit about their inspirations.
“Story one is probably a fantasy of every girl to spend one night with her favourite actor. Story four is about an aged man with a debilitating injury and a second chance in love. Story seven, about a gang of women, is the dream of every human being - to break free from responsibilities and duties and just live it up for a while!”
Kainaz however does reveal that story number three was perhaps a bit inspired from her own life, “But thankfully mine was not such a dramatic ending,” she quickly explains.
Talking on the sense of duality that readers will find in the characters present in her book, Kainaz says, “Duality is the truth of life. We all are playing different roles depending on what suits us at that point. We wear masks at work, play, with our spouses and sometimes even for ourselves. Anyone who claims, that they don’t have a single secret or are completely honest, are simply lying or deluding themselves.”
She furthers her point by saying, “My characters are incredibly bold and non apologetic in their own way and they definitely don’t reveal themselves, as you expect them to or would approve of.” But one wonders if she not been a bit too indulgent with them. “One can get so desperate, so frustrated and so highly strung in life’s chaos and flow, that even an average Jo can turn into Dr Hyde when put in daunting circumstances. As an author yes I agree I have indulged completely, not only in this story but a few more too. I have let myself go. I may have broken all sanity, boundaries and restrictions.”
Finding inspiration in authors like Enid Blyton, Jackie Collins, Paulo Coelho, Khalil Gibran and a few others, Kainaz hopes that the book does well like the works of her inspirations.
“I hope that it connects with people on an intense level. I hope it makes me get noticed as a serious writer and not just fluff and candy.”
As for what’s next, Kainaz concludes that are two books in the pipeline. “One is complete; it is a sequel to this. And the next is going to be quite raunchy, exciting and full of controversial sparks...watch out for it!”
