Subhechcha Ganguly 
I hope you’re doing well. I’m really intrigued by your book, “The Story of Maya.” It sounds like a powerful and inspiring read, especially considering your personal journey of resilience and never giving up.I would love to learn more about your book and your writing process. Here are a few questions I have for you:
- What inspired you to write “The Story of Maya”?
Ans :- My tryst with writing started with writing quotes on an app named “Yourquote”. Someone was impressed by my quotes and suggested me to write a book. So, I started writing a short novella called “Parallel Lives”. The book got published but unfortunately the first time publishers weren’t able to live up to their promise and they shut down their website for reasons best known to them.
The following year after I quit my 15 year old State Government job due to personal and health reasons, I was inspired to write a book again. I didn’t have a fixed story in mind, but the story and scenes kept unfolding in my mind one session of writing at a time.
- Can you tell us a bit about the main character, Maya, and what challenges she faces?
Ans :- The main character Maya is loosely based on my mother’s life story and her struggles with a debilitating mental illness called Schizophrenia. The character by name Maya is a beautiful, intelligent, sensitive, empathetic, studious, passionate and resilient woman who has to deal with Schizophrenia due to genetic reasons (family history of Schizophrenia). The illness gets triggered in her when her close male friend in college named Ranveer ditches her and refuses to marry her after coming to know of her mother’s illness (schizophrenia) and the family history of the same. Maya has to deal with severe depression, suicidal thoughts apart from the major symptoms of schizophrenia namely visual cum auditory hallucinations and delusions. In addition to this she has to deal with an undesired and forced marriage, which she’s not prepared for, followed by birth of a child which further accentuates her illness. She has to cope with not only her own illness but an unsupportive spouse who misunderstands and ill treats her.
- How did your personal experiences influence the storyline or characters in the book?
Ans:- The story as such is purely fictional, with a few excerpts from my life and my mother’s life (based on what I heard about my mother’s past from my relatives, I still don’t know her actual story. Probably never will) Needless to say the character of a young boy named Akash in the book is myself. As already mentioned the character Maya is loosely based on my own mother’s life. The story just happened in the flow one day at a time and one scene at a time, with my favorite music playing in the background. One can say it was like a channeling experience for me.
- What message or theme do you hope readers take away from your book?
Ans:- Never ever give up in life. Just when life seems impossible, miracles can and do happen. Science is certainly essential and advanced but spirituality and faith can make transformations happen which modern science can only dream of.
- As a first-time author, what was the most challenging part of the writing process for you?
Ans:- The most challenging part was fixing up a scheduled slot for writing and being disciplined about it.
- Are there any specific authors or books that have influenced your writing style?
Ans :- Nothing in particular. But personally I love the Books Immortal talks Book 1 and 2 by Shunya, which is my favorite genre, Spiritual fiction or philosophy cuml fiction whatever one chooses to call it.
I’m really excited to hear your thoughts on these questions and get to know more about your book. Keep up the fantastic work, and I wish you all the success with “The Story of Maya”!
