Subhechcha Ganguly 
Harsha Hazara was born and raised up in Delhi . She is a Banker by profession, currently based in Mumbai and a writer by passion. Let us know more about her journey in this exclusive interview.
Q1) What was your first experience of writing like ?
Ans : I used to write during my school days but never thought of pursuing it as a career. It started again during COVID and first lockdown when I was working from home and got some time to revive my passion for writing.
Q2) How did you decide the plot of the book “ Soaked Up in the Son – Shine ?”
Ans : During my pregnancy, I thought to write about my experience of what It feels like to carry a baby, such as those early scans, listening to his heartbeat for the very first time and how excited we were to welcome our baby into this world and it went on in the postpartum phase as well when I was going through these intense emotions of being a new Mom that it all came out in the form of poetries.
Q3) There are several stages before publishing of the book starting from the Initial draft to editing it , deciding on the coverpage etc. How your journey been ? What are the potential hardships ?
Ans : So it all started as a writing challenge by Bookleaf Publishing wherein the writers had to write 21 poems for 21 days and at the end of it they would publish their individual poetry book. This being an open theme challenge, I decided to write about my motherhood journey. I did everything myself right from choosing a suitable title, editing and designing the cover page and I must say that I enjoyed every bit of it.
The publishing process with Bookleaf Publishing was quite smooth and fast. The publishing consultant was prompt in answering all my queries.
Q4)Nowadays the youth does not devote enough time for reading. What are they missing on ? What is your advice to the youth ?
Ans : Yes that’s true! With the advancement of technology and gadgets the charm of books has been lost somewhere. Even the newspapers are becoming a past thing now with more people reading news online. So, I would tell the youth to inculcate the habit of reading and choose the genre of books which interests them as it should be an enjoyable experience and not considered a task.
Also, it has various benefits such as it helps you grow as a person and you learn new things, it expands your vocabulary, improves communication skills and enhances your creativity and imagination.
Q5) Tell us more about your book and attach the link of purchase . Also we would love to know who has been your biggest inspiration in your author’s journey.
Ans : ‘Soaked Up In The Son-shine’ is all about my love for my child and my Son is my biggest inspiration.
It’s a small collection of 21 poems which are not mere words, but the moments which I have lived with my child and I feel truly grateful to be able to capture those moments in words. It’s a message to all the new moms and dads experiencing the same emotions and who can relate to my poems that we are all in this together.
Also, I would want my Son to read my book someday and to respect mothers and women because it all starts with our home.
Link of my book: https://linktr.ee/HarshaHazara
