It was never my plan to write a book. It was more of a feeling like, “Yeah, a book would be nice.” But I never sat down to polish an idea or write short stories.
In 2015, however, I discovered that I was missing a technical book for engineering. Without further ado, I decided to take the subject into my own hands and wrote down 500 pages within a few weeks. However, I realized that I was working without a common thread. In some places I was too detailed and in others too superficial. I had overstretched myself with the project and maneuvered it into a dead end.
Keep going
But I didn’t want to give up, because it was clear to me that this book had to be written. So I enrolled in a writing group and learned how to write books. I wrote my first novel, “The Colour of the Sari.”
Through the writing group, we founded the Writers and Collectors. We decided to publish an athology together. So I wrote a story for it. Because I was already living in New Zealand at that time, it was obvious to translate my two stories and publish them as well.
Inspiration
The writing group and my trip around the world inspired me and lit a fire in me. Ideas for books just pop into my head and I can’t keep up with writing them. I collect my ideas in notebooks. The ideas with potential for a book go into a list. And based on this list I decide which book to write next. It can happen that I have several projects going on at the same time. One manuscript is finished, but I’m waiting for the illustrations. One book is at the editor. And on another project, I’m writing the first draft. I am always guided by my feelings. I work on the project I feel most like.
My engineering book is also still on the list. And there will be a time when it will be back as my top priority. For now, I’m just thankful that it was the incentive for me to discover writing.