Books/Authors that Chill

Yajna Ramnath

Today we welcome Yajna Ramnath hailing all the way from South Africa!


 


Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Is it just me or when you are asked to describe yourself you seem to stutter and stammer or look blankly at the screen? Oh well, here goes. I’m an Aquarius and I have an obsession with books. I have to read or write every day, at least a chapter or ten. I’m from Durban, South Africa and my ultimate dream is to one day hold a copy of my book in my hand. I love reading all sorts of books and enjoy connecting with fellow writers. I talk to myself a lot and have no fashion sense-whatsoever. I write various genres from New Adult, Paranormal Romance, Erotic Contemporary Romance and even Family Drama.  I love social media and you can find me on these platforms;

I love interacting with people so feel free to come and say hi. 

How do you as a writer get over the fears we all face in publishing something we’ve spent so much time working on?

I have learnt in this world of publishing that you have to take risks. If writing is your dream, if getting your project out there is your one sole desire then you will have to take that risk. Being from South Africa and publishing on an international platform like Amazon was scary because I had no idea what to expect. I had no help with my first two books, I had no idea what to do and how to go about getting my books out there. But the great thing about it all was that I was able to meet fellow indie authors who helped me out and advised me on the best strategies to take. It was especially the best way to go being someone who didn’t have the financial backing traditional publishing would’ve needed. 

  What are you most passionate about?

Definitely writing. I love creating stories for people to get lost in. it has been an escape from reality for me and I want to be able to provide that for others. The ability to create characters, places and creatures that may or may not exist, is something I live for I guess. 

When did you start writing?

I started when I was 18 years-old (2010). I was really upset and asked myself one question. “If you could recreate your life, how would you do it?” From there the writing sort of flowed and developed over the past four years, until they were worthy enough to put out there.

  What books did you love to read growing up and have they influenced your writing?

I was a major R.L Stine fan when I was younger. I would go to our local library every week to get his books and even went as far as to ask my mom to put me on the library waiting list whenever they received a new book by him. His writing influenced me a lot. I enjoyed the surprises that popped up and especially loved how he could leave you with a lesson even after scary the bejeezers off of you.


Tell us a little bit about your book.

Rage is a paranormal romance surrounding the lives of twins, Atalia and Akiv Vladimir. They are both vampires coming into their powers only to find that they are getting much more than they bargained for. This follows their journey wherein they deal with some disturbing truths about their birth and parents while also touching their individual lives and their significant others. It is essentially based on relationship dynamics and they way that any bond, no matter how strong, could break under the right amount of pressure. 

  Is this book part of a series or is it a stand-alone novel?

Yes. RAGE is part of a series called; Tales of Dramir. This series will follow the twins and soon touch on other characters that you will meet in RAGE.

Which book of yours are you most proud of? Why? (Add a link to it for us.)

It’s hard to choose one but I would have to say Beneath Her Beautiful.

I choose this because I did not see this story coming and it turned out great. It followed the life of an imperfect girl trying to find her idea of perfect. A girl who dealt with so much disappointment and heartache that it turned her into someone afraid, confused and distrustful.

Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DOKDVRC

What is your definition of being a ‘successful’ writer?

My definition is not the amount of books you sell but the amount of lives you can touch. I feel you are only successful when you can make a difference and have people praise your work because it meant something to them. I always feel accomplished when I receive a message from someone telling me that the book did something good for them or changed their perspective for the better.

   What is your honest opinion on indie/self publishing?

It’s both good and terrifying. Good because you can write at your own pace, you can decide what blurbs, covers, dates to publish, giveaways and basically anything that concerns your book, you have the freedom to make those decisions. It’s terrifying because when it comes to marketing your book, you’re all on your own. However with the growing amount of indie/self publishing authors, there are many options. So at the end of the day it’s cost effective and when you finally decide to publish you know you’re putting your best work forward.

1Do you work to a set word-count?

No. I let the story unfold. I let my characters decide when they are done with their storytelling. Personally, I do not like working towards a goal because my mind is entirely focused on the target and not really on what my characters want. 

1    Have you ever followed through on the old writer’s threat of putting someone you didn’t like in your book and killing them in unspeakable ways?

Hah! Many times. Especially in RAGE. It all comes back to that control you have over manipulating characters and making your own happy-endings. 

1   What point of view do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? 

I always write in the first person point of view because it is easier to get inside the characters head. As a reader I always favor books written in the first point of view because I can easily connect to that character. For those few hours you can actually believe that you are that character and you are experiencing everything he/she does.

1     What advice would you give aspiring writers?

For a long time I tried to create a story that people would like and I sort of lost my writing mojo. I was too focused on what people where looking for until one day a fellow author told me that “you have to write for yourself because a few years from now you’re going to look back at that story and you’ll have to live with what you wrote there.”

Ever since then I have stayed true to myself and wrote for me. So my advice is simple.

Write for yourself, write for what your characters try to convey to you, and then you will create a masterpiece that you can be proud of, regardless whether it is a bestseller or not.

1 Is there a phrase or quote about writing that you particularly like?

Yes a particular favorite of mine is;

“You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” Ray Bradbury (1920-2012)

 

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