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| Ruchira Khann, Author BREATHING TWO WORLDS |
Ruchira
Khann brings us
BREATHING TWO WORLDS, a novel about what it’s like to be born in one country but
earning a living in another. A reviewer describes her novel, “What a heartfelt story!”
The experiences of immigration inspired her to write the story. Her character’s
villains are not human—but rather the “thoughts and emotions a person tries to juggle with on a daily basis.”
Khann was a biochemist, then technical writer before turning to fiction. She has written and
published two other novels, CHOICES and VOYAGERS INTO THE UNKNOWN as well as a
children’s book, THE ADVENTURES OF ALEX AND ANGELO: THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING IGUANA. She is currently working on a fourth novel with the themes of ambition
and trauma, and lives in California with her family.
Be sure to check out the excerpt following her interview.
Be sure to check out the excerpt following her interview.
Q: What drove you to select the topic of BREATHING TWO WORLDS? What influenced your writing of it?
Ruchira Khann:
BREATHING TWO WORLDS talks about an individual who is born in one country and
is making a living in another country. I have tried to pen down the various
emotions she breathes in from the two nations that are both dear to her.
Immigration has always been
on the cards for many. Thus, inspiring me to write such a novel.
Q: You are a biochemist who decided to write. What drove you
to leave your career as a biochemist and become a writer?
Ruchira Khann:
I became a technical writer after I quit working in the lab so that I could
continue to work from home. While working on the desktop for hours creativity
took a turn for which there is no going back….
Q: BREATHING TWO WORLDS is described as literary and/or women’s
fiction, not romance. Would you consider it to be cross-genre? Are the themes
intertwined?
Ruchira Khann:
Absolutely! The themes are intertwined, but the focus is more on the fiction as
she is trying to juggle between her foundations and priorities in life.
Q: Reviewers say that BREATHING TWO WORLDS is an “engaging,
thought-provoking read.” Did you intend to deliver a “message” and/or educate
or influence readers with this novel?
Ruchira Khann:
I avoid being preachy in my novels. As far as an author I choose themes that
are close to humanity thereafter I allow my readers to read and judge.
Q: Although your novel is about a woman from India, would you
consider it to be a universal story? And is it as much about being a woman as
it is straddling two cultures? Would you describe your main character as a “modern
woman?”
Ruchira Khann:
Yes! This story is about any individual who is an immigrant.
Q: Why will readers care about your main character? How will
they relate? Did you base your main character on an actual person?
Ruchira Khann:
The main character, Neena is a fictional character and is living a dual life
with regards to her priorities and culture that she has been brought up in.
This story relates to any individual man or woman who is living two cultures.
Q: Does the concept of heroes versus villains apply to
BREATHING TWO WORLDS? If so, what are the attributes of a compelling villain?
Ruchira Khann:
Heroes and villains are in plenty here :)
The only difference is that
they are not 'humans' but mostly the thoughts and emotions a person tries to
juggle with on a daily basis.
Q: How helpful is humor to develop your characters or tell
your story?
Ruchira Khann:
Humor is also important to keep the storyline light if it is getting too
preachy or has too many twists and turns.
Q: What’s next? Will you continue writing novels? Will you
stay in your literary fiction genre?
Ruchira Khann:
I am currently working on another novel that is based on a theme of ambition
and trauma.
Yes, I shall try to stay
focused on my genre although intertwine it with romance, mystery.
Q: Tell us about Ruchira Khanna. What do you like to do when
you’re not writing?
Ruchira Khann:
I am a holistic healer having my practice and also associated with the Stanford
Healing Partners.
Continue to take freelancing
technical writing projects.
About Ruchira
Khanna
Ruchira
Khanna, a biochemist turned writer, left her homeland of India to study in
America, where she obtained her Master’s degree in Biochemistry from SJSU and a
degree in Technical Writing from UC Berkeley.
After
finishing her studies, Ruchira worked as a biochemist at a Silicon Valley
startup for five years. After the birth of her son, Ruchira took a job as a
technical writer, so that she could work from home. Soon, she began doing
freelance writing work as well.
Her
love of writing grew and she started working on her own books. After four years
of freelancing, Ruchira published her first book, a fiction novel for adults
called CHOICES.
Then
came the children’s book THE ADVENTURES OF ALEX AND ANGELO: THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING IGUANA. She got a thumb’s up review from Kirkus Reviews.
In
January 2016, she published her second fictional novel VOYAGERS INTO THE UNKNOWN. It talks about the quest for happiness as the heavy hearted tourists
who travel miles from different parts of the world to Raj Touristry in Agra,
India, return to their respective home with a healed heart. This book talks
about their journey!
In BREATHING TWO WORLDS, Ruchira talks about ethnicity and cultures, and helps to strike a
balance via a fiction-drama novel as her characters breathe two worlds.
In
addition to writing books, she is a holistic healer associated with Stanford
Healing Partners and also maintains a blog of daily mantras on Blogspot, called
Abracabadra. Ruchira currently resides in California with
her family.
About BREATHING TWO WORLDS
Amidst
the adjusting she bonds with an ally and learns about ties beyond blood. On
what grounds will she be able to form an invisible thread that she has longed
for since childhood?
BREATHING TWO WORLDS ventures into cultures and ethnicity allowing Neena to ponder upon
her foundation and priorities.
"Oh!" the Mom
answered, but could not contain her curiosity with one hand holding the hyper
toddler and the other on her hip she could not resist, "You two don't look
like brother-sister, hmmm. So, what is your relationship?" she inquired
with a slight smile in a soft voice but without any inhibition. A handful of
seniors sitting in the same room observed all the drama and nodded to each
other while their fingers were moving on the Tulsi neck beads.
Neena rolled her eyes and
thought to herself, "Jeez! We Indians are always darn inquisitive."
Nikhil immediately got up
and started walking towards the dining area. This was happening to them for the
umpteenth time, and he was now tired of clarifying things. He had lived in this
country for half a decade now and still he could never understand the
fascination Indians had for marriage and children.
Neena was confused at
first because it was unlike Nikhil to be so rude. On the contrary, sometimes
Neena referred to him on lessons in patience but today it was different. But
then she didn’t have a choice; she felt it was rude to walk away from the young
mother leaving the conversation unanswered. Moreover given Indian mentality in
all possibility, she might even follow them till she had a convincing answer to
her question.
Links
Thank you Joyce for having me over at your blog.
ReplyDeleteCheers!