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| Jyoti Arora, Author YOU CAME LIKE HOPE THE LEMON GIRL DREAM'S SAKE |
Jyoti Arora brings us
her third romance novel, YOU CAME LIKE HOPE, about Peehu who believes no one
wants her and has assumed a false identity; and Adih, who hates all women. She
writes them as ordinary people who have reached the end of their rope. Although the story is set in
India, the novel offers the universal theme of love and romance.
Her first three novels
are romance with a social theme. Jyoti next wants to write a purely romance
novel without a social theme. Given that she is a patient of Thalassemia Major,
she has a special appreciation for technology and the internet, which have
enabled her to achieve much of her livelihood.
Q: Why/how does your
novel YOU CAME LIKE HOPE fit into the genre of contemporary romance? How is
“contemporary” romance different from “traditional” romance?
Jyoti Arora: YOU CAME LIKE HOPE is a romance because its main focus is on the love story.
Although it is a realistic fiction with realistic characters, it has several
romantic elements and scenes.
Contemporary Romance is a sub-genre of Romance and deals
with people and themes that are current and contemporary. So, I labeled YOU CAME LIKE HOPE as a Contemporary Romance because the characters and situations
are all based in the current times. The main conflict of the story is also
based on a current social issue.
Q: Tell us a summary of your plot. Who are the main
characters? What happens to them? (Do not divulge the entire story, but just
offer some description of the plot.)
Jyoti
Arora:
The
romance in the book revolves around Peehu and Adih. Peehu believes nobody wants
her and has assumed a fake identity. Adih believes he needs nobody and hates
all women as cheaters. Love is their only hope of salvation.
But it cannot succeed until they overcome the blighting shadow of
their past, battle with their fiery emotions, and accept their new realities.
Running parallel to the romance of
Peehu and Adih is the tragic history of Adih’s brother Arunav. It is his story,
told through tiny chapters (50 – 400 words), that raises the issue of fake
cases filed by women.
Q: Did you write YOU CAME LIKE HOPE to entertain your readers or did you intend to deliver some
messages and influence your readers?
Jyoti Arora: I
wrote YOU CAME LIKE HOPE to
deliver a message in an entertaining way. That is why it has a social issue
woven in the fabric of a romance.
Q: Do you believe
that YOU CAME LIKE HOPE has universal appeal? Will readers world-wide
appreciate and relate to it?
Jyoti Arora: Yes,
I believe so. Although the location and characters are Indian, the story is
such that it can happen anywhere. My heroine believes she is an unlucky loser.
My hero hates all women as cheaters. These people can grow up in any country,
and still feel the same. The main conflict of the story is a rising social
issue in India, but it is not restricted to India.
Besides, YOU CAME LIKE HOPE is a romance. Romances have
universal appeal, I feel.
Q: How do your
characters engage the reader? Why will readers care what happens to them? Are
they super-heroes or ordinary people in extraordinary situations?
Jyoti Arora: My
characters are ordinary people hanging at the end of their rope. My heroine,
Peehu, feels trapped in the web she herself has created under the mistaken
belief of giving happiness to her parents. My hero, Adih, is denying himself
all the pleasures of life and youth to take care of his orphan niece. They are
both good people caught in bad situations. I believe they will tug at readers’
heart and readers will want them to be together and happy. The story shows that
Peehu and Adih need each other. Readers will want them to realize this, stop
running away from love and be happy.
Q: Does the concept
of hero vs villain apply to your story? What makes an effective villain?
Jyoti Arora: There
is no villain that thwarts the hero or heroine at every step. However, there is
one woman whose treachery causes a lot of pain to the hero and his family.
As for an effective villain, the ones that I like best are
the ones that can chill your heart with one quiet word. A villain that can sway
everyone with his cunning is very effective.
Q: What inspired you to write YOU CAME LIKE HOPE? Did you base the characters or events on someone or something in
your own life?
Jyoti Arora: I
got the idea of writing YOU CAME LIKE HOPE when I got trolled on Twitter one
day! My second novel LEMON GIRL is a Feminist Fiction. One of my tweets about
it got trolled a lot one day. That’s when I realized that there was an opposite
side of the problem I discussed in LEMON GIRL. I decided to write a book about
it too and YOU CAME LIKE HOPE developed.
Q: You are also intrigued with the world
of technology and have written an award-winning technical blog. Does the world
of technology help you to create your stories? Are romantic fiction and
technology somehow related?
Jyoti Arora: I
don’t know where I’d be today had it not been for the advancement of
technology. The magic of internet has done wonders in my life. Due to my
medical problems (Thalassemia Major), I live a very home-bound life. I wouldn’t
have been able to do much had it not been for the support and opportunities
granted by internet.
I don’t think the technology helps me in imagining my
stories. But it helps me in everything else. As for relation between technology
and romance, well, I don’t think there is much relation. Although, I do use
characters inspired by my experience as a tech. blogger. The hero of LEMON GIRL
is a Technology Blogger. And one of the characters in YOU CAME LIKE HOPE is
developing a smartphone app.
Q: What’s next?
Jyoti Arora: I
have written three novels so far: DREAM’S SAKE, LEMON GIRL, and YOU CAME LIKE HOPE. All three had love stories revolving around a serious social issue. I
want to try my hand at something purely romantic now, for a change.
Q: Tell us something
about yourself. What do you like to do when you’re not writing or blogging?
Jyoti Arora: I am
a hopeless bookworm. I fell in love with books ever since I learnt to read.
When I am not writing, I am reading mostly. I also enjoy listening to old
Bollywood songs, watching English TV shows and Hollywood/Bollywood movies. I
used to be good at drawing and handicrafts too, but don’t get the time to
indulge in this hobby now. I’m addicted to technology and love talking about
it. I’m currently living in Ghaziabad with my parents. And through my writing
and the magic on internet, trying very hard to reach the readers worldwide.
Jyoti Arora is a
novelist and blogger from Ghaziabad, India. YOU CAME LIKE HOPE is her third novel,
coming after DREAM’S SAKE and LEMON GIRL. She is Post Graduate in English
Literature and Applied Psychology.
Jyoti has over five
years of experience working as a freelance writer. This experience includes
abridging over 24 famous English classics like Jane Eyre, Moby Dick etc.
Jyoti Arora is a
patient of Thalassemia Major. But she does not let this stop or discourage her.
For her determination and achievements, Jyoti has received appreciation from Ms
Sheila Dixit, Ms Maneka Gandhi and the Ghaziabad wing of BJP. Her life story
has been covered in various local and national TV shows, radio programs,
newspapers, magazines and websites like YourStory and Inspire India. She was
also one of the ‘100 Women Achievers of India’ that were invited to witness the
Republic Day parade of India (2016) as special guests.
Besides reading and
writing novels, Jyoti also enjoys blogging and has won several blogging
competitions. She loves checking out latest technological innovations, watching
movies, and listening to old Bollywood songs. Reach her at jyotiarora.com.
About YOU CAME LIKE HOPE
YOU CAME LIKE HOPE tells the love story of a girl who
considers herself an unlucky loser and takes up the identity of someone else.
Her love interest is a young man who belongs to a family wrongly accused of
abusing and torturing a woman. He’s scared of love and happiness and has
decided never to trust any woman or think about getting married. Love brings
them together and gives them the strength to overcome their weaknesses and fears.
More than the fate, they have to fight against themselves to win this love and
attain their bliss.
Links
Purchase Sites
Ebooks
Author Sites
Twitter: Jy0tiAr0ra
Paperback: Not yet available, but will come soon on Amazon,
Flipkart and PayTM.
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