Techie Pens Children’s Fiction
By Suneetha

Rashmi Chandrasekhar, who has a Masters in Computer Science, has no qualms about admitting that she still enjoys reading Archies, Enid Blyton and Harry Potter. Perhaps this honesty and child like wonder is what makes her a successful children’s fiction author and strengthens her connection with her audience. Meet Rashmi, who works with EBay at California as a software engineer.

 
Techgoss (TG): Tell us about yourself first
Rashmi Chandrasekhar (RC): I have a Masters degree in Computer Science from the University of Southern California. I am the only child to my loving parents who reside in Bangalore. I have been living in the US for 8 years now. I got married in 2005 and have a 2 year old bubbly daughter.

 
TG: How long have you been in the US? And what's an EBay techie doing in writing? 
RC: I set foot on the land of opportunities in 2003 when I went to study for my Masters degree in Los Angeles. Post graduation, I went on to work at a research lab in UCLA for a couple of years before joining EBay. Writing was always a hobby and even in school, I did very well in English/Essay writing and the like. I remember I had attempted to write my first ever story when I was just 9 years old. But I could only go on to write as much as a couple of pages. It was then that I realized that writing a story wasn't as easy as it seemed. As challenging as it was, publishing my work had been a dream since then.

In 2008, one day as I sat in my balcony after a stressful day at work, I thought of some events from my childhood and my imagination suddenly sprang to life and weaved a story around some of the events I had recollected. I started writing that very night, continued to do it for at least an hour every night for around 3 months and the end result was my first completed novel - Princy's Escapades.

 
TG: What do you usually read?
RC: I admit I am feeling a little embarrassed as I answer this, but the candid answer is - Archies :) That’s one entertainer I never get bored of and still read it whenever I get a chance! Other than that, I have read all 7 books of Harry Potter, a couple of Dan Brown's novels. In my childhood, I have read a lot of Enid Blyton's fantasy fiction books. I also love Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason series and always read them whenever I lay my hand on one of his unread mystery classics.
 

TG: Who is your target group in the audience?
RC: Since the genre of my writing is children's fiction (fantasy/science), the intended target audience is the younger age group. But I can vouch from my own personal experience that even the young at heart will enjoy reading them, provided they have a taste and liking for this genre. Give me an Enid Blyton's novel today and I will stop everything else that I am doing and finish it in one go :)

 
TG: What's your experience reading Potter? How did that influence you?
RC: I loved reading the Harry Potter series. J.K. Rowling is by far one of the best authors the world has seen and kudos to her imagination and writing style - one can’t help but get hooked to her books. I remember my husband and I used to argue and fight because both of us wanted to read the books in one go but we had only one copy of the books. Neither of us wanted to put them away until we had finished the whole novel, that’s how much interesting they were!

I was definitely influenced by Rowling's writing style. As I went ahead writing my chapters for Princy's Escapades, I tried my best to end each chapter with some element of tension / mystery / suspense, the same way Rowling ends her chapters which is the key to keep a reader hooked to the book. I truly hope I have succeeded in doing this, at least to some extent.

 
TG: How similar is your fantasy character to Rowling's?
RC: I don't think any of the characters in Princy's Escapades bear any resemblance to any of the Harry Potter characters. If it is a MUST to name at least one similarity, then I guess it is the fact that both protagonists wear spectacles. Other than this, there is no similarity.

 
TG: How has the feedback been so far?
RC: The feedbacks have been great. They are definitely encouraging and have motivated me to go on and write the next book (and hopefully many more books) of the series. The feedbacks and reviews are available online at Flipkart and Chillibreeze websites.

TG: What happens next with your writing?
RC: Writing is my passion and I will continue to do it! I intend to write a whole series of books on Princy's Escapades. I earnestly hope that people will like the second book (and subsequent books) just as much as they liked the first.
 

TG: Any advice for aspiring writers?
RC: Always listen to your heart and follow your passion! Apprehension/fear of failure will not take one anywhere. Even if no one believes you can do it, if you believe you can, you really will succeed!