A.A. Chaudhuri interview
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
A little introduction:
A.A. Chaudhuri is a
former City lawyer. Born and raised on the south coast, she now lives in Surrey
with her family.
Once a highly-ranked
British junior tennis player, she toured the women’s professional satellite
circuit as a teenager, and achieved a world ranking of 650. After returning to
full-time education, she gained three As in A-Level History, English Literature
and Theology, a BA Honours 2:1 in History at University College London, and a
commendation in both the Graduate Diploma in Law and Legal Practice Course at
the London College of Law.
She trained as a
solicitor at City firm Norton Rose, before going on to practise as a commercial
litigator at two other City firms, Kendall Freeman and Travers Smith. She left
law in 2008 to pursue her passion for writing. She also passed the NCTJ
fast-track newspaper journalism course in 2010, in respect of which she was
awarded The Oxford University Press Public Affairs Award for the most
outstanding public affairs central government paper.
The Scribe and The
Abduction were published by Lume Books (formerly Endeavour Media) in July and
December 2019. Both books have hit the Amazon bestsellers lists in the UK,
Australia and Canada, with bestseller tags in Australia and Canada. They were
also published as audio books by Isis Audio in January and March 2021, read by
David Thorpe.
She has previously
self-published two women’s fiction novels under the name Alexandra Sage: Love
& Limoncello and the sequel Love & Loss. Love & Limoncello has sold
more than ten thousand copies to date, reaching number 53 in the Amazon Kindle
Bestsellers List in October 2014.
She also contributed a
short story, The Encounter, to LUME Books’ crime anthology Given in Evidence
published in May 2020, and has written many articles and short stories for The
Crime Writers’ Association.
In February 2021, Alex
signed a two-book contract for two standalone psychological thrillers with HERA
BOOKS. The first, SHE’S MINE was published in August 2021. The second will be
published in spring 2022.
When did your love of books begin?
Very early on. I
remember my mother reading nursery rhymes to me for hours when I was a toddler.
I had this exquisite illustrated hardback edition of classic nursery rhymes and
I’d delight in reading them with her while looking at the beautiful pictures.
We’d talk about the characters and what the rhymes meant in order to develop my
language and comprehension skills. After that I became engrossed in Enid Blyton
classics like The Magic Faraway Tree (the characters were like my friends and
I’d find myself truly getting lost in the incredible worlds Blyton created),
and would avidly read these, along with other children’s favourites like
Rebecca’s World, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and Charlotte’s Web. We had
dedicated one-to-one reading time with a support teacher at the primary school
I went to. She was the loveliest teacher, one of those teachers you never forget
because she was so special. She had a profound and hugely positive impact on me
and my love of reading and although I was only five or six at the time, I can
still remember her face and name. Also, I think being an only child and
therefore not having a constant playmate, caused me to spend hours with my nose
buried in a book, and this didn’t change as I grew into my teens and moved on
to more varied and challenging texts.
When did you start to have the wish to become an author?
Although I was a tennis
player and a lawyer before I started writing, I guess, deep down, it was always
a dream, always something I knew I was capable of because I’d always had a
penchant and flair for writing stories since I was a child, but it didn’t become
a realistic possibility until 2010 when I was pregnant with my second son and
realised that I didn’t want to continue being a lawyer, which I had been for
seven years.
Luckily, my husband was
able to support us financially for me to pursue my passion for writing and so I
set about writing my first book that same year – a women’s fiction novel with a
bit of romance and mystery thrown in which I ended up self-publishing. It did
extremely well reaching number 53 in the bestseller’s list and selling over 10,000
copies. Crime/thriller had always been my favourite genre, however, and once my
children were in pre-school and I had more time to devote the time and research
needed to write an effective and believable thriller I didn’t hesitate to
switch genres and haven’t looked back since. I love how challenging crime/thriller
writing is – formulating a tight and believable plotline, trying your best to fool
and keep the reader guessing until the end and making sure all the threads of
the story add up. Also, there’s nothing like a good twist or two to shock them!
How have you found the process for becoming an author?
Long, arduous, at times
soul-destroying, but ultimately rewarding! It took me five years to get my
agent, Annette Crossland, and then another three years to get my first crime thriller,
The Scribe, published. This, despite working non-stop on my books for eight
years, editing and refining them until I practically knew them off by heart and
had almost given up hope they’d ever see the light of day. I’ve faced a lot of
rejection over the years, come close to offers from several of the big five publishers
(which can sometimes be more heart-breaking than a straight 'no', encouraging
as they are because it’s that old adage - so near and yet so far!) and shed
numerous tears during that time. I know that my story is no different to
hundreds, if not thousands of authors out there. The overnight successes are
few and far between and you can’t let the turndowns get to you, but rather,
must keep the faith. Being a highly subjective industry, with so many
variables, getting a publishing deal is akin to winning the lottery! Luckily,
James Faktor, publishing director at what was then Endeavour Media, loved The
Scribe, and having made the offer in November 2018, it was published in July
2019, The Abduction following suit in December 2019. It was such a great
feeling knowing my books were finally out there being read! In February of this
year, I signed a two-book deal for two psychological thrillers with Hera Books
who have been an absolute dream to work with, and I suppose having struggled
for so long to get my foot in the door this has made me appreciate this incredible
opportunity all the more, particularly working with such a phenomenal editor
like Keshini Naidoo.
What would you say to those wanting to become an author?
Be prepared for
rejection because it’s inevitable in this industry. But never stop believing in
yourself. If you have talent and work hard, you will get there. You may not
become a Sunday Times bestseller but you will get published, and people will
eventually read your books, which is such a great feeling, as is the first time
you get to hold your published novel. It’s just a matter of hanging in there,
but don’t expect things to happen overnight, this seldom happens, and you can’t
let the criticism or rejection get you down. Focus on honing your craft and
write what comes naturally to you, rather than writing what you think is on
trend. It has to come from your soul, rather than a contrived process readers
will see through. Make sure you read widely too, as you can learn so much from
other writers, and be inspired by them. Finally, make sure you’re someone who
is happy in your own company. Although I’m a sociable person, I can happily
spend five or six hours at my desk alone in the house; the lack of
companionship or hustle and bustle of an office doesn’t bother me, so anyone
looking to be an author full-time should be aware of this. It’s also a good
idea to be active on social media, not just as a means of connecting with fellow
writers and the reading community in general, but because it’s an invaluable
way of getting your name and work out there and gaining support/a following.
Tell us about your book/books:
I write crime and
psychological thrillers. My first two published books, The Scribe and The
Abduction, released in paperback, e-book and audio are part of my Kramer &
Carver thriller series centring on beautiful, go-getting lawyer, Maddy Kramer,
who teams up with the surly but charismatic DCI Jake Carver to solve
investigations set in the legal world. In The Scribe, Maddy becomes embroiled
in the hunt for a serial killer who gruesomely butchers female law students
according to a pattern corresponding with the legal syllabus. In The Abduction Maddy
has moved firms but when four of her colleagues are violently abducted from her
new firm what initially appears as
a random kidnapping for mercenary gain soon evolves into something far more
complex, the horrifying events of thirty years ago motivating the abductors and
having colossal implications for those in the present.
They are both a mixture
of legal, crime and police procedural and hopefully this is what makes them
unique, as well as the fact that Maddy is fiction’s first female London lawyer
amateur sleuth. She’s gutsy and headstrong but, like Carver, she comes with
baggage, and I hope that’s what makes her real and likeable and them a good
pairing despite their considerable age difference. Both are dark, complex,
fast-paced thrillers exploring themes and issues such as the impact of
childhood, the often destructive, almost delusional effect of love, lust and
obsession, sexism, misogyny, and abuse of power, all of which remain prevalent
in the City. That being said, the palpable chemistry and easy rapport between
Kramer and Carver gives the books another dimension, a relationship I very much
enjoyed developing over the course of both books and plan to develop further
with a third in the series which is currently a work in progress. It’s been so
gratifying to hear how readers have warmed to Maddy and Carver and want more in
the series.
More recently, my debut
psychological thriller with Hera Books – She’s Mine – was published in e-book,
paperback and audio in August of this year. It’s an extremely dark, scandalous
and twisty story centring on mother, Christine Donovan who, twenty years ago
took a call she should have ignored while shopping, and in those few seconds
while her back was turned, her toddler, Heidi, was kidnapped, never to be seen
again. Despite having two other
children with husband Greg, Christine remains guilt-stricken that her neglect
caused her child to be stolen, while haunted by a secret that consumes her.
Unlike my previous
books, She’s Mine is written in the first person, and I really enjoyed getting
into the skins and mindsets of each character, bearing in mind their gender and
age differences and own idiosyncrasies. Although it was quite a tough book to
write being a mother of two young children myself, there is a lot more to the book
than a mother’s grief for her missing child, with various twists and turns and connected
sub-plots told through multiple narratives making it quite a complex story.
In all my books I enjoy
exploring the darker side of human nature, specifically the mindsets and
motivations of people and what causes them to act and behave in the way they
do. As fallible human beings we are all capable of being drawn to this dark
side, of going down a dangerous and destructive path, and I think readers often
find books which tap into this psychological analysis more compelling, not to
mention unnerving, than, say, a straightforward serial killer investigation, because
of this relatability. It’s often the case that painful issues/life experiences can change the most law-abiding
and unsuspecting of people in the most profound way and lead them to do
terrible things, a theme that plays across all my books.
I love how supportive
and passionate both writers and readers are about the reading and writing
process in general. It blew me away how the writing and reading community
rallied round each other during lockdown, making the most of opportunities that
wouldn’t have been possible in the non-digital age. I made so many new writer
and blogger friends at the height of the pandemic, friendships I’ve no doubt will
withstand the test of time. I’m particularly grateful to all the amazing
bloggers out there who, like you, selflessly give up so much of their time to
support and review huge numbers of books. It keeps us authors going, and gives
us the exposure we need in a hugely crowded and competitive market. This is
particularly important for authors who aren’t with the big five and therefore
don’t have the money and resources behind them to reach wider audiences.
If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?
Thank you for reading
my books and supporting me, it really means the world and spurs me on
throughout the highs and the lows. Getting great feedback from readers makes
all the hard work worthwhile, knowing that I’ve entertained and allowed them to
lose themselves in another world and a whole host of characters who they might
love or hate but find equally compelling. Recently I’ve had so many readers
contact me directly on my social media pages saying how much they enjoyed She’s
Mine and are looking forward to my next book, and I can’t stress enough how
wonderful it is to receive this kind of positive feedback. Always feel free to
message me/ask questions about my books or the writing process in general as I always
love hearing from you!
Where can people connect with you?
facebook.com/AAChaudhuri
twitter.com/AAChaudhuri
instagram.com/A.A.Chaudhuri
linkedin.com/in/a-a-chaudhuri-55a83524/
aachaudhuri.com/
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