By Shobhan Bantwal
When I made the impulsive
decision to start writing fiction at the ripe age of fifty, I knew it would be a serious
challenge. I had never written anything more creative than school essays and the thesis
for my master's degree. Nonetheless I had to start somewhere, so I began
by writing articles and short stories about Indian-American immigrant
experiences.
Much to my amazement, between
2002 and 2005, I successfully wrote over thirty articles for various Indian-American
publications, and three of my short stories won awards/honors in fiction
competitions.
But when it came to full-length
novels, I had grave doubts. Would the mainstream American establishment be
willing to accept stories that hinged on arranged marriage, dowry abuse, virgin
brides and grooms, and male dominance? Would they even consider characters like
compliant wives and mothers who, despite college degrees and flourishing
careers of their own, catered happily to the men in their lives?
In spite of my trepidation I took
a calculated risk by writing romantic fiction, a sub-genre that I branded
"Bollywood-in-a-Book." I introduced serious social issues in
contemporary India to American readers by weaving them into fun, romantic, entertaining
tales.
After two frustrating years
of agent-hunting I finally landed a great agent, Elaine Koster (now deceased),
a publisher-turned-agent
I would love to hear about your
own unique publishing stories.
