About Neelum Sawaikar:
A seeker in the truest sense, Neelum is an optimist, a dreamer, and a thinker. She is an Engineer, MBA, and has a penchant for writing. She’s a mother of two amazing boys, and she actually lists her motherhood as a job on her LinkedIn profile. Her reason for this being that women should never be apologetic about a career break due to motherhood or anything else. She’s quite the silent warrior all of us hope to have on our side.
LiFT: Tell us about your book, the journey of writing it and its content.
Neelum: This book is a memoir. It is a snippet of my life during a particular challenging time. The journey of the book was long, full of ups and downs. I had to deal with a tremendous amount of self healing and face my dormant thoughts, feelings & emotions. In the end the book was born and in a form that does complete justice to the event.
LiFT: Why you chose this title?
Neelum: Once the initial manuscript was complete, the title came to me. It is the first & the only one that I considered. The title does full justice to what I want to convey to my readers.
LiFT: When did you realize that you want to be a writer and what’s your inspiration behind it?
Neelum: I was always good at writing. I think the medium chose me. I took up writing blogs just when India was witnessing a rise in the blogging sphere. Years went by and I was doing content writing for clients. The thought of writing a book came slowly & eventually when I was ready to share my story with the world.
LiFT: Where do you see yourself ten years down the line in the world of literature?
Neelum: I see myself still writing. I don’t know in which format, but I will hopefully be writing.
LiFT: How much do you think marketing or quality of a book is necessary to promote a particular book and increase its readers?
Neelum: We live in a world where even 24 karat gold needs a certification. That means that everything good does require a credible, conscious effort to tell people that such a product/book exists. So, yes marketing plays an important role both economically as well as connecting readers to the author on a human level.
LiFT: What is the message you want to spread among folks with your writings?
Neelum: I wish to tell people to look beyond the obvious. To dig deep, go dive deep and see the world for what it really is. Talk to people, get to know them, the stories that make them who they are. Believe me, we’re all walking deposits of wisdom and life lessons.
LiFT: What do you do apart from writing?
Neelum: I am the founder of an exciting startup which is about connecting people & knowledge sharing. I also continue to help clients through my content consultation & writing.
LiFT: What are the activities you resort to when you face a writer’s block?
Neelum: Hmm… I try not to write in that phase. I go with the flow, do what my heart wants to do. It could be painting, going for a walk, being surrounded by nature, meditating or even just sleeping!
LiFT: What if your story will be adopted as a movie? Whom would you want to work as a director or actors in it?
Neelum: Konkona Sen Sharma and or Nandita Das. Either of them as director and the other as the actor or one can do both. I’d really love that!
LiFT: Are you working on your next book? If yes, please tell us something about it.
Neelum: As of now, no. I just have an idea which I hope to slowly build up on. I do continue to contribute on “The Positive Diary”.
LiFT: What are your suggestions to the budding writers/poets so that they could improve their writing skills?
Neelum: Just keep writing. Your words will tell you & show you the way how they want to get polished. Trust the process.
Click here to order Neelum’s Book – The Strength Within
