Where did you spend most of your childhood?
I was born in a small village south of Montreal. My parents had a chalet in Val David, which is an artist town enclave located in the oldest mountain chain in the world, the Laurentides. I spent most of my youth at our chalet, snowboarding and playing in the powdery snow.
When you were a kid, how did you imagine your life turning out and how accurate were you?
As a kid, I envisioned myself representing Canada as an ambassador. No dreams were too small for my little mind. I simultaneously wanted to be a famous singer. I did accomplish some those dreams, but in my own unique way. Coming from a small town, I had never experienced other cultures. Somehow or another at eighteen I ended up doing a solo pilgrimage to India and Nepal, which lead me to dive deeper into my Native American origins and expanded my vision about ancient traditions. Upon my return, I quickly connected with different Native American elders and after a while I was requested to represent Canadian’s Native tribes rights in Washington DC for the OAS meetings. As for the singing part, upon my return from India I meet one of my business partners, internationally renowned artist, Patrick Bernard, who quickly brought me on stage and had me perform at a sold out concerts in Quebec City, where I started my stage life under my artist name, Anuradha. For the past 24 years, I’ve been directing our music label (Devi Communications LLC) and performing and singing live during our world peace tours. www.anuradha.world
When did you start writing seriously?
I always enjoyed writing poems and studying ancient languages, but I had never seen myself as an author. To properly answer this question, I have to tell the story of what I was doing when I was struck with the idea for The Gold Lotus Trilogy. For the last fifteen years I’ve been weaving my busy travel and business schedule a year ahead of time. At the end of 2019, I sat down to book all my travels and events, but something strange happened, it was as if I was staring at a blank page and couldn’t see any potential travel plans for 2020. With time, I’ve learned to trust my intuition so I called all the usual places I would bring group retreats or book concert tours and told them that I was going to skip a year. It didn’t take long for my empty schedule to fill up. It was as if I got possessed with this epic story and I had no other choice but to write it. And that is how and when I started my writing career, with a 432pp fantasy book at the beginning of 2020. The best part is that I fully entertained myself during the global shut down; I was transported into this mythical real and relished every moment of the experience.
What was the book that got you hooked on paranormal romance?
To The Sky Kingdom by Tang Qi
Who inspired the character of Muniji, the minstrel saint?
Narada Muni a saint from the Vedic literature that can see past, present and future. The Srimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavat Puranas are some of my favorite volumes from the Vedic gigantic collection. Narada Muni is the instigator, without him most of those stories wouldn’t exist.
How is The Gold Lotus a dance in written form?
The different romantic relationships in my book felt like a dance of passion and prudery. Lada and Kanu’s eternal love evolved from a duet of words into a grand ballet of verses.
What story does your book "The Gold Lotus" tell?
This book is complex, I’m not joking. It contains multiple layers weaving themselves into a type of fourteen realms Game of Thrones with thrilling ventures into the workings of heaven. Yet, the central theme of the book is pure, unadulterated love.
Quick intro to set the stage would be :
The uprising of Yaksha, a monstrous demon, threatens the peace of the Imperial Heavenly Realm. The Emperor, guided by the wise sage Muniji, performs a sacred ritual to thwart his attack. The mighty God of War, after a vicious battle against Yaksha, ends up severely wounded. The Goddess of Compassion, serving her mortal trial in an unknown location, nurses him. She raises their son named Kanu, the manifestation of the supreme Creator himself. Kanu’s eternal companion, Lada, also manifests as a golden lotus. After taking his place in the Imperial Realm, Kanu, along with his friends, starts a complex stratagem of love, politics, revenge, cunning ploys, and betrayals.
Have you planned all the three stories in The Gold Lotus Trilogy in advance? No, I really thought the book would end once I completed the 1 st volume, but this epic tale has a life of its own.
I seem to be a typing instrument … I am most of time blown away by the directions the story takes me. Sometimes I try to direct the script and then like a wild animal it brings me deeper in the jungle of its own literary adventure.
When creating a character do you tend to focus more on their physical attributes or characteristic traits (like their personality, intelligence, background, etc)? Definitely traits.
I would say both; I could clearly see the characters and their personality traits. After writing down everything about their personalities and physical attributes, I asked a friend to draw them so I could see them on paper while I was completing my book. I have to admit; it was such a joy to see my characters sketched and not only through the reflections of my imagination.
What would you say characterizes your writing?
My deep fascination with ancient Asian cultures definitely added spice to my unique style of writing. I know I’ve gotten a lot of praise about my character development, but truth be told, its only because I could see everything I was typing down. This book was like watching a TV series on Netflix and I just sat and typed as fast as I could. I did have to get a few chiropractic adjustments during the writing period, smile.
What are your thoughts on author collaborations? Who are some authors you'd like to collab with?
I would love to collaborate with any authors who are into Asian Mythology.
What makes your writing unique?
My first language is French (the language of the birds). Known for its romantic attributes, it helped me express and frame my book in an unprecedented approach. Without noticing it, my tale wrote itself poetically, even my development editor praised my work as being Shakespearian.
Even though I’ve been living in the US for over 20 years, I opted to write my book using British English.
What are you currently working on?
The second volume in the series… title cannot be disclosed yet… can only say it’s out of this World!
How has been your experience working with AllAuthor?
I have been recommending AllAuthor to many writer friends. I was impressed by the personal touch and everything their platform has to offer. You can really see the genuine interest in supporting authors. I’ve been working in the publishing industry for years as sales director for Mandala Publishing, ORO Editions and consulting different publishing firms, so I know how authors struggle to get their work known and now I’m part of that crew.
