Today we are in conversation with Shruti , winner of Mystic Awards 2018 with the title Wolf Crusade .

We have the chat divided into three main segments: Award Impressions, Writer Stories and Personal tid-bits. Ooo, fun right? So let's just get started!

As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?

"Wow, I haven't ever thought of THAT! :P But let's see...maybe a cat, because of its laziness? I know for sure that I am one BIG procrastinator! ;)"

What do you owe the real people upon whom you base your characters?

"Actually, the characters in this story weren't consciously based upon any real people I know. So, if there's any resemblance, it will be as surprising to me as to anyone else!"

What does literary success look like to you?

"A dream come true!"

What did you edit out of this book?

"I edited this book only once, and those were a few errors in the delivery or the grammar. When I first wrote it, I just started with an idea that took a clear and perfect shape as I kept writing, so no scope of adding or deleting scenes later."

How do you select the names of your characters?

"I search up, "Baby boy/girl names" on Google if I don't have any idea of the name. Then I scroll through several websites for almost an hour, checking names starting with a lot of letters (or maybe all :P) before coming to the perfect result!Don't all writers do that? XD"

What was your hardest scene to write?

"Honestly, since I wrote it like two years back, I don't even remember! But the best thing I wrote there, which also I guess would be the hardest, is the poetic epitaph I wrote for the character of Isabella."

How long on average does it take you to write a book?

"It depends on various factors, really. My first novel took me over half a year, this short story took me an evening but my subsequent short stories haven't had the same fortune because most of them are still lying somewhere, incomplete. :PIt's not just that if I have time, I can finish a book early. It's mostly about inspiration; so if I am inspired by an idea suddenly and I begin to write, I will write as frequently as I can to finish up the story, but if I get stuck at some point, then I could very well remain the same state for months without a single bout of inspiration. On an average for a full-fledged book, I would say, half a year."

What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

"If it's a book that has its foundation in some sort of historical event, then research takes time, but even then it's only like a day at a time, and I do it alongside my writing. If I just have to decide the setting for the action, then it hardly takes me an hour to finalize everything."

| One place you have never visited but cannot wait to see?

"Paris ♥"

| Your favorite shower tune?

"I have a collection of them, and they're all from my playlist. The song choice totally depends upon my mood. Not ashamed to admit I'm a bathroom singer!"

| Do you have any special talents besides writing?

"I don't know if they can be called talents (just like my writing :p) but I love to sing, and also photography and cooking at times. Oh, and I love graphic designing as well!"

| Your favorite destination that you have visited?

"Bhopal! It's a beautiful city, and it was more so because I visited it with my best friends on a school trip way back in 7th grade :P"

| If you could go on a vacation right now, would you choose a hill-station or a tropical paradise?

"Right now, a tropical paradise. *Cue a resort on the white sand hugged by natural, sea-green waves* ;) I've been to the hill stations a few times before, but only once to a beach and never to a tropical island :P"

| Your favorite quote from a book and how it connects with your life?

"I don't have a favourite quote as of yet...or maybe I do, somewhere at the back of my mind, but I'm yet to be aware of it myself!"

| One cuisine you will never say no to?

"Indian, of course :)"

| Would you rather have your childhood days back or college life?

"Since my college life is here anyway, and it's nothing like any romance novel, I'd better have my childhood back, with all those lame crushes!"

| Are you a wine or a beer person?

"Neither ^_^"

| If you had to choose between reading or writing, you would rather?

"Read, because I'm lazy like that!"

| Something random that just popped in your head?

"I searched myself on the net yesterday. Before I upload a few good author pics, I warn you not to do the same! XD"

| How was your overall experience as a participant of Mystic Awards?

"Amazing. Brilliant. Not because I won, but even as a participant I loved seeing the progress of the awards and how updated and satisfied we (the participants) felt with the proceedings."

| Are there any changes you would recommend from a participant's perspective? Or is there anything you believe we could have carried better as a team?

"Nothing in particular!"

Thank you Shruti for taking the time to talk with us! Congratulations once again and we wish you lots of success as you continue writing!

Love, Mystics