My Writers Group meets once a week and they are a constant source of support and encouragement to me during the peaks and troughs of my Writing journey.  

My fellow WordPress bloggers are very supportive too.  We regularly ‘chat’ via message, as they are scattered around the globe and I am constantly inspired by their dedication to their craft.

One such person is fiction writer Rajani Sharma, from Bhilai in Central India.  Her writing journey started during her teenage years when she kept a journal.  Now married with two children, her passion and energy for writing should be an inspiration to us all.   

Tessa: Hi Rajani, welcome to Lost Blogs.  I am very pleased I met you on the Wordpress Bloggers Promotion for Writers and Authors Facebook page and thank you for agreeing to tell us a little bit more about your writing journey so far.

Rajani: I am honored to be a part of Lost Blogs in whatever small way. Thank you… and, I consider myself lucky to have met you through the WordPress Bloggers Promotion for Writers and Authors page also. It is so good to be in such a supportive group and being a part of it has really helped me grow as a writer having met so many lovely people there, who are helpful and motivating.

Tessa:  After keeping a journal as a teenager, did you go to college to study creative writing?

Rajani:  Yes, I got into the habit of keeping a journal in my school days, but when I entered college I stopped doing it.  I still used to write, but I would tear up what I had written because I didn’t want them to be read, the way my journal was read by a friend of mine.  But, I’ve always loved writing, so I would help friends with literature assignments when I was in high school. I didn’t do any particular creative writing course or study…but, I graduated in English, with honours, although it wasn’t until after that I realized writing was my passion. 

Tessa: So, when did you write your first piece of fiction?

Rajani: I didn’t write my first work of fiction until after I was married. It was actually the demand for new bedtime stories for my kids every night which made me realize I had so many untold stories inside me, so it was only about three years ago I wrote my first work of fiction. 

Tessa:  Your blog @ www.trickylane.com, serializes larger pieces of fiction.  When did you first start this blog and what was it always your intention to serialize stories?

Rajani: I only started trickylane.com in February this year, but I was writing and posting on my old WordPress website, Buzzmehere, from 2016.  Serializing was my strategy, to buy me time really so that I had something to post every week as I couldn’t write when I wanted, I only had a fixed amount of time each week.

I started the Facebook Page Diverse India after trickylane.com and I have two more Facebook pages, for Punctured World, and one for Tricky Lane, as well.

Tessa:  I greatly admire you for joining the Facebook Group, Global Poetry TV, as I would not have the confidence to present two vlogs a week which you currently do on Monday’s and Wednesdays.

Rajani: Global Poetry TV was created by someone with a great vision and I joined that group as a member in May this year. They asked me to host live sessions.  I was a little skeptical about doing it because, although I know I can write, I didn’t know if I could be a good speaker. Writing gives you time to think and chose the best possible words to suit the sentence, but speaking is spontaneous. I was worried I had lost my grip on my English.

 Tessa:  You speak excellent English! You haven’t lost your grip of it at all! 

Rajani:  I don’t know what made them believe that I could do it, but I thought, why not and now I’m enjoying it. I am thankful to Poet Simba who believed in me more than I did myself.

Tessa:  The subject matter at Global Poetry TV is quite diverse and is more than just poetry.

 Rajani:  Yes, we cover a vast amount of topics.  My the last session was on women and society, so you are right, the page is not just for poets, we have writers of every genre and our members are from every corner of the globe. 

Tessa:  Fitting your writing around a growing young family must have its challenges.  When is your preferred time of day to write?

Rajani: I cannot think of writing with my kids around. So I write when they are in school.

Tessa:  What are your long-term writing goals?  To write a book?

Rajani: My writing goal is to keep writing!  I am loving it and will continue doing it until I’m ready to write a book, but I do have a story in my mind, so maybe,  I will start writing it soon.

Tessa:  And I will look forward to reading it, Rajani. It sounds like 2019 has already been a very busy year for you so far.  Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us.  We wish you every success with your future projects and look forward to reading more of your work at trickylane.com.