A body found in the river has been identified as Claire Rewns, a happily married woman in town. Is her drowning, just an accident? Detective Bracken finds out…Thus unfolds the storyline of the crime thriller — Claire written by Poornima Bhaskaran. The 25-year-old Chennaiite had an interesting back story behind writing this novel.
“I began writing from the age of four. But my love towards books was kindled by my grandmother who used to read me interesting moral tales when I was even younger. Later I used to drag my parents every week to the bookstores in the city and empty their pockets. I’ve written really silly blogs, poems and rom-com stories during my school days; which I hope no one ever reads!” shares the author. Her blog ‘Loud Thoughts Voiced Out’ is popular in India and abroad.
Poornima had a bucket list with a priority goal approaching last month. “I promised myself that before my 25th birthday, I’d publish a book,” she adds, which she has achieved. But the journey was not a usual one as the book took six years to come to shape. “I started writing in 2012 but I wasn’t sure how to proceed. I either got bored after two chapters or was stopped by a distraction. In the middle, I had also started to work. Only when I quit my job and told myself that I can do it if I dedicate myself entirely to it, was I able to complete,” Poornima adds.
The youngster has an interesting way of reading and writing. “I usually read all thrillers from the last chapter. I can’t be kept in suspense at all! It is ironical because I want to keep my readers in suspense till the very end. My writing style has also evolved on the same lines, as I first write the last chapter and then build on the story thereafter.”
Talking about the protagonist Claire from the book, Poornima says, “You know in regular life we meet many people whom we think have a perfect life and are really happy? But on the inside they might have deep problems and situations we might not even guess! Claire is such a character — people think that she has a perfect life but there’s some deep trouble!”
When asked about how she’s taking on the feedback for her first book, the writer answers, “Of course some people told me minor mistakes which I’ll correct in the next book. The best message I got was when one of my friends who is also a crime thriller fan told me that she couldn’t guess the climax and it wasn’t clichéd at all. That is the best compliment for my story!”
Not revealing much about her next book, Poornima sings off by saying, “It won’t long as I’ve already started my work. It is about regular people and every reader would find herself /himself relatable to at least one character in the story!”
