From considering famous world renowned authors like Jeffrey Archer, Dan Brown and Neil Gaiman to be a tough competition for her, to penning down the visions of her wacky dreams, this writer seems to be an eccentric and fun one.
Driven by her wild imagination from different dimensions, author Neharika Gupta wrote her first book Adulting. Speaking about what inspired her to write the book she says, “My life, friends and the non-existence of our struggles in pop-fiction. I wrote a book I wish I had.”
This book is based on the lives of a bunch of millennials who do not wish to grow up and when adulting hits them! It hits hard! Adulting is perfect for soul-searching millennials with the right bits of banter, drama, romance and heartbreaks.
According to Neharika the most difficult part about writing a book is the ‘ending,’ she says, “My characters don’t listen to me always and so we have to sit and work things out for their future, which they may or may not like.”
The book revolves around the lives of three main characters Tejas an aspiring author who thrives to achieve and explores newer genres, Ruhi a zealous editor and an avid reader who feels unappreciated by her boss who’s also her mother and Aisha, a coquettish and flamboyant social media manager and a famous blogger. A love triangle eventually cooks up to let destiny fend their way. Bringing to light about what goes on in a publishing house, this book addresses various issues including a writer’s block, lack of time, struggle to grow and a lot more.
When asked which character in her book that she relates and resembles the most Neharika says, “All of them on different days. Aisha has really good quips, and on some days I relate more to Ruhi. But also Tejas. It’s a ménage a trois of personalities in my head, maybe more.”
The battles of Ruhi and Aisha appear to be inspired by the fast-paced lifestyle we live in today. While Ruhi is enjoying her job she also gets completely engrossed in it so much that she barely has time for herself. And, Aisha is busy trying to please her fans and lets her health take a back seat.
Though the narration of the book is crisp and tight, there are several details that the author missed out like, Farah’s struggle and her cold behavior towards her daughter Ruhi and more. The author’s attempt to keep the reader hooked throughout is commendable. Neharika’s witty and lucid writing style makes the book a fun and catchy read. They say ‘don’t judge a book by it’s cover’ but this one contradicts the notion and is exactly what the cover depicts.
Speaking about few of the common problems millennials face today Neharika says, “With all due respect to pressing current affairs and everything in the media, I’d like to point out a few things like addiction to social media, identity crises, negative body image, a low emotional quotient and lacking creative ways to deal with free time.”
Here’s what she had to say about how does a millennial realize that their ‘adulting’ is on point she says, “A young person will know their process of adulting is on point when they’ve found their way after being lost. But the more important thing is, knowing that it’s not game over while they’re in their despair-pit of deep millennial angst.”
After the success of her book Neharika believes she is in the process of figuring out the next phase of her life but assures that there are exciting things lined up.
The author’s advice to ambitious and upcoming writers is, “Always always stay in touch with what you love. Whether fantasy fiction, historical tv shows, animated films, good music, whatever lights a spark in you, keep it alive. Engage with something every day. And then switch it round when you get sick of it. But don’t stop.”
