A story is a journey; when a thought is shaped into a story, it takes time to process the imagination and vision to turn into a beautiful tale. In this interview series, I ask authors about their stories Behind the Story.

I am very happy to have Deepti Menon, an acclaimed author as today’s esteemed guest. Recently, her story ‘What Tomorrow Holds’ has found a home in The Blogchatter Book of Thrillers, along with other fourteen stories. Read her inspiration and experience with this thriller story.

TBS: Hello Deepti! Welcome to the Author Highlight interview. Before we begin, I want to congratulate you once again for being one of the contributing authors of The Blogchatter Book of Thrillers. 

I loved reading your story, and it will stay with me forever. I want to know what was the inspiration behind you writing this story. 

D: Thank you so much, Swarnali, for inviting me to the Author Highlight Interview. The honour is all mine.

It warms the cockles of my heart to know that you loved my story in the Blogchatter Book of Thrillers.

I have always had a soft corner for the underdog. When we look around, there are so many young people who are exploited by those who are in a position to do so. That, I think, was the inspiration behind my story titled ‘What Tomorrow Holds’.

TBS: When you came across the notification by Blogchatter about the submission of a short story in the suspense/thriller genre, what was the first thing that came to your mind? 

D: I was ‘thrilled’ because I am primarily a thriller writer, often known as the author of The Shadow Trilogy (Readomania). I am in awe of the amazing group of writers who make up the literary world of Blogchatter. I hoped I would be part of this eclectic group, because there are so many marvelous wordsmiths out there.

TBS: How did you bring your thoughts and imagination to paper and shape your story? How long did it take to reach the final draft? 

D: My story had its origin in the story of the little girl who is brought into a joint family mainly because she comes from a poor background. Once her personality came to life, the next step was to create the dynamics of the family around her, their complex relationship and, of course, the love interest that turned the story on its head. After editing and many revisions, the final draft was out there in less than a week.

TBS: Have you read or watched something in the suspense/thriller genre recently? How fond are you of this genre? 

D: The suspense/ thriller genre is my absolute favourite. I love reading, watching and writing anything in this genre. As my husband often jokes, he sleeps with one eye open as he is never sure what I am up to, given my sometimes horrific bent of mind.

My recent binge watches were ‘You’ and ‘Squid Game’ on Netflix. The one that really spooked me was ‘Behind Her Eyes’.

TBS: What was the inspiration behind the characters of your story? 

D: As I have mentioned earlier, my heart beats for the underdog. I have heard gory stories of people from the lower strata of society. There are bullies in many forms out there who set out to traumatize, in particular, women who cannot fight back. In many cases, there are people in power who exercise a strong control over those who serve them. Writing about one such set of characters offered me much scope and served as the inspiration behind my story.

“She turned into a shaded candle, making her presence felt without actually making her presence felt.”

– Deepti Menon, What Tomorrow Holds from The Blogchatter Book of Thrillers

TBS: Have you experienced any eerie feelings while writing the story? 

D: We people born under the star sign, Sagittarius, tend to miss out on eerie feelings, generally!

TBS: What is your favourite story/novel in the Thriller genre? 

D: The books that I recently enjoyed in this genre are Verity, Gone Girl and The Silent Patient. I grew up on the amazing novels of Daphne du Maurier (Rebecca, My Cousin Rachel and Jamaica Inn), the mysteries of Agatha Christie, the Gothic novels of Victoria Holt and later, the books of Mary Higgins Clark.

TBS: My last question is, are you afraid of Ghosts? Do you believe in the presence of the other world? Have you experienced any paranormal activities in your life? 

D: I believe that there is a whole world out there that is beyond our comprehension. I am not afraid of ghosts, but I must confess that I am not too fond of possession and exorcism. As Hamlet put it to Horatio,

“There are more things in heaven or earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

– Hamlet, by William Shakespeare

I remember that I was once at a temple when the ‘arti’ was being performed. Suddenly, a lady right next to me got possessed by the deity and began swaying from side to side in time to the music. I was only around seven at the time, and the whole performance petrified me. It took me decades to get over my fear.

My latest book titled ‘The Dance and the Trance’ deals with the life of a temple oracle in Kerala who goes into a trance and translates the wishes of the Devi to the common people.

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Thank you, Deepti, for accepting my request to share your journey of the story ‘What Tomorrow Holds’ and your experience with the Thriller genre here. Looking forward to read your future literary endeavour. Wishing you the best in your author journey ahead.

Dear readers, if you are intrigued to know more about this wonderful collection of fifteen thriller stories, grab The Blogchatter Book of Thrillers and spend your bookish holiday with these brilliant stories.

If you want to know more about the anthology, you can read my detailed review of the book here.