GREETINGS, BOOKWORMS! I’m Aisha Kandisha, Head Librarian at Kandisha Press. Join me in the dusty stacks of the library I will never leave again as I chat with some of my favorite Women in Horror. Today we feature author Ushasi Sen Basu!
Ushasi Sen Basu holds a master’s degree in English Literature from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. She has been a professional writer and editor for a decade and a half, and is the erstwhile editor-in-chief of SiyaWoman.com. Ushasi’s debut novel Kathputli, a contemporary literary fiction novel, was published in 2017. Her second novel, A Killer Among Us, was published by Readomania in 2020.
Ushasi is the author of the Mo Mysteries series, with four novellas, ‘When Push Comes to Shove’, ‘The Cursed Stone’, ‘The Flatmate’, and ‘The Disappearance of Mita Dey’ published by Readomania on Kindle. She has also published a collection of short stories called ‘Down a Dark Alley’.
Ushasi lives in Kolkata with her tween daughter, Mia.
To know more about her, visit her website ushasisenbasu.com or her author page on Facebook (@ushasikathputli).
What made you want to become an author? Did you have an “Aha!” moment when you knew you were born to write? Or perhaps a beloved book inspired you?
I grew up in a house filled with books, and not many other avenues for recreation. I was a lonely child and books very quickly became my friends. My mother told me wonderful bedtime stories that planted the seeds of the idea, I think, that even I could make up tales in my head; and when I could, I began to write them down. There was no ‘aha’ moment, the whole realization that “writing makes me feel the closest thing to me” crept up on me imperceptibly. Too many books inspired me, I can’t single out any one.
What do you believe are your strengths in writing? And when you feel you need to improve on a particular writing skill, how do you go about it?
I write about identifiable people. They are always flawed, but I think my ability lies in making the reader understand, albeit with reluctance, why my characters fail to be model citizens. They are often rogues, or petty, or frankly unhinged; they are passive, aggressive, or care too little/too much, but I write them with humour and empathy and hopefully that makes my readers forgive them their sins.
When I start hating how I write, or feel horribly bogged down by writer’s block (ongoing as I type this, in fact), I revisit the books I have admired all my life. I dwell lovingly on the mastery of the words, and hope that some of that skill will transfer itself to me as I read. Right now, I have gone back to Lord of the Rings for a fourth or fifth read.
What are your thoughts on the book industry today, or more importantly, about the book community? Do you feel it is getting harder or easier to make it as an independent author these days?
It is definitely easier to become an independent author, what with self-publishing houses, kindle publishing, etc.; and the many avenues for promotion on social media nowadays. That said, because some authors have set the bar so high with social media promotion, it is a sad day for us shyer, more retiring members of the community, who find it hard to churn out social-media-savvy content on a regular basis to engage ever-shortening attention spans. I yearn to be allowed to simply read and write as an author, with no need to turn cartwheels on Instagram. It is of course unrealistic to want such a thing, because life isn’t that easy.
Tell us about your work. What story are you most proud of?
I have written two novels, Kathputli and A Killer Among Us. I have a short story collection called Down a Dark Alley, and have written four novellas as part of the ‘Mo Mystery’ series. All of these books (barring Kathputli) have been published thanks to Readomania publishers. I also have had short stories published as part of anthologies, including one by Kandisha Press.
I am proudest of my first novel, Kathputli. I had become a mother a year before I started to write it, and was still adjusting to all the upheavals this wonderful yet frightening change brought. That fever pitch of emotion came crashing out onto paper, giving it a depth and intensity I am still proud of.
What are your upcoming works and plans for the future?
I am halfway through another novel. However, I do let life come in the way too often, and have been criminally neglectful of my manuscript. That said, my cartwheels are getting better, so maybe a good thing? 😉
(P.S – I am woefully unfit, so the cartwheels are only figurative.)
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