All my characters are imperfect and crazy: Sudeshna Chakravarty on debut romcom novel Oddly Perfect

Romantic comedy though a popular genre can be difficult to pull off. What were the things that you kept in mind while writing it?

I agree it is not easy to write a romantic comedy. The first thing I kept in mind was how I weave in humor. I was careful that it did not seem like I was trying too hard to make people laugh. Whatever humor was put in needed to look natural. Secondly, sometimes when you are writing a mushy romance story, it tends to get too cheesy. So, the author needs to maintain a fine line balance so that he or she keeps the mush and crushes the cheese. My endeavor was to do the same. Thirdly, I have played with words to add to the fun and humor element. Lastly and most importantly, in a romance the hero needs to maintain the aura and the arrogance and yet he has to contribute to the comedy element. This is the most difficult part. You have to make him desirable and hot and yet make him funny. That was the most difficult part.

How long did it take you to complete the book?

Six to eight months.

Tell us about the process of building up the characters.

I didn’t do anything consciously. I just had one thing in mind while writing, to make the characters as realistic as possible. The beauty of the characters is how they evolve. I had first serialized the book on an online site. Initially the readers hated the male lead but as the story progressed they liked the male lead so much that one of them wrote, “I want a Zen in my life.”

All the characters in this book are imperfect and crazy. The female lead is socially inept, the male lead is a complete brat. The beauty of the book lies in the imperfection of each character.  They all have their negative and positive points and they shine through their imperfections.  I feel no one is perfect and yet they form an essential part of the jigsaw puzzle called life making it Oddly Perfect.

Who are your literary influences?

My elder sister used to be very strict. She still is. She had forbidden me from reading Mills and Boons and Silhouette Romances during my teenage years. These were very popular among my friends. But I dared not touch them. I read Alastair MacLean and Desmond Bagley instead. One day my sis had left one of these  popular romance books by her bedside and had dozed off to sleep. I still remember the name of the book - “ The Ghostly Bridegroom,” I just sneaked the book from her bed side and had sat in the washroom for the whole night and had read it. That was the only book of the harlequin genre that I could lay my hands on. So, I really had no idea what a popular romance read like. But I read the classics. I am a huge fan of Jane Austen, I have read all her books...even her half finished book, Lady Susan. She is my biggest inspiration along with Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind. The female lead of my book is shown having a crush on Rhett Butler. To me The Great Gatsby is an amazing, heartbreakingly beautiful romance story. These could be called my influences

What’s next?

Next will be part two of Oddly Perfect…Oddly Perfect – Stages of Courtship. Also I plan to finish my book which I was originally writing - Noise in the Island, a literary fiction.
 
Amazon link- Oddly Perfect https://amzn.in/d/00AoGQ2l