Author Interview and Giveaway: Savita Kalhan

I got to interview Savita Kalhan, author of The Long Weekend, which I recently loved and reviewed. Welcome, Savita!

Hi Steph! It’s great to be on your blog today. I’m going to attempt to answer your 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, questions here, but I just wanted to say how hard it is to choose from so many great books, brilliant writers and amazing characters!

5 authors you'd love to meet

1.Rohinton Mistry is the first because I really admire all his writing. A Fine Balance is one of my all time favourite books, but I also really love Such a Long Journey. His writing is so keenly observed, each character is brought to life with such vividness, and each sentence to be relished.

2.Stef Penney – I read The Tenderness of Wolves a couple of years ago and was totally blown away by it. Then I learnt that the author, who is Scottish, suffered from agoraphobia when she was writing the novel and did all her research at libraries and online, and never once went to Canada where the novel is set. That’s an amazing achievement.

3.Marcus Sedgwick – I read Revolver and thought, what a unique take on the theme of guns and violence. I’ve read other teen and YA books by him and really enjoyed them. I think he would be very interesting to meet. I once saw him at a conference, but sadly only from a distance...

4.Jennifer Donnelly –I think she would be such an interesting person to meet if her work is anything to go by. A Gathering Light and Revolution rank up there amongst my favourite YA reads.

5. Mary McGarry Morris – I read Vanished a long time ago and thought it was brilliant. Then I read A Dangerous Woman and thought, Wow! I’ve also read Songs in Ordinary Time, and I think she is an exceptional writer. Her work is absorbing, her characters are acutely observed, and I would love to meet her one day. The Lost Mother, was inspired by the fact that her grandmother walked out on her young children one day and never came back. I’m reading it now...

4 books you'll never forget

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. I’ve already talked about this author above, but this book made a huge impression me. Even though I am Indian, I’ve lived in the UK nearly all my life, and what this book did for me was open to my eyes and gain an understanding of the way of life in different parts of India from the poorest untouchable to the higher echelons of society, and he did this in a book which is so accessible and memorable.

Villette by Charlotte Bronte – I studied this at A Level and it left a lasting impression on me. It’s about a young Englishwoman who goes abroad to teach in a boarding school. It is in many ways a sad story, but what stays with you is the resilience and inner strength of the main character.

The Lord of the Rings – I read The Hobbit the year Tolkien died, 1973, and I’ve read The Lord of the Rings a zillion times! I love epic fantasy and for me this remains the best book in the genre. When I read it none of my friends were really into fantasy, but it didn’t put me off. It made such an impact on me that when I finally started writing myself, an epic fantasy trilogy is what I wrote!

Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon – I loved this book and recommend it to everyone. It’s such a beautifully written story set in post Spanish Civil War Barcelona, about the mystery surrounding a book the main character Daniel finds in The Cemetery of Forgotten Books.

3 fictional characters you'd like to have lunch with

I’d love to have lunch with: Gandalf because it would be amazing fun! Who wouldn’t want the best wizard in the world for lunch? Hannibal Lecter – I think I’d feel safe as long as Gandalf was there to curb his cannibalistic appetites, so we could enjoy his wit and sarcasm, and Anne of Green Gables because she would be doing her best to see the good in Hannibal, she would admire him for his intellect for being well-read, but at the same time she wouldn’t be able to hide her revulsion. Perhaps I should switch Hannibal for The Cat in the Hat – although Gandalf might lose patience with him faster!

2 actors/actresses you'd love to see in a movie of The Long Weekend

Kevin Spacey as the monster. I think he would be devastatingly good, although I understand it’s not a role anyone is going to rush to take. For the parts of Sam and Lloyd, I really don’t know. They’re eleven years old in the book and I don’t think I know enough child actors to be able to say. Perhaps your followers can help me out there...?

1 weird or interesting fact about you

For seven years I lived in a country where most books were banned. It’s quite hard for most people to imagine what that’s like. I suppose, in a way, it inspired me to write. Now, of course, with the advent of ebooks, it would be very different living there, but for the seven years I was there I hid books in the lining of my suitcase to get them through customs!

I try to keep my website, www.savitakalhan.com up to date with all my news and events. So please have a look around, and say HI! on my message board. Let me know what you think of The Long Weekend!

You can also find me tweeting on random things over on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/savitakalhan

Or come and join me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Long-Weekend-Savita-Kalhan/117223691628538

For the international GIVEAWAY competition, I’d like your followers to answer a question that you asked me! In the comments section tell us which three fictional characters you’d like to have lunch with and why. I’m looking forward to reading your responses.

Thanks so much for inviting me here today, Steph. It’s been fun!