Author Interview with Simi Sunny

This Week’s Featured Author Interview with

Simi Sunny

Hi, Simi Sunny, welcome to the Indie Publishing Group website. Introduce yourself to us. Tell everyone who you are, where you’re from, what do you enjoy doing, hobbies and interests.

I’m Simi Sunny, a young author from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (what’s up, Philly), and born with Indian heritage. I enjoy reading, mostly fantasy and Young Adult books. Growing up, I’ve always loved watching Indian films and songs and, to this day, I still do.

When did you start writing and why?

I started writing during my freshmen year of school. But then, I took it seriously in my junior year, because it helped through my anxiety and depression. More importantly, I have noticed how I was a good storyteller, thanks to my imaginative mind. And the more I write, the more I feel less stress and anxiety about my life. It’s what keeps me going.

How did you come up with the title for your book?

I came up with the title from a song, “The Sirens” by Cher Lloyd. The song has sparked my interest, to be honest, followed by this dream I had a few years ago. I imagined myself in an apartment, felt miserable after graduating from high school. So I took that idea and came up with a story.

Who helped you with the cover? Or did you design it yourself?

What was your inspiration for your cover design? I had an artist did my cover; his name is Adrijus and he owns Rocking Book Covers. I came across his website since I saw his premade cover designs. Plus, his covers were affordable, which I like. While looking through the premade cover, I found the one that had captured my attention, emailed him about the cover, and told him to make a few changes to look authentic.

What are some of the themes of your story?

There are a couple of themes to the story, and I try to incorporate the social issues. For instance, the book addresses racism because, in today’s world, there are some people who don’t respect people in color or religion. It disgusts me that I wanted to address it through writing. There was also an issue about police brutality. From my point of view, there are good cops and bad cops. Sometimes you can’t trust, but other times you can. You just need to know your rights and remain calm with the officials. But my favorite theme of all was a personal one. Eliza never had the chance to experience what every child does: experimenting life and making mistakes. Her parents would want her daughter to be the best and flawless, just like her older sister, Maddie. And Eliza did everything she could to please her parents that she couldn’t take it anymore. I thought it was personal for me because it’s rare for me to make mistakes in life. My parents wanted me to be perfect. And it’s not just me who couldn’t make mistakes. Even there are desi boys and girls (people who are Indian, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi at birth or descent) and people from the higher class who were not able to explore who they are and never get to make mistakes like any other average kids do. The moral of the theme is that it’s ok to make mistakes in life and that you don’t have to please people because it’s not who you are.

What’s your process when you sit down and decide to start writing a book? What is your process and do you have a system?

Usually, I get ideas from my thoughts, music, or movies/tv shows. I try to incorporate something on my own and write down my ideas on my thought book, where I store all of my short stories and poems. They also help me produce an idea for future stories, so I would always look back and write them down. After I’m done writing down my ideas, I just start typing on the computer.

Have you got anything you’re working on now?

Right now, I’m working on my next novel. It takes place in the Northern part of India (still trying to come up with an exact location). A fifteen-year-old girl meets a young woman who is beautiful on the inside, but deadly on the inside. The genre is going to be fantasy and young adult, so please, watch out for that.

Thanks so much for taking the time to do an author interview, Simi Sunny! Take a minute and check Simi Sunny out on the links below. Simi Sunny’s book, The White Sirens, is available now on Amazon!

Simi Sunny Twitter Account

Simi sunny Goodreads Author Page