Pratiksha Karn, hailing from Hazaribag district in Jharkhand, is a young Indian author who is gradually carving out a niche for herself among the readers.

She has provided her services independently since a tender age and over the years she has appeared in over five anthologies.

Her debut book- The Locked Episode- was published in November 2018 and it gained public attention in bulk.

The book was declared a "bestseller" by Amazon only after six months of publication.

She mainly writes on social condition, poverty, patriotism, fate, relationships, criticism, love, and sarcasm and her style of writing is a strong illustration of the factual world rather than the fantasy world.

In conversation with The Story Mug, Pratiksha Karn spoke in length about her life and work so far.

TSM: Tell us since when are you actively involved with the world of literature

Pratiksha: I started writing since I was in secondary school. Writing took a huge turn in my life however it was all of a sudden.

TSM: Since when did you decide to take up writing as a profession?

Pratiksha: While I was graduating

TSM: What has been the support and inspiration of your family on this journey?

Pratiksha: The support of my family was quite good to a completely new profession in the background.

TSM: Which author/authors have been your biggest inspiration.

Pratiksha: To pick point one will be tough. There are many. I prefer old English classic literature to modern ones. Both British and Indian classical literature. TS Eliot, John Milton, William Shakespeare, Rabindranath Tagore, RK Narayana, Aurobindo Ghosh are my prominent inspirational author.

TSM: Tell us about your book The Locked Episode.

Pratiksha: It is a collection of poems on different fields such as fate, life, patriotism, satires etc.

TSM: How did you conceive the idea of writing the book?

Pratiksha: When my very first write-up was selected by a local magazine. The appreciation I received infused the idea to write a book.

TSM: How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?

Pratiksha: Many new things came on the way. I learnt a lot from my mistakes. It was gradually learning procedure for a rich literary idea.

TSM: What does literary success look like to you?

Pratiksha: It is all that a reader relates his/ her life to write up and reviews it according

TSM: What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?

Pratiksha: To make plots on the desired characters is a bit challenging. Yes, I go through the psychology part to define the exact expression of the opposite sex in a story.

TSM: What are the homework(s) one needs to do if he/she thinks of writing a book?

Pratiksha: First of all to make a plot and try to write it as soon as possible because until and unless one writes, one will not be able to know the difficulties and mistakes.

TSM: Have you ever gotten the reader’s block?

Pratiksha: No, not yet.

TSM: What are your plans for the future? Any new book in the pipeline?

Pratiksha: Yes, a new book is in the pipeline. It will be a full-length novel. For the future, I want to experience all literary genre.

TSM: If you didn’t write, what would you do for work?

Pratiksha: I would have been a researcher of literature.

TSM: Any message for the upcoming authors.

Pratiksha: A writer should never stop writing- irrespective of it is good or bad, classic or casual. One should keep writing.

We wish the young Pratiksha Karn all the success in her life.

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