Ananya Madhu – Co-Author, Wafting Earthy

By WriteFluence on May 17, 2021

Ananya Madhu was born in Kerala, India and brought up in Bangalore. She did her schooling in Kendriya Vidyalaya in Bangalore. She started reading books at the age of twelve. The very first book that got her into reading was Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Since then, she has gobbled up more books than she can remember. At the age of fifteen she found herself writing stories and poems as a hobby. Now you can find her writing whenever she has free time. She hopes to own a big library filled with her favorite books in the future. Currently she is doing her engineering in Bangalore. You can always find her nose in a book.

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I have been writing since…

2016

My favorite author(s) and book(s)?

My favourite authors are Cassandra Clare, Jane Austen, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Rick Riordan and V.E Schwab. My favourite books are The Shadowhunter Chronicles, complete works of Jane Austen, Grishaverse Series and Heroes of Olympus series.

My journey as a writer:

I have written since I was 16 years old. I started writing in school for magazines and school projects. Later on I started writing poems for fun and soon it became something I loved to do. Everyday you can find me writing poems on papers and stories in my head.

Why should we read you?

My work usually consists of a bit of fantasy in them. I have found the ability to make a whole new world with words mesmerizing. So if you want to escape your mundane everyday life just for a while, my stories are there to help you.

My favorite genre to read / write

My favourite genre to read and write is fantasy.

What advice would you give young and aspiring writers?

Every writer has their own way of writing so never be embarrassed of your work or put your self down. Write what you like. Never limit yourself to one particular style while you are just beginning. Experiment as much as you can, show your work to people you trust, get their opinions, be open to constructive criticism and you’ll find your style soon. Always keep reading different genres. Never stop believing in yourself. You’ll need it in the long run.

Here’s an excerpt from Ananya’s winning story Riya and her ghosts that’s now published in Wafting Earthy:

The thumping had started right when Riya decided to paint. She hated it when Mr. Nath was in his I-hate-the-world mood. He got riled up about anything as trivial as a bird flapping its wings ‘loudly’ outside his window. She set the paintbrush down and got up from her seat at the dinner table and made her way up the stairs to see what had gotten Mr. Nath in this mood. As expected, it was a bird. Just a calm crow perched at the windowsill.

“That vicious bird is disturbing my morning yoga session.” Mr. Nath said it with so much venom that only a ninety-year-old ghost could. This was a first – not the venomous remark but the yoga session. Why did a ghost have to do yoga anyway?

“You never did yoga before, have you Mr. Nath?” Riya went to the window and shooed the bird away before things got bad.

“When I was alive, I was a yoga instructor.” He said vehemently. Just as Riya was about to give a sarcastic reply, Anita Aunty glided in through the wall. “Oh dear, I thought someone had kidnapped you. I saw your paintbrush lying on the paper like it was thrown there. So, I thought- oh god- you scared me…you-” For a ghost, Anita Aunty panted too much.