‘Forgive, forget and live’ Author Preeti Shenoy talks about her upcoming release which deals with friendship, love and the transience of life

‘Forgive, forget and live’

Author Preeti Shenoy talks about her upcoming release which deals with friendship, love and the transience of life

While Preeti Shenoy’s novels are fictional, each of them has borrowed incidents and situations from real life. And her fourth release, The Secret Wish List too, follows suit. “I began writing in March last year, when suddenly my cousin’s wife passed away and at the same time a close friend lost her husband. These incidents made me realise that life is so transient, there are no guarantees. This formed a strong part of my novel,” says the author whose new book is about friendship, love, finding courage and living life to the fullest. Like her previous works this one too is woman-centric, as Preeti is most comfortable writing in that vein and feels she has a pulse on what women want. The novel starts with a 16-year-old girl and an incident that changes her life, and then switches to the present where she’s a 34-year-old woman trapped in a loveless marriage. “The story’s relevant today as we all talk about woman emancipation but many women can’t dress a certain way because of their in-laws or are forced to stay in bad marriages because they’re worried about what society will say. The accepting nature of Indian women hasn’t changed and the novel is about finding the courage to stand up for our ourselves, even if it means going against society,” she explains, adding that she wanted to create a character people can relate to. The Secret Wish List is a quick-paced read as Preeti feels in today’s scenario with so many distractions like the internet, smartphones and television, people need a compelling read. “I ensure that a lot of research goes into my novels, like for this one I was in conversation with people who had lost someone close to them. I write from the heart, things that I genuinely feel about. A common message in my works is that one needs to let go of grudges — forgive, forget and live each day,” she says. “Right now is a great time to get published in India. The future is bright,” ends Preeti.