We were lucky to catch up with Shilpa Raju Gottumukkala recently and have shared our conversation below.

Shilpa Raju, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

Right from my childhood, the one thing that I have been taught was to never give up and to never stop hoping.

The importance of having a set goal has been imbibed into me right from the start and it has only grown with time.

I have eventually achieved my dream of publishing a novel but it was no cakewalk. There have been innumerable disappointments and inevitable responsibilities but none of them pulled me down.

I had a dream. And I had to achieve it.

There were times when my knackered mind would say, ‘Do you need to do this? You’re leading such a comfortable life. Why do you want to work so hard and tire yourself beyond your capabilities?’

But my hopeful heart would counter the statement with a resounding affirmation. ‘I need to do this because I have it in me. And I don’t intend to waste it just because I’m exhausted.’

That single hope pushed me towards the finish line.

I have seen my father grow in his career and stature through sheer hard work and determination. Now he’s amongst the most influential men in the society.

He would always credit my mother for his success. She’s his biggest motivator.

She keeps stressing the importance of being positive. You get what you manifest.

I have learnt that nothing comes easy in life. It’s a bumpy road and treading the path feels like a long painful hike under the sweltering sun. Once you’re there though, the view is like no other. That’s when you can sit back, relax, have a cup of coffee or a glass of wine then start your journey towards the bigger mountains for better views.

Growing in career is not just about money. It’s about feeding your passion and doing what makes you happy. Work should feel like an adventure.

Shilpa Raju, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a freelance writer. I published a novel through a digital publication two years back.

“Best Friends Forever” is available to read on Kindle and can be purchased on amazon.in

It’s a racy thriller and is sure to leave the readers hungry for more.

I have loved writing ever since my childhood. When I was seven years old, I wrote my first poem and showed it to my English teacher. She surprised me by pinning it on the noticeboard for the whole school to see.

It was a poem about the sky and how beautiful the clouds look floating in the vast bluesness like sailboats.

Then when I was eleven, I wrote my first story titles, “Six terrible nights”. It was a horror story and my friends took photocopies of the pages. I felt as proud as a booker prize awardee.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

It was almost three ago, when covid hit, that I had decided to get back to writing.

Back then I had a lifestyle blog and was freelancing for a lifestyle magazine.

With a one-year-old, who was still completely dependent on me, and sleep deprivation which muddled up my mind to the point of forgetting what time of the day it was, brainstorming for the articles itself seemed like a. herculean task let alone writing a novel.

But one day, as I was sipping coffee on the balcony, relishing the five minutes of alone time in the morning, I saw a couple walking hand-in-hand whispering sweet nothings in each other’s ears. Then I remembered my acquaintance who used to indulge in PDA with her husband but they ended up divorcing a month later.

No one knows what happens behind closed doors.

That’s when the idea for “Best Friends Forever” struck me.

And before the idea could fully take shape, my little munchkin came walking towards me with a grumpy face for having woken up just then.

Over the next few days, I had spent every waking moment plotting, writing, reading, outlining. . . I used to survive on three hours of sleep because I could write only when my son was sleeping. I wrote about seven drafts before perfecting the novel for submission.

I was at a point where rejections didn’t affect me because I was too sleep-deprived to feel a thing. But the one acceptance sent the tears rolling down my eyes in a continual flow.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Being a writer, I could live inside the heads of several characters that I have made up and could control every single one of them with mere words. It makes me feel powerful.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @shilpagottumukkala