Interview with Neelam Saxena Chandra



1. Tell us something about yourself
I am a bureaucrat working with Indian Railways. Writing is my passion and I have written nineteen books as of now. I was named by Forbes India as one of the seventy eight most popular authors. My other awards include
•    Awarded by eminent poet/lyricist Gulzarji in a Poetry Contest organized by American Society on the topic ‘Poetry for Social Change’.
•    Received the Rabindranath Tagore International poetry award -2014
•    Awarded Premchand Puraskar by Ministry of Railways (II prize).
•    Awarded by Children Book Trust, India in 2009.
•    Neelam also debuted as a lyricist in Shankar Tucker's composition 'Mere Sajan sun sun' at the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auRmXTmVwrY and the song has won the 'Popular Choice' award  in Folk Fusion category in Radio City Freedom Awards.
•    Neelam is a record holder in the India Book of Records for being the author with highest number of publications in a year.
•    Neelam and her daughter hold record for being the first mother-daughter duo to write a poetry book for the book 'Winter Shall Fade' in Miracle World Records and India Book of records.


2. The Purple Moon  its an intriguing title how did you come up with this title.

After having completed the book, while I was wondering what its title should be, my husband randomly uttered the name and I loved it. That moment was immediately captured by me in the form of the title for my collection.

3. Describe your book

‘The Purple Moon’ is a collection of a hundred poems that emote the different sentiments and phases of love. What really is love? It is a feeling most difficult to define; it is a sentiment, to be felt, smelled, drunk and tasted – for it is the most subtle emotion. , When one is in love for the first time, many raw feelings en wrap him or her. One may just be crazy, have a simple desire to meet the sweetheart or may just feel something very divine…On the other hand, there are chances of one getting annoyed, developing jealousy and hatred and may end up doing random acts. However, as love matures, the feelings also mature and it is then that the lovers realize that love is something more than just these raw feelings.
Love brings out the deepest of emotions and is the purest of all feelings. True love makes one fly, giving the person in love a pair of wings, making one expand one’s horizons.
‘The Purple Moon’ is a treat to all those who have ever experienced love


4. How was it working with First Step Publishing

It was an excellent experience. First Step Publishing believed in quality and everything was done timely and in consultation with me.

5. Describe your path of getting published

I began with reputed magazines. Getting published in them was in itself a satisfaction that my work and its quality is being recognized. It was only after I had made a space for myself that I moved to publishing my own books.

6. any new venture you are working with

I write continuously. I have more than one novel, three short story collections, two poetry collection and eight illustrated books for children under publication with various reputed publishers.

7. Though being poetry, which is not read to that extent in India, The Purple Moon has been in the top charts on amazon. How do you feel about it.

It is a fact that poetry is not so well read in the country. Despite that, ‘The Purple Moon’ remained in best seller list for long. This boosted my confidence. I am sure it must have instilled confidence in other poets minds too, who wish to publish their books.

8. Let us know some details of your titles published by far.

Various books published by me include
1.    Can I have this chance - A novel by Authors Press 
2.    Soul Seekers- A novel by LiFi Publications 
3.    Rishtey Mohabbat ke –  A short story collection in Hindi by Omji Publishers. 
4.    Pankhudiyan – A short story collection for children by Sadhna Publications.
5. The Delicate Wings - A poetry collection by The Poetry Society of India 
6.    Layers of flickering lights – A poetry collection by Authorspress India.  7.    Silhouette of Reflections – A poetry collection by YS Books International. 
8.     The Purple Moon– A poetry collection by First Step Publishing
9.    Hues of Love – A poetry collection by Writers Empire.
10.    Treacherous Lady – A novella by Pageturn Publishers. 
11.    Tales from Sundervan – A short story collection for children by Sahni Publications. 
12.    Chanda – A picture book for children by Room to Read.
13.Five tales – A short story collection for children by Naman Publications
14. Winter Shall fade - A poetry collection along with co-author Simran Chandra published by Omji Publishers
15. Her story – Edited by Neelam, it is a compilation of stories of women around their workplace
16. Rishtey Zindagi ke- A poetry collection in Hindi
17. Skylines by Authorspress
18. As a beginner for a beginning by Authorspress
19. Geet gaata chal by Subhanjali Prakashan

9. Any Rituals for writing??

None. I am a very moody person and I write as per my whims. My heart does not even follow my own mind and chooses its own path.

10. Any advice for budding writers.

Believe in yourself. You cannot become famous overnight. Writing is a serious matter and it requires lot of hard work and efforts to hone your skills. It is almost like meditation.

11. How can your readers connect to you?


My readers can connect to me on facebook at CLICK HERE