Priya Sidharth Sethi is a lawyer based out of New Delhi. She is a mother of two boys and is married to a lawyer, and is often seen juggling her roles as a lawyer, a mother and a writer. Her journey as a writer began with her humble diary which progressed into blogs and short stories. She has recently come out with her debut novel, Summons from the Creator, which is a parapsychological thriller.

I chat with her about her book Summons from the Creator, how the book came to be, book recommendations, and much more.

Hello, Priya! Tell us a bit about yourself!

I find solace in expressing myself through writing.

I was born and brought up in Pune, a culturally inclined city. Art and creativity were in abundance during my growing-up days. My mother and my aunt performed Natya-Sangeet, an art form where mythological stories are narrated through songs. In my younger days, though I did not understand the nitty-gritty of this beautiful art form, I would watch and observe with keen interest how a story was narrated. And whenever time permitted, I would write my own short stories, and this became my favourite hobby.

I could have pursued a career in writing. However, during my teens, and like most teenagers then, instead of introspecting what I would want to do, I followed what was ‘trending’. And I decided to pursue law. My creativity obviously took a back seat then. I graduated from ILS Law College, Pune, and worked as an in-house lawyer for a few years, before switching to litigation and advisory work. I am married to a lawyer and am a mother to two boys.

Motherhood compelled me to take a ‘pause’. Like every mother, I had to readjust my priorities. At one stage, I felt worried that I would find it difficult to give time to my profession and I would lag behind. However, I was happy to take this challenge as well and what immensely helped me then were my old passions – writing and painting. I again started writing and felt a sense of contentment.

It was a gradual progression from blogs to short stories to novella and then this novel – Summons from the Creator. I self-published my novella, My Wedding without a Paithani, on Kindle. The feedback and appreciation that I received were tremendously encouraging. This gave me confidence to not just write my debut novel but also to publish it.

If you could only describe your book Summons from the Creator in five words, what would they be?

Emotional roller-coaster, Bold, Parapsychological thriller.

Now tell us a little more about the book! What can readers expect?

The gist of this story lies in the fact that – every action (physical action or a thought or emotion) always has a consequence and effect on the person who does the action. In other words, there is a reason for anything and everything that happens in one’s life. Not just in your present life but also in your future lives too. The play of a person's karmic influence on one’s past, present and future lives is the prominent theme that runs through my novel.

The plot of the book revolves around Ameeya, the protagonist of the story. She is a 35-year-old corporate professional, suffering unexplainable anxiety and panic attacks. After exhausting all conventional treatments, she visits a psychiatrist.

Her life changes completely when the psychiatrist suggests her therapy of ‘past-life regression’, a process that taps the subconscious memories of a person by way of hypnosis, as a treatment for her complications. Ameeya decides to undergo this therapy to unravel the truths of her present as well as past lives.

Ameeya’s story is relatable. The readers will resonate with many incidents narrated in it. Also, the lingering after-effects of the story will compel the reader to introspect and find reasons and logical answers towards individual life events.

What inspired you to write this novel?

It would be difficult to pinpoint any single event that may have inspired me to write this novel. My novel is a work of fiction. And I have made a humble attempt to weave a story from things I have observed. One afternoon, I came across the book, The Science of Past Life Regression by Dr Newton Kondaveti and Dr Lakshmi. The book had interesting facts about reincarnation and karmic influences. This piqued my interest and I started reading more on the subject. I have incorporated facets of this therapy into my story. 

Please describe your novel’s protagonist Ameeya to readers who might not yet be familiar with who she is and what she’s dealing with?

Ameeya is a corporate professional with outstanding performance on her career front. Even though she is a go-getter, there are certain aspects in her life, especially her personal life, which keep stagnating her growth as an individual, one of them being non-committal relationships. Something always holds her back from reposing trust in a person.

She is also a victim of recurrent dreams which play havoc in her life without any plausible explanations.

Intelligent and well-read Ameeya does not ignore any warning signals indicated by her body like anxiety attacks and insomnia. An appointment with a psychiatrist sets her on an incredible journey of self-discovery.

As a debut novelist, were there any authors or works which influenced your writing style?

As a young reader, I was always attracted to fast-paced mysteries, suspense and thrillers. I loved reading works of Sidney Sheldon and Robin Cook. I am inspired by their writing style.

How have you been coping with the current pandemic and what will be the new normal for you to post it?

‘Prioritizing’ is what I have learnt from this pandemic. Also being a homemaker and a mother of two young boys, I have realised that my family’s health is of utmost importance.

Recently, we recuperated from the deadly coronavirus infection. It acted as a jolt in our lives. After going through such difficult times, I have learned to celebrate the basic and the most fascinating gift given to us – ‘Life’ itself.

Lastly, are you currently reading anything and do you have any book recommendations for our readers?

Karma: A Yogi's Guide to Crafting Your Destiny by Sadhguru and Death: An Inside Story by Sadhguru have been my latest reads in non-fiction. These two gems were insightful and life-changing reads.

In fiction, I enjoyed reading The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.

These days I am trying to survive with minimum delegation of housework to domestic-helps. Online schools are adding to the misery. With so many things on my plate, reading becomes difficult. However, thanks to technology, I enjoy listening to audiobooks and podcasts while I cook and complete other household chores. One such delightful narration was that of Anita Nair’s book Why I Killed My Husband on Storytel.

One should always find time to do things that they are passionate about, especially women. We should always try to maintain and feed our individuality without compromising on our duties!

Cheers!

The book ‘Summons from the Creator’ is available online and at your nearest bookstore.