Neenv’s career as a personalized birthday notes writer peaked at the age of 10. Her fiction writing career as a published author however kick started only when she turned 30. In between, she tried her hand at Engineering, then MBA, before she finally landed a job as a Market Risk Analyst at a multinational company. Though the job pays all her bills, she is convinced that its only purpose is to fund her dreams of becoming a published author.
The only child of two bankers and born in Hyderabad, she has travelled across the country and abroad during the course of her education and never lived in one city long enough to call it Home. Friends came and went, but the books stayed and so did her passion to devour them as soon as she laid eyes on them.
Currently working on her second book, Neenv, is the Amazon bestselling author of Silent Screams, and has a few poems published online to her credit. She also has won the Award for Best Author Popular Choice in the Author Awards organized by JK Paper, in association with Times of India. She enjoys writing about complex human emotions that often go unnoticed. Silent Screams is her debut work of fiction and explores her love for a good courtroom drama while questioning the various shades of human nature. She is currently shuttling between Chennai and Hyderabad thanks to Work from Home, and thinks of herself as a pop culture enthusiast.
The Literature Times: Your debut book is full of complex human emotions. What has your experience been while writing this book? Did you find yourself getting emotional at certain points along with the characters?
Neenv Raju Akunuri: Writing this book was an emotional experience for me. With every character I created, I had to be aware of what their feelings were in that particular situation, that particular scene, and at that moment in the story. Not only did I have to live through their joys and traumas alike, I also had to immerse myself in the world that I was hoping to capture. It was an enthralling but tremendously fulfilling and humbling experience.
The expectation from any fiction book is to entertain and evoke emotion and I believe that as a writer if you don’t find yourself being emotional, whatever that emotion may be, while writing that scene, you cannot expect the same from your readers.
The Literature Times: How did you come up with the idea of penning a courtroom drama for your debut book?
Neenv Raju Akunuri: I had always been clear about what I wanted to write. I wanted to be honest with my writing and make the reader be engaged in the story. I think it was the most obvious direction – to pick characters with professions that can shed light on both sides of the coin, and leave no stone unturned. And I thought there could be no better way than to do it with a courtroom drama.
Although the pop culture enthusiast that I am, I could also say that watching Television with a plethora of legal dramas while growing up, could have influenced me to pen a courtroom drama for my debut book.
The Literature Times: On whom did you model the character of Naseen?
Neenv Raju Akunuri: Naseen is an amalgam of people I know. I think the reason my readers adore her as much, is because she is a brilliant friend and doesn’t waiver when the going gets tough. She’s got a few qualities that are hard to find, especially all in one person. So I’d like to believe I did what I do best. I wrote and created a character that anyone would have loved to have as a friend.
The Literature Times: Who has been your inspiration in becoming a writer?
Neenv Raju Akunuri: I was told at a very young age that I was an empathetic person and in school, classmates would ask me to help write personalized wishes for their friends and family. For the longest time, I didn’t know what to do with a talent like this. It was only when I started exploring books from Arundathi Roy, Jodi Picoult and Khaled Hosseini did I realise that I had to do something more than just write greeting card wishes.
The Literature Times: How do you go about the writing process with a full -time day job?
Neenv Raju Akunuri: Well, I work during the day and it’s not a fixed 9-5 job. Most days, my work gets extended late into the nights but I manage to write after work at nights and make up for the lost time on the weekends. Of course it’s not an easy task but we’ve got to persevere for our passions, don’t we?
The Literature Times: What kind of books do you enjoy reading in your leisure time?
Neenv Raju Akunuri: Obviously courtroom dramas are undeniably my favourite so I read a lot of John Grisham, they are very insightful. Jodi Picoult is my absolute favourite. I also enjoy reading Anuja Chauhan, Sophie Kinsella, Meg Cabot because they are just pure fun and always manage to make me laugh out loud.
The Literature Times: The title of silent screams is particularly interesting. How did you come up with this unique title?
Neenv Raju Akunuri: To be honest I struggle with naming. I put a lot of pressure on myself and completely miss seeing the obvious at times. My father, who actually witnessed me panicking over being unable to name the book, came up with the idea. He knew I was trying out words that hinted at screaming, and being unable to voice and express someone’s feelings and voila it just occurred to him – Silent Screams
Fun Fact: He is also the one who named me, and curated its unique spelling. So safe to say, he is extremely talented when it comes to names.
The Literature Times: Do you think that had Saysha’s character in the novel done things differently then she would have met with very different ends?
Neenv Raju Akunuri: Saysha was never the kind of person, who did anything half-heartedly. She was a trier and always brimming with ideas and hope. So while it’s easy to say – “It’s your choices that make you”, I don’t think that’s particularly the case with Saysha.
Was she vocal? Yes. Did she try other avenues? Yes. Was she just trying to do better? Yes.
So what else could she have done?
Did she go wrong? Or did someone let her down?
That’s how I view it, but if you feel different please do let me know, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Maybe I missed something that you caught.
The Literature Times: What are your future writing projects?
Neenv Raju Akunuri: I’m currently working on my second book. It’s still in the initial planning phases. I’m also working on getting some of my poetry published in an anthology. So fingers crossed for that!
The Literature Times: Do you find yourself inclined towards writing more prose or poetry?
Neenv Raju Akunuri: Prose. I love getting involved in the behind the scenes working of prose writing – The Characters, their Motives, Emotions and Drama – the whole nine yards. Poetry is something that’s extremely personal and I’m usually inclined towards it when I have a writer’s block that I cannot shake off.
