The author of Find_Love.com claims her middle name is ‘confusion’. And it all began at home, she says. Born to a South Indian father and Punjabi mother, 30-year-old Neeta Iyer aspired to be a doctor, but enrolled for a hotel management course before ending up as an air hostess.
However, when she went onboard her first flight, which was the long Delhi-Guwahati-Dibrugarh route, she realised she had airsickness. So, Neeta took up the career of a Radio Jockey which continued for good nine years. And now she has turned author with a funny tale about finding love through matrimonial sites
“But now, I am sure I will continue with writing. It is a therapeutic exercise for me. No confusion about it,” says Neeta, who unlike other writers never had to run after publishers for her first book.
Much before she completed the book, she had found a publisher. “I knew finding a publisher is the most difficult task. Therefore, as soon as I had the idea in place and was done with drafting the first two chapters, I started approaching publishers. Though a few rejections happened, soon I had two publishers willing to release my book,” says Neeta.
In spite of writing a book for the first time, it took her only about three months to finish the tale of 29-year-old Swati Kannan, who goes on an online groom-hunt leading to several rounds of coffee. There are 12 chapters in the book and in each chapter Swati meets a new guy.
The protagonist believes in bells chiming and violins playing when you meet your Prince Charming. Does Neeta also believe the same? “I will only say that it is not exactly an autobiography. Yes, I too did feel the societal pressure of settling down and a lot in the book has been borrowed from my friend’s experiences as well. But I had added these real life experiences just to make the book as real as possible,” says Neeta, whose book is set in Delhi.
Neeta wanted people to connect with the book, so she has retained names of places in the capital. “I wanted the book to be relatable. These are emotions and concerns that all youngsters and parents go through,” says Neeta. “Swati,” says Neeta, “is not perfect herself though she searches for a perfect partner.” And her journey, at times, takes funny turns.
“Humour is an important part of my writing. I tried using anecdotes that could make people laugh. Like the protagonist initially meets these guys in a coffee shop. But after a while, she starts feeling uncomfortable meeting different guys at the same place. She feels as if all the staff and other customers know all about these meetings. Soon, whenever anyone suggests meeting at that place, Swati is all blushes and is quick to shyly turn down the idea,” laughs Neeta.
She is keeping her fingers crossed that her book doesn’t just make readers laugh but also take her seriously as a writer. For now, Neeta is happy that her parents and friends are taking her pursuit for writing seriously. “Until my book came out, no one believed that I was going to write a book. Honestly, even I had doubts,” confesses Neeta, who adds that now she is done with all the doubts and simply loves the process of creation.
She loves the idea of light reads with simple and relatable themes. Her favourite writers include Chetan Bhagat, Khaled Hosseini and Richard Bach.
The author is already working on her second book, which explores the essence of friendship between three people. “One of these three friends is a girl, but trust me there is no love triangle here. And I should be done with the book by the end of the year,” concludes Neeta.