On her own terms

> Aneeta Sudararaj decided to give up the ghost, and return to writing her own books

original works. This year, she has two books out. The first is Two Snakes Whistling at the Same Time (MPH, RM32.90), which is a compilation of 13 short stories, and the second is her selfpublished novel, The Age of Smiling Secrets (RM35.90). Many of the stories in Two Snakes Whistling at the Same Time are based on her own experiences, and some of the key characters are a representation of herself. Her hometown Alor Star is also featured quite prominently throughout the book. The title is taken from one of the stories within Two Snakes, which tells of her experience working with a publication and a nasty boss.

It’s not the first story in the book, but Aneeta said: “The title was a dream and I just liked it as a title, and the title fit that story.”

The first story in the compilation, Eyes Sewn Shut, tells the story of a woman named Lalitha who is trying to make arrangements for her father’s funeral, but is hampered by demanding relatives.

Aneeta admitted that the story was based on her father’s funeral, and the drama caused by some of her relatives.

There is also another story about a man who wants to hire her to ghost-write his book, but refuses to pay the price she asks.

He even has the gall to tell her that if she writes his book for free, she will go to heaven.

Aneeta said with a laugh that most of the lines in the book are written verbatim from conversations she has had with real people.

As for The Age of Smiling Secrets, the story was something she finished writing in 2010, and sent to a publisher in the UK.

However, the publisher didn’t really understand her story, and was asking her to make changes which did not really go with what she was trying to convey.

She said: “They did not understand the fundamental aspects of my story, which was

The Age of Smiling Secrets was ready in 2013, she had suffered a series of painful losses, including the death of her pet dog Ladoo and then, her father (both of which inspired two of the stories in Two Snakes). “When my father died two years ago, I started picking up my life again, and working on The Age of Smiling Secrets again.

“I sent one of the chapters ( The Legend of Nagakanna) to the Commonwealth Writers, and they accepted the chapter because they were doing an anthology on indenture ( Writings from the Descendants of Indenture: We Mark Your Memory).”

This gave her the courage to selfpublish her novel.

She had help from MPH on the design of the cover and typesetting of The Age of Smiling Secrets since MPH has already agreed to publish her short stories ( Two Snakes).

Coincidentally, both books featured snakes on the cover. What asked what was the deal with that, Aneeta laughed and said: “It just happened. I did not plan to have so many snakes in my life.”

While the snakes in Two Snakes appeared in a dream, the snakes in Smiling Secrets refer to characters in the novel.

Both books are currently on sale at major bookstores.