Chennai: What happens when an artist, who wields a paint bursh, picks up a pen? She produces a beautiful book. Like Chennai-based artist Asma Menon who has added another feather to her cap with her recently-published book, ‘Moonlight Baby‘.

Speaking to ‘News Today‘, the popular artist told about her uncharted journey as a writer.

The spark

“My daughter, as a child, would always want me to narrate stories,” recollects Asma. “I would cook up stories on the spot, as she didn’t want me to read from a book. I would build the stories in my head with one little imagination and just travel along. Soon, I thought why don’t I put my stories on paper? That’s how I started writing.”

Asma explains how her book came about. “It started quite a few years back. I had no agenda to publish. I felt a void in my creative sense and felt I wanted to write for the freedom we get while writing,” she says.

Asma follows the habit of sleeping early but her ritual broke off thanks to writing late in the night. “Most of my writing happened post 9 pm,’ she says. “I slept late. It was a very rare thing for me to do.”

The journey

“It would be some old memory or a sentence I heard somewhere long back,” says Asma. “They are all just shards but when you piece them together, you realise that there is a story behind it. It was fascinating. I followed the flow of conscience – writing without any plot.”

Research?

“I didn’t do any research because the stories came from my mind,” says Asma. “I wrote about landscapes I was familiar with. At night, I would just let my mind wander. A memory would come to my mind and I would write something based on it.”

Route to publish

Asma’s friend read the first draft and encouraged her to keep writing. “I started polishing my stories,” says Asma. “I also got help from my other friends who are into editing. They enjoyed my stories as well.”

It was Asma’s daughter who persistently reminded her to get her book published. “She even designed the cover but for almost two years, my book sat idle,” adds Asma.

But when one of her friends recommended Notion Press publishing, Asma got an unstoppable urge to print right away. “Within two weeks, everything got done. When I look back at it, I actually can’t believe I did it,” she smiles. “It is magical,” she adds.

Asma is happy about her accomplishment. “I am grateful that I have finally published,” she says. “It humbles me that people have appreciated my work.” She plans to write a novel soon. “The ideas are just swimming in my head,” she states.