My first public ‘author talk’ was on 18th March 2021 with Vince Stevensen from Boomer on Books. It was an hour long livestream, which you can watch here. We discussed topics like ‘why do you write’, but also touched upon many other aspects. The chat was about me & my book, but also about Vince as a writer. I enjoyed this primiere as I love chatting and interacting with people. It was a chat, not an interview.
In Feb of last year, MIT Spouses & Partners Connect invited me for my first author talk with an online interactive audience. What made it extra special was the interviewer was in the place where my writing journey began. Yes, all those years ago, in Boston.
It was a lovely experience. Author talks become interesting when genuine questions are asked by readers or an interested audience. I was curious to know what they wanted to know. One of the questions was:
Is Colours of a Cultural Chameleon fiction or a memoir?
IS IT FACT OR FICTION?
Do you want to know? Then check out my vimeo video’s below (click on the pink buttons).
This is the most common question I often get asked, and I don’t know whether I can truly answer it.
It is neither and it is both. It is both fact and fiction.
Colours of a Cultural Chameleon is based on my experiences and adventures in life. As I confess to Jennifer during the interview: I’m no longer able to decipher between fact and fiction in this book.
The stories in the book have come alive. While writing the book, I was living the book, I was Kamala. As I was rewriting from the past, I was creating new adventures too and some of the stories in the book turned from fiction into fact 😉
My question to you readers would be, “does it matter whether it is fact or fiction?”
One of the questions I loved answering during the chat with Jennifer is:
“Did writing fiction allow you to describe certain elements better than if you’d written a memoir?
Spot on indeed. Writing fiction allows for creativity, it allows me to emphasize certain traits or experiences and leave out or neglect others. It also allows me to incorporate other people’s stories into my narrative.
One day I would love to write a memoir: three generations of women in three different countries. However, I am not yet sure whether I will (be able) to write this memoir, without adding fiction. While writing, I get carried away. I create new stories. My imagination creates stories of adventures that could have occured….even though in real life they did not happen.
THE joy of writing
Would you like to know what I am writing now?
Currently I’m doing research both for my fictional book as well as for my long-term memoir.
Shakti Hannie 