Interviews with Writers Big and Small on Wattpad

Interview with Taran Matharu

I would like to introduce you to the talented Taran Matharu who lives on my side of the pond not far from me in London. . Those of you who have not come across Taran Matharu., he started writing at the age of 9 and he never stopped. Now at 25 he is a published author with his first book Summoner being translated into 11 languages so far.

Thank you for kindly agreeing to undertake this interview. Let's get ourselves comfortable as we settle down in our virtual café in our comfy chairs. Now I'll order.

What are we drinking? Coffee? Tea? Or a glass of wine?? Oh and are we having cake? If so, which cake is your favourite?- Is there a memory attached to it that you would like to share?

Reply: I'd love an English Breakfast tea! As for cake, red velvet is my favourite, especially cupcakes from The Hummingbird Café.

Ummmm, what cake shall I have decisions, decisions. I often make cupcakes from the Hummingbird Cafe book. I'll join you in an English Breakfast tea, it's one of my favourites.

Taran when I read your story on the Wanatics, I was absolutely intrigued about you. How you had this wonderful internship in publishing, then when that finished you had this idea for a story and wrote whilst on your travels around Australia. The success of your book is an amazing story to inspire anyone who has an idea to keep writing and see what happens. When you look back is there one particular thing that gave you the inspiration for the main character or did it just build from a small thing initially?

Reply: Fletcher, the protagonist in The Novice, is in some ways a reflection of my younger self. He rails against injustice and is perhaps slightly temperamental. That being said, he developed as I wrote and the similarities are unintentional.

If I could grant you three wishes, what would they be and why?

Reply: Immortality by choice – so I can live as long as I like. Limitless wealth – so I can be comfortable and affect positive change in the world. Health and happiness – for obvious reasons ☺.

I can't argue with any of those but I think you might not want to live forever if you couldn't have your friends and family being able to do so too. When I think of Highlander, he found it quite hard to outlive everyone.

Do you know what inspired you to write, that makes you want to keep writing and continues to drive you do so?

Reply: I write books that I want to read. The idea for the Summoner Series really stemmed from a combination of all the elements I love in fantasy. I would hunt through bookstores searching for a book that had some combination of them, but I had this perfect book in my head and couldn't find it. So I wrote it! Writing a book in this way is kind of like reading your favourite novel, only you get to decide where it goes! That being said, nothing is more inspiring or encouraging than the response that you get from readers who enjoyed your book.

Do you have any advice for those reading this right now?

Reply: If you don't read often, you won't have the tools necessary to write. Reading is the ultimate teacher; there is an instinctual understanding of the flow of the prose that is learned unconsciously. Of course, you should always try to analyse the books you love. Ask yourself questions like, why do I love these characters, how did the author transition from this scene to the next, How did they build their world in my mind?