What’s inside this post?
What the Debs are looking forward to this year
An interview with Devi S. Laskar, a Deb Ball alumnus from the class of 2019, author of The Atlas Of Reds And Blues (2019), and Circa (May 2022)
All of us at the Debutante Ball hope you had a lovely holiday season and are having a safe and healthy New Year.
Because there is so much uncertainty right now, we thought we’d share some of the good things we are looking forward to in 2022
Happy New Year! I’m looking forward to South Asian representation in books. I’m excited to be part of a creative space where I feel championed to share my stories as a woman of colour.
In four months Sari, Not Sari comes out and I have a feeling my life is going to be turned upside down with many doors opening with my debut.
I’m excited and I’m here as a cheerleader for anyone who wants to be a writer!”
P.S. check out Sonya’s FABULOUS Publisher’s Weekly Review!
I'm looking forward to savoring the almost year-long journey and can't wait for my book release in the fall! I was in a rush before, but now I want to take the time and enjoy every moment with no pressure. THE FORTUNES OF JADED WOMEN will be released 09/6/22 from Atria Books and pre-orders are available now!
I am looking forward to finally handing in my second manuscript (6 weeks late, but who’s counting), finally starting a new project, and having the time to read all my fellow debs’ books coming out in 2022! It will be great to launch my second book with some knowledge of the industry under my belt and hopefully have more time to read for pleasure than I did this past fall.”
Don’t forget to pick up Flora’s debut, if you haven’t already!
So... I'm clearly looking forward to Beneath the Stairs being officially released on Feb 22 (that's 2.22.2022!!) - less than two months away. The book launch will be a virtual affair, hosted by Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga Springs, NY, and author and actress Leslie Zemeckis.
Leslie Zemeckis recently named it one of her January Best Reads, saying that it's, “Not only a ghost story, but it is also the exploration of friendships and those “lost to time,” girls trapped in childhood history, haunted by people and events."
I’m most excited to connect to readers this year. Knowing the amazing impact books had on my life, I cannot wait to have Neruda on the Park take off in her own journey.
I am going to Ireland in March for Book Research! What I hope will be my third book takes place in Cobh, Ireland. I’ve never been to Ireland, so I can’t wait!
My second book, LUCK AND LAST RESORTS will be out August 9th, 2022. I love this book with my whole heart and can’t wait to share it. You can find it on Goodreads here, and the pre-order link here!
An interview with Devi S. Laskar
Devi S. Laskar is a poet, photographer, novelist and former newspaper reporter. Her debut novel, The Atlas of Reds and Blues, won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature and The Crook’s Corner Book Prize; and was selected by The Georgia Center for the Book as “A Book All Georgians Should Read.” The Washington Post named her debut novel one of the 50 best books of 2019. Her second novel, CIRCA, will be published by Mariner Books in May 2022. She holds an MFA from Columbia University, an MA in South Asian Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and BAs in English and Journalism from UNC-CH. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. In 2017, Finishing Line Press published two poetry chapbooks, Gas & Food, No Lodging and Anastasia Maps. A native of Chapel Hill, NC, Laskar now lives in California with her family.
Can you tell us a bit about your books?
The Atlas of Reds and Blues (2019) is about an unnamed Indian-American woman who is shot by the police in her suburban Georgia driveway. As she lay bleeding, she considers her life and how she reached this moment.
Circa (out May 2022) is about a young Bengali American woman who must come to terms with great love and loss after her best friend dies violently and suddenly.
Talk About One Book that Made An Impact On You.
For my debut novel, The Atlas Of Reds And Blues, the book that had the greatest impact was House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. I urge everyone to read this book, and if you can, get the 25th anniversary edition -- it has a wonderful essay at the beginning of that edition that speaks to the context and circumstances of how that novel came to be born. I love House On Mango Street, it is written by a poet and it packs a mighty punch for such a slim book. It gave me permission to write my own stories, and employ compression. For circa, the book that influenced me the most is my Columbia U. classmate, Julie Otsuka's second novel, The Buddha In the Attic. I loved the lyricism and story and use of first person plural, and it inspired me to employ second person in my novel.
What advice would you offer aspiring writers to aid in their journey toward publication?
Be Persistent. Keep writing no matter what. Establish a writing practice: this means writing & reading every day, even if it's just for 10-15 minutes. It's the consistent practice of writing that helps you get better. Keep sending your work out to journals. The more rejections you collect, the more acceptances you'll collect too.
Have you ever had Writers Block? How did you overcome it?
I've had writer's block many times over the years. But I started doing "The Spiral Notebook Technique" several years ago and that has saved me time and again. The technique is based on some words of wisdom from Natalie Goldberg, my favorite teacher in graduate school, the poet Lucille Clifton, and other writing teachers and coaches I’ve had over the years. Basically, it's a month-long series of timed writing exercises in a cheap spiral notebook that helps you develop a sustainable writing practice and avoid getting blocked. The key is to write without stopping for at least 10 minutes a day into a notebook for a month. Then take a week to 10 days off. Then come back to the notebook and read each sentence you've written aloud, and whatever sounds good to you , highlight. At the end of reading aloud the notebook, you'll find that your subconscious has done a lot of work and you have your own personalized book of poems, stories, the start of essays.
Were you an avid reader as a child? What kind of things did you read?
I have loved to read since I was a kid. I had a double life as a reader too, reading what many of my American contemporaries were reading in the 70s and 80s -- but my family and I would spend a lot of summers in India, visiting family and friends. So I got to read the books my cousins and friends were reading too, including Enid Blyton and the Famous Five, and Agatha Christie and Indian authors that had been translated into English but whose books weren't readily available outside India.
Tell us about your experience being part of The Debutante Ball.
It was wonderful. The five Debs that year worked well together and we built a community that we were so proud of.
Would you encourage others to be part of The Debutante Ball? Why?
Yes, I think it's important to get that kind of experience -- it takes a lot of work behind the scenes to get a book out and to promote it, and to help others promote their work. It definitely made me appreciate being part of a supportive group.
Tell us about a book that made you cry.
Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison is one of many books that has made me cry. The novel was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1992. It tells the story of a girl named Bone, and her life in South Carolina. It is simply stunning.
Thanks for taking the time to chat with us, Devi!
Head to Devi’s Website to learn more about Devi and her books!
Follow Devi on Twitter and Instagram!