SOURCE: INDIATIMES

12-year-old Ankita Ajay says she became an avid reader at a very young age and was always attracted to psychology, mystery and crime.

So it is not a surprise that when she decided to write a book, it was a psychological thriller.

Her first novella, The Whitest of Roses was published recently, making her one of the youngest Indian authors to have a book in the Psychological Thriller genre.

The 7th-grade student who was born and brought up in the UAE, where her father used to work, recently moved back to the family's hometown in Pathanamthitta District of Kerala.

The setting of The Whitest of Roses is 1960s America. It revolves around the life of Belladonna Blanchet who is born to a mother suffering from melancholy and delusion, and a father stalked by aggression and addiction. Little Belladonna’s life is as traumatic as it can get. 

When an almost supernatural coincidence occurs, Belladonna finds herself being whisked away to France by a ferocious woman claiming to be her grandmother. Belladonna’s story starts in a broken-down apartment and ends in a quiet neighbourhood at night while a trail of blood is left behind.

Ankita spoke to Indiatimes about her book and her journey towards becoming a published author. 

“I have always had an affinity for writing as it frees me and is my preferred way to communicate my feelings and interests. My interest in human psychology stems from my interest in why humans react the way they do. Different people have different mindsets and display different emotions in different situations. So, every person is different when it comes to their brains, and I happen to find this difference extremely intriguing,” Ankita said.

The story is set in a country where Ankita has never been and in the past when the world was much different.

"I used to watch a lot of crime thriller serials and read books around the same topic. Most of these were set in the US, so when I started developing the plot of 'The Whitest of Roses' I was inspired by them," she said.

Ankita who started writing at the age of eight with short stories and poems perfected her craft in the next couple of years. Even her first published work is developed as a backstory of a short story Ankita had written.

"I started writing this book in November 2021 and completed it in January. I wanted to make it as original as I can. I put a lot of thought into developing the ideas and when it was completed I was confident that if this can be published, readers would apricate it," she said.

Ankita, however, admits that it was not easy.

“One of the major challenges I faced while writing is writer’s block. It was difficult for me to focus on writing and at times I would often get distracted. So, I tried to dispel this problem by listening to music while writing. I even went as far as to create a playlist on Spotify which I listened to only while writing. However, this in turn created a bigger problem. I would write so passionately while being consumed by the music that I would often miss words in between,” she said.

"I like reading thrillers, psychological thrillers, crime novels, etc. I really like books dealing with gruesome things. I also wanted to write something like that - something that can shock and scare people," the 12-year-old said.

Though she had demonstrated her literal skills at a young age, Ankita said her family was shocked when they learned that she was planning to write a psychological crime thriller.

"They were shocked and apprehensive in reading it first. Even after reading the book, there was some disbelief, as to how I wrote something so scary," Ankita said while giggling.

The book was published via EdTech platform PlanetSpark's "Young Author Program". The child prodigy said she is happy with the response readers so far and wants to write more in the coming days.

She also said that there are many young writers who want to get their works published.

"I want to tell all the young writers out there to go ahead and write. I have noticed that society can be judgmental especially if you are a young writer. They don't take you seriously, because 'you are just a child and you are not going to pursue this once you grow up'. If a child my age wants to write a book, I would tell them to go ahead, despite what people say. Because at the end of the day you should look forward to success and not listen to voices that will distract you," she said.