The way your writing career started makes for a rather compelling (and enviable) story — quitting a job to travel, then writing, finding an agent who had tremendous potential in your work, and then the two-book deal with Quercus. But what is it really like for you to lock yourself up and write? Do hype and expectation daunt you, and how?
The hype and expectation started well before my first book was even published, so, of course, I was nervous then. Publications that hadn’t read a word of what I had written — simply because my books hadn’t even hit stands — called me amazing names. So, yes, there was some staying awake in the night and wondering what would happen if I didn’t meet expectations. That’s when I realised that I should detach myself from whatever was being written about me. Don’t get me wrong. I still Google myself a dozen times a day. But I don’t get super-thrilled when there’s something positive being written about me and don’t get extremely upset when there’s something nasty. I become a more productive writer that way.

Author Prajwal Parajuly. Pic/Courtesy/Rilang Grave