Bhumi by Tina Sequeira – Talk with Author

Before starting the talk with Tina Sequeira, the author of Bhumi, let me introduce her & her book with you.

About Tina Sequeira

Tina Sequeira is the author of two books: Soul Sojourn & Bhumi. Her writings have been featured in several books, such as A Jar of Memories, Route 13: Highway to Hell, A Jar of Stories, and Poems from 30 Best Poets.

She has won many awards for her writing, including the Rashtriya Gaurav Award 2019 in association with the Government of Telangana for the ‘Author of the Year’ category.

She believes that the awards and accolades are nice and make her feel good, but what truly motivates her is when she does quality work. According to her, apart from quality work, another the biggest ‘up’ in her writing journey is her writing tribe who helps to keep her writing mojo alive.

She is an author out of passion, a teacher by serendipity, and a marketer by profession. She blogs at The Tina Edit and is the founder of The Write Away Program, where she mentors students on the subtle nuances of creative writing.

About Bhumi

The book Bhumi is a collection of short stories of different types of women, including the woman who resides within man. In fact, it isn’t about women, but womanhood.

The women in the stories are the women that we see around ourselves. As a matter of fact, these stories are inspired by real-life personalities and their day to day struggles. They are relatable and thought-provoking.

The book talks about a lot of social issues and taboos as well, such as the isolation of the homemaker, the plight of sex workers, the arranged marriage system, divorce, body shaming, woman’s agency, female infanticide, rape and other forms of assaults, etc.

It even presents different perspectives on a common issue. For example, in the story Grey, it’s shown that faith and feminism can coexist and don’t have to exclusionary.

The protagonists in the book celebrate life while learning some hard lessons along the way. Each story stands out, as each one narrates a story that brings along a dose of positivity or a feeling of warmth or may cause a tiny tear to trickle down your face. Their impact will gonna stay with you.

Details of Bhumi by Tina Sequeira
Title	Bhumi
Subtitle	A Collection of Short Stories
Author	Tina Sequeira
Genre	Fiction
Sub-genre	Women’s Fiction
No. of Words	26012
Reading Time	153 min (Approx)
Format	Kindle
Available at	Amazon

Talk with Tina Sequeira – Author of Bhumi

Welcome, Tina Sequeira! Thanks for sparing time to talk about you and your book Bhumi. Tell us what is it that you so desperately wanted to tell that you wrote this book?

I was tired of the hackneyed portrayal of women in mainstream media. I couldn’t relate to or knew any of the cookie-cutter versions.

I think the mindset towards our women especially among the general populace can change through art and literature. So, the more people read such work, the better for our society.

How do you get the idea of writing this book? Why did you choose this theme?

I wanted to take it slow.

My first book is in the non-fiction genre. My second is fiction, and I thought instead of being ambitious right away, and going for a full-fledged novel, I’ll take it one at a time, with short stories. It’ll help me hone my writing skills, and get prepared for that big, fat novel I’ve always aspired writing someday.

Why you choose this particular theme?

I wanted to begin my foray into fiction with this subject. It’s something I wanted to get out of my system as early as possible because I felt just as strongly about it.

I don’t want to be bound by the theme all through my author journey. It’s done and dusted now. I’m moving on!

What’s your inspiration behind the book?

Mother Nature. Womanhood is like Mother Earth. Inclusive. Unconditional.

How can your target audience relate with you?

One of the genuine praises that I’ve come across comes from you, Ravish. I remember you called me a real feminist. Personally, I’m against the use of the word ‘pseudo’ which is thrown liberally at people who dissent nowadays. But, I took the feedback as being balanced and fair to all genders, which is what feminism means to me personally.

What does make you an authority on the subject you wanted to tell?

Well, I’m a woman for one! So, I know where the shoe hurts for us the most, or what it feels like to be one.

Why do you think that people read you or take your message seriously?

I’ve been fortunate to have received the love of my readers. Be it on the various platforms I write for, my blog ‘The Tina Edit’, or social media profiles. A lot of people look forward to my thoughts and opinions, and I get messages about my take on a particular subject or current topic.

I think people trust the fact that I write from a place of conviction, and honesty in intent. And I’ve been told by my readers, that I hold a radically different point of view which makes them think.

What does make your book Bhumi unique?

The book is as unique as my voice.

How is Bhumi different from others in the genre?

I’d like to believe that Bhumi is different from the other books in the same genre because it stays away from the current rhetoric of the subject of women empowerment.

I’ve tried to play fair and not paint women as victims, while highlighting the injustices in our patriarchal system. I’ve consciously stayed away from dabbling in poverty porn and magnifying it in grandeur literary prose, for critical acclaim.

I’ve presented an array of women characters, and hopefully, the reader will find beauty and inspiration in all of them – in their flaws, failings, and vulnerabilities.

Any incidence of life that helped in shaping this book.

Almost every story in Bhumi is semi-fictional. There is some reality that I’ve experienced or observed in every story of Bhumi.

The idea for Amma germinated back in 2014 post a grave tragedy that struck an NRI family who we knew closely. It took another similar freak accident in early 2018 within the family that triggered me to write this story. Back then, the story was a release to my pent up shock and grief.

Bhumi is loosely based on my mother’s character, except for the fact that she was a working woman. I wanted to dedicate a story solely to the important role of homemakers in our lives, and so I tweaked that story a bit.

Stark Illusions is based on my views about sex workers, which I’ve harbored as early as I can remember, encountering them on the wayside, soliciting us.

Fat Chance is based on one of my closest friends, with whose kind permission I took the liberty to write the story. I’ve known her journey up close for two decades now. I showed her my first draft, and she said I captured her journey accurately.

The lead protagonists of Pound of Flesh and Switch are modeled on my daughter, Nadine. Some of the scenes in those stories are real-life incidents.

Grey is semi-fictional as well and based on my paternal granduncle or Ichachan, as I used to call him, and my time with him. He remains one of my biggest role models.

Juxtaposition is loosely based on a couple of real-life people – the kind who proclaim to be feminists, but aren’t so when it comes to their self-interest.

The Tale of Two Women is a metaphor for USA and India, and how I feel about the two countries.

Tell us something about you. Who are you as a person?

Well in the context of my book Bhumi, I’d be the closest to Ramona from Unbridled.

Share about your personality, beliefs, & values.

That’s a tricky one! It’s hard for me to pinpoint what I am because I think all of us are at some level paradoxes.

We are this and that as well. I’m laid back and ambitious at the same time. I’m the ‘live and let live’ kinds, but I don’t fall for group politics or the herd mentality. I speak my mind and that can ruffle some, but then I can’t be any other way.

So, yes, I swing between being diplomatic so as not to offend or court controversy, but the nature of truth is such that it hurts. A hedonist and minimalist. So, you see, a bundle of contradictions.

Family and career, both are equally important for me. It’s hard sometimes to juggle your dreams while ensuring you make time for the family. But, they understand my passion and dreams.

Would you confide in with us some facts about you that most people don’t know?

• I dance with just as much ease as I write, and I’m not professional trained in either.
• I love being surrounded by the mountains and greenery, and hate staying in concrete jungles.
• I don’t like the herd mentality and prefer being exclusive of groups.
• I’m a Malayali, married to a Goan man, and hence the surname.

Tell us about your favorite authors.

Some of my favorite writers include Mark Twain, Alexandre Dumas, Louise May Alcott, Toni Morrisson, Arundhati Roy, Shashi Tharoor, Roxanne Gay, Haruki Murakami, J.R.R.Tolkein, Edgar Allen Poe, and more.

What difficulties do you face during writing the book Bhumi, and how do you overcome them?

It’s interesting you’ve asked this question. Bhumi was first written as part of the Blogchatter #AtoZChallenge. Most of them were written spontaneously on the day of the challenge. The raw version of the book was published as part of the Ebook carnival.

The intent was to publish it on Amazon Kindle. As luck would have it, my laptop crashed, and I lost all my edited work in the process. The ones on the blog were unedited and would mean redoing the whole thing again. I forgot about the book for as long as my laptop was dead. My husband managed to repair it just in time for my birthday the next year, but all the data was lost. It was a lesson to me to share a backup of my writings.

Anyway, exactly a year later, I published my book on Amazon Kindle. But, there was an issue again. I created the ebook on iBooks Author on MacBook Air, and uploaded it on Amazon Kindle as a pdf, without realizing the compatibility issues. The editing was also rushed. The sales were good as long as I marketed them for two months. But, I stopped doing that because I wanted to come back, fix the issues, and then promote it again.

The COVID-19 lockdown gave me the opportunity to edit my book from the book cover, stories, and overall formatting and layout. My fellow author friends Srivalli Rekha Mantrala, and Kanika G helped me understand the technicalities involved in ebook formatting and creation. I released the first-anniversary edition of Bhumi this month. I’m finally happy with the way it’s turned out. Barring for one story which I really wanted to include, but didn’t find the time to do so.

Any interesting thing that happened during writing that you might want to share.

While I was just foraying into fiction writing with the short stories of Bhumi, it was interesting when fellow writer friends thought I had years of experience writing fiction. It was an encouraging sign.

Thanks, Tina, for joining us. It’s a fabulous experience talking with you.

Reviews of Bhumi by Tina Sequeira

That was Tina Sequeira with us talking about herself and her book Bhumi in detail. Let’s see what others are saying about her book.

Impeccably crafted, lush tapestry of short stories of broken women rising from the ashes, philandering husbands and lovers getting their comeuppance at the hands of the wronged women, valiant, feisty octogenarians pulsating with youthful ardour, women throwing off the manacles of patriarchy and finding their own place in the sun!

When I read this book, I found Sequeira dissecting the world with a heart-warming sensitivity coupled with a sharp, perceptive pen, leaving the reader with enlightening epiphanies. And, yes, a little more in love with the world around us.’

Tina’s narration adds a sense of magic to the stories. There are certain stories that bring along a sense of hope and give out the message that women are strong enough to deal with all the problems that they face. A few stories bring out the intricacies of various relationships beautifully.

I loved the simplistic yet effective way the author narrates the stories. There’s something in it for every woman as well as a man. One more aspect of the book that I really loved was the cover of this book. The cover is a beautiful one and has an aura of elegance to it. If you love reading short stories especially the ones that warm the heart, then this book is a must for you.’

This is one of the wonderful books that will stay with you long after you have turned the last page. Each of the short stories is different. As you finish them one by one, you will surely pause and reflect before starting the next one. I cannot pick a favourite as there are so many that stand out, but if I have to, it has to be Grey which reminded me of my grandmother, and many more. A book that must be read and shared.

Do read Bhumi by Tina Sequeira on Amazon and share your views with her. You can find Tina at @thetinaedit on Social Media.

Note: Currently, the book is available at a promotional price of ₹49 instead of ₹150. The offer is available till September 30, 2020.