About Gigi Kaur:
A clinical pharmacist turned author. From dispensing prescriptions to crafting tales, the mysterious Gigi embarks on a literary journey fuelled by passion, adventure and a deep understanding of the human experience.
Drawing inspiration from real life through keen observations and first-hand encounters, Gigi brings authenticity and depth to her narrative, immersing readers in the tales that explore the interplay between intellect and intimacy.
What inspires you to write?
Initially I was in two minds about even writing this book. I had heard about a lot of unrest within the Sikh community about interacial marriages and quite a lot of the explicit scenes are between Jaia (the main character) who is Sikh and her romance interests who range from white, black, and Hispanic. My worry was that the story itself would cause a lot of unrest but compounding that my pseudonym makes it very clear that I am in fact Sikh. But thankfully so far no concerns have been raised. The book takes a very modern view on romance its empowering with a strong female lead who is flawed and completely relatable. I wanted to create a character who was strong, smart, adventurous and sensual. I wanted a romance novel where happiness and fulfilment wasn't hinged on a romantic relationship, with some self discovery and profound advice thrown in for good measure! It's a feel good book with travel, passion and an element of real life.
As a pharmacist I know how important it is to talk about sex and sexual health feely and openly. So whilst I worry about the negative response this book might get I am hopeful that there will be some positivity in there too.
What authors do you read when you aren’t writing?
Oh gosh so many! I went through a phase of reading a lot of Jane Fallon. I love Stieg Larsson's girl with the dragon tatoo trilogy. I've read Sylvia Day's books. Love the Classics Charles Dickens, Jane Austin.
Tell us about your writing process.
I had never written a book or created a plan to write a book. The closest thing I had done was write a plan for an experiment… So that’s where I started. The book became my experiment. Instead of a step-by-step experiment method I wrote chapter outlines, instead of a materials list, I wrote down my character names. Did I think about character arcs…no. Did I think about plot and structure…well maybe subconsciously when I outlined the chapters, but I had no idea.
Now, usually when you conduct an experiment you would do some preliminary research right? So, you’d think as a seasoned pharmacist and a member of the scientific community I would have done some research on how to write a book. I didn’t. I dove headfirst into my new passion project. And I enjoyed every second of it, learning and growing every step of the way! Creating Jaia and taking her on a wild adventure of sex, study and travel has been exhilarating and I’m excited to be able to share it with you.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
So Jaia Lust is inspired by true events and so are some of the characters!
Creating these characters was just so much fun. They grew so organically from the writing. Jaia's lack of self awareness and desire to be liked arose from her interactions in the book. Much like us in real life we are the sum of our experiences. I would say the events in the book created the characters. You really see growth and change in the characters as the book progresses, the same way you see growth and change in people and the journey through life.
What advice would you give other writers?
Writing the book felt so freeing. I've mentioned that within the Indian community sex is hardly talked about. So I wanted to create a character who was strong, smart, adventurous and sensual. I wanted a romance novel where happiness and fulfilment wasn't hinged on a romantic relationship, with some self discovery and profound advice thrown in for good measure! Writing the book actually felt very therapeutic. There's something really cathartic about being in control of a characters destiny and taking them on a whirlwind adventure! So for all those wanna be authors sitting on the fence unsure if they should give it a go, I say do it, take the leap and dive into you masterpiece!
How did you decide how to publish your books?
So this was a bit a rubbish surprise- I didn't realise the cost associated with writing a book. I knew I didn't want to go down the traditional route of publishing. I wanted to keep control of my book and I wanted to promote on my terms, remaining anonymous. But the cost of self publishing is crazy. I was lucky to find someone that was open to investing in me and helped me raise the funds for the software I needed to create my cover, the cost of the editing services, the costs of the publishing services, the cost of the marketing services.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think that traditional publishing house's may need to make things a little easier for upcoming authors otherwise I can't see why that route would be preferred to the self publishing. Although self publishing does cost a lot. I have managed to rack up a nice little debt of £20,000- So maybe traditional publishing is better if you're doing it for an income.
What genres do you write?: Steamy RomCom
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Gigi Kaur Home Page Link
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All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
