- The sleuthing fantasies of a 13-year-old storyteller
Author Mariha Sharon [/caption]
Having fulfilled her dream of publishing her very first book, Mariha is all set for more adventures of her own. To find out what her journey was like, Brunch spoke to Mariha Sharon this week.
Making Hanna Bruce
Mariha spoke excitedly about the summary of her book, reading it out, her voice picking up and pausing at just the right places. “Hanna Bruce is a 14-year-old girl who studies at a boarding school. Hanna and her friends are really excited to be taking part in the school’s annual horse-riding championship for the very first time, when disaster strikes. Not one, not two, but eight of the best horses have been stolen! And now it is time for Hanna and her friends to solve this exciting tale of mystery,” she read out from her notes. Mariha added that the main protagonist, Hanna Bruce, also has vivid dreams and that readers will have to find out whether any of these dreams will lead the young sleuth to find the answers she needs.
“I have a very vivid imagination, and I really like to think of stories. I have not really written about a lot of these stories. However, some of them I have actually written down. Hanna Bruce is the first one that I published,” Mariha shared. She added that being stuck at home during the lockdown period was perhaps the factor that really motivated her to pen the stories that were taking shape in her mind.
Helping hands
Having the steadfast backing and love of a solid support system is a gift for anybody and Mariha happens to be one of the luckiest. At her tender age of just 13, Mariha has received the support and love of many people in her life, who have helped her in building confidence as a young author. “My mother and father have always been very helpful and supportive of my writing. They would always encourage me to keep on writing, and even with this book, their help really made it possible for this to be published,” she shared.
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The Adventures of Hanna Bruce - Cover Art[/caption]
Mariha also has three older siblings and one younger sibling, all of whom have played crucial roles in her dream coming true. “My younger sister, especially, has helped me a lot. I would read out the stories that I write to her and she would give me ideas. She comes up with interesting names and subplots that help my writing,” Mariha added. Clearly taking after her older sister’s knack for storytelling, Mariha’s youngest sibling has proven herself to be a great sounding board. Even her friends at school and teachers had provided Mariha with a great deal of motivation and encouragement to write and publish the book, and they were among some of the first to purchase the book and give Mariha a lot of invaluable feedback, she said. “The fact that I have had the support of so many people who are close to me and special to me, has really made me want to write more in the future, and has also made me feel really confident about my writing,” she said.
A bumpy ride
Being a young writer, Mariha also shared that she experienced her fair share of challenges as she went through this journey of writing and publishing her book. “I was able to build my plot and finish off the writing, but I had no idea about how I should separate the chapters, and I felt stuck in that situation for a bit,” Mariha shared. She said that since it was the first time she was writing with the intent to publish, she had no definitive plan on how the chapters would be broken down. Mariha explained that she read a lot of other books and did her own research in order to understand how she can clearly separate chapters in a way that would make sense.
“Another challenge I had was finding an editor and a way to publish. Because I was such a young writer, many bookshops and publishers actually turned me down and did not support the idea of getting my story out there, until I met Jeremy Muller,” Mariha recalled. She added that her father had visited many publishers in order to get the book accepted for editing and publishing but to no avail, until he happened across The Jam Fruit Tree Publications, who undertook the job and agreed to help Mariha out.
“Now that I have published one book, I feel way more confident, and I also know the correct process through which I must go in order to get a book published,” Mariha said, adding that she hopes to publish another book very soon, which she is already working on at the moment. “My advice to young writers would be to just keep writing whatever comes to your mind. Don’t worry about finishing it, the spellings, or anything else. Just write,” Mariha recommended.
‘Mustard yellow is a pretty colour’
The cover illustration of Mariha’s book is attractive, bold, and bright. A vibrant mustard yellow backdrop sets off the black stallion with its majestic mane flying in the air, while a quirky font in an aquamarine blue adds just the right preppy finish. Mariha shared the story behind her cover illustration and why she chose the colours. “Mustard yellow is a pretty colour. My mother thinks it is and I agree, so I decided to have mustard yellow, and I just love black horses,” she explained. She went on to say that she sketches during her free time and while this particular cover art was done by a professional, she also ventures into sketching out the ideas that she conceives.
“I remember taking this horseback ride as a kid, and I was really, really scared. I wanted to cry because I thought I would fall off the horse. But somehow, I just love horses, especially black ones,” Mariha said, noting that perhaps her love of horses is why she decided to base her very first published mystery novel on the subject.
When asked for a specific sentence or phrase that stayed with her the most from the book, Mariha ventured: “What a wonderful way to end our adventures! Maybe, just maybe, there will be another mystery for me and my friends to solve one day,” hinting at the possibility of more mystery-solving to come.
“The Adventures of Hanna Bruce” is available for purchase from The Jam Fruit Tree Publications, Sarasavi Bookshop, Makeen Books, and M.D. Gunasena book store.