Sandhya Menon: writer of things for teens.

 

A dazzling place I never knew!

Oh, hi. Thanks for stopping by to check out this, MY VERY FIRST BLOG POST. Yippee! Confetti! Balloons!

Here’s a secret: I’m not the super best at keeping up with blogs. But sometimes I like to have a place to put my thoughts. So that place will be here from now on, and I’ll update as and when I can. That way I’m not promising you something I feel I might not be able to hold myself to (I hate that feeling!), and I’m not making myself do something I’m not 100% into (I hate that feeling, too!). Okay? Okay. (John Green reference! Huzzah!)

I decided to begin this blog now because…well, because SO MUCH has happened recently and I felt the need to organize my brain. In case you don’t follow me on social media or my newsletter (which you totally should because hello? We have so much fun!), this is what’s happened recently:

  1. My first ever YA novel came out on May 30th, 2017 via Simon Pulse, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. It’s called When Dimple Met Rishi.
  2. When Dimple Met Rishi hit the national Indie bestseller list in its very first week! This is an aggregate bestseller list that indie bookstores across the nation compile. YAY!
  3. When Dimple Met Rishi also hit the New York Times bestseller list in its very first week. I…um, wow. I just didn’t know what to say when my publishing house called me. They all CHEERED, you guys. Then I almost drove off the road and killed my entire family because that’s what happens if you try to talk on the phone when you’re driving. BAD. (I pulled over right away, don’t worry. And then my hands were shaking so badly my husband took over for the rest of the trip.)

So lots going on! I just got back from tour, too, which has been amazeballs and so cool because I’ve never had the chance to meet readers on such a large scale. If I had to pick one favorite thing about writing besides actually getting to tell stories, it’d be meeting readers. Hands down.

Anyway, with all this (totally awesome) mind f*ckery that’s happened, I’m trying to find my footing again. I need to get into a writing schedule and block out the rest of the world because the pressure is so real now. I’m lucky that I’ve already written my second book (oh hey, have you added it on Goodreads? More girl power and brown teens kissing!). But I am working on my third book (more details on that soon!!) and it can be a real trap to wonder if it’s just as good as When Dimple Met Rishi and if people will like it as much and OH GOD WHAT IF I’VE FORGOTTEN HOW TO WRITE I REALLY THINK I HAVE AND I CAN’T RETURN MY ADVANCE BECAUSE I SPENT IT ALL ON CHOCOLATE AND CAT-THEMED STATIONERY

Yeah. I don’t want to fall into that trap. So right now I’m trying to be zen about everything. The way to do that, I think, is write just for me. Write the story that makes me smile and turns my heart into a warm puddle of goo. It seems that when I write the story I want to read, other people end up wanting to read it, too.

So wish me luck! 🙂 And thanks for reading. <3

xo,

Sandhya