The inspiration behind my book, The Spice Maker’s Secret . . .
I think a little bit of every author is in every story he or she tells. I think like all authors, I am riveted by people, by what makes them tick. I am fascinated by family relationships, the secrets we keep from those we love, the deep and convoluted bonds of love that can so quickly turn into hate and the desire for revenge and retribution. I I love witnessing snatched moments in people’s lives. I collect nuances and conversations and create stories around them. I borrow characteristics from various different people and people them in my characters.
I grew up in a small village in India that was a hotbed for gossip and secrets, shaped by a culture that was as primitive as it was heartfelt, as narrow minded as it was generous. I chafed at the restrictions imposed on girls by a culture that seemed to bind me in (loving) chains.
I write about the India I grew up in, a land of disparities, of breath-taking beauty and toxic pollution, of chaos and noise contrasting with the agonised silence of women who are not heard, of people who are as kind as they are bigoted, of spicy food and spicier gossip, of paan-chewing matrons and arranged marriages, of girls who yearn to grow into the women they want to be but are restrained by a culture that levies boundaries on them.
Food played a pivotal role in my life, growing up. My grandmother was in charge of the kitchen and when we were little, if she came to the living room my sister would point to the kitchen and say to her, ‘Go back to your house.’ Every night, we went to bed to the sounds of the hand grinder as she ground rice to a paste for dosas or idlis the next day. As soon as breakfast was over, she would start preparations for lunch, grating coconuts, chopping onions. After lunch, she would have a quick nap, then resume preparations for our evening snack and dinner. This was not just her, though. Everyone in the village was like that and they still are. When we visit, everyone comes bearing gifts of food and invitations to breakfast, lunch, dinner. Where I grew up, food is the currency of love. And so, it is no wonder really that food features so heavily in my books, especially, The Spice Maker’s Secret.
And, like the food that is such an integral part of the The Spice Maker’s Secret, I wanted the recipe for the story to be: a soupcon of mystery, a dash of action, a touch of adventure, a tablespoon of forgiveness and a teaspoon of racial tension, a pinch of romance and a sprinkling of laughter, seasoned liberally with nostalgia and a good helping of love.
My writing and publishing experience
The journey to publication was a huge learning curve. I committed every possible mistake there is. Once I had penned The End on my first draft, I bought a copy of The Writers and Artists Handbook and sent the first three chapters off to the first few agents listed there. I did not check to see if the agents were representing books by authors in my genre and I did not make the book the best it could be.
I was lucky in that I got requests for a full manuscript from a couple of agents. They read my draft and were kind enough to come back with suggestions for improvement. I took their feedback on board and I also saved up for a professional edit. This time when I sent the book off, the responses were positive, but I was rejected nonetheless, many, many times, sometimes with an accompanying note as to why the manuscript had been rejected, but most often without any reason at all. Then, four years and countless rejections later, I saw the ad for Bookouture in Mslexia and sent my manuscript off to them. And they said yes!
The challenges I faced
Self-doubt – I am always battling the fear that whatever I write is not good enough, that it is all rubbish, that nobody will want to read it. The only way to get through this is to keep writing. I try and silence that dissenting voice in my head and just write.
Rejections – I got rejected too many times to count. After every rejection, I would put my book away. Decide to give up. But after a few weeks, the urge to write would rear its head once more and I would dust off the manuscript and edit it, begin again.
The best piece of writing advice I’ve been given
One given by my wonderful publisher, Oliver Rhodes, an absolutely fab quote which I remind myself of every so often: ‘Write a good book and you’ll be able to sell it, write a great book and readers will sell it for you.’
Five pieces of advice for new writers:
1)Finish your book and work and rework it until it is the best it can possibly be.
2)Research your publisher/agent before sending your book off to them. Make sure they accept unsolicited submissions from writers in your genre. It will save you a lot of heartache.
3)Don’t be disheartened by rejection. Easy to say, I know, but remember everybody gets rejected.
4)Believe in yourself. There will always be people who’ll not like your writing but equally, there will be many others who will.
5) Don’t give up. It only takes one person to say yes to publishing you and they might be the next person you send your work to.
(c) Renita D’Silva
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About The Spice Maker’s Secret:
939, India. Gently kissing her child, Bindu reaches into her pot of powder and touches her finger to the baby’s forehead. She tries to hide her tears behind her sari as she hands her daughter into a stranger’s arms, wondering if she will ever see her again…
Trapped in an unhappy marriage, Bindu is desperately lonely. Before her wedding, she was a highly sought-after cook and although she is not allowed into the kitchen in her new house, she can still taste chilli on her tongue and remember the feel of ground turmeric on her fingers. She finds solace in writing recipes and creating new spice mixes, hoping to pass them down to her unborn child. But when her jealous husband finds out, he confines Bindu to her room alone. As she goes into labour, Bindu is trapped and desperately afraid for her child’s life. Even a recipe cannot rescue her this time. Will she and her baby find a way to survive?
1990, London. Eve’s most treasured gift from her beloved adopted father was a hand-written, Indian recipe book. Grieving his death, she begins to grind and mix the spices penned so carefully in the recipes. Do the crumbling pages in this book hold the key to uncovering the secrets of her past?
Her father never spoke of her birth mother, finding it too painful to talk about his time in India. But now he’s gone, Eve is desperate to understand where she comes from. Will finding her birth family, lost for so long, help Eve to find her place in the world, or will it tear her apart?
The Spice Maker’s Secret is an utterly unforgettable and heartbreaking story about love, betrayal and one woman’s extraordinary sacrifice. Fans of The Henna Artist, The Beekeeper of Aleppo and The Storyteller’s Secret will be utterly hooked.
Order your copy online here.
