The prolific writer from the hills,
Ruskin Bond
's new book 'The
Enchanted Cottage
' is out. "My new story book 'The Enchanted Cottage' is a long short story of mine and it has a supernatural element, a bit of philosophy-- not frightening but dramatic scenes. It is a ghost story, of sorts, and it has a lot of nature in it, and life in the mountains... I have written in the last few months. I must have written roughly 500-600 short stories in last 70 years, and this is one of my favourite," Bond said in a recent social media interaction with his fans.
The author also shared more details about his new novel, and he spoke about his favourite horror writer, and books in the live social media interaction with his fans from his house in
Landour
,
Mussoorie
. The interaction was hosted by his publisher,
HarperCollins India
. Read excerpts from a quick Q&A session with Ruskin Bond here:
1. What was the inspiration for 'The Enchanted Cottage'?
It has been in my mind for some time. It's a real cottage and I have lived in it, for almost eight years, many years ago when I first came to Mussoorie. It's at the outskirts of the forest. First one or two years were quite spooky living there all alone. I had been visited by some wild animals including a leopard. And village people around there were also very fascinating with their customs... This story came to me like a dream. Some of my stories are actually my dreams. I keep a dream book where I note my memorable dreams, and some of them become stories. In this story, dream and reality merge into one.
2. Are there any folktales or horror stories that really captured your imagination while growing-up?
I grew up on ghost stories; not so much on horror stories. Ghosts not necessarily frighten you. They can intrigue you and make you think about life after death, if there is such a thing. I grew-up on ghost stories by Mr James-- who is one of the best of all, and others like
Algernon Blackwood
, and Sheridan Le Fanu- I still read him, and he wrote some great ghost stories!
Horror stories are more in the line of Frankenstein,
Wolfman
, etc where the writer sets out to scare you. But I don't set out to scare you. I want to enchant the reader and I hope the little cottage im my story does enchant you.
When you write a story, do you go with the flow or plan the whole story first?
For a short story, I would plan it in my head. I see it like a short film; I see characters, incidents, the setting-- so that when I write it, I don't get the writers' block. So it is very important to write a story in your head and make notes... In all my stories, unless they are autobiographical, it is better to write them in your head first.
What are you currently reading?
I'm reading old ghost stories by
Sheridan Le Fanu
. I read a biography of Alfred Hitchcock-- I like reading biographies. And detective stories. I read three to four books per week.