From Paro Anand’s “Like Smoke”
Award-winning children and young adult writer, Paro Anand, is out with a new collection of short stories called Like Smoke. It has been published by Penguin Books India. This is a revised edition of her previous and very popular coming-of-age collection of short stories called Wild Child and Other Stories. It was a book I had commissioned and worked upon while at Puffin. I have just received a copy of Like Smoke and was pleasantly surprised to see Paro’s generous acknowledgement of my contribution in her preliminary comments. But
I am happier to see that she expanded on the collection as she had always wanted to.
Thank you, Paro.
Here is the passage:
Ever since I wrote Wild Child and Other Stories, I knew there was something stirring within me. I knew that, as a writer, as a human being, I had more to give this book. Jaya Bhattacharji, the editor on Wild Child and a close friend, pushed me hard as she could. She knew I needed pushing, but, she also knew that I was going through some stuff and if she pushed too hard, she could break me. So she gave me tough love, but was gentle, as I needed her to be.
…
And so, out of Wild Child comes Like Smoke.
( p. ix – x)
Paro Anand Like Smoke Penguin Books India, Gurgaon, 2015. Pb. pp. 220 Rs 250
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