Poor Rohan. All he wanted in life was a dog to play with. But life had other plans. His parents got him a baby sister to play with instead. However, the disappointment was short-lived because his father got him an adorable golden retriever right after. But that's not the ending of Khyrunnisa A's brand new book Baby and Dubdub. There's more to it.
The Butterfingers series author's new book is something that most children (and a lot of adults like yours truly) will enjoy. There are no two ways about that. Even if you are not a dog person, like the author Khyrunnisa herself, chances are that you will fall in love with Dubdub. "I am so scared of dogs. They always pounced on me. But greater the distance, greater the love. When I wrote the book, people thought that I was a dog person," the author tells us, from her home in Thiruvananthapuram. She adds, "This story came to me because I've often heard of kids who want dogs but their parents won't let them have one.
But greater the distance, greater the love. When I wrote the book, people thought that I was a dog person," the author tells us, from her home in Thiruvananthapuram. She adds, "This story came to me because I've often heard of kids who want dogs but their parents won't let them have one."
A book a year
Between 2010 and 2021, Khyrunnisa has written and published ten books. "I wrote almost a book a year," she says. This includes her bestselling Butterfinger series. This is surprising for the author herself, who says that she isn't disciplined and is actually a procrastinator. "One should not ask me for tips on writing," she laughs. Ironically, she's already contemplating a sequel to this book.
"But once you want to write, you will make time for it. I always sneak in time to read. All my books were written under contract, so this let's me focus. I work well under pressure," she adds. However, things were different with Baby and Dubdub. Khyrunnisa wrote the book in just ten days, leaving us baffled. "I wrote it in a very disciplined way. I can't even believe that I wrote like that. This is based on a short story that I had written before," she says, adding that she spent most of her time plotting the story.
But even though the book was written ahead of her deadline, Khyrunnisa had to wait a good few months to see it published. The release was delayed, owing to the pandemic. So, when we told her that we spotted the book at a bookstore, right next to a book by Ruskin Bond, she jumps with joy (almost).
I did not want to be a writer
You read that right. The author who has made both children and adults laugh out loud with her books and columns, did not plan to start a career authoring books. Rather, it happened serendipitously, when a short story that she wrote for Tinkle, back in the 1990s, won a prize and was noticed by the magazine's editor.
"The editor, who happened to be in town, came to visit me, asking me if I wanted to write for the magazine. I couldn't believe it," she says, talking about the birth of Butterfingers. "That's how I brought back Butterfingers. He carries disaster with him wherever he goes," she says. After a few years, she published the first Butterfingers book in 2010, which went on to be a success. The seventh book in the series is out next month.
In between, she also authored a book for adults titled Tongue-in-Cheek: The Funny Side of Life, which is a compilation of a few columns that she had written for a newspaper over the years. "People say that it is the ideal book for the pandemic and that it is a stress buster," she says.
