Park Rynie writer publishes first novel during lockdown

Vilola Soobramoney, an accounts administrator by day and author by night, recently penned her first novel, ‘The Truth About Gabby’.

The mystery novel is about a missing woman named Gabby Jonas, whose sister Grace refuses to give up the search for her after her sudden disappearance.

Grace’s persistence pays off when she blackmails the chief of police into reopening the case. The two then stumble upon a cult that may or may not have something to do with Gabby’s disappearance.

While investigating this cult, they are led on a journey into a world of conspiracies and science fiction.

It’s a bottomless pit of unfathomable revelations which leaves Grace with more questions than answers and eventually, everyone wants to know the truth about Gabby, – Vilola Soobramoney

Vilola explains how her book was written as moments of inspiration struck, sometimes with each writing session being months apart.

“The book was not neatly arranged or planned prior to sitting down and writing,” she says.

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“I discovered the characters and story line as I wrote and found inspiration everywhere and in everything.”

When asked if she relates to any characters in the novel, Vilola said that she would like to think that some aspects of Grace Jonas’s character come from her.

“Her devotion to her family and sense of duty are definitely something I relate to, but I did not intentionally write into Grace’s persona,” she said.

She also relates to certain aspects of Maya Singh, a character who is friends with both the Jonas sisters, because she has slightly quirky and humorous takes on things and doesn’t really take herself so seriously.

Vilola was born and raised in Park Rynie and classifies herself as an introvert who enjoys the simple things in life.

Her role models include her parents who have instilled morals and values in her.

“My parents taught me that hard work and sacrifice is the only way to earn respect and achieve success and that there are no shortcuts to any place worth going,” she explains.

Vilola has always had a dream and passion to write, but because of self-doubt and nervousness, she never tried to pursue writing until now.

“I finally decided to take a leap of faith and after finishing my first novel, I can proudly say a sequel is definitely brewing,” she says.

Vilola sees herself as a creative and enjoys tapping into the “less organised” parts of her mind where she finds bits and pieces of information she can use to inject life into her stories.

She describes writing and its creative process as “magical”.

Channeling an entire story from my mind into a book is satisfying and the ultimate form of escapism and fun… for me.

The author also discovered that writers block is not a myth and that creativity can strike at the oddest times.

“I learnt to write as much as I can when I can and later edit, edit and edit.

“To aspiring writers, know your strengths and weaknesses and try to develop your own unique writing style,” says Vilola.

“Good writing is about more than grammar, spelling and articulated metaphors… it’s an experience that should transport the reader to another world.”

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When this creative is not busy writing or at her day job, she enjoys music and dabbles in art as well.

Vilola targets her book at adults, although the lack of offensive or adult content does allow for a slightly younger audience to enjoy this read.

The eBook currently available on Kindle.

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