Welcome back to DAY TWO of the Seventh Annual Back to School Blog Tour. I’d like to introduce you to today’s featured author: Vijaya Bodach. She is a scientist as well as a children’s writer that has recently started publishing her own books as Bodach Books. She has written over 60 children’s books, including Ten Easter Eggs, along with magazine articles, stories and poems. Bound is her first novel. I had the chance to ask Vijaya about her childhood reading memories, what inspires her, and what future projects she has planned.

• What is your favorite memory from reading as a child?

Vijaya Bodach: I remember learning to read on my own at the age of six and how it opened the world for me. I no longer had to ask anybody to read me a story. I loved the freedom it gave me to read as many books as I could on our regular trips to the library and then picking out four books of my own to bring home for a month.

• Who was your favorite author and how did they influence you?

Vijaya Bodach: My favorite author was Enid Blyton when I was young. She wrote imaginative tales of animals—I loved how Brer Rabbit always outsmarted the other bigger animals. She also wrote realistic boarding school and adventure stories. It was pure entertainment always filled with interesting tidbits of information. It reminds me always that what matters most is a good story.

• Do you have a writing routine? Share what works for you.

Vijaya Bodach: I began writing when I became a mother so I was a night-time writer for a few years until the children started school. I’d steal a few minutes at the kitchen counter during the day to jot down thoughts and ideas and those 10-20 min added up. Once I got the children off to school, I’d get to my writing after doing morning chores. I got a couple of good 90-min blocks to write most days. I’d write a bit after supper and on the weekends if I had deadlines to meet. My husband was very supportive by taking care of the children. My kids are grown and away at college now, but I suspect I’ll stick to the school routine.

One thing I did from the beginning was to reserve one day per week for the business aspects—querying, submitting, researching magazines and book publishers. I need to start doing this again. It’s so easy to get lost in your own world and neglect the business aspects in writing.

• What subjects would you like to write about in future projects?

Vijaya Bodach: I have several picture book biographies I want to write but my characters from BOUND are again talking in my head. So, I need to pay attention to them first. Their lives have been percolating for over a year.

• What is writing to you in one sentence?

Vijaya Bodach: Writing allows me to think more deeply about the questions that haunt me.

Seventeen-year-old Rebecca Joshi, an adopted girl from India, burn survivor, and primary caretaker of her intellectually disabled sister, Joy, has the one dream to be a physician. Her traditional Indian father relies upon Rebecca to care for Joy while he buries himself in work to drown his grief over his wife’s death. Leaving home is the only way Rebecca can envision reaching her goal.

She helps Joy develop greater independence, and is devastated when Joy becomes pregnant. Rebecca tussles–with her father and with herself–over who is responsible for Joy and her baby. When Rebecca discovers the truth of what happened the day she was burned, she struggles to hold onto her dream while wrestling with questions of life, love, and responsibility.

This will make a great YA book for any high school classroom. Great gift for the beginning of school.

Bound is available at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com.

For more information on the author, Vijaya Bodach, please visit her website/blog at:

https://vijayabodach.blogspot.com

Plus, for a chance to enter and win a $25 Amazon Gift Card for visiting during the Back to School Blog Tour, please visit the Rafflecopter giveaway link below. Winner will be announced Monday, Sept. 16, 2019.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/20834f9e19/

**Come back tomorrow for another featured Indie Children’s Author!