As interesting as their book "The Halfway Point" has been for its uncanny subject and witty writing, I found the authors equally interesting personalities who have a whole new perspective of life in the later stages. Here is an excerpt of their candid interview:

1. Akhila Saroha: If you were to describe your book “The Halfway Point” in a few words without giving any spoilers, what would those words be?

Rummana A and Sharvari B: Journey into the unknown?  How about: Our answers to life’s questions as we talk you through life, parenthood and middle age.

2. Akhila Saroha: What advice would you give to budding writers who may be planning to write in the same genre as “The Halfway Point”?

Rummana A and Sharvari B: Find your voice and be as genuine as you can. Works for us!

3. Akhila Saroha: Do you think you have conveyed all you had in mind through “The Halfway Point” or do you feel that there is more to come from your pen on the same subject that the book explores? How much research/revisions it took to write the book before you approved the final draft?

Rummana A and Sharvari B: Halfway Point, we think, covered all we had to say or wanted to talk about from the perspective of mid life explorations and experiences. Halfway Point is our third book together. And I am sure we will have more. Life will never stop granting us fresh experiences and hence it's safe to say there is a lot more writing left in us.

4. Akhila Saroha: The book may become a sensation in the long run. How is the audience responding to the book? Is it close to the expected response?

Rummana A and Sharvari B: The book is definitely taking in a lot of readers. We have been getting reviews like ‘Oh this is so me!’ Or ‘I can see myself in you’. Makes us think that it has touched people on a personal level. And I could see the book going no other way. 

5. Akhila Saroha: How would you describe your literary endeavours and all that went into your making as a writer before “The Halfway Point” materialized?

Rummana A and Sharvari B: We were writing off and on individually for quite a while, before eventually coming up with our first book “Tete-a-tete with R&S” which was conversational like this one. We were younger, and I think it shows in the questions and our answers! 

Our second book “Anu & Isha” was a fiction book, targeted towards younger audiences. We tapped into our inner teens, wringing out all our pent up teenage angst that we could (turns out there was quite a bit!).  It was also in the form of conversations, though as letters between two teens. 

This was our third one, and although we love all our book-kids equally, we secretly think the best one. Third time’s the charm!

6. Akhila Saroha: There are so many unique perspectives in “The Halfway Point.” What was the most challenging thing about writing such complexity in a simpler version?

Rummana A and Sharvari B: This is something which we would credit words for. Words have the power to convey something very complicated, sometimes incomprehensible into something very simple. A writer’s weapon is their words, and hence ours too.

7. I hope that the book breaks records and reaches more readers. I wish you luck with the book.

Rummana A and Sharvari B: Thankyou Akhila. As we say it in India ‘Aaap ke muh me ghee shakkar’. :) We are hoping the book reaches a lot of readers because we are pretty sure the read would be relatable to some and enlightening to some. And if neither, it definitely is entertaining. 

Knowing you as an Author:

1. Akhila Saroha: What were the situations that led you to take the pen and explore your capabilities as an Author? Or how has your journey as an author been?

Rummana A and Sharvari B:Writing, as a form of expression, is a very strong one. Esp for people who love words and the immense power they have. I think the love of expressing ourselves on paper is what got both of us to writing. Both of us have been writing for the past 15 years or so in some form or another. We used to write blogs and articles for websites like www.womensweb.in and it grew from there. When we had the idea for our first book ‘Tete-a-tete with R&S’, it seemed like the obvious next step. And writing together works for us because we kind of push each other along to just get it done.

2. Akhila Saroha: If not a writer, do you see yourself engaging in any other forms of creative streams? Which would it be?

Rummana A and Sharvari B: We are both engineers by profession. I think writing is our furthest limit as far as creative expression goes.

3. Akhila Saroha: We all have personal favorite authors who even influence our writings. Which ones are yours?

Rummana A and Sharvari B: Rummana here - As a teen/young adult I loved reading Robin Cook and Agatha Christie. Medical thrillers and Mystery novels.

I don’t think my writing is influenced by either. I guess I like bringing myself out on paper, and hence my writing is influenced by my experiences/my reality. Reading for me is an escape from reality.

4. Akhila Saroha: Apart from writing, what are the other activities you are involved in as a person?

Rummana A and Sharvari B:Rummana here -  I love the outdoors! I had taken to running recently. And I am a die hard bollywood fan.

5. Akhila Saroha: In your busy schedule, how do you devote time to writing? Do you allocate a certain number of hours every day? Or how do you manage?

Rummana A and Sharvari B: I think for both of us writing has not yet become goal oriented or disciplined. We write when we feel like it. We write when we feel there is something that needs to come out on paper.

There are times we haven’t written for months, and it didn’t bother us.