Author Interview ft. Lata Gwalani

Lata uncovers captivating tales in the mundane. Her writing weaves compelling narratives around resilient characters with charming imperfections, entwined in captivating plots. With a remarkable career spanning three decades in Journalism and behavioural training, she's a versatile talent.

In her leisure moments, you'll often find Lata engrossed in reading, penning her thoughts, or doing Yoga. For a taste of her adventurous side, whisk her away to the mountains, where her spirit truly soars.

A renowned speaker on Emotional Intelligence and Leadership, Lata boasts of five published works: Incognito, a psychological thriller, Prisoners of Secrets, a gripping relationship drama, Road to Abana, an enthralling historical thriller, Not Before You, a relationship saga of parents of a special child.

Her fifth and latest book was released at the World Book Fair in Jan 2026, called A Tale of Two Kitchens, it’s a memoir-cum-cookbook.

Beyond her literary pursuits, Lata is a behavioural and skills facilitator, and a motivational speaker. She has a rich experience of 27 years. She has conducted over 3500 workshops and has trained over 75,000 people. Besides corporate workshops, Lata also delivers lectures at various educational institutes and seminars, reaching a cross-section of people right from teenagers to retired professionals.

Author Interview

Q1. What role has your three-decade-long journalism career played in shaping your journey as a writer?

A. I got into journalism because I love writing. Journalism helped hone my love for the craft. It taught me how to structure information, and most importantly, it taught me the art of brevity.

Q2. As a journalist, you have spent decades observing people and society. How much of that observation finds its way into your fiction?

A. Almost all of it! The human-interest angle is what I focused on in my feature-writing beats for the publications I worked with. And then my years as a student of psychology helped me develop keen insight into human behaviour. This, in turn, has helped me tell my stories.

Q3. You have written psychological thrillers, relationship dramas, historical thrillers, and memoirs. How do you balance these different genres, and what changes in your approach when you move from one genre to another?

A. Frankly, I never set out with a ‘genre’ in mind to tell a story. I also feel ‘genres’ are more to do with the publishing industry, to help them categorise stories. I am loyal to my story, and it finds its genre.

Q4. Which of your books took the longest to see the light of day? When it was finally published, did it meet your expectations?

A. Once a manuscript is signed off with a publishing house, the wait for it to see the light of day is always long. So, I can say that it has been so with every book of mine. Yet, I understand the reasons for the long gestation period: there’s editing (both line and developmental), there’s the designing, the back and forth with the author on the changes or any other aspect... there’s a lot that goes on.

Q5. In an era where we are increasingly driven by social media, how have social media influencers and digital platforms helped you grow as an author or reach a wider audience?

A. Social media is a dimension that cannot be overlooked if you want a good journey for your book. Through trial and error, I have also been travelling along this journey. It is time-consuming. Therefore, I rope in experts. However, as an author, I know my product the best. So, a collaborative approach with social media influencers is what I am currently experimenting with. Yet, my first preference is in-person promotional events, reading sessions, and book discussions.

Q6. What does your writing routine look like? Are you a disciplined writer, or do you write when inspiration strikes?

A. Writing, like any other profession, calls for a disciplined approach. You have to show up at work. Some days are more productive than others. I approach my writing like I do my training profession: read and remain updated, and put in the hours.

Q7. Your work spans writing, leadership, and behavioral coaching. How have these different domains come together to shape your personality and make you the person you are today?

A. Although writing is a creative pursuit, for me, it is about telling the stories of people, ordinary people with flaws and aspirations. The ethos of leadership is not too different from this. It is about understanding people and enabling them to aspire and achieve. The medium of storytelling is what is common in both these professions. I meet numerous people in my training sessions. Each person has a story of their own. And I am inspired by them.

Q8. How has your writing evolved over the years? Is there something you understand about storytelling today that you wish you had known when you started writing?

A. Behind every published story of mine is a wealth of learning I have gleaned. The learning is continuous. One of the biggest learnings for me has been the truth that every writer grapples with: it’s great to tell a story, but the most important thing is to arrive at how to tell it. I have now learned that every story already knows how it wants to be told. As the teller of that story, I need to discover that exact way.

Q9. Your stories explore people, relationships, emotions, and the complexities of human behavior. What draws you most towards exploring the human psyche through your writing?

A. I have always been intrigued by human behaviour, especially that of everyday people in everyday situations, and their journey towards the extraordinary. Relationships and their intangible nuances stimulate me: a husband and wife and the secrets they keep from one another, as in Prisoners of Secrets; a woman’s yearning to reclaim the home she lost years ago during the Partition, as in Road to Abana; or the simplicity of the bridge of love constructed by two women coming from disparate backgrounds, only through the exchange of recipes, as in A Tale of Two Kitchens. I have been intrigued by the psyche of the mother of a challenged child. Jaya’s journey with Nikhil and her equation with the rest of the family is what I explore in Not Before You.

Q10. You have been represented by First Forays four times and have also been traditionally published. How pivotal do you think literary agents have been in your journey as an author?

A. Extremely significant. A literary agent absorbs all the peripheral stresses of the writing journey and leaves you to focus on what you do best: WRITE! Lalitha Ravindran of First Forays Literary Agency has been that factor in my journey. I would not have been able to write and publish my works, almost one every two years.

Q11. What has been the most challenging part of your writing journey, from drafting a manuscript to publishing and marketing your book?

A. I say, every stage. People say the first draft is the easiest: just write on and don’t worry about perfection. I am a stickler for perfection even in my first draft. The other challenge is structuring the story: I redo this countless times, and even after the book is published and is fetching good reviews, I wonder if I should have restructured it.

The biggest challenge, almost universal, is marketing the book. It is quite frustrating for me to comply with today’s marketing trends: it is not enough to create visibility; you have to remain visible. And that is painful for me. I often wonder how lovely it must have been for the Agatha Christies and P. G. Wodehouses to simply write and vanish, while the publishers and bookstores did the rest.

Rapid Fire Questions:

1. A book you will always recommend.

The Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Suzy K Quinn

2. A place you would love to write about

Rishikesh 

3. Your favorite book written by you

Prisoners of Secrets

4. A compliment about your work that you will carry with you forever

We love the way you bring to life simple everyday acts through your sharp observations.

5. A genre you would never write

Sci-fi

Want to read her latest book?

Buy "A Tale of Two Kitchens"

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon.