Bookpleasures.com welcomesas our guest Ekta R. Garg—an award-winning author, seasoned editor,and writing-contest judge who has navigated the niche-publishingtrenches since 2005, covering everything from healthcare to homeimprovement to Hindi films.

Creator of the holidaynovella The Truth About Elves and the grown-up fairy tale Inthe Heart of the Linden Wood, Ekta also hosts the craft-focusedBiblio Breakdown series and blogs on all things writing at TheWrite Edge.

We’re thrilled todiscuss her forthcoming micro-collection, The Witch’s Apprenticeand Other Stories, slated for release this August.

Norm: Good day Ekta andthanks for taking part in our interview.

In The Witch’sApprentice and Other Stories, the title story centerson the unnamed witch who eventually becomes Dorothy’s roadkill. Howdid you decide which slice of her life deserved center stage? Didyou ever consider giving her a name, or is the anonymity part of thepoint?

Photo Credit: The MARC GROUP

Ekta: Every story in thismicro-collection started with a question for me in the writing, andthen I included that question in the book so readers knew what toexpect from the story.

For the title story,The Witch's Apprentice, the question was, essentially, "Whatwas the Wicked Witch of the East doing in the middle of the roadbefore Dorothy's house came to Oz and landed on her?"

The story actually camefrom me asking the question of myself. If you read the original book,The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the Eastbarely gets a few lines before she's smashed by the house.

Yet that's the incitingincident of the entire novel -- the reason why the Wicked Witch ofthe West is mad at Dorothy and vows to get her, why Dorothy goes onher quest on the Yellow Brick Road, all of it.

For such a big major pointin the novel, it's treated in a "blink-or-miss" kind ofway. I literally just followed my curiosity about the Wicked Witch ofthe East to see where it would take me. 

As for her name, Ihonestly didn't set out to keep her anonymous. That's just the waythe story unfolded.

Occasionally I like tochallenge myself in my writing by doing a short story that has afirst person/second person kind of setup.

That's what I did here, soI envisioned the apprentice to the witch sharing her story directlywith readers/the audience. In many second-person narratives, theperson doing the talking doesn't get a name.

This started out as awriting exercise and became a story that I knew had to anchor mythird book, and it works so well without us knowing her name butlearning so much else about her that I didn't feel the need to giveher one. 

Norm: You call this a“micro-collection.” What governed the final count—did storiesget killed off like so many wicked witches, or did you always have atarget number? Which cut story do you still mourn?

Ekta: When I firstenvisioned this collection, I thought I'd write somewhere between 7and 9 stories. I always intended to keep it on the smaller side of abook, because I wanted something that would fit our current climateof some readers/audience members wanting shorter works to read andenjoy.

The book actually had twoadditional pieces in it that were very different in tone and intent,and after discussing it with my editor at Atmosphere I decided totake them out.

Her main advice, which Iagree with wholeheartedly, is that it was better to turn out ashorter book that offered my best in each story rather than a longerone where two of the stories didn't reach that mark. 

After cutting the numberof stories, I spent a long time thinking about what to call thisbook. "Short story collection" almost implies somethingthat's at least 10 or 15 stories long (if not more than that.) Ithought "micro-collection" would help people understandright off the bat that it was something small.

As for stories I cut, Iwas playing around with an idea based on "Jack and theBeanstalk," but for several reasons I ended up not including itin this book.

I do look forward todeveloping it more for what I hope is a future collection.

The original idea for whateventually became "The Honor of Emperor and Thieves," basedon "The Emperor's New Clothes," was completely differentfrom what ended up in the collection. I may go back and write thatone too at some point. 

Norm: Jack and Jill’swater run is re-imagined as… well, no spoilers, but it’s darkerthan a scraped knee. Was rehabilitating their “why” your gatewaydrug to the whole project? Did you find yourself rewriting thenursery rhyme to match your twist, or did you leave the original textuntouched?

Ekta: For every story inthe book, my approach was the same: to go back to the originalstories/rhymes, examine what they said, and then fit my story intothe existing structure.

As I say in my author'snote in the beginning of The Witch's Apprentice..., there aremany, many incredibly talented authors out there fracturing fairytales -- changing those stories in some way that, while it leaves thefundamental plot the same, gives readers a whole new way of lookingat them.

The Lunar Chroniclesby Marissa Meyer and Wicked by Gregory Maguire are primeexamples of this.

I admire what theseauthors have done and have, in several cases, enjoyed their worksimmensely.

However, for my ownwriting, I'm almost "challenging" the original stories tosee what hidden facets I can reveal without changing anything aboutthem. This approach provides its own immensely satisfying writingchallenge. 

For my Jack and Jillstory, titled "...To Fetch A Pail of Water...", my mainquestion was, "Why did they need that pail of water in the firstplace?"

We've heard the nurseryrhyme a million times, but it doesn't give us any context whatsoeverfor what made these two characters go get the water.

]It just tells us thatJack got hurt and, presumably, so did Jill (although, again, theoriginal nursery rhyme isn't clear on what happened to her.)

I indulged my owncuriosity about them, and the story is what came of that curiosity."...To Fetch A Pail of Water...," "The Witch'sApprentice," and my story based on the Pied Piper of Hamelin --titled "Denying Hamelin" in the book -- were all what gaveme the idea to put this collection together with this common thread.

Norm: In the SleepingBeauty piece you quietly ret-con the entire spindle ban. How muchmedieval law did you have to read to make that loophole feelinevitable? Any legal opinions you unearthed that still make youlaugh?

Ekta: Full confession: Ididn't do any research into medieval law for the Sleeping Beautypiece, titled The Beauty Before She Sleeps.

Again, I was going basedstrictly off what the original fairy tales gave us on thesecharacters and their dilemmas. I did read variations of "SleepingBeauty," including, of course, one of the most well-known by theBrothers Grimm.

But I was interested inworking within the "restrictions" of the original works tosee if I could bring out something new. For that, I stuck to theoriginal stories as my main source material. This is a reallyinteresting question, though; I might have to go in and do someresearch on medieval law after all! 

Norm: Goldilocks getsan origin story that smells like Eastern European folklore. Whichreal-world cultures did you braid in, and why give the bears a breakthis time? Could this prequel ever become its own novella?

Ekta: The Goldilocks storywas a fun one, because I got to come up with my own origin story forher.

In almost every singleiteration of Goldilocks that I read as part of my writing research,the story starts with her skipping through the forest.

We get no information onwhere she came from or why she ever thought it was okay to invade theBears' home. I guess, if she was a child, she would just go where hercuriosity led her (kind of what I did with this entire book!)

But I just thought it wasfunny and strange that we have a story that starts with this randomgirl who walks into this unknown house -- with no information orconfirmation that it's even safe! -- and who helps herself to thefood and the furniture without batting an eye. 

My educational backgroundis in journalism, and I'm a magazine editor and writer in my day job.

When you couple that witha writer's duty to drill as much as possible into a character'smotivation in order to make that character's story compelling, I justkept going over Goldilocks's origin in my mind many times until Icame up with an origin story that satisfied me. I don't want to spoilthat story here, but for this story as with all the others I stuckwith the original texts. So I didn't really work in any real-worldcultures, just the original works.

You asked why I gave theBears "a break." As with Goldilocks's origin, we never getto hear anything about the Bears after Goldi ransacks their house. Weessentially just leave them on the doorstep as she runs away. So Iwanted to explore what happened next a little more and do it in a waythat provides readers with additional information before we leavethem again.

As for whether this shortstory (which is the longest of the book) could be a novella of itsown, I hadn't thought about it, but never say never!

Norm: Your blog, TheWrite Edge, is famous for tight, practical craft posts. Which craftrule from the blog did you gleefully break here? What did theblog readers call you out on when the excerpt dropped?

Ekta: I'll be honest, Ididn't really break any specific craft rules from the blog or ofwriting in general (that I know of!)

If anyone sees one, by allmeans please let me know. I'd love to hear your take on the storiesand the book as a whole!

Norm: You’ve judgedwriting contests for two decades. Did that critical eye makeself-editing these shorts a bloodbath? Which craft axiom did youhave to ignore to keep the fairy-tale voice alive?

Ekta: Being a writingcontest judge actually has taught me to be critical of my own work ina constructive way, and I don't mind -- much -- getting feedback fromothers anymore (ten years ago, any constructive criticism would haveleft me in a puddle of tears for half a day.)

Of course, it does stinginitially -- I'm human; just like any other creative, it would begreat to be told that every thing I create and put into the world isflawless -- but I also understand that the best writing comes fromrewriting.

And I'm so grateful to allthe people who have given me feedback, formally and informally,through the years.

They've made me a betterwriter, and they've primed me, as I said, to be thoughtfully criticalof my own work. They've helped me grow a thick skin. 

I think exposure towriting contests from the judge's side of the table and working as aneditor on other writers' works has helped me write cleaner firstdrafts than a less experienced writer just starting out, so I deeplyvalue that opportunity not only to help other writers but also to getbetter at my own craft.

Norm: This collectionis being published by Atmosphere Press again. How has the indielandscape shifted since Elves dropped in 2021? One thing you’ddo differently in the launch plan this time?

Ekta: It's incredible tothink that only four years have passed since The Truth AboutElves released and even more unbelievable to see how manymore scams are targeting new writers these days.

It's worse to see how manywriters are being taken in by these scammers.

For those writers readingthis interview today, if you take away nothing else from it I beg youto heed this: please, please vet any unsolicited opportunities thatcome your way.

With the rise of AI, it'sgetting easier for scammers to make their emails, texts, and othercommunications look and sound legitimate.

Before, you could spot ascammer because of bad grammar or major errors in theirwebsites/emails/other communications.

I've started seeing ashift, though, in these outreach attempts (I've received manymyself,) and they're starting to look more and more like the peopleand companies they're impersonating.

If someone approaches youout of the blue, and their claims promise you the sun, moon, andstars, block them as fast as possible. Do NOT engage.

Publishing has changed inmany ways, but no one, in any sector of any business, can guaranteeyou astronomical sales in a matter of weeks or months.

Books do become wildlyfamous and popular; authors do get thousands of positive reviews andsales.

However, for a new writerjust starting out -- particularly if you're going theself/indie/hybrid publishing route -- the chances of that happeningto you are slim. That's just the reality of the industry. Can yourbook become wildly popular and famous? Absolutely. Is that going tohappen when you've just published a few weeks ago? Probably not. 

AI, of course, is alsosharply on the rise. New writers, do yourself a favor and stay up todate on what's going on with this tech and other pub industry-relatednews.

It doesn't matter whatpublishing route you plan to take. If you decide to engage in thisindustry in a professional way, treat your work and yourself with theutmost of respect and educate yourself on what's going on with itthese days.

You wouldn't go to adoctor for a serious health issue if that person had never gone tomedical school. Why expect anything less of yourself as a writingprofessional?

As for the launch of TheWitch's Apprentice and Other Stories, this time around I'veopted to do my own marketing as opposed to asking Atmosphere to do itfor me.

Atmosphere Press has beenan incredible partner in my publishing journey. I went to them formarketing help and leads on my first two books, and I listened andlearned to what they did and said.

I've also kept an eye onopportunities that I learned about outside of what Atmosphereprovided, and because they've helped me feel so steady on my feet asan indie author I thought I'd strike out on my own when it comes tothe marketing piece of it for this third book. We'll see what comesof it all!

Norm: Short stories arenotoriously hard to market. Which piece will you read aloud on everyZoom or other event to hook readers, and why that one? Anyaudience reaction that surprised you during early readings?

Ekta: I've only had acouple of opportunities to read aloud thus far. In June I read theopening to "...To Fetch A Pail of Water...". The mostrecent reading happened in mid-July at an open mic at our locallibrary.

I read all of "DenyingHamelin," because it's a piece of flash fiction that fit easilywithin the time constraints the library provided for those who wantedto read.

If other opportunitiesarise, I'll probably read that one again because it's the mostlyrical of all the stories I've written; it has a poetic quality toit, and it's the favorite of the five of my Atmosphere editor, AsataRadcliffe. It's dramatic and sad, and even though I prefer to leavepeople smiling at the end of my readings I think it's okay to mix itup once in a while. And the audience at the library liked it a lot,so that tells me it's a good one to stick with for future readings.

Norm: Where can ourreaders find out more about you and The Witch’s Apprentice andOther Stories?

Ekta: Check out my authorwebsite, https://ektargarg.com. If you go to my website and order thebook today, I'll send it to you before the official release date!

Norm: As we wind up ourinterview, you’ve written professionally about Hindi cinema. IfBollywood optioned The Witch’s Apprentice and Other Stories, whichstory would make the best item-number set piece? Who’s yourdream playback singer for that number?

Ekta: Wow, I've neverthought of the book in this way before! I think a specific part of"The Honor of Emperors and Thieves," based on "TheEmperor's New Clothes," might be a fun, flirty track for fans ofclassic Bollywood, especially if Sonu Nigam sang it. He's got suchincredible breadth and range -- he can go from a comical number toemotionally devastating and get it right every time.

He's also sung some of mymost favorite songs for my all-time favorite actor, Shahrukh Khanthinking of "Suraj Hua Maddham" from the movie KabhiKhushi Kabhie Gham.

If you know, you know!),so I know Sonu Nigam would do complete justice to what would be abreezy, romantic number in "The Honor of Emperor and Thieves." 

Norm: Thanks once againand good luck with all of your endeavors