I had loved the book, Watership Down, and had always wanted to write my own story that had animal protagonists.

A.T. Balsara – 29 September 2024

The Back Flap

Ananda is a troubled teen who feels like a misfit at home and at her new school, and her unusual ability to connect with animals makes her feel like even more of an outsider. Still raw from the death of her grandmother, Ananda’s dreams are haunted by a long-buried memory that causes her to push people away. Fin is a Tunnel rat who lives in the passages beneath the city, in the dark places humans overlook or despise. Orphaned as a pup, he is the nephew of the Tunnel’s charismatic leader and is willing to please his uncle, including being his lead henchman. When Ananda protects Fin during a chance encounter in the market, neither can foresee how their lives will forever be inextricably linked, but as the Chairman launches a plague war against the humans, both Fin and Ananda wrestle with secrets so terrible that they threaten their very existence. Told as mirroring narratives that reverberate with the effects of buried trauma, and informed by historical accounts of plague and dictatorship, this stunning tale examines what it takes to grasp for light in the darkness and survive the threats both beyond us and within us.

About the book

What is the book about?

First of all, thank you for having me!

In the first edition of The Great & the Small, the narrative centered on a rat colony led by their charismatic leader, “The Beloved Chairman,” who waged war on humanity using the bubonic plague. The Chairman’s nephew, Fin, initially a staunch follower of his uncle’s cause, experiences a transformative journey after being saved by a human girl named Ananda, whom he comes to love. This conflict sets the stage for Fin’s internal struggle between loyalty to his uncle and his growing love for Ananda.

I originally wrote the first edition to explore themes of good and evil, and the consequences of blind obedience. However, focusing on the rat colony meant Ananda’s story didn’t receive the attention it deserved. When given the opportunity to rewrite for a second edition, I embraced it.

In the new version, I added a new backstory of Ananda suffering from buried trauma, grappling with its corrosive, crazy-making repercussions and the struggle of remembering who she really is. The buried trauma manifests through nightmares, erratic behavior, and the ever-present siren-song of suicide ideation, yet moments of light guide her path. Her story is one of hope, resilience and finding one’s way through the darkness. Her experiences echo my own challenges growing up with undiagnosed PTSD from buried trauma.

When did you start writing the book?

The idea for the first edition came to me twenty years ago and was published in 2017. The second edition was written throughout 2022 and 2023.

How long did it take you to write it?

It’s been a story that has simmered for years, been published, revised, and is now being re-released. It’s a process that has spanned two decades.

Where did you get the idea from?

I had loved the book, Watership Down, and had always wanted to write my own story that had animal protagonists. I find animals fascinating, and when I read about the plague of the 1300s, so massive and devastating that it killed upwards of half of Europe and read that rats had been the carriers of plague-infested fleas, I thought there could be no more formidable opponent than a colony of rats armed with the plague.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

For the first edition, I struggled with Ananda’s story. While I drew from my high school experiences of feeling like an outsider, it didn’t ring as true, as I hadn’t considered adding my own backstory to hers (nor was I ready to). When I realized that her story lacked emotional depth compared to Fin’s, I was devastated. The book had already been published, and I thought I’d lost my chance. Then came the unforeseen gift—the chance to revise it! In writing the second edition, Ananda became as real to me as a flesh-and-blood person. Her struggles made me cry, and her triumphs and foibles made me cheer her on. It’s tough when you love your characters—when they suffer, you, as the writer, suffer! It’s like what Robert Frost said, “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.”

What came easily?

To be honest, not much. I always find the first draft like drilling through solid rock. However, as I revised, the more the story took shape under my hands. The “easy” parts for me are those unexpected moments where the characters come to life and the story seems to write itself. I become the recorder of events unfolding before my eyes, and in those moments, I often write with my eyes half-closed, capturing what I “see.” These deep connections and bursts of creativity are sacred to me—moments where I feel at one with everything. Creating something from nothing and witnessing it come to life? There is nothing better.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

Ananda was an amalgamation of several people, including aspects of myself. Fin and the other characters were entirely from my imagination. However, Fin’s uncle, nicknamed “Papa,” was modeled after Stalin. Stalin fascinates me because people followed him for love—a true “cult of personality.” He was charismatic, often charming, and even a ladies’ man. And he was also ruthless, paranoid, and toyed with people like a cat with a mouse–a mass murderer of literally millions who felt justified in every action he took. “Bad guys” never think they are bad. As a writer, it was important to make Papa fully rounded and not a caricature.

We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?

I grew up reading The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien and loved the Hero’s Journey that he so beautifully portrayed, and I loved Richard Adam’s Watership Down. My favorite current author is Kate DiCamillo. She has the extraordinary ability to bring poignance and connection to what most authors would think of as mundane situations. She writes with such emotional authenticity that I often tear up at just how beautiful her writing is.

Do you have a target reader?

Teenagers, but also adults. Anyone who has struggled to find reasons to live, to carry on, to live a life of meaning.

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

I gather notes and ideas for a project for quite a while before I start writing, often for years. I have several magazine holders lined up on a shelf in my workroom, and each major project that is “simmering” has its own holder, which may include snippets of dialogue, or fragments of scenes, or over-arching plot ideas. As I am also an illustrator, I collect photos, comics, or any kind of reference material that will help me illustrate the project, all of which goes into the project holder.

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

Yes, I outline, but it’s more of a loose roadmap for the story. I start with the beginning, have a key midpoint event to keep the dreaded mid-way sag at bay, and have the conclusion. If there are specific scenes I envision, I slot them in. This approach gives me flexibility and allows the story to develop organically.

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

I will often go back and rework something if I feel I have something to add at that moment, but often I am just trying to get that first draft down. As I noted earlier, the first draft is a hard slog. The fun for me is in the rewrite.

Did you hire a professional editor?

Before submitting my book to Common Deer Press, I had a freelance editor who specialized in YA work on my story. For the second edition, CDP hired another freelance editor, and she worked with me on my draft.

Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

Absolutely!!! I gather songs that create the vibe I am after and then, as I write a scene, play the song on a loop. The music becomes hypnotic and gets me out of my head. For the second edition of The Great & the Small, the overall theme music would have to be “Concussion,” by Nihoni. It’s pensive, but despite its name, also hopeful.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

I didn’t submit The Great & the Small to agents, as it was too indie for them to take it on.

What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?

Indie publishers are usually in the business because they love good stories. A story like mine, with rats as main characters, is too outside of the mainstream for the big publishers. I bypassed them and submitted it to Common Deer Press, and they published it in 2017. In 2022, Kirsten Marion at CDP felt the story had more to say and gave me the chance to rewrite it for a second edition. It’s an unheard-of opportunity, something the big publishers would never have offered to me.

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?

I did the cover art and illustrations throughout the book, using a digital tablet and Corel Painter. Common Deer Press had a designer layout my cover art and add titling, etc.

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

Indie authors have to be their own marketing team, but I am pretty bad at it. I have a virtual assistant who helps me create posts and maintain my website. For the release of The Great & the Small, 2nd edition, I hired a book publicist to help me, and it’s helped so much. If a book is published but no one knows about it, it won’t get read.

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?

Don’t rush your book. Now that self-publishing is easy to do, many people are putting books out that aren’t ready. Let things simmer. Give your book time on the back burner while you work on other projects, and when you’re ready, blow the dust off it and have another go. I strongly recommend hiring a freelance editor who specializes in your genre—they will see plot holes that you won’t. Make sure the book-baby you are sending out into the world is your best because it will affect how your future work is viewed. One of the questions agents ask is if you self-published a book, and if so, how many copies did it sell.

Invest in professional-quality cover art and design, in marketing support as much as you can afford, and ensure your book’s production quality can hold its own against books produced by the big publishers.

About You

Where did you grow up?

I am from Seattle, Washington, but I also lived in Germany and England as a child and young adult.

Where do you live now?

I’ve lived in Ontario, Canada for over 35 years now, and so it’s home.

What would you like readers to know about you?

Five years ago, I discovered energy medicine, which has brought me a sense of inner peace that I had once thought unattainable. Now, in addition to writing and illustrating, I do energy work with people and animals, and volunteer at a donkey sanctuary. Using energy medicine and Reiki, I work with beautiful donkeys, hinnies and mules, some of whom have had heartbreaking histories, helping them live their “happy ending” in peace, contentment and safety.

What are you working on now?

I write and illustrate picture books under my full name, Andrea Torrey Balsara. I am working on Book Two of my Greenbeard the Pirate Pig series about a guinea pig who dreams of being a pirate!

Thanks again for having me on The IndieView!

End of Interview:

Get your copy of The Great & The Small from Amazon.