Grade 7 student Mallika Sinha has a lot to be proud of! She is just 11 years old and already a published author. Her debut novel, Mirror Image is a wormhole documentary inspired novel, where villains plan to create a parallel universe and the young protagonist Teresa finds herself in a series of sci-fi thriller adventures that keep the readers in suspense, awe and wonder.

How did the young author come up with her story? What inspired her?

To get the answers to our questions, we met with Mallika and found out how her engaging story came alive.

• When did you begin writing?

I have been writing since I was 5 years old. Writing has always been a great way to express my thoughts and feelings. Before writing my first story, I wrote poems and I have had a personal blog.

• What inspired you to write your book?
  I really like science. I was watching a documentary on wormholes (a hypothetical connection between widely separated regions of space-time) and I wanted to turn this complex topic into a sci-fi story to make it more interesting for a larger audience.

• How did you come up with the characters in your book? What about the storyline?

I chose a young girl, Teresa, as the protagonist so that I could imagine and craft her personality and behaviours truthfully. Instinctively I found myself reflecting some of my own personality traits onto Teresa. I think a good sci-fi story needs strong villain characters to portray the power struggle of evil against good. So, I created Dallas Vaupen, Diana Walker and Ariana, the evil masters and their apprentice. The good characters, Teresa, Sophie and Detective Baker combine their forces to fight against the evil doers.

• How did you publish your book?

My father took care of the publishing. I only focused on writing my story.

• How long did it take you to write your book?

I started writing Mirror Image last April and it took me 8 months to complete writing.

• What was fun, challenging and motivating about writing a book?

The most motivating part about writing a book was to create something of my own. My name will appear on the cover and I chose its title. It is truly fulfilling to tell my own story in print.

The most frustrating part of writing a book is getting blocked. There were times that I felt pressured to write but couldn’t. It felt as though I had an idea but couldn’t express it with the right words. These so-called writer’s blocks came and went as I persisted in writing and completed my book.

• Who are your favourite authors?

I am a big Dan Brown fan. I also love reading David Baldacci’s and Agatha Christie’s books. I really enjoy sci-fi and thrillers, however, my favourite fiction books are the ones that provide links to real life, containing useful facts and information.

• What do you think makes a good story?

For me, a good story has to resemble reality. That’s how I can connect with the characters and recall similar situations I went through in my own life. The protagonist plays a very big role in engaging me as the reader because I look for ways to identify with her or him. The other essential quality of a good story is the right pace. The story should neither move too fast and confuse the readers, nor too slow to bore them. It should flow in an engaging pace.

• What do you want to be when you grow up?
  I would like to be an author. Science and writing are my favourite subjects. It might be great to have a career that combines both.

• Who read your book so far?

My mum, dad and close family were my first readers. Some of my friends and my Grade 6 teachers read it.

• What were your readers’ reactions? Any constructive feedback you’d like to share with us?
  They all seemed to like my book. My father liked the fact that the protagonist was not perfect, like any of us, Teresa made mistakes. He also liked the ending of the story where I preferred an open ending, leaving it to the imagination of the readers.

• Any writing projects ahead?
  I started working on a second book. It is another sci-fi book which will be the first book of a trilogy.