"My love for writing started when, as a child, I watched my mother burning the midnight oil to write. We didn’t have electricity then in Atmakur, a small village in India where I was born. With her house work done and her children in bed, my mother would sit and write by the light of a kerosene lamp. Her book was not published but her zeal rubbed off on me."
Hema Macherla
About Me
Winner of the National Reading Hero award
Hema was born in the rural village, Atmakur in India. She has published 25 short stories and various articles in Indian magazines. She lives with her husband in London and has two grown up children.
Upon arrival in the UK, Hema spoke little English. She taught herself the language, starting with reading children’s books from the library. Despite having published 25 short stories in India, she felt that writing her first novel in a second language, Breeze From The River Manjeera, was a huge challenge - but she was determined to do it. She since has published two more novels, Blue Eyes and Letters in the Sand and several short stories in English anthologies.
Hema says, "I need to write. I feel restless until I can put my thoughts on paper”. She is a born storyteller. She draws on stories her grandmother told her and the life-events happening around her. All her novels are based on true events.