How the plot thickened
Amanda Jayatissa: Always loved figuring things out and solving puzzles. Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
Intriguing plots woven around enigmatic female protagonists coupled with Sri Lankan settings are frequent components in the writings of Lankan author, Amanda Jayatissa who has a penchant for suspenseful thrillers. Her first two novels published internationally by Berkeley Books, an imprint of the Penguin Group, received notable attention, appearing on recommended book listings in the New York Post and The Washington Post as well as on the Today Show.
The Sunday Times caught up with the author during a break at the Galle Literary Festival 2024 where she was in between promoting her soon-to-be-released novel, ‘Island Witch’.
Amanda, whose debut novel, ‘My Sweet Girl’ received the 2021 International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel, has always been drawn to stories veering toward the more mysterious and darker side of fiction even at a young age when she made the transition from reading Enid Blyton’s popular Famous Five and Secret Seven books to R. L. Stine’s Goosebumps series. “I always got used to this idea that reading should encompass something to solve so I think that was conditioned and I’m just generally someone that’s a little, maybe too curious for my own good. I’ve always liked digging around, trying to figure things out and I love solving puzzles. I love those Escape Room puzzles!”
The progression from reading to writing was very organic for Amanda, who started writing fiction early on, from trying to author an ambitious book at age eight to more moody poems and journal entries often synonymous with teenage angst. It was only on her 30th birthday that she decided to take the leap and self-publish her first novel, a steampunk science fiction story called ‘The Other One’ which won the Fairway National Literary Award at the 2017 Galle Literary Festival. “I actually thought to myself, ‘Wow, this is so awesome, I could probably try and take this a little seriously and pursue it in a more traditional sense’.”
“I think ‘The Other One’ was definitely me trying to find my style and my voice and trying to figure out what worked and didn’t work. There was absolutely no pressure – except the pressure I put on myself,” she jokes. “There was no pressure, there was just me having fun.”
Amanda's award-winning debut novel
‘My Sweet Girl’ tells the story of 30-year-old Paloma, a Sri Lankan orphan adopted by an American couple who finds herself caught up in a situation involving potential blackmail, a dead roommate, and mortal peril, alternating between timelines of the present and the past. Her second novel, ‘You’re Invited’ centres on another female protagonist Amaya, who is back on the island for her former best friend Kaavi’s lavish wedding to none other than Amaya’s ex-boyfriend. She finds herself the main person of interest when Kaavi disappears and is presumed dead but the story unravels the dark secrets and agendas of all wedding guests who may have sinister intentions of their own, leading to many twists and turns in the narrative.
On her process of devising such alluring plotlines, Amanda says that most times, it could be just half a seed of an idea inspired by something someone said or something she read or saw somewhere. “I always say it’s like a seed. It just sort of takes root and it stays with me and then for me, the litmus test is whether I’m still thinking about it weeks from that point. Am I still turning this idea around in my head?”
Her main characters are mostly influenced by emotions experienced when she writes. Amaya for instance, echoes the anxiety Amanda felt during the pandemic lockdowns. “I remember I was really anxious and nervous. I was also looking at external things to guide me a little bit so that ended up influencing my character.” In ‘Island Witch’, 18-year-old Amara’s character partially stems from the deep-seated rage, anger, and helplessness Amanda felt when she was writing the book during the Aragalaya in 2022.
A psychological thriller with a little bit of a supernatural edge to it, ‘Island Witch’ is a slight departure from her usual genre, with its elements of Gothic horror, set in the 19th century, a time rife with the transcurrents of British colonialism. Amara, the daughter of a traditional village demon-priest or Kapuwa, has been drawn into clearing her father’s name when mysterious attacks begin terrorising her village.
Although nervous about its reception, Amanda feels it will make sense for those who are familiar with her writing. The novel focuses quite a bit on the occult practices in the island as well as its folk-lore, looking at them through a lens that is different from that of the West. “I’m so excited to bring a Sri Lankan perspective, especially because it’s published in the US and a lot of readers there aren’t very familiar with our lore and our stories.”
Tales from an Island: A rapt audience for Amanda's session at Wild and the Sage on Thursday
Amanda, who studied at Bishop’s College and Colombo International School in Colombo, later graduating from Mills College, California moved back to Sri Lanka after living in both the US and UK. She very recently relocated to Portugal with her husband and two dogs after falling in love with the country while on holiday, a move made easier due to the remote nature of both her and her husband’s work.
Asked if she would ever consider switching genres, she says that it is not entirely out of the question. “If you asked me a year ago, I would have said no, that I’ll only ever write contemporary thrillers and contemporary mysteries. But as you can see, there’s been a departure with ‘Island Witch’. I’m less closed off to the idea now that I might write in a variety of genres. I definitely want to pursue things that are maybe down the comedic route. I don’t think I’ll be very good at writing romance. I think it takes a lot more skill than a lot of people realise to make it interesting and exactly right. It’s a fine line and I think you have to be a very skilled writer to be able to pull that off.”
Island Witch can be pre-ordered through the Galle Literary Festival website as well as through online retailers.
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