Conversation with Swati Hegde
Swati Hegde is a versatile and passionate storyteller, celebrated for her contributions to the romance and young adult genres. As the author of Match Me If You Can and Can't Help Faking in Love, Swati has earned a devoted readership for her relatable characters and heartfelt narratives. Her forthcoming novel, As Long As You Loathe Me, promises to further solidify her reputation as a talented voice in contemporary fiction.
Based in Bangalore, India, Swati combines her love for writing with a fulfilling career as a freelance editor and mindset coach. She’s a self-proclaimed coffee shop enthusiast and finds inspiration in the bustling energy of local cafés, often accompanied by a steaming mug of tea. When she’s not crafting stories or working with authors, Swati can be found belting out her favorite songs off-key at karaoke nights—a testament to her lively and approachable personality.
Swati’s commitment to amplifying Indian stories and voices shines through her work. She envisions a long and impactful career in literature, driven by her passion for storytelling and her mission to bring authentic, diverse perspectives to readers worldwide.
1. Can you tell us about your journey as a writer and what inspired you to delve into romance and YA genres?
> Hi, and thank you so much for having me on for this interview! I’ve been writing since I was 7 years old, but didn’t start my journey to publishing until I was 21 (in 2017). The reason I started writing romance and YA was because those genres made me feel so much joy and hope as a reader. I just wanted to make other readers feel that way through my writing!
Finally, in 2022, I signed with my literary agent after 5 years of querying 6 books and amassing over 400 rejections. It was exhausting, to say the least, but I’m glad I never gave up. My 6th completed manuscript is now the first to be published: Match Me If You Can, which came out in June 2024 with Penguin Random House USA, and I have four more books releasing with them over the next few years.
2. What sparked the idea for Match Me If You Can? Was there a particular moment or experience that led to its creation?
> I love Jane Austen’s books and always wanted to write a retelling of one of her books. Emma is a personal favourite of mine, and with how incredibly desi it seems (with the vibes of meddling, matchmaking, and family—so Indian!), it seemed like the right one to retell. Although Match Me If You Can is heavily inspired by Emma and the first draft was a very true retelling, I’ve made the story my own in the final, published draft, 3 years after I first wrote it.
3. Jia Deshpande’s character is confident and full of life, yet she grapples with her feelings for Jaiman. How did you develop her personality, and did you draw inspiration from anyone you know?
> I’ll admit I struggled a lot with writing Jia, especially because just like the main character from Jane Austen’s classic novel, she isn’t meant to be likeable to readers at all. However, there is something I added to her character that I haven’t seen in a lot of Emma-inspired works. Jia has always been a romantic, but not in the ‘hopelessly daydreaming about a knight on a white horse’ kind of way. For instance, she doesn’t believe in “The One,” but knows that a person becomes the right match for you when you choose to build a life with them and work through the ups and downs together. Inspired by her parents meeting each other through a matchmaker, she takes it upon herself to set her friends and family up with their significant others. She’s never been in love herself (or so she thinks, lol), so her setups often involve more meddling than matchmaking. Over the course of the story, she realizes there’s a lot more to love than she thought—especially in her own life.
4. The setting of Mumbai adds a vibrant backdrop to the story. What role does the city play in shaping the characters and their experiences?
> Mumbai is India’s equivalent of the city that never sleeps. Given both Jia and Jaiman’s career trajectories, as well as the heavy focus on food and drink, Mumbai seemed like the perfect setting for Match Me If You Can. Also, I don’t want to spoil anything, but a pivotal scene happens at Marine Drive in South Bombay. That scene just needed a romantic seaside backdrop, and Marine Drive delivers perfectly! I think setting the book in a different city would have changed the entire vibe of the story. Mumbai was exactly what it needed.
5. Jaiman’s character is deeply tied to the Deshpande family and their chaotic yet loving environment. How did you go about crafting the family dynamics in the story?
> Family plays such a major role in the lives of Indians, and oftentimes we’re made to think that family is just the people who birthed you and raised you—which might be true to a certain extent for Jia, who has grown up in a loving home. But it’s certainly not true for Jaiman, with his strict and absent parents, who claims Jia’s loved ones as his found family, especially since he’s known them since childhood. One of my favourite parts of this book was writing Jaiman’s interactions with Jia’s family (and her resulting annoyance at how he’s always around!). I truly believe that family is chosen, not just created, and I did my best to show that in this book.
6. As a mindset coach and editor, how do your other roles influence your writing process and storytelling?
> It’s easier for me to coach myself out of negative mood spirals than the average writer simply because of the tools and techniques I learned in my coaching certification, and that’s the biggest blessing for me as an anxious, creative person. Being an editor doesn’t influence my writing all that much, and I do have my own editors in my publishing team, but my editorial brain has affected how much I enjoy reading books for fun because I instinctively start looking for issues or fixes in the writing or storytelling.
7. What challenges did you face while writing Match Me If You Can, and how did you overcome them?
> For me, writing has never been the challenging part—it’s everything that happens in my brain after the book is written. I was in a pretty bad place mentally when we were a few months from Match Me If You Can’s release and early copies were getting into the hands of book bloggers. From the fear of 1-star reviews to the anxiety of being perceived by publishing professionals, it was hell inside my head. I’m a very impatient and anxious person, two things that are inevitable in publishing. Being able to coach myself in those rough moments thanks to my mindset coaching career has been a godsend. Besides that, I also go to therapy and have a small circle of trusted author friends, but I’m glad I can depend on myself, too.
8. Themes like love, friendship, and self-discovery are central to the book. How do you hope readers will connect with these themes?
> I truly just want to see readers giggling and kicking their feet up while they read my book. I hope Match Me If You Can helps them build hope and joy in every area of their lives, whether it’s career, friendship, romance, or even their relationship with themselves. Everyone deserves love, and everyone who wants it will find it, as long as you keep yourself open to it. Just have the faith and keep being yourself!
9. You mentioned bringing Indian stories and voices to light. How do you think Match Me If You Can contributes to this goal?
> Match Me If You Can is a book set in India, featuring Indian characters, written by an Indian author, so I think that speaks for itself, haha. The book is also my love letter to Mumbai, the city where I spent the formative years of my early adulthood.
10. What advice would you give to aspiring romance writers, especially those who want to highlight Indian culture and stories in their work?
> Keep trying, keep writing, keep holding onto hope. Remember why you started writing romance and why you want to center your own culture in your books, and make that the driving factor behind all of your actions. Not all of us get unicorn success stories—some, like me, take years of shelving multiple projects until we write that game-changer novel. Prioritize your mental health, take breaks if needed, but don’t let go of your dream. You’ve got this!
Buy Match Me If You Can by Swati Hegde > https://amzn.to/3DtuuHa