So many of us grew up reading about the O’Sullivan twins and Darrell Rivers in Enid Blyton’s school series, often ruing that there’s isn’t anything like St. Clare’s or Malory Towers in contemporary fiction. Anjali Roongta feels it too. Only, unlike most of us, the Class X student of Pratt Memorial School decided to pen her own novel to try and fill the gap — Welcome to Olympus High (Chutti Books, Rs 150). t2 caught up with the young writer.

What is Welcome to Olympus High about?

It is about normal schoolgirls being themselves. There are a lot of books about superheroes, love and fantasy, but hardly any on regular people. Ansta Knight, my protagonist, is a regular girl, and this book is about her experiences at Olympus High, a boarding school.

Where did you get the idea for your book?

Since childhood I’ve been a fan of Enid Blyton. There aren’t a lot of books like Malory Towers or St. Clare’s these days. I spent a year in boarding school — Hopetown Girls School in Dehradun — so that is where I got the matter.

And your characters?

My friends say Ansta is a lot like me. She is a crazy fangirl and a bookworm. But she is more responsible and mature than I am. She is what I wish to be. I derived inspiration from my friends and family for some characters, while the others I’ve completely made up.

How long did it take you to write the novel?

I started writing the book when I was 13 and finished a year back during the National Novel Writing Month (November). Then I put it up on this site www.fanfiction.net, where I received a lot of support from fellow readers. My parents and teachers were also very encouraging and urged me to get the book published.

What are your future plans?

I want to grow up to be an IAS officer and an author. I’ve already begun writing the sequel to Welcome to Olympus High and another book I’ve co-written with my friend from Singapore, about Greek mythology, is mostly ready and will be released next year.