The 20-year-old Indian American writer speaks about her newly published work of fiction.
Twenty-year-old Indian American Meryl Mary Thomas, who goes by the pen name Meryl T., published her first novel, The Ringmasters Society, earlier this year. The book is the first in a series that revolves around a group of students who attends “Ringmasters Training Academy”, a school for kids interested in becoming professional ringmasters, leaders of the circus. The students train and perform circus shows for the people of their town, “Daredevil City.” While people may believe these kids are just amateur circus artists who are trying to entertain the common folk, they don’t know there’s more to the school than what meets the eye. The Ringmasters Society is available on Amazon.
Born and raised in Laurel, MD, the avid circus enthusiast has been writing stories since her middle school days. Thomas is currently enrolled for an undergrad degree student at Towson University and lives in White Marsh, MD.
Besides writing, Meryl is also an actor, dancer and painter. A few of her paintings have been exhibited before in Azrael Franz Schwab & Lipowitz Gallery of Art.
Thomas’ parents immigrated from Kerala in the 1990s and they both work for the state government of Maryland.
The young writer spoke to The American Bazaar about the book recently. Here are the excerpts:
Congratulations on your first book. What was the inspiration for writing The Ringmasters Society? Why did you pick this particular story?
Thank you so much! The inspiration for this story sprung from my interest in the circus. When I was a little kid, I used to visit the circus often and was always amazed by the kinds of whimsical acts that were put on by so many talented artists. When I was trying to figure out a story to write, I decided to use my admiration for the circus and combine it with other interests I had. And soon. The Ringmasters Society was born. And I guess the reason I decided to write this story is because of the adventure and the many stories I could tell within this story alone.
Obviously, to write with details on circus, you had to have done a lot of research. Can you tell us about that? Did you have any background in the field?
I don’t have any actual background in the circus, but taking memories from my childhood experiences of going to the circus helped build a foundation for my writing. Often when I would write a scene involving a circus show, I would look up common acts in circus shows and watch videos depicting these acts so that I could properly illustrate these acts for my readers. Another aspect that helped was my background in dance. Big circus shows such as The Ringling Brothers often incorporate elements of dance within their shows. Hence, I would sometimes use my dance background to illustrate dance acts within the shows as well.
How long had the story been brewing inside you?
The idea for the story came to me about two and a half years ago. And ever since then, I kept building the story more and more. I had originally wrote the story from its earlier stages on a website, and eventually I gained a lot of readers from there.
Writing and publishing are not thoughts that come to the minds of most kids of your age. When did you decide to take the plunge: to write and publish?
I’ve been a writer since middle school. When I was little, I always fascinated about having my own book published one day. So one day, I took a composition journal and started writing in it like it was an actual novel. I even took some printer paper, drew a book cover, and pasted it on the front of the journal. Afterwards, this became a habit of mine to turn every composition journal into my own novel. And then I would share these little homemade novellas with my friends at school. They enjoyed reading them, looking at the pictures, and telling me about how I should really get published one day.
Did you have an ending in mind when you started writing? Or did it evolve?
For me, every idea in the story kept coming as I continued to write. So yes, you could say it did evolve.
How has the response for the book been so far?
The response has been pretty good so far. People have really enjoyed the characters of the book and the concept of the story itself. Even when I used to write the story online, I had garnered the same kind of reactions from my readers there.
How long have you been writing? Have you taken any writing classes?
As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been writing since middle school. I have taken one major writing class in college so far, but I am continuing to take more to develop my skills. At the time of my first writing class, I had a really good professor, Professor Adeana Lopez. One of the most basic skills she instilled in me as a writer is to always rewrite. Often times when we write something, it comes out as a jumble of words that don’t seem to connect. Rewriting ensures care to the words we put down so that the reader follows what’s being written.
In the book, you use the name Meryl T. Why did you use just the initial for the surname?
Meryl T was my choice for a pen name. I’ve had people sometimes tell me things like “You always dress to the T” or “Your writing is always to the T” and hence, I guess I decided to attach me name to that T.
Who is your favorite author? Did you model yourself on any particular writer?
My favorite author is Roald Dahl. Growing up, his books were certainly ones I couldn’t put down. And no, I modeled my writing based off how ideas came to me and how my mind used words to turn those ideas into actual writing.
Who are the sources of strength in your life?
My sources of strength would definitely be my family as they’ve stuck by me through everything I’ve gone through in life.
What are your future plans, with regard to college and career?
As of now, I don’t have a mapped out plan for the future. My focus in college is to build on my writing and the many other skills I possess and continue to branch out what I have to offer to the world. Hopefully this sets me for a bright future.
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