Kochi Author's Six-Year Novel: How His Wife's Discovery Led to Ten Out of Ten

"My Wife Found the File": The Story Behind Ten Out of Ten (Interview)

Kochi, Nov 9

Two days before his debut novel Ten Out of Ten: The perfect match that wasn't reaches readers worldwide, we sat down with Kochi author Anosh Abraham over a cup of chaya. We talked about a story that took six years to finish, a wife who refused to let it stay in a laptop folder, and the very first story he wrote as a ten-year-old waiting for a school bus.

About the book

Let's start simple. What is "Ten Out of Ten" about?

It is the story of Priya, a twenty-four-year-old social-work graduate from Alappuzha. She has forty-one job applications behind her and a mother who has just discovered matrimony apps. Then the horoscopes arrive, and Rahul, a quiet bank officer from Thrissur, matches her Ten Out of Ten. A perfect match on paper. But on their honeymoon in Munnar, in the middle of the monsoon, with a red alert over the hills, everything she believed about that perfect marriage starts to fall apart. It is a romantic suspense novel, but it is also about the labels women are made to carry, and the long road from betrayal to forgiveness.

The first line has been getting a lot of attention. Where did it come from?

"The day my husband tried to kill me, it had been raining for three days straight." I wanted the reader to know from the very first sentence that this sweet arranged-marriage story is going somewhere dark. After that line, every happy moment feels a little dangerous. That tension is what keeps you turning the pages.

The six-year journey

You started writing this book in 2020. Why did it take six years?

I started the first draft during Covid, in 2020. Then I stopped. Started again. Stopped again. Some of those reasons were valid, and some, honestly, were not.

Can you tell us about those reasons?

The valid ones were the hardest part of my life. In 2023 my mother left us, and in 2025 my father. Their loss is like a mental wound that does not fully heal. We sometimes understand a person's value only when they are no longer with us. During those years, I simply could not sit down and write a love story.

The invalid reason?

I am lazy. I will admit it openly. I still have many incomplete works sitting with me. I will think about them after this book is released, I promise.

So what finally made you finish it?

My wife, Jasmine. A few months ago she found the file on my laptop. She read the whole thing in a few hours. Of course, it had no climax at that point, because I had never written one. She was not happy with that. She insisted that I complete the book. And I will be honest with you, I finished it just for her.

What happened after the climax was written?

We shared it with a small circle of people who are very close to us, including my sister, Asha. Everyone who read it gave me the same single piece of advice, publish it. Nobody said "change this" or "maybe later". Just, publish it.

Was publishing the easy part?

Not at all. The next few weeks were tougher than the writing. I did a lot of research on situations, locations and small details, because when you write about real places like Munnar, Kochi and Alappuzha, readers from Kerala will notice every mistake. I wanted them to read it and say, "Yes, that is exactly how it is."

Where it all began

You have said you started writing short stories at the age of ten. Do you remember that first story?

I do. It was the 1980s. One morning I was waiting for my school bus on the Alwaye-Munnar road, and a car carrying a few foreigners passed by. In those days that was a big sight for a small boy. On the bus, I kept thinking about them, and I made up a comical story, their car breaks down, and they are forced to spend a whole day in a small, remote village, with all the confusion and fun that follows.

Will readers ever get to read it?

Yes! I am going to recreate that story and publish it on anosh.com soon, so everyone can read it. It is a little gift for the readers who have been following this journey.

Writing "Ten Out of Ten"

Why Munnar?

Munnar has been my favourite place since I first saw it as a boy. I have seen it in every season and every kind of rain. The mist, the tea hills, the sudden rain of the Western Ghats: it is beautiful, but in the monsoon it can also be frightening. That mix of beauty and danger was perfect for this story.

The book is in English, but has Malayalam words. Why that choice?

I wanted readers anywhere in the world to be able to enjoy it, including the Malayali diaspora and young readers outside Kerala. But Kerala characters do not speak textbook English. So I kept words like molay, chettan, pennukaanal and porutham the way people really say them, with meanings in brackets and a glossary at the back. Nobody gets lost, and the story still sounds like Kerala.

Priya's voice is very modern, very Gen Z. Was that deliberate?

Yes. I wrote it in simple English, with the kind of humour and vocabulary young people actually use. Priya jokes even when life is not funny, like most of us do. Even when the story turns dark, I wanted readers to laugh with her, because that makes the scary parts hit harder.

Is there a message in the book?

I would not call it a message, more a question. What happens when the "perfect match" is not perfect at all? In our society, a horoscope or a family's reputation can decide a woman's whole future. The book looks at the labels women are made to carry and the families who judge them. But I did not want to lecture anyone. It is first a story, and I hope readers simply enjoy it.

Readers and the launch

The launch series on newkerala.com has been getting comments. How does that feel?

Honestly, it is very touching. People have written after reading the articles on pennukaanal, porutham and the Kerala rain, saying they are waiting for the book. For a first-time novelist, knowing that readers are eagerly waiting for 11 November means a lot.

Who should read Ten Out of Ten?

Anyone who enjoys a page-turner with heart. If you like romantic suspense or domestic thrillers, if you have ever sat through an arranged-marriage meeting, or if you simply miss Kerala and its rain, I think you will find something in it for you.

How can readers get the book?

The Kindle edition releases worldwide on 11 November, and you can pre-order it now on Amazon.in, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. It is also available for Kindle Unlimited readers. The paperback is available outside India from 12 November, and the Indian paperback edition is coming soon.

What's next

After this book, what comes next?

First, I want to see how readers respond to Ten Out of Ten. Then I will go back to those incomplete works I mentioned. This time, I hope it will not take too long.

Any final words for readers?

Thank you for waiting. This book exists because a few people I love would not let it stay unfinished. If you read it, I would love to hear what you think. You can always reach me through anosh.com. And if you enjoy it, please leave a review on Amazon. For a new author, every review matters.

— TINN