Click here to check out all the titles by the author…
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Click here to check out all the titles by the author…
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Rohit walked across the reception as if he owned the place, a devil-may-care expression on his gorgeous features. Tasha felt something akin to a jolt of lightning strike her heart while she felt a buzzing reverberation like thunder, which muted all the other sounds in the hall. She just stared as Rohit moved towards her, her sherry brown eyes wide and her mouth open in a startled moue.
A trifle irritated when a phone buzzed, Tasha sounded breathless as she answered the call. A small frown knitted her smooth forehead and Akhil was startled to see her drumming her fingers in annoyance on her desk.
Tasha turned her head towards the two men who were deep in conversation as she placed the receiver back on its rest. Her heart beat a wild tattoo when she saw them walking in her direction. Her slender form thrummed in anticipation as she stepped out of the bay when Vignesh beckoned to her. Akhil could feel the tremors as she walked past him and a scowl puckered his forehead as he looked up to see what had caused the excitement. On seeing Rohit, he wiped his frown in a hurry and gave the other man a sheepish smile of greeting that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
Akhil hated his boss, passionately. Akhil was from a middle class family and had had to struggle throughout his twenty-four years to reach where he was, a management trainee on his way to becoming a duty officer in another nine months’ time subject to—a look of bitterness marred his good looks—the approval of the board of directors, especially Rohit Bansal. Whenever he looked at his young boss of thirty-three, Akhil felt the fire of jealousy consuming him. Rohit Bansal was so lucky—Akhil was absolutely sure of it—to have everything handed to him on a platter, a child born with a silver spoon, into a hotelier family. Rohit’s single-handed struggle and hard work to set up the 5-star hotel against so many odds didn’t enter Akhil’s mind. His patience and perseverance had no place in the employee’s thoughts. His narrow mind could only perceive Rohit, as he was today, a billionaire who held 22% of the total shares of Simha International.
Adding insult to injury was Tasha’s reaction to him. She had been gently firm in her refusal to date Akhil. The bitch! His lips drooped downward. Big money went a long way to pave one’s path, it seemed.
Tasha went to stand beside the FOM, waiting for him to do the introductions.
“Rohit,” said Vignesh, “Meet Tasha Sawant, the latest addition to the Simha family,” he smiled before he turned towards Tasha, “And Tasha, meet Rohit Bansal, our managing director.” He didn’t notice the shocked look on Tasha’s face as she stared at Rohit.
Sherry brown eyes clashed with obsidian black ones and sparks flew! Her small hand was engulfed in what could be termed only as a huge ‘paw’. Tasha forgot to breathe as she felt herself being sucked into the black depths of his eyes from where she never wanted to escape.
The flash of his smile drew her attention to his sculpted lips—the thin upper one and a luscious lower one—and the incredible set of white teeth was a dentist’s dream. She drew a deep breath before whispering, “Hello.” She couldn’t help but notice the deep cleft in his square chin. Sexy!
Rohit read her lips rather than heard her greeting and met the lovely doe-like eyes with his obsidian gaze. He closed one eyelid in a wink and grinned at her, hoping to ease the situation that was fraught with sensuality.
Unaware of the undercurrents, Vignesh Kumar excused himself to go about his work.
Rohit smiled at Tasha. “Welcome to Simha International, Tasha.” His black eyes studied her boldly, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes peeping from her low-heeled shoes. She was tall and slender and oh so perfect! He had a tough time keeping his right hand from moving to her velvety cheek. The dusky gold of her skin seemed to invite his caress. He wanted to gather her in his arms and kiss her sensational lips into oblivion. He saw her breasts move agitatedly as she took deep breaths to calm herself.
Pink flooded Tasha’s face that appeared gorgeous to the fascinated man. “I don’t bite,” he declared, his expression devilishly mischievous. His black eyes danced and sparkled, lighting up the area.
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Today on the blog guest post we have the popular author Alka Dimri whose books speak about the people in real life.
Her debut novel 45 Days in a Cancer Hospital was long listed for the prestigious Crossword Books award 2013. Her poems have been published in many magazines. She holds MBA degree in HR and worked with a leading MNC before turning to a full-time writer.
Born and brought up in Vadodara, a city in Gujarat, her roots hail from “Dev Bhumi” Uttarakhand. Apart from writing, she loves music, reading, traveling, and spending time with her two naughty kids.
Her latest release Beyond Secrets is the talk of the town. Let us get to know the author in her more and her writing journey so far.
You have been writing issue based stories. Your new book talks about broken heart and trust. But layered in a tinge of suspense. What is it all about and your expectation from the readers.
Paromita, first of all, I would like to thank you for featuring me on your blog.
Coming to your question Beyond Secrets is a story that can’t be restricted in one category, it revolves around so many issues that I had difficulty deciding it’s genre. It talks about issues of abandonment, broken trust, betrayal, child trafficking, religious issues and much more.
Sharing a bit about the plot:
Something is bizarre, Noel realizes the moment he steps in Aashiyana orphanage to volunteer as a counsellor. Aashiyana is a calm place and Noel enjoys his stint, but something is off. With each passing day he feels he is inching closer to the mysterious little boy from his childhood dreams.
Nidhi visits Aashiyana as a volunteer, and that’s how she wanted to keep it. Noel suspects something underneath her recluse behaviour and he is right. The more he learns about her, the more he is drawn towards her. And Nidhi? She isn’t allowed to love…as if love needs permission. Noel gets hopeful…
BUT…
An unexpected phone call and Noel must doubt everything he owned. The boy in his dream wasn’t a stranger after all. Suddenly he wants to escape. From truth? From love? From family? Maybe everyone. Nidhi, just healed is left back to fight new scars; alone. Forever? or will he return?
Noel thought unearthing the secrets would bring peace; he was wrong. There was a journey beyond secrets, a journey from denial to acceptance.
Beyond secrets is a novel with layers of suspense and different nuances of relationship. And one question that can’t have just one answer – How long does it take for a scar to heal?
My expectations from the readers?
My readers have left such heart touching reviews that I can’t ask for more. I am happy that people are able to connect with the characters of the story and they have felt the pain of the characters. Few of them had sleepless nights. That is the extent to which they have felt the emotions. What else can I expect? My precious readers are giving me much more than what I expected and I am really thankful to them. Just one request, please don’t give spoilers while writing a review, it takes away the charm of the story. And for the 0.5% reviewers who suggested editing, my manuscript has been edited by one of the top editors of the industry. English is complicated language and same thing can be written in many ways and we need to understand that. But then different people have different views and I respect that. Having said that, I am always open to improvement and thankful to all the reviews coming my way.
The classroom was in chaos when I entered. It looked like a mini battlefield of little soldiers bombarding each other with paper balls and paper planes. Before I could get a grip on the situation blackness seemed to engulf the scene before me, revealing another scene, hazy, like a dusty video film taking me to a different world where no colours existed except shades of grey; a classroom with empty first rows, far off, images of children yelling and flying airplanes… A wave of sadness crept in, a feeling of hollowness. Amid this chaos? Wasn’t it strange? Were these the same children who had forced their way into my thoughts when I was in the park? Were these known faces? Before I could become a part of the unreal the clamour faded as a strict commanding voice pierced through the din.
“Pranil!”
“Yes ma’m,” I said.
The scene dissolved and I found Simin staring at me in disbelief. “What happened?” she asked with a puzzled expression.
My head was spinning.
“Nothing, I thought you called me.” I said.
“I called Pranil. But what happened to you? You stood with your eyes shut. You ok?”
Oh, so that was her voice. Then why did I hear another voice, something from a distant, hazy corner of my mind? Or was it solely my imagination? Or a moment when imagination collided with reality?
“Yeah, am absolutely fine.” I said, looking away, not meeting her eyes.
“Pranil, I need to talk to you. Please come to my cabin after your prayers are over.” Simin said.
“Yes, ma’m.” The voice came from the last bench, from a boy with dishevelled hair, dark brown eyes and a dark complexion.
The dizziness made me uneasy and I couldn’t contribute much to the class that day. I walked to Simin’s cabin after the session.
I was not sure how I would collect the information. I wasn’t even sure what information I wanted. As soon as Simin saw me she started discussing a few things she wanted me to do.
“Noel, will you be able to go to… she paused. “You look disturbed. Are you ok?”
“Yeah.”
“You can tell me if anything is bothering you.”
“The boy you wanted to meet in the morning.” Not sure what was stopping me from speaking out his name.
“Pranil?”
“Yes.” I paused. “Pranil.” I tried hard to keep my voice steady.
“What about him?”
“Can you tell me something about him?”
“Like what?” She disconnected her phone that had just started ringing.
“Like…like…how old is he? Since when has he been here? Why did his parents leave him? Anything.”
“Anything. Hmmm.” She thought for a while. “Pranil is about 10 years old, he has been here since the last four years. His father died and his mother, who was a house maid, wanted to re-marry. The man she wanted to marry was not ready to accept responsibility of a son, therefore she left him here. But why are you asking all this?” She again silenced her beeping phone.
“I think I know him. Or someone by that name… or… or…” I didn’t know how to explain something I was still struggling to understand. I didn’t want her to disconnect her phone for the third time for my silly questions so I left the room leaving her gaping at me.
Later in the day I met Pranil. He was painting something when I reached him.
“Hello Pranil, can I sit here?”
He nodded.
“What are you doing?” I asked him.
“I am drawing a house.” He showed me the few scribbled lines in his notebook.
“Wow! This is a very good drawing.”
He smiled shyly.
I expected some connection to my foggy feelings as I talked to him. But no snapshots, no voices, no images followed. As if he was not the Pranil who played in my mind, the Pranil in my mysterious imagination was someone else, someone close to me yet far away, someone known to me yet a stranger. Something in my own self was unknown to me, an enigma and it was a terribly uncomfortable feeling. I just wanted to drag out the stranger from me but every time I tried the stranger gripped me tighter as if slowly becoming an inseparable part of me like my blood and my veins.
She currently lives in London and loves to read and write.
How difficult is the research for your story especially when it is even older than Ramayana and Mahabharata stories?
Researching for stories from Ancient literature and civilizational past come is a unique roller coaster ride for an author. There is a euphoric feeling about ‘discovering’ this new character who is so less talked about. There is also this exhilaration that a writer feels when he/she gets ‘the calling’ from the character to write that unsung story. At the same time, there are challenges. My challenge was about re-imagining the ancient Vedic world, the society and the setting which was far older than Mahabharata and Ramayana.
I have to confess it was not easy; especially after writing Abhaya for which the research was already done by generations of stalwarts and all I had to do was read up and plug the story into the dense narrative of Mahabharata. Avishi on the other hand required me to dwell a lot upon the world and the times besides the actual plot. I remember the phase where I would stop at every line and wonder about the tools they used, the vegetation, the fabric they wore and the dynamics between people. Minor characters and their backgrounds had to be worked out in detail though their appearance was only for a scene or two. But in hindsight, I am happy to have spent all that time and effort because at the end of the day, that was what increased my confidence. With each session of tough research/pondering, I became more confident about the story as well as creative assumptions going into the process.
That said, the fact that the story is so ancient also gave my creative wings, a new lease of life. For once, it felt exhilarating to discover that I, as the writer had so much liberty to reimagine the ancient world. The Rig Vedic sources mentioned the story only in about 6 shlokas of two lines each and the commentary by Sayana added to its interpretation. But writing a full length novel required me to deploy my creative abilities to the maximum. I discovered a whole new process of balancing creativity with authenticity. This is my biggest take away from the whole experience.
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Today we have with us of our blog guest post author Sudesna Ghosh (Sue) a writer based in Kolkata. She was born in the United States and moved to India when she was 9. After completing high school there, she went back to the US for her higher education at the University of Rochester. She has also penned What Would I Tell Her @ 13 and News Now, along with several short stories. When Sudesna isn’t writing, she tries to do her bit for animal welfare.
Her recent release Just Me, The Sink and The Pot is a children and Young adult literature targeting the theme of body shaming in kids.
Body shaming and body image issues effect people of all ages. It is one thing to dislike a thing or two about your appearance, and entirely a different thing to be obsessed with disliking your body and its imperfections. These imperfections of course come from society’s definition of beauty.
When a child grows up knowing and being told repeatedly that she is ‘different’ and that she doesn’t meet the standards of beauty, the child can do either of two things – learn to ignore it and maybe even laugh it off, or believe everyone else and develop low self esteem. The latter happens often and coming out of it isn’t easy unless you have a LOT of support. Support from parents, from teachers, from mental health professionals, is necessary to survive in the battle against negative body image.
Children, especially teens, are in a phase of life where fitting in is important. If you don’t fit in with your peers, you get depressed and dislike yourself for being different. The bad news is that there will be bullies who make other kids feel terrible about the way they look. Yet there is good news too; we as a society are speaking up about mental health issues in India. While depression and anxiety can result due to multiple reasons, I believe that even children/teens are getting professional help these days if needed and of course, if the adults in their lives are perceptive enough.
Growing up with body image issues has taught me one thing better late than never: there are overweight girls and women everywhere but everyone has a different level of self confidence. Confidence takes time to build and is easier to have no matter your weight as you grow older and realise what is really important to you and your life. Children are just starting out, learning about the world and trying to make themselves be liked – low self esteem can develop and should not be ignored.
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If you are an author then you surely know Rubina Ramesh the founder of THE BOOK
CLUB (TBC) that has changed the fate of many Indian Indie writers. Living across the globe she make sure to do justice to all books that come across her book club. She is an awesome reviewer, avid reader, mentor, inspiration and now she also hons the feather of an author to her already vibrant cap.
Author of Knitted Tales & Marijuana Dairies today in her interview, Rubina Ramesh talks about her recent release Finding The Angel and her journey as an author.
Hi Paromita, Thank you so much for these lovely questions. I apologize to you on this public platform for not answering your questions earlier in my last blog tour. I have no excuse except that Life happened.
I was a published author before I started TBC. I had already got a few stories published in an anthology written for a children’s hospital in the USA and by Indireads Publisher. It was a good experience and it made me fall in love with writing. As to why my stories came much later than the formation of TBC, well good things take the time to happen. I think I needed the push. It’s a very scary feeling Paromita. The first baby steps we take. Will we be liked? Will our stories be appreciated? All these questions dampen one’s spirit. I needed to find my point of bravery. I am just glad that I did.
To write. Find my own imaginary hut in the woods and be lost in that for hours. Where voices and duties don’t reach me. Just me and my words – lost for hours. I am yet to find them 😛
I am very particular about my covers. You can ask my cover designer, Sachin. He hates me. I keep on changing every other day. It takes a lot of patience from his side to keep up with my changing moods. But I feel beauty reaches one’s soul through one’s eyes. How can I neglect the cover? Then comes the presentation of the book and releasing it at that right moment. I am not a big fan of event creations. So you will not find any event page on my facebook. I am a big believer of blog tours. No, not because I have TBC. But many reviews at one particular time released on the net – the creates a buzz. At least that is what I have witnessed with my books.
It has always been TBC for me. And I am very proud of each member of our group. They will not spare even me in their reviews. Recently one author told me clearly that she is very scared of a blog tour. Yes, Blog tours can make your book or break your book. It needs a lot of guts to see your friends thrashing your book in public. So unless you are sure of yourself as a writer and you are a constant learner in life, I won’t suggest that. My group does NOT thrash any writer. We openly say when a book needs editing. But we NEVER thrash a writer. I stand by every honest reviewer’s views. What writers have to accept that a negative review is not about demoralizing an author. It’s not even about bringing an author down. When I feel an author is not ready for this blog tour, I do say no to an author. It takes a lot of confidence and guts to go through a blog tour, like the ones we do. We don’t promise sales in our blog tours. We promise an author an audience, their very own readership and fan following – which might translate into their sales. But as of now, we have to believe that no review is negative. They are the thoughts of varied readers which prove that you are an honest writer. How can that be wrong?
I have never understood genre Paromita. I think you will relate to that. Your one book is about an immigrants journey and another about a cute girl Mishri. Any incident, any anecdote and any love story that has made a home in my heart, is my genre. You get that, don’t you?
With at least 30 titles published. At least I hope so. And each genre making my readers accept me as an author.
Believe in your emotions and stop finding answers in those who says they will teach you the art of writing. Writing is about emotions. Writing is about peeling the layers of a human soul. Who can teach you that? They can give you the nitty gritty of grammar. They can share their experience, their thoughts but if anyone says they can teach you the art of writing, that is a bull. Your experience, your vision. Your word is your art.
Your pillar of strength in writing? TBC and TBCM
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More about Rubina Ramesh
Rubina Ramesh is an avid reader, writer, blogger, book reviewer, and marketer. She is the founder of The Book Club, an online book publicity group. Her first literary work was published in her school magazine. It gave her immense pride to see her own name at the bottom of the article.She was about 8 years old at that time. She then went to complete her MBA and after her marriage to her childhood friend, her travel saga started. From The Netherlands to the British Isles she lived her life like an adventure. After a short stint in Malaysia, she finally settled down in the desert state of USA, Arizona. Living with her DH and two human kids and one doggie kid, Rubina has finally started living the life she had always dreamed about – that of a writer.
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Scripting the story of life
Things are as they are, not as they should be!
B2B Tech & Marketing Writer
the literary asylum
Officially Scattered Blog of an Author, Traveler, & Tolkienite
USA Today Best Selling Author
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