08 April, 2014

#SpecialFeature :: A Sneak Peek into the Novel

Now Presenting:
*** SPECIAL FEATURE - April'14 ***

About the Author
Howard Roark is a graduate engineer who started out working for a multinational as a Network Engineer, a very brief stint, after which he joined a software company to work on products in the Artificial Intelligence / Neural Networks domain and later on in the Finance domain. And, since 2010, he's been working for Cisco Systems in Chennai, for their products in the Digital Video Broadcasting domain.
His interests include psychology, philosophy, spirituality, reading, writing, conversations and of course, Ayn Rand's books. He's a qualified hypnotherapist from the California Hypnosis Institute of India. He restricts himself to offering therapeutic help to his near and dear. And, he currently pursues an M.Sc. in Psychology.
He got into writing, spurred by guilt and hurt of having to give away, under coercing circumstances, the two dogs his family was having as pets. Although he loved the dogs, the fact that he was powerless and didn't do anything about retaining the dogs, left a deep wound in his mind. To overcome the emotions, he put his feelings on paper as a fiction short story, involving a dog, but twisted the end to alleviate his guilt. After this first short story, he started to write more such stories to give vent to his emotions. And, one such short story grew to become "Newton's Law Reversed".
Howard Roark is a pen name, inspired by the protagonist of Ayn Rand's 'The Fountainhead'. He has chosen this name, in order to identify his writer's dimension, which is distinctly different from his own.


About the Book
On a trip to meet an ailing relative in Gangaikondacholapuram, Akash is introduced to conflict when a simple village girl, Ganga trespasses his thoughts. His mind fails to elude Ganga and, being overwhelmed by the new found emotion, his attempts to free himself of his battles only grip him tighter. As his mind flits between Ganga and Ganesan, another tormented soul, Akash’s only reprieve could have been a banter with his father, when unexpectedly he hears the news of his father’s expiry.

Buy the Book

Following is something I removed from my debut novel, 'Newton's Law Reversed: Conflict - Some evade, some efface, while most embrace', because it was wordy and bare. But I present it here to give you a glimpse of what's my book like through these words:

Standing by the conjoined Neem and Peepal tree and looking straight at Akash who was for once seated, Ganga said, “We discussed so carelessly about love the other day. I would like to ask you this. Have you noticed this? The trees with their barks erupting from one another, intertwined around each other so much that it is as though there is one life force passing through two beings. That is love. You cannot kill one without killing the other as well. The peepal-neem male-female combination represents the greatest example of harmony. They bond together from their roots to their tops. Isn’t that a lovely sight? See how they sway together in every breeze, dancing to the same tunes in a permanent clasp. They will stand together unmoving, unchanging in all hurricanes. Now, that is love. How many case studies for human relations ought we to generate from this tree couple! Have you ever thought about the pitiable state of human lives looking at these trees? They stand for benevolence without expectations, the peaceful co-existence, the sharing and giving the way it ought to be. And, do you notice the way they are hugging each other? It looks as though they have cuddled each other before freezing that way. They look as though they cling on to each other for dear life. Isn’t it touching to see such a tight grasp? Shouldn’t we humans love like this? Losing individual identity to create a new entity? What do we run after in this god-forsaken world? Money? Recognition? Aren’t they vulgar? Isn’t it debauchery to hanker after money and recognition when we were just made to live and love? What did we do in days when we had just enough to cover our bodies to hide shame? We had animal instincts and all we did was love. Call it sex, need, attraction, whatever! But, it was love! And, that’s all we did. No one had a name. There was no identity. There was pure unbridled love. We were one with nature. Now, civilization has deformed us. It’s like a virus that got into our systems long time ago altering the generations henceforth forever. It has altered our DNA. We were not designed like this. It’s time we got back to our old ways. The way we should live and love, as in times of eras gone by. Aren’t the trees reminding us of ways of men and women as they were designed, with nothing to serve themselves but themselves, of days when passion surpassed purpose and of times when profoundness exceeded possessions? Love as much as it is second only to a breath that you need to live. That’s what the trees are telling me now. Don’t you hear them whisper to you through those rustling leaves “Just go home and love”?”
Giveaway
3 Paperback copies of the book is up for grabs for the Residents of India, Usa and UK. Enter the Rafflecopter below to try your luck

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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