29 July, 2016

#SpecialFeature :: Interview with Rahul Saini, #Author of Paperback Dreams


*** Special Feature - June 2016 ***

Interview with the Author:

When did you first realize that you wanted to be a writer/ a storyteller?
I think it was something I wanted ever since I was a kid. This thought was always playing at the back of my mind.  During the summer break after my 1st year at college, I actually sat down to write a novel. It was a sci-fi / humour. I never finished it, though. The first serious thought for a story that turned into a published novel happened when I took up my first job as an architect after I finished my studies.

What inspires you to write?
Everything around me, actually – the people, the places, the history, the songs, the art and the beauty and the ugliness of the world we live in. 

What kind of research goes into your book?
It depends on the story. At times it’s people’s behavior and psychology. At times it is facts and history.  At times it is understanding of my own thoughts and my own mind.

What are you working on at the moment?
I am working on a very dark satire. It is very brutal and sexual and explores some really dark and ugly places of human mind. The thrust of the story is to make people think and change the way they look at their world.   

How did you come up with the idea for your current story? 
I have been teaching for over five years now and I have been observing the behavior of my students and my colleges closely all this time – whom they like, whom they fall in love with, whom they fight with, the nature of their relationships, what they think about their education and studies and what they want to out of their lives. All these observations led me to this story. 

Please share three interesting facts about the characters in your book.
a) Generally there is one character in my stories who always stands up for what is right.
b) He/she is under confident and clumsy but charming in his/her own ways. 
c) There are always strong female characters. (I feel women, for that matter, females of all species, are very magical beings.) 

If you could pick any famous author to review your book who would you pick and why?
Haruki Murakami or Roald Dahl! I would love to know what they think about my writing. 

Have you read any books that have inspired you to improve or change yourself in any way?  
His Holiness, The 14th Dalai Lama’s writing has really helped me as a person, I think. 

Name three things that you believe are important to character development?
Detail, detail and detail. And when I say detail I mean the detail of not only the physical appearance but, more so, the mind of the character. 

Do you ever experience writer’s block? If so what helps you to get over it?
I talk to people, I travel, I sit in moving vehicles. All this makes me help my mind run.

What part of the writing process do you enjoy the most?
The conception and the writing of the first draft. I find it exciting as hell! Rest of the job can be really painful at times. 

Do you know the ending of your books before you finish writing them?
Generally but not always. 

What is the best piece of advice you have received, as a writer, till date?
There are a couple of them that I can recall right now actually - 
a) The best to write good stuff is to rewrite.
b) The hardest part of writing is sitting down and writing!
c) You can not become a good writer if you do not read like a maniac. 
d) You can’t force yourself  to conceive a story. It has its own ways of magically penetrating your mind.  
e) Writing becomes effective when it expresses feelings and when it makes the reader really feel those feelings. 

What is the best piece of advice you would give to someone that wants to get into writing?
Shut up and sit down and write. Finish your first draft and after that be big enough to see the flaws. Work on it and rewrite it as many times as it needs. If you don’t have enough patience, don’t get into it. And most of all, write only if you have something to say. Writing comes with a lot of responsibility. It’s a power that must never be misused. Be aware of your thoughts and understand well if you want to say them out loud or not. 

Anything else that you would like to share with your readers?
Please read good books. Read the books that make you think. As junk food deteriorates your health, junk books deteriorate your mind. 



About the Author:
Rahul Saini is the bestselling author of five hugely popular books – Those small Lil’ Things, Just like in the Movies, The Orange Hangover and most recently Paperback Dreams and Just For You, which created a lot of buzz and raised many questions about the current scenario of the publishing industry in India. The collective sale figure of his books is more than 5 lac copies. All his books have featured in various bestselling lists across the nation. His books have strong comic tones and present the up-beat stories that portray the fun loving, free spirited and the outgoing character of today’s youth. Apart from being light entertainers, his books carry relevant social messages. His first book has also been translated into Hindi which won the award for the best translation by the Federation of Indian Printers and Publishers. Trained as an architect from Sushant School of Art and Architecture, Gurgaon, apart from being a novelist, he is a keen photographer and an artist and has had successful art shows. He is into film making and script writing as well. Currently he is working as a visiting faculty member for an art and design program at a prestigious university in India.

Contact the Author:
Facebook I Twitter I Instagram I Wikipedia

About the Book:

How low will you stoop to fulfil your dreams? Jeet Roy, a college Casanova, has published a book by unfair means. All he wants is to earn loads of money and have hot girls chase after him wherever he goes! Rohit Sehdev, a one-book-old popular fiction writer is furious when he finds out that his publisher has cheated him out of his royalties. Karun Ahuja is a highly ambitious schoolboy who wants to win the heart his lady love by writing a novel about it and he doesn't mind playing dirty to get to the top.

Ruthlessly exploiting these ambitious young men is their unscrupulous publisher. Sometimes funny, sometimes shocking, Paperback Dreams is the story of a new breed of young writers who will do anything to get famous, fast.


Goodreads I Amazon

When you love someone, what's there to prove? Everything! It looks like life is teaching Rohit a lesson. His publishing deals, his relationships, even his job - nothing seems to be working out. To make matters worse, Karan is still trying his best to ruin him as a writer. But when Nisha leaves him, it's the ultimate blow. To win her back Rohit must prove he loves her enough to do things that matter to her: like helping Tara find a publisher. As Rohit takes control of his life, he begins to find things slowly changing for the better for him too. But will Nisha be happy with that? Will she come back to him? Just for You is an adorable, bittersweet story about love and its responsibilities.

The central character – Rohit, an author, rebels against his inner self and struggles to settle with his unbalanced life while Karun, another (very) young author leaves no stone unturned to ruin his reputation as a writer because of his revelry and jealousy towards him. Rohit suffers the ultimate blow when is his girlfriend, Nisha leaves him. In order to gather the ripped shreds of his life, Rohit tries to win Nisha back by doing the things that would matter to her the most, in turn bringing his life back on track (or not)! Meanwhile, Karun keeps trying his best to ruin his career anyway! 



Giveaway:
- 3 Copies of Paperback Dreams
- 3 Copies of Just for You

27 July, 2016

#BookReview :: The Dawn at Dusk by Sandeep Nayyar

A gripping tale of love, betrayal, and vengeance, steeped in the magical realism of post-Vedic India.
Shatvari is a beautiful young Brahmin girl, practitioner of classical music and firm believer in the holy Vedas and its spiritual philosophies. The king of the Yaduvanshis and his scheming priests twist that faith to turn her into a bloodthirsty Chandaal warrior.
Exploited and shattered, Shatvari hunts a magical Yantra and the spiritual powers it contains. But in her single-minded pursuit of revenge, she falls victim to the curse lurking within the very same miraculous powers.
Elsewhere, the young Nishaad King Neel, courtesans Amodini and Vaishali, and the Yaduvanshis' nemeses the Raghuvanshis, gear up to enter the fray as well. 
What heavenly powers lie within the Yantra, and what curse stays the hands of those who would unleash them? Can Shatvari survive that curse and harness those powers? Will the Yaduvanshis' other enemies help Shatvari seek her vengeance? Or will the story end in all-out war?


Shatvari plays many roles in her life. She is a beautiful, pious Brahmin girl who believes in the holy Vedas. She is also a practitioner of classical music. She is married and is mindful of her duties. Yet none of it enough to keep her husband from straying. As expected, the society doesn’t fail to bring out its lashing tongue against her. In her moments of weakness, she is manipulated and turned into a completely different person. She takes on a mission to find a magical Yantra that is rumoured to have great powers. She channels the rage she feels towards extracting revenge from all who she deems have wronged her. Lines are blurred to as whether she is the victim or not. Would come out of this whole experience alive?

The plot of the story is partly unique with its varied characters and various concepts. From Shatvari to Shatrughan to Rudrasen… each character in the book has an important role to play and none of them is there merely as a filler. The author has paid attention to building them up all separately. As such their personalities hardly overlap and each brings in their own flavor into the story. The story of Shatvari is perhaps a story of many common women even if the situations are different. The world the book is set in is very familiar. There are various boundaries within the society and caste or gender biases are very similar to what we see in our reality. The class disparity is clearly defined as are the gender roles. It wasn’t surprising to see that a man gets away with being unfaithful while a friendship between a man and a woman is frowned upon and sets up the woman’s character for everyone to judge.

There are few things that I did not like so much. For instance, certain situations were never really explained and as such felt completely far-fetched even for a fantasy novel. Maybe a little more information about the world and the backdrop would have helped. The drastic change in Shatvari is hard to digest without any prior indication that she had it in her. The language used in the narrative also seemed to falter at places. 

All in all, this one should interest the historical fiction lovers but picked up with caution.


Review Copy received from the Author

26 July, 2016

#BookReview :: Dark Things by Sukanya Venkatraghavan

Somewhere on Prithvi, a mortal survives a supernatural attack. In the dark realm of Atala, an evil goddess prepares to do the Unspeakable. And a Yakshi finds herself at the heart of an other-worldly storm. Ardra has only known life as a Yakshi, designed to seduce and kill men after drawing out their deepest, darkest secrets for her evil mistress Hera, queen of the forsaken realm of Atala. Then, on one strange blood moon night, her chosen victim, Dwai, survives, and her world spins out of control. Now Ardra must escape the wrath of Hera, who is plotting to throw the universe into chaos. To stop her, Ardra needs to find answers to questions she hasn't dared to ask before. What power does the blood moon hold? Is the sky city of Aakasha as much a myth as its inhabitants - the ethereal and seductive Gandharvas and Apsaras? Who is Dara, the mysterious monster-slayer, and what makes Dwai impervious to her powers? A heady concoction of fantasy and romance, Dark Things conjures up a unique world wrought of love and sacrifice, of shadows and secrets, of evil and those who battle it.



Ardra is a Yakshi who serves Queen Hera. As a Yakshi, it is her job to find out the deepest and darkest secrets of men and then kill them. She performs this ritual habitually and passes on these secrets to her Queen. That is the life that Ardra knows till one blood moon her supposed victim survives her bewitchment. As if a mortal surviving her bewitchment was not a mystery enough… Dara, a monster slayer, spares her life for some unknown reason. Slowly questions build up in Ardra’s and everything seemed to be connected to the Queen she served and the monster locked away in a tower.

Wow! That was the word on my mind when I finally finished reading this book. First off, the characters are really well done. Ardra is a character who grows on you slowly. She is never painted as this larger than life, always right and ‘I-know-best’ protagonist. Instead she comes off as a character whose world is suddenly turned upside down and yet she emerges strong from it. While there are moments of self-doubt and insecurities, she never comes off as an pansy-irritating character that depends on others to solve her problems. Slowly but steadily she takes on everything that is thrown at her, asks the right questions and eventually does the right thing. On the other hand Queen Hera, in many ways, pushes Ardra to be her best. That is a sign of a well-drawn up antagonist because a protagonist can only be as good as the antagonist. A weak antagonist will never lead to the creation of a great protagonist. Then there is Dara, a character with a past that is hinted at but not clearly spelled out to keep an air of mystery around him. And that certainly worked – who doesn’t like a man of mystery?

Sukanya Venkatraghavan can sure weave a good tale. The book gets you hooked from the very beginning and before you know it you will be turning the last page! Her narrative is spot on in every aspect. She kept up the pace of the plot while building the world and its characters. She has provided just enough background information on each character and revealed secrets at the right moment to have the maximum impact. Even I did not see one of the twists coming! The world building has been done well enough. If I absolutely had to crib about one thing in the book, it would be the world building. I am a girl who loves details and while the world building would seem sufficient enough to most people, I want more. I always want more when I like something.

It is not often enough that I love a fantasy book written by an Indian author so much. Exceptions have been there, but the only other fantasy book that I have liked more than this is Shatrujeet Nath’s Vikramaditya Veergatha Series. Though these books are not comparable to each other for many reasons, the common thread between the two is the fantasy genre and the care taken to build the worlds with enigmatic characters. Dark Things is now my second favourite fantasy book written by an Indian Author and I would recommend it to all fantasy lovers.


Review Copy received from Hachette India

25 July, 2016

#BookReview :: Ranga Half-Pants by Suman Kumar

How horribly wrong can a boy’s dream of owning a pair of full pants go? Set in 1986, in a small town in Andhra Pradesh, Ranga Half-Pants is a breathtaking, coming-of-age tale of love, courage and friendship.

Ranganathan aka Ranga, 14, goes to school after Dasara holidays to discover that he is the only boy in his class still wearing half-pants. All the other boys have moved on to full trousers making Ranga the butt of cruel jokes and bullying. Things hit a real low when his arch-nemesis Joel becomes friends with Ranga’s best friend Kaivalya.

Prasad, 24, is a man forced to live by the sword. Now he wants to give it all up for the love of his life, Tabassum. His rivals, however, have other plans for him.

The worlds of Ranga and Prasad clash on a fateful, violent night. Will Ranga get his full pants? Will Prasad outwit his foes? 


The name of the book intrigued me enough to give it a try and I am glad to have taken a chance with this book. 

Ranga is an adolescent who discovers that all the boys in his class have graduated to full pants as a part of their school uniform while he remains the only one wearing half-pant. The other boys start to make fun of him enough to make him want a set of full pants for himself. Then there is also the fact that his arch-nemesis and his best friends seem to be getting closer by the day. On the other hand is Prasad who has fallen in love with Tabassum and he would do anything for a life with her. But there is the matter of a politician’s nephew who has other plans for him. When Prasad and Ranga’s lives cross paths, relationships are forged and unexpected things happen.

Ranga and Prasad are two very different characters, yet both are loveable. Ranga’s immaturity at times reminded me of how young he is. But he does find his voice as the story progresses. Prasad’s composure on the other hand managed to impress me. There are quite a few side characters in the story and they have been developed equally well. The character of Vishwa really added to both the story and the character of Prasad. The plot is simple and mostly predictable. It is more of coming of age story with the characters finding their way through life. The author has done a good job with the story telling by giving us just enough details and keeping things simple.

The book has a feel good feeling about it and made for an entertaining read.


Review Copy received from Jaico Publishing


22 July, 2016

#SpecialFeature :: Career Choices by Rahul Saini, #Author of Paperback Dreams


*** Special Feature - June 2016 ***

About the Book:

How low will you stoop to fulfil your dreams? Jeet Roy, a college Casanova, has published a book by unfair means. All he wants is to earn loads of money and have hot girls chase after him wherever he goes! Rohit Sehdev, a one-book-old popular fiction writer is furious when he finds out that his publisher has cheated him out of his royalties. Karun Ahuja is a highly ambitious schoolboy who wants to win the heart his lady love by writing a novel about it and he doesn't mind playing dirty to get to the top.

Ruthlessly exploiting these ambitious young men is their unscrupulous publisher. Sometimes funny, sometimes shocking, Paperback Dreams is the story of a new breed of young writers who will do anything to get famous, fast.


Goodreads I Amazon

When you love someone, what's there to prove? Everything! It looks like life is teaching Rohit a lesson. His publishing deals, his relationships, even his job - nothing seems to be working out. To make matters worse, Karan is still trying his best to ruin him as a writer. But when Nisha leaves him, it's the ultimate blow. To win her back Rohit must prove he loves her enough to do things that matter to her: like helping Tara find a publisher. As Rohit takes control of his life, he begins to find things slowly changing for the better for him too. But will Nisha be happy with that? Will she come back to him? Just for You is an adorable, bittersweet story about love and its responsibilities.

The central character – Rohit, an author, rebels against his inner self and struggles to settle with his unbalanced life while Karun, another (very) young author leaves no stone unturned to ruin his reputation as a writer because of his revelry and jealousy towards him. Rohit suffers the ultimate blow when is his girlfriend, Nisha leaves him. In order to gather the ripped shreds of his life, Rohit tries to win Nisha back by doing the things that would matter to her the most, in turn bringing his life back on track (or not)! Meanwhile, Karun keeps trying his best to ruin his career anyway! 



Career Choices

Over the past, in the many years of my teaching career, one question that has always eaten me up is that why are the students in India so clueless about their career choices? A major chunk of them seem to be unaware of themselves and what they want to do with their lives. There must be many reasons for this 'cluelessness' but I think one of the major reasons is how their parents look at the notion of a career.

I don't really remember any kid ever telling me that he wants to become a millionaire when he grows up. Kids are imaginative and ambitious and they seek adventure - they want to discover things! They want to become astronauts, scientists, athletes! But most parents constantly push them towards more materialistic aims and dreams. Kids are forced to desire 'big houses' and 'big cars'. Also, a kid is considered 'highly ambitious' if he or she wants to own a BMW or a Porsche when he or she grows up. They are applauded for their high, classy and great desires. The true instincts and desires of the kids are killed over the years and soon they become 'lost' as they reach their teens. Most of their aims and ambitions fade away and a new one surfaces - to live a life full of riches and luxuries. The idea of 'what I like and what I want to do in life' gets replaced by 'how can I earn the maximum amount of money'. And that is where everything falls apart. That is where the teenagers become a complete stranger to themselves. Getting admission in any 'good' college that will give them 'good' placements becomes the aim and later, the studies become a massive burden, a major drag because the students are forced to study what they have no curiosity for, what they have no interest in. The idea of education and studies becomes something that the students want to run away from.

I guess there is no one else who can improve this 'lost' state of mind of the students but their parents. They need to be less anxious about how much money their children would earn in life and more concerned about what their child enjoys doing.That, would probably bring in the change we all need in the 21st century.


About the Author:
Rahul Saini is the bestselling author of five hugely popular books – Those small Lil’ Things, Just like in the Movies, The Orange Hangover and most recently Paperback Dreams and Just For You, which created a lot of buzz and raised many questions about the current scenario of the publishing industry in India. The collective sale figure of his books is more than 5 lac copies. All his books have featured in various bestselling lists across the nation. His books have strong comic tones and present the up-beat stories that portray the fun loving, free spirited and the outgoing character of today’s youth. Apart from being light entertainers, his books carry relevant social messages. His first book has also been translated into Hindi which won the award for the best translation by the Federation of Indian Printers and Publishers. Trained as an architect from Sushant School of Art and Architecture, Gurgaon, apart from being a novelist, he is a keen photographer and an artist and has had successful art shows. He is into film making and script writing as well. Currently he is working as a visiting faculty member for an art and design program at a prestigious university in India.

Contact the Author:
Facebook I Twitter I Instagram I Wikipedia

Giveaway:
- 3 Copies of Paperback Dreams
- 3 Copies of Just for You

21 July, 2016

#BookReview :: The Scandal (Theodore Boone #6) by John Grisham


Thirteen-year-old Theodore Boone knows every judge, police officer, and court clerk in Strattenburg. He has even helped bring a fugitive to justice. But even a future star lawyer like Theo has to deal with statewide standardized testing.

When an anonymous tip leads the school board to investigate a suspicious increase in scores at another local middle school, Theo finds himself thrust in the middle of a cheating scandal. With insider knowledge and his future on the line, Theo must follow his keen instincts to do what’s right in the newest case for clever kid lawyer Theo Boone.  


Goodreads I Amazon




Theodore Boone hasn’t ever been my favourite character nor have I ever felt that this was the best John Grisham can do. However, I have to admit that this is the first book in this series that I actually enjoyed reading thoroughly.

Theodore Boone may be a whiz kid and have a number of connections in the judicial world, but even he cannot escape the standardized tests no matter how much he dislikes them. Not only does he have to take the tests, but these tests also determine if he can take honor classes in High school. After all the preparations and grueling testing sessions, when the results are out, Theo is surprised and heartbroken to find out that he hasn’t made the cut for honor classes. That is when he hears about the scandal involving cheating the standardized tests. Theo brings in his mother to help when fraud charges are made against those who were involved when he realizes that he cannot be just a bystander in this case. 

Like all John Grisham novels, this too is a fast paced and engaging book. I finished reading this book in one sitting. What I liked about this book was the questions and issues raised and discussed in this book, particularly about the standardized testing system that rules the lives of the students. The storyline is narrated in such a manner that those who have never spared a moment to think about it will be forced to stop and take notice. I never knew about how the standardized test results affect the teachers in turn as well. As such I found this book educative in other ways rather than just the courtroom procedures. I found Theo to be a bit more likeable in this book and April plays a big part in it all.

This was, I feel, the best Theodore Boone book so far and could interest not only young adults but also adults as well.


Review Copy received from Hachette India


20 July, 2016

#Interview with Arpit Vageria, #Author of I Still Think About You

About the Author:
Arpit Vageria writes for Indian television industry and has written scripts for three television series and various award functions. Formerly a part of The Times of India Group, he now also writes for the immensely popular digital channel, IIT (Indian Idiots Television). Hailing from Indore, he currently lives in Mumbai. An alumnus of Renaissance College, Indore and IBS-Mumbai, he enjoys road trips, singing, playing pranks and adventure sports.


Interview with the Author:

When did you first realize that you wanted to be a writer/ a storyteller?
I started writing because there were books that I wanted to read but weren’t written and I think any & everything in this world is writable & if you’ve imagination. One must do it. Writing gives me power to understand people’s psyche, get into their world and live a different character.  Quite a fantasy. Isn’t it?

What inspires you to write?
Interesting things to tell that I know off, I like observing different characters & situations from real life and that inspires me to write.

How did you come up with the idea for your current story?
I wanted to talk about contemporary relationships in every possible equation.  I was always quite inspired by the fact that how two love stories are always different with each other despite of having the same elements- Care, love and affection. Hence I decided to pen down a novel that talks about two such love stories. 

Are there some stories tucked away in some drawer that was written before and never saw the light of the day?
Yes, there are a couple of such stories that I wrote 2 years back. I’ve not pitched them till now; I am waiting for the right time to pitch them. I believe that to be one of the finest works of me and once it gets released my readers will bombard me with messages of why haven’t I tried getting them released before?

Tell us about your writing process.
I decide the story plot and its end first. It helps me to not get distracted. Many a times you get distracted because you love a character more than other ones and you somehow wants to brighten that character even more which might or might not be in sync with your storyline.

What is your favorite scene in the book? Why?
I have lots of favorite scenes in the book but still if I had to choose one, It’s the first interaction between Sachi & Dhruv in Dhruv’s years old cottage in Brahmi, Where they both get to know about each other.

Did any of your characters inherit some of your own quirks?
Dhruv has a lot of Arpit Vageria in it, Equations between Aamir & Dhruv are quite like equation between me and my own brother, Ankit Vageria.

What is your most interesting writing quirk?
Most of my writing is inspired from the interesting things I see in my dreams. My dreams are interesting and my novels are even more interesting that way. I make a note of my dreams and make them into a fully fledged scene the next day.

Do you read? Who are your favourite authors and how have they influenced your writing style?
John Green, Nicholas Sparks, Cecelia Ahern, Mohsin Hamid. They influence my sense of story but not my writing style. I believe one should have their own writing style.

What is the best piece of advice you have received, as a writer, till date?
I got best advice from my elder brother Ankit Vageria, Who always said, ‘Enjoy failures because when failures would stop bothering you and you’ll have nothing to fear off, You’ll write your heart out and that’s the confidence everyone wants to see in your writing.’

What is the best piece of advice you would give to someone that wants to get into writing?
1. Never get befooled by a publisher who has no market place, Wait for a traditional publisher to evaluate your manuscript.
2. Don’t follow anyone’s writing style. Create your own. 
3. Respect what authors write. You have all the choice to accept or reject it but understand the author’s Point of view and reason behind why it is written because someday when you’ll become an author, You’ll know the importance of it.
4. Read more and more books, Watch more and more quality stuff and that way you’ll definitely become a better writer.

What would be the Dream Cast for you book if it was to be turned into a movie?
It would be for my book ‘I Still Think About You’
Dhruv- Ranbir Kapoor
Aamir- Fawad Khan
Sachi-Shraddha Kapoor
Anvi- Tapsee Punnu

If you were to be stranded on the famous deserted island, what three things would you carry?
1. Lots of pen & notebooks along with interesting books.
2. Arya Stark from Game of thrones, she’ll save my ass from animals when I write beautiful stories. She’ll be my personal Mogli.
3. A Nokia 3310 phone if in case I want to make a call, Battery would last about 10-20 days minimum.

How do you spend your free time? Do you have a favorite place to go and unwind?
I travel a lot (Mostly roadtrips) whenever I am free, I have quite a few places as my favorite destination. 
1. Goa
2. Manali
3. Maldives

Can you share with us something off your bucket list?
I am very much a last minute person so I don’t really make bucket list for myself.

Tell us three fun facts about yourself.
1. I like doing lots of pranks; I mean to say, Serious Pranks which can get people into trouble.
2. I make travel plans at last minute and those who don’t join me in that gets tortured for a lifetime.
3. I still go to my old school late in the night, Put crackers there and run to save my life. I do this every year still.

What do you have in store next for your readers?
It’s a romantic thriller again; this is a story about a writer, his girlfriend and a reader. I am planning to release it by January next year. I’ll reveal the details in a couple of months.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with your readers?
Read lots and lots of book even if you don’t like the genre. You learn a lot that way and most importantly, Read my books. People say- They’re good. ;) 

About the Book:
Aamir has never met anyone who understands him better than Anvi. But her passion for investigative journalism scares him no end. She is calling while reporting from a crime scene and promising to switch to anchoring when he hears a gunshot. Will she be able to fulfil her promise?
Dhruv can do anything to please Vratika, for he seems bound to her for life. They have been going steady for a while and he feels she brings smiles and light to his life like no other. Can one misunderstanding in a moment of anger finish it all?
For Aamir, little Dhruv is the best gift life has given him. More than just brothers, they are the beginning and end of their family. After years, struggles and pain are slowly fading away in the face of happier times. But one phone call changes their entire life. 
Life throws Aamir and Dhruv in a vortex of pain, loss and guilt. While Dhruv wanders for redemption, he meets Sachi. She reads his heart, soothes his soul and brings him face to face with his real self. I Still Think About You is a story of love, brotherhood, passion, dedication, pain and the depths to which a heart can go to win back lost love. 




19 July, 2016

#GuestPost :: What’s In a Name? Why a good book title matters by Aarti V. Raman

About the Author:
Aarti V Raman is a romance writer from Mumbai, whose third romance “With You I Dance” (Fingerprint! Publishing) debuted in the Amazon India Bestseller (Romance) category when it released in April 2016. Her other two books are romantic thrillers called “White Knight” (Leadstart Publishing, 2013) and “Kingdom Come” (Harlequin MIRA, 2014). 
She also dabbles in content marketing, conducts creative writing workshops and holds a journalism degree that she puts to good use in her other career. She has appeared as a speaker at literature fests in India and is represented by RED INK Literary Agency. 
Happy ever after are her three favorite words, even when she is attempting to write Young Adult Urban Fantasy. 

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What’s In a Name? Why a good book title matters

One of my favorite authors of all time is a fantastic writer of romantic comedies, Jennifer Crusie. You can pick up any of her books for a good chuckle, some romping sex and unforgettable characters. And by characters, I don’t mean just the leads. If you don’t believe me, read Maybe This Time and meet a golden girl called Alice.
I was introduced to Crusie’s writing with THE romantic comedy of my time: Welcome to Temptation. It had everything a connoisseur of romances would want: A frumpy, bedraggled slightly bent heroine (I mean her thinking and not her spine) and a starched, perma-pressed Golden Boy type hero, who was…haha, the mayor of the small town of Temptation. Sparks obviously fly when the twain meet and what happens next makes for a most interesting story.
Now that I have talked Miz Crusie up let me get to my belabored point.
Welcome to Temptation was initially called Hot, Fleshy Thighs when it was agented for publishing. True story, y’all.
And I thought to myself as I was reading the dedication: would I read a book called Hot, Fleshy Thighs even if it had the blurb starring the bodacious Phin Tucker at the back? The brutal truth – no.
And it got me to thinking about the amount of time I spend naming my precious babies, my books. It was surprising, but I spend as much time thinking up really cool names for my stories as much as I do writing them. In fact, in the case of my most recent novel I have been titling it for EVER and it’s still not the most perfect name ever.
I am sure most of my writer friends would agree that the name of your book is almost as important as what goes inside it. Don’t y’all?
So how does naming, or ‘titling’, as the process is called, work?
The ancient Romany gypsies had a tradition when it came to naming their children. A public name, which is the name the whole world would know the kid by. A family name or nickname, that the friends and family of the kid would call it. And finally, a secret name which was whispered in the child’s ear as soon as it was born: the name of its soul.
I suppose, when it comes to naming our books, the process is quite the same.
We have a working title, or family name that we share with our friends (read critique partners/brainstorming buds/agents) which is the most common name of the book from draft to publishing contract. This is the most important title as it allows our imagination to take wing and fly. Allows our story to come to life.
Then we have a public name, or the title that finally appears on bookshelves and online stores and on GoodReads where it is proudly displayed against your author name. This name is dreamed up between you, the author, the editor and the marketing team of your publisher (if you possess one) – and it takes into account target demographics, reader-friendliness and a few other things that if I share with you will take the romance out of the process.
And a good writer never reveals all her secrets, does she?
But then…then we have the secret name we give to each of our books. My latest book’s secret name is LET’S FINISH ALREADY PLEASE OH MY GOD!
I have always had a peculiar fixation with names. They mean something to me. Be it the naming of a character, my hero/heroine or the book itself. Names matter.
When it came to With You I Dance this process was particularly easy, as some books and births are. In its working title form, WYID was called “The Last Time.” The publishing contract too was signed for TLT with Fingerprint! Publishing. In my head I called it, My Attempt At Writing Indian Romance…and can I please just say thank you to my lovely, lovely reader friends for taking Meera and Abeer into your hearts the way y’all have and given me some much-needed confidence that I can indeed write Indian Romance.
But when it came to titling the book during publishing we had some howlarious moments with titles like “I’ll Be Your Dancing Queen”, “Dance With Me” and “Ballerina Blues” and my personal unfavorite – Let Me Dance With You. All of these made it to the firm veto list. I can’t exactly remember whether it was me, my editor or both of us together who came up with With You I Dance...what I do remember is the sense of absolute rightness, of perfection as I thought of WYID appearing in bookshelves and online stories and GoodReads before my name.
It made sense.
I guess, Shakespeare had it wrong after all. There is plenty to be said for a name. And it’s better to have a unique, atypical name that will be forever associated with your book and your name than a terrible one like Hot, Fleshy Thighs. Or, worse still, LET’S FINISH ALREADY PLEASE OH MY GOD!
I hope y’all agree with me. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Till next time,
Aarti V Raman aka Writer Gal  

(Author Note: I’d like to thank the lovely and ever-encouraging Debdutta Dasgupta Sahay for allowing me this opportunity to ramble on on one of my favorite topics: Books and the writing of them.)

About the Book:
Meera Sagar had everything—the perfect job as a principal ballerina (for a prestigious New York ballet company) and a man who loved her as much as she loved him. But tragedy struck on the night before her biggest performance, forcing her to do the one thing she never wanted to do—come back home. To Mumbai.

Now, a year later, Meera is still trying to pick up the pieces, while
fending off marriage proposals from her well-meaning but
traditional Gujarati family, and figure life out all over again. By
starting a ballet school in Mumbai. But she has two problems. One, she doesn’t know anything about running a business. And two, she can’t dance. Not anymore.

Enter . . .
Abeer Goswami. Hotshot junior partner at a South Bombay law
firm and a man nursing a broken heart. When he meets Meera
again, the woman who left him, he tries his hardest to be her friend, to help her . . . and not let the past get in the way.

And then . . .

There is the sexy Zoya Sehgal. Meera’s only friend in the city and the woman Abeer is currently seeing. They say triangles have pointy edges, for a reason. Will Meera find a new dream in her ballet school? Can Abeer and Meera find their way back to each other again? And, most important, has Meera danced for the last time?

With you I dance is a warm, funny, at times heart-rending, love story of second chances, true love, and finding yourself when your dearest dream has vanished. 




18 July, 2016

#Interview with Akash Verma, #Author of Three Times Loser... Love Never Dies

About the Author:
 I am an entrepreneur and Indian fiction author. 

My work has taken me across the country and I find this experience very relevant while giving shape to my stories.

I have authored two national bestsellers - It Happened That Night, in 2010 and Three Times Loser, in 2011. The third book, A Broken Man, is in the press.

I took up writing fiction in 2007; was bitten by this sudden urge towards writing by my compelling passion to understand human relationships and behaviour. 

Music, literature, history and travel fascinate me. I am currently based in Gurgaon, India.



An Interview with the Author:

When did you first realize that you wanted to be a writer/ a storyteller?
I belong to a family where both my parents are eminent Hindi writers. I have always been surrounded with books and literati.
My urge to write first surfaced in 2001 when I was based in Gujarat , in the year the riots took place. My first fiction novel – It Happened That Night is set against the backdrop of Gujarat riots. 

What inspires you to write?
I am moved by surroundings and people who I meet up with. I am very curious and a keen observer. Observations within our environment, society and human behavior triggers me, and I weave my stories around them.

How did you come up with the idea for your current story?
I belong to a middle class family where you grow up with everyone around, meaning all strata of society. I have witnessed caste based discrimination personally. Moreover Mandal was a dominant issue when I was passing out from school and took admissions in college. It has stayed with me and became a backdrop for A Broken Man. Secondly the belief that everyone has this unlimited potential within that can completely transform his/ her environment comes from a life philosophy that I practice.

Are there some stories tucked away in some drawer that was written before and never saw the light of the day?
Yes there are. Hopefully they will also see the light of the day one day.

Tell us about your writing process.
I do set up a broad timeframe within which I have to write a book. After that I don’t follow any set patterns or rules to approach this self deadline. I write whenever and wherever I can. The environment doesn’t bother me much as I usually get into a cocoon when I am writing. When I write I usually let it flow and come back to it only when I am editing the manuscript finally.

What is your favorite scene in the book? Why?
My personal favorite is the railway platform scene where the two protagonists --- Chhavi and Krishna separate without knowing whether they would be able to meet ever. It’s the defining moment where pure love overcomes any grudge that you may be carrying in your heart. It is also the moment where a victim of caste discrimination and poverty, Krishna , determines to achieve his true potential. It is the most poignant moment in the story yet it is reassuring in a manner. 

Did any of your characters inherit some of your own quirks?
In my opinion a writer would be lying if he/she says that it doesn’t.

What is your most interesting writing quirk?
I can write anywhere. Surroundings’, noise, place doesn’t bother me. 

Do you read? Who are your favourite authors and how have they influenced your writing style?
Good stories fascinate me more than the pedigree of the authors but I have some favourites as well. I love reading Marquez, Orhan Pamuk, Khaled Hoseini and Pablo Neruda. I can read diverse genres and writers, recently I read The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins and loved it and I wouldn’t in a similar manner ever leave a Dan Brown book. Similarly I love reading history; Nehru, Ramachandra Guha are a couple of my favourite writers in this space. A few fellow Indian authors whose work I have been privy to and have quite liked are Chetan Bhagat , Ashwin Sanghi, Preeti Shenoy, Novoneel & Vish Dhamija to name a few. 

What is the best piece of advice you have received, as a writer, till date?
This is my advice to self. Keep your wring simple. It’s usually not the language but the thought which touches someone heart.

What is the best piece of advice you would give to someone that wants to get into writing?
Every one learns along the way. The advice can’t be generic – One shoe fits all. 

What do you have in store next for your readers?
A crime thriller based in Gurgaon. I am researching on it currently.

About the Book:
Megha, a home-maker in Gurgaon, receives a letter. 
Mandira, a top MNC executive in New Delhi receives a letter. 
Shonali, a Corporate Slut in Mumbai receives a letter.

Three unknown people; three different lives; one common thread that binds them together. Alok.

Why is he calling them after so many years? What is it that he has, which he wants to return back to each one of them?

Three times loser... it the story of love and friendship; of sacrifice and deceit and of victories and heart-breaks. The story meanders through the narrow by lanes of Paliwal Park in Agra to the politically alive corridors of Lucknow University and finally lights up the studios of Smile FM in New Delhi. The quest for love continues over years; over time; and over cities. Does it find its destination in the end?




15 July, 2016

#SpecialFeature :: Read #Excerpts from the books by #Author Rahul Saini


*** Special Feature - June 2016 ***

About the Book:

How low will you stoop to fulfil your dreams? Jeet Roy, a college Casanova, has published a book by unfair means. All he wants is to earn loads of money and have hot girls chase after him wherever he goes! Rohit Sehdev, a one-book-old popular fiction writer is furious when he finds out that his publisher has cheated him out of his royalties. Karun Ahuja is a highly ambitious schoolboy who wants to win the heart his lady love by writing a novel about it and he doesn't mind playing dirty to get to the top.

Ruthlessly exploiting these ambitious young men is their unscrupulous publisher. Sometimes funny, sometimes shocking, Paperback Dreams is the story of a new breed of young writers who will do anything to get famous, fast.


Goodreads I Amazon


Read an Excerpt from Paperback Dreams


Flying high in the sky, on his way back from Bangalore, he is living his dream life - Jeet

The airhostess looks beautiful and has the most beautiful voice too. I can’t take my eyes off her as she makes the announcement that the flight is ready for takeoff.  I buckle-up my seatbelt and take a deep breath. Another city covered and another event done, only six more to go for this year now. It’s been over nineteen months since my debut novel was released and it feels like only yesterday that I signed the contract with my publisher. The plane is in the air now and is gaining altitude.  I pull out the magazine section ofIndian Times from the sleeve below the foldable tray in front of me, where I had kept it. They have done a good job again – they have given full page coverage for my event at the Red Bookstore, Bangalore. They have a big picture of me with my killer smile and surprisingly not even a single negative thing about me this time. It’s the truth dude – paying the P.R. pays. And how could they have written anything bad about me? The event was a huge success. All the people working at the store acknowledged that it was the biggest crowd that any event had pulled in during the last three years. They didn’t even have enough chairs to accommodate the crowd. So many of themwere standing there, only to see me and to listen to what I had to say.  God, it felt great.  After reading the article once again from the beginning to the end, I fold the paper and put it back in the sleeve. All this is good but how long would it go on? How the hell am I gonna manage to get another novel out with my name as the author? How my first book happened and got this phenomenal success is actually a real life miracle. I may or may not deserve all this success and all this recognition but it is mine for now and I have to find a way to retain it, I have to find a way. 

I look outside and I see the people, the roads, the houses and the trees; all shrinking in size as we climb higher. The whole world looks like a toy-game, easy to play with. Soon we reach the cloud level and the view is killed. I turn my head to see if there is any beautiful chick inside the plane. I spot a cute girl sitting on the aisle seat one row ahead of me on the opposite side, looking directly at me. I too respond by staring back at her and our eyes meet.

Okay man, this is no unintentional, casual look she is giving me. She is throwing in a clear line and I got to respond. I shoot my signature ‘what’s up?’ gesture nodding my head and pass my usual killer smile. She smiles back. Okay, life is set! I have had this fantasy since a long time now, the most common one – to have crazy, animal sex in the airplane lavatory and I have a very strong feeling that its gonna come true today. It’s a two and a half hour journey and I have enough time to just do it! This plane is gonna take off man! Fifteen minutes from now I am going to get up, walk to the toilet and ‘accidently’ brush her shoulder, apologize for the ‘unintended’ incident, strike up a conversation, throw in a few ‘fictional facts’ and that’s it! The rest would be history.  Just fifteen minutes, during which I am going listen to music on my ipod and not look at her even once.

I am through one song (equals to 3.5 minutes) when I sense some movement around. This is amazing dude! The hot chick just got up and is coming towards me with her eyes fixed on me.

“Hi” she says standing by me in the aisle

“Hello,” I put in casually

“You look familiar”

“Is it?” I say as I flash a half smile.

“Are you Jeet Obiroi?”

“Yes” I say with my eyes fixed on her eyes.

“Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God!” she freaks out, “I am your biggest fan ever!”

“Thank you.” I smile

“Your book, ‘If I Would Not Have Met U …I Would Have Died’ is the best book ever! I read it in two days straight!”

I smile again. She is a reader – easy.

“Can I please have a picture with you? Please, please, please?”

“Sure” Why would I ever, on earth, say no?

She looks at the guy sitting next to me and says, “Sir, can I please sit on your seat for a while?”

He makes an awkward face.

“Please sir, please, please, please! Only for …ten seconds, please!”

He gets up without saying anything and shoots me an angry look.

“Thank you! You are my God from now on! You are the best!” She says to the man, comes and sits on the seat and the man stands in the aisle with a blank expression on his face.

“Can you please click a picture for me?” she says trying to handover her smart phone to the man. He stands there looking at her without giving any human expression.

“Please sir, you just have to click thisbutton.” She says touching a silver button on her phone.

He takes the phone without saying anything

“Thank you so much, you are my God!” she says and sets her hair with both her hands arranging them meticulously over her right shoulder – Rekha style, never fails.

One click and the picture is taken.

“Thank you so, so, so much!” she says as she takes her camera back from the man. “This is gonna go on facebook as soon as this plane lands!” she says excitedly as she turns and looks at me. “And I am gonna lie a little, I am gonna say you were my co-passenger for the journey.” She says as she gets up.

“So, any other favorite books of yours? Any other books that you like?” I’ve got to know her taste.

“Oh, yours is the only book that I have ever read and it’s so good!” she says rolling her eyes.

Just then a lady gets up from a seat in the front and looks at us irritated.

“God, my Mom won’t let me be even for a single minute! God only knows what her problem is.” She says as the woman keeps staring at her angrily.

“Coming, Mom.” She calls back with an evident hint of frustration in her voice.

“I got to go now,” she says turning back to me, “this is the best thing that has ever, ever,ever happened to me. You have no idea how thrilled I am right now.” She says as she extends her hand for a handshake.

I get up to shake hands with her with my other hand itching to do what it wants to do. Suddenly the plane hits an air pocket and I do what I wanted to. God is on my side – I hold her around her hip to support her so that she does not lose her balance.

“Jeet Obiroi!” she gasps, “that was so inappropriate! Why would you do that? Why would you squeeze my butt like that?” she says looking at me wide-eyed. She is clearly flabbergasted.

I look at her in the eyes and smile, “If I wouldn’t have done that, then my card with my personal phone number would not have been in your back pocket right now.”



When you love someone, what's there to prove? Everything! It looks like life is teaching Rohit a lesson. His publishing deals, his relationships, even his job - nothing seems to be working out. To make matters worse, Karan is still trying his best to ruin him as a writer. But when Nisha leaves him, it's the ultimate blow. To win her back Rohit must prove he loves her enough to do things that matter to her: like helping Tara find a publisher. As Rohit takes control of his life, he begins to find things slowly changing for the better for him too. But will Nisha be happy with that? Will she come back to him? Just for You is an adorable, bittersweet story about love and its responsibilities.

The central character – Rohit, an author, rebels against his inner self and struggles to settle with his unbalanced life while Karun, another (very) young author leaves no stone unturned to ruin his reputation as a writer because of his revelry and jealousy towards him. Rohit suffers the ultimate blow when is his girlfriend, Nisha leaves him. In order to gather the ripped shreds of his life, Rohit tries to win Nisha back by doing the things that would matter to her the most, in turn bringing his life back on track (or not)! Meanwhile, Karun keeps trying his best to ruin his career anyway! 



Read an Excerpt from Just for You



Some people reach their late twenties and have never had a sex chat in their life . . . until now—Rohit

We live in a funny age. It’s so tough to get any work at all done that it’s not even funny! There are so, so, so many distractions! For the past three days I have only managed to write a sorry eight hundred words—that is just like two and a half pages—when I should have finished at least two chapters. I stare at the Word doc on my computer screen and am totally blank. All I want to do is go to IMDB.com and check which new movie trailers are out and see what everyone’s up to on Facebook. I think the generations before us were so lucky from this point of view. The number of things you could do in life were limited back then, no doubt about it; but man, there were hardly any distractions! It must have been so easy to focus! Look at my state right now: it is so pathetic. I have been in bed the whole morning forcing myself to write but all I have done is check my Facebook notifications after every ten minutes and like and post lame comments on others’ pictures like ‘Hey! Nice pic dude. Didn’t know you went to Kerala’ and see how many likes I got on the picture of my last visit to McLeod Ganj that I uploaded yesterday. My best picture ever on Facebook got a record number of likes: 348. All I am wondering now is if this one will cross that figure and touch the Godly total of 500 likes? It is definitely not a good day for me to work. I think I should take the day off (like I have been doing for the past week now).

I close the document I am working on and my eyes hypnotically go to the ‘turn on chat’ button at the right bottom of the Facebook page. I do not go online to chat generally. I used to at one time but then I stopped. I have so many readers on my page and sometimes they ask the weirdest personal questions. It generally starts with very simple, innocent ones like how many brothers or sisters I have or and which city I live in or if I am a full-time writer now or have another job? But after that the awkward part starts: Are you single or committed? How many girlfriends do you have? Are you seeing anyone, and, many times, how often do you have sex with her? But for some reason, I want to go online today. And maybe I want to be asked personal questions right now—I think that might make me think a bit about what my personal life is like right now and help me reflect about it. 

Facebook chat shows 428 of my friends online but none of them are my real friends. Maybe I’ll just wait for someone to ping me, I decide, staring on my laptop screen as I drum my fingers on the panel. After a few awkward seconds, a chat window pops up.

Saima: Hi!

I peer at the tiny display picture in the window—she looks pretty.

Rohit: Hey!

Saima: What’s up?

Rohit: Nothing. Was just working. Thought of taking a break.

Saima: Cool! How has your day been so far?

Rohit: Good. How was yours?

This is going good, I think, basic chat.

Saima: Mine was really HOT and SEXY!

Rohit: Oh, you mean like you had a great day.

Saima: LOL! No. I mean hot and sexy like HOT and SEXY.

Rohit: Oh.

Saima: Yeah, just had sex with my boyfriend.

What?! What am I supposed to say to that?

Rohit: Good, that is very . . . good.

Saima: You bet it was! You know I am so good in bed that my boyfriend calls me THE GIRL FULL OF SEX.

Oh God!

Rohit: Okay . . .that’s nice to know.

Oh my God! What is wrong with this girl! Why is she talking like this?

Saima: LOL! You sound shocked. Am I shocking you?

Yes!

Rohit: No, not at all. Not at all, why would you say that?

Saima: Oh come on! It is so obvious. You are taking such long pauses.

Rohit: No no. That’s not so.

Saima: LOL! Okay. You know something? This picture that you see, it’s not my real picture.

Rohit: Oh. OK.

That’s totally normal. People use other people’s pictures as their display pictures all the time.

Saima: You want to see my real picture?

Rohit: Sure.

Within seconds a picture of a set of female breasts appear on my laptop screen!

Saima: Do you like the real me?

Oh my God this is a sex chat! She is sex chatting with me!!! I have never done this in my entire life before!

Rohit: Yeah it’s nice.

What am I supposed to say???!!!! How does one sex chat???

Saima: Only nice?

What do I say? WHAT DO I SAY?

Saima: You don’t like me L

Rohit: No, no. you are nice.

Saima: No. You don’t like the real me.

Rohit: No, no. I do . . . I really like the real you.

This is really awkward for me. I have never sex chatted before . . . and I truly believe that everyone should experience such things at least once in life. And you know, for me this is more like research. What if I have to write a sex chat in one of my books sometime? How will I know what to write then? How will I know what a sex chat is like? This is my chance to learn!

Still, I can’t help wonder that who the hell this girl is and how I could have added her to my friends’ list. I don’t accept all the friend requests I get. Those who send me a friend request should either have a substantial number of friends in common with me or a genuine interest in my writing.

Saima: Then say something about the real me J

Just think and type, just think and type something nice about her breasts.

Rohit: The real you is very beautiful. The real you has skin that looks smooth and beautiful and dusky. The real you is beautifully round and supple and one can’t help but feel the desire to touch and hold the beautiful real you.’

Saima: LOL! You are so funny. You are so nerdy. But I like the nerdy you. I like you. LOL!

Rohit: Thank you J

It is kind of flattering what she is saying.

Saima: Do you want to see more of real me?

Oh my God she is a nymphomaniac! A sex addict!!!

I am struggling to think of what I should say when the doorbell rings.

Rohit: Hey, gtg! Someone’s here.

Saima: LOL! You going to wank, aren’t you? You horny little nerdy beast!

Rohit: No, no. someone’s here. Honestly!

Saima: OK J I believe my horny little nerdy beast.

Rohit: Thank you’

Thank you? Seriously? Thank you???

Saima: OK. You go now. And next time we chat, I will send you more pictures of the real me. ;)

Rohit: Sure. That will be nice. Thanks. Gtg. Bye.

I go offline. Man! She’s one crazy girl! I put my laptop aside and walk out of my room with thoughts about Saima  whirling in my mind and the image of her gorgeous round boobs flashing in front of my eyes over and over again. Maybe she’s not as crazy as I think she is. Maybe she was just being philosophical. Breasts are the essence of womanhood, some may think—they support life and nourish the infant. Maybe that is why she sent me a picture of her breasts. Maybe I am just fantasizing about the whole thing. Maybe I am the sex-driven, dirty pervert here.

I open the door and find Nisha standing in front of me.

‘Hey! How was your day?’ I ask as she comes and dumps her bag on the side table lazily and crashes on the sofa.

‘It was okay. The same as every day. What could be new?’ she sighs. ‘How was yours?’

There is no way I’m telling her that I had a little sex chat with one of my Facebook friends!

‘It was okay.’ I shrug, sit next to her on the sofa and put my arm around her shoulder. She looks exhausted right now, tired after a whole day’s work but the fragrance of her watermelon lip balm is really tempting. Watermelon is my favourite fruit. I hold her and kiss her and want to keep kissing her forever. We share a long passionate kiss and then she pulls back and smiles at me, ‘God! What’s gotten into you today?’

‘Love, only love.’ I say in a deep husky voice, sounding like a cheesy hero in some old romantic movie.

She laughs, rolling her eyes and pushes me away. ‘Did you get any work done today? How is your writing going?’

‘That is . . . not a very good question.’ I fake a little cough. 

‘I was thinking,’ she says as she gets up and walks towards our room, ‘if you are facing so much trouble with your writing, why don’t you take help from an editor? Hire an editorial service. That might solve your problem.’

‘Hey, that’s a good idea actually,’ I say as I churn the idea in my mind. This might actually solve my problem. ‘Yeah, I should hire one. I’ll try finding one on the Internet.’

She nods. ‘Do that. Where is Pranav? Isn’t it late for him to be out?’

‘He is at his friend’s place. Will be staying there for the night. Had some group assignment to finish he said. We could do our own thing . . .’ I say hinting at something more than a kiss as Nisha walks into our room.

She doesn’t respond.



About the Author:
Rahul Saini is the bestselling author of five hugely popular books – Those small Lil’ Things, Just like in the Movies, The Orange Hangover and most recently Paperback Dreams and Just For You, which created a lot of buzz and raised many questions about the current scenario of the publishing industry in India. The collective sale figure of his books is more than 5 lac copies. All his books have featured in various bestselling lists across the nation. His books have strong comic tones and present the up-beat stories that portray the fun loving, free spirited and the outgoing character of today’s youth. Apart from being light entertainers, his books carry relevant social messages. His first book has also been translated into Hindi which won the award for the best translation by the Federation of Indian Printers and Publishers. Trained as an architect from Sushant School of Art and Architecture, Gurgaon, apart from being a novelist, he is a keen photographer and an artist and has had successful art shows. He is into film making and script writing as well. Currently he is working as a visiting faculty member for an art and design program at a prestigious university in India.

Contact the Author:
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Giveaway:
- 3 Copies of Paperback Dreams
- 3 Copies of Just for You