08 November, 2019

#SpecialFeature:: #AuthorTrivia & #excerpt from The Sinners by @sourabhm_ofcl


*** Special Feature - November 2019 ***


About the Author:


Sourabh is the author of two psychological thriller novels The Colours of Passion: Unravelling Dark Secrets behind the Limelight (Readomania) and  In the Shadows of Death: A Detective Agni Mitra Thriller (Srishti Publishers and Distributors); Romance Shorts, a collection of dark-romance short stories; a 2-part series Beyond 22 Yards (Srishti Publishers and Distributors) on stories of Love and Crime from the world of cricket and a 7-part series of short stories titled It’s All About Love (Srishti Publishers and Distributors). The titles in the series are The Gift, The Cookery Show and a Love Story, A Special Day, Masks, An Autumn Turmoil, The Hunt, The Death Wish.

A keen observer of human behaviour and cultural diversities, Sourabh loves travelling and has travelled widely across five continents. An avid reader of fiction, Sourabh is equally passionate about photography, movies and music.



Contact the Author:


Author Trivia:


  • Sourabh Mukherjee, who has more than 2 decades of experience in Information Technology won the Golden Pen Award in the Monsoon Romance Contest organized by Sulekha.com and judged by an eminent panel of literary luminaries for a short story in 2015. That was when he decided to get more serious about his writing and has not looked back ever since.
  • Sourabh’s debut novel In the Shadows of Death was among the first titles adopted as audio books in the immensely popular platform Storytel on its launch in India.
  • Likewise, his 2 e-books Love Beyond 22 Yards and Crime Beyond 22 Yards were among 400 titles adopted as audio books in the Amazon Audible platform on its launch in India.
  • Sourabh’s second thriller The Colours of Passion is an alternate sexuality thriller unique in the Thriller genre in India, and was long-listed for WordToScreen 2018 organized by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI).
  • Sourabh’s collection of 7 short stories It’s All About Love was released over 7 weeks as Digital Exclusives on Amazon Kindle, and are now among Readers’ Club All-Time Best titles on Juggernaut Books, now Airtel Books.
  • Sourabh balances his prolific writing career with his day job as the VP of a Technology multi-national. He speaks in technology summits and conferences in India and abroad and works with reputed institutions to incubate new-age technology skills among students across the country. He has also written a popular textbook Big Data Simplified for Pearson, the largest education services company in the world.

Read an Excerpt from The Sinners:

Aarti was with Vikram in her one-bedroom flat. It had been raining for quite some time - the dirt washed away, street lights reflected on the wet roads. There were distant rumbles in the evening sky, sounding almost ominous. Very few cars sped down the empty road below. The room was half-lit by a single lamp on the study desk.

It was just the two of them inside the flat. They had returned a while back after dining at the Marriott in Juhu.

“I’ve been missing you for days, Vikram! I don’t remember when we met last,” Aarti’s voice rose a couple of notches, the resentment in her tone pronounced. “And when we met today after weeks, we ended up fighting.”

There were beads of sweat on Aarti’s temples and above her lips. She was visibly tense. There was a bad taste in her mouth, not the kind you carry home after a dinner at the Marriott. Vikram tried to pull her closer but Aarti freed herself and walked away towards the desk. She looked away, trying to hide the tears that were threatening to spill out.

“Aarti, listen –, “ Vikram tried to speak, but Aarti would not let him.

“I know what’s going on, Vikram”, Aarti turned around to face Vikram and continued, “I know your ways. I can’t say I wasn’t warned, but I didn’t care to listen. I was such a fool! You’re losing interest in me, Vikram. It’s the new bitch in the office, isn’t it?”

Vikram raised a hand. “Aarti, we don’t need to be nasty here!”

“Am I being nasty, Vikram? It’s you who didn’t get tired talking about her all the time we were together this evening,” Aarti’s voice shook. “Everyone in the office is talking about the two of you. And it makes me sick! I get it. I’m now just the clingy, boring lover who nags and begs for your attention! Not very different from your wife, I guess.”

“Aarti, come on! You’re getting this all wrong!” Vikram hugged her tight, standing behind her. His lips moved up and down the sides of her neck. Aarti shivered, feeling his warm breath behind her ears. She had goose bumps all over. Her eyes were half-closed, her brow was creased, and her lips were parted. Aarti realized just how much she had missed that closeness for days! The conflict within her was driving her mad. A part of her wanted to throw the bastard out of her house that very moment. And a part of her wanted to melt in his arms then and there. Vikram was driving her mad and Aarti hated herself for letting him do that to her.

Aarti finally managed to get a grip on herself. She turned around and grabbed Vikram by the collar of his shirt. She whispered menacingly in his ears, “Vikram, I’ll do anything to make sure you stay away from that bitch for good!”

She kissed him like a tigress famished; drawing the blood off his lips. She grabbed him by his hair as her probing tongue parted his lips, sliding into the wine-scented warmth of his mouth. Their tongues wrestled, and they disengaged only when both of them were gasping for breath.

“Vikram, I want to know why you’re drifting away from me! You owe me a goddamned explanation – after we’ve been together for all these months!” Aarti clutched his collar, pulling him closer.

“Aarti, listen. You are imagining things,” Vikram ran his fingers through Aarti’s hair and spoke almost in whispers, “And do not put words in my mouth! What you are saying is a bunch of assumptions you are making. There’s no way I can explain these.”

“Vikram, I really wish I could believe you,” Aarti said, lunging forward and kissing him again. “My life hasn’t been the same since we started dating. Everyone in the office knows about us. I hate the way people look at me, the way they talk about us behind my back. I know you don’t care, but it’s not easy for me. Why don’t you try to understand?”

“Are you complaining, Aarti? Why is it suddenly only me? I thought you and I are in this, together!”

“No, Vikram! I’m not complaining. And I know we are in this together! But I have a feeling you don’t like me anymore, and that’s what’s making it very difficult for me.” Tears welled up in her eyes.

“You are getting this all wrong, Aarti,” Vikram repeated, pulling her closer and caressing her back.

“Vikram, I’m very confused. And I can’t share this with anyone. Not even with the closest of my friends who had warned me about you. I didn’t listen to anyone and went headlong into this, thinking it would just be a casual fling. It’s probably just that for you. But, it has stopped being just a fling for me, Vikram. I don’t know when this happened. But, when I see you with Sonal, I feel jealous. I can’t stop thinking about the two of you. I wish I never landed up in this emotional space!”

Vikram kissed her and she responded, her body warming up. 

Aarti pushed him into the couch and pounced on him, beginning to unbuckle his belt. As Vikram looked into her eyes, the madness he saw there made his heart skip a beat.


About the Book:


Vikram Oberoi is found dead in his penthouse. A few hours ago, his involvement in a sex scandal in NexGen Technologies made headlines across the world.

Who is behind the sinister conspiracy that destroyed Vikram Oberoi, the philandering India Head of NexGen? Rivals within and outside the firm? One of his many jilted lovers or the miffed wife? A mysterious conspirator laying out honey traps to sabotage his plans? Or, is it the ghost of a sinful past that continues to haunt the Oberois? 

The Sinners is a fast-paced thriller with a shocking twist that unravels against the backdrop of corporate warfare, illicit relationships and ruthless seduction games.




Book Links:

Giveaway:
1 Paperback Copy of The Sinners
1 Paperback Copy of The Colours of Passion

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2 comments:

  1. The excerpt is interesting. Should be a good read

    ReplyDelete
  2. Would love to read the book by Sourabh Mukherjee :)

    ReplyDelete