Saturday, May 28, 2016

Sharing: GLOBAL MENSTRUAL HEALTH & HYGIENE DAY

I was barely eleven when I had the shock of my life one morning, when I found myself bleeding profusely. I had had no warning, no clue. I was scared of talking about it to anyone. What in case I had contracted some terminal disease? I belonged to a lower middle class, large, joint family. I thought that my grandparents and parents would be heart-broken if they knew about it. Maybe I would pray hard and it would go away. It didn't for the next three days. Left with no choice and with my heart in my throat, I confessed to my Grandma that maybe I was dying a speedy death. It was later that I got to know that I was menstruating. I was early and that's why they had not told me. They were going to, in the next year or so.

Even later, I always felt dirty, each month when I got my 'periods'. We were five sisters and then my mother. Six women, taking turns, sitting separately, like untouchables, in our own home. I have always questioned all religious practices, much my Grandma's chagrin and irritation. But I never stopped. Somewhere over the years, I decided that this practice will not be followed in my own home.

When my daughter was born, I decided even when she was a babe-in-arms that I would teach her differently. On her tenth birthday, I taught the wonder of menstruation. I told her how thrilling it is to be a woman, to be the vehicle for creating a new life, to play a major role in pro-creation. I told her how without periods, it's not possible for a baby to be born. So much so, she began to look forward to growing into a woman, to receive her "chums" with open arms. And neither she nor I is a pariah in our home, during those three days. And no, God hasn't run away from our house. He's very much alive here. 

And it's time to show the world how it can be.

Today is GLOBAL MENSTRUAL HEALTH & HYGIENE DAY! So, here goes...

PATH is going to be rolling out globally around menstrual hygiene

http://shesjustgettingstarted.org/

Please do take 2 minutes to look at the 'period to possibility' video on this link.  
We are inviting you to be part of a global campaign that will launch on 'Menstrual health and hygiene day'. While this topic is still a taboo in India, there is an immense need to talk about 'Menstrual health and hygiene'

Look at it this way: Imagine your niece, daughter, friend's child is just reaching her adolescence and does not know about the menstrual cycle. Imagine the shock she may experience on something different happening to her suddenly. Imagine the shock you experience when you came of age (considering no one spoke to you about it). 

She is just getting started, Help us in helping her!   

Also, find below some very interesting data points:

1.         88 percent girls and women who menstruate use unsafe materials
2.        66 percent of girls are unaware of menstruation before their first period
3.        70 percent mothers think periods are dirty
4.        66 percent girls and women manage periods without toilets

Handling a normal physiological event is hugely complex, influenced by socio-cultural norms and the larger political environment that shape how girls experience their periods, what they can do while menstruating, what they can use to absorb menstrual blood and how they dispose the material, whether and from whom they can seek information and help, and even whether they stay in school or not.

The positive message for community is / the appeal to your audience / take home message :

We can help give girls a greater chance of success. With information, support, and  access to affordable menstrual care products, she’s more likely to stay in school and to  grow up confident and strong, so she can contribute to her community and the world. But she needs our help. Why? Because she’s just getting started. 


Nancy Muller's video on 'Why sanitary napkins?'



Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Blog Tour: MORE THAN JUST DESIRE by Summerita Rhayne


A Passionate Romance 
by 
Summerita Rhayne 
More Than Just Desire


Blurb 

The Bollywood diva who ran away

Piya walked out of an explosive situation three years ago. She married Arfaaz for security but left him facing chaos she created. Now she's back in Bollywood and searching for the crown she gave up when she ran away. In the competitive world of starry glamour, the only way she can begin her career anew is to trash the past and get a divorce.

The man who wants her atonement

Arfaaz is determined to get his revenge on Piya for making a farce of their marriage and leaving him to face the mudslinging. He forces her to keep up the appearances and stay with him so she can play the loving wife and repent on her sins. But Piya drives him crazy with her antics. On the top of that, the attraction between them sizzles and threatens to make him forget reason.

A passionate conflict

Piya knows she has lessons to learn but she cannot let this man enter her heart. There is too much to risk and she cannot afford to forget the real reason she has come back. Success is her mantra and her worship. She can be faithful to only her goal...




Prologue

The limo slid through wrought iron gates and came to a stop in front of the entrance of the huge house designed like an ultra modern Italian villa.

‘I’m not getting out here. I’ve booked a room and I want to go to my hotel.’ She averted her gaze and stared straight ahead as Arfaaz held the door open. 

For answer, he paused. An inhalation expanded his chest, drawing her unwilling gaze. He’d discarded the ridiculous narrow jacket and the white dress shirt drew taut against his pectorals, sending something threatening and alien coiling through her. 

The next moment he’d swooped down and picked her up, taking advantage of her inattention. 

His hands went under her as he gathered her in his arms as easily as he would a bird in his hand. She had to duck her head to escape the side of the car and then he was slamming the door shut with a foot kick. 

‘How dare you!’ She flailed at him furiously, pent-up frustration escaping. ‘Let me go. Now!’

He was warm, too much so. She found her throat clogging for some unknown reason. 

Before she could react anymore, he let her slide down, but she was struggling and squirming so much, she lost her balance and fell, smack against his body. 

He stepped back as though she burned him and mortification swept over her skin at the implied rejection.  

‘You can’t force me to do what you want!’ she bit out, breathless from effort. 

‘I’ll get what I need to know out of you anyway I can.’

‘What do you want to know? Why am I here? Okay, I’ll tell you. It’s to lay down this ghost between us. This meaningless tie...’ She made a gesture to denote contempt and tipped up her chin at him. ‘I want a divorce, Arfaaz. And I want it as quickly as possible.’

‘Very well.’ The soft agreement dropped in the silence with thunderous force, like a rock thudding down from the mountain. ‘Don’t doubt it, Piya. You’ll get it.’


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ABOUT THE AUTHOR 


Summerita Rhayne writes contemporary and historical romance with lots of emotional conflict. She first got published in 2013 and has won contests with prestigious publishers such as Harlequin and Harper Collins India. She firmly believes if the inspiration is strong enough, the story characters will find a way to make the writer pen them down, even when writing time is in short supply. When cerebrally confronted with the sizzling interaction of two Alpha characters, the only way to get peace is write their book!

At heart, she's a family person and even though she loves her medical teaching profession, she happily becomes a homemaker when not at work. She loves winding down with music, romcoms, cricket (strictly watching only) and social networking.


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Monday, May 23, 2016

Book Review: SEDUCED IN SPAIN by Devika Fernando


I got a chance to beta read this book by Devika Fernando and later the final MOBI version in return for my honest review. 

Alejandro from Spain is a hero to die for and the German heroine Emily is perfect for him. The author has brought you many scenes from this lovely country and also a lot of background about the hotel and tourism industry. Well researched plot with a yummy romance in the foreground.

Emily had met Alejandro in Valencia, Spain, nine years ago. He had broken her heart and it refused to be mended again. Now, on a business trip to a hotel convention, Emily meets the man who had stolen her heart. Sparks fly! Will Emily be able to survive this time round?

Alejandro has done the unpardonable. Despite being the son of a family owning vineyards, he takes off on his own to become an hotelier. That he has become a great success doesn’t seem to count. Will he ever be able to set right relationships?

This is a lovely romance between the beautiful Emily and a super hot Alejandro set in Spain. Even more than the romance, I was absolutely touched by the healing that takes place between Alejandro and his family.

This second book in Devika Fernando’s Round the World series is most definitely worth a read if you are a fan of romances.

ClickHere for more details about the book and it’s author... 






Friday, May 20, 2016

Blog Tour: FALSE CEILINGS by Amit Sharma



FALSE CEILINGS 
by
AMIT SHARMA 




MY REVIEW


Disclaimer: I received an author-signed paperback of this book via The Book Club in return for my honest review.

The story takes off in the middle with Aaryan, in the year 2001. He’s a college professor and seems a bit off his rocker. From here we are taken to 2060 and a very old Lipi. Cut to 2062 and Sunny. Lipi is dead now.

After the above glimpses, we get to read the story of Shakunthala (yeah, the one on the book blurb). Shakunthala is the pampered child of builder Kanshi Ram and his wife Kusum in Dalhousie. Here again, the story begins with her death and goes back to her birth; back and forth; back and forth.

Some of the descriptions, especially of Dalhousie – the landscape, the sunsets, the market place at different periods in time – were picturesque. I so loved the words that painted such powerful visuals.

Many generations follow, beginning in 1930 and ending in 2062. The author has attempted to retain a thread of mystery throughout to keep the reader hooked to the “curse”.

But in that attempt, the characters get mixed up in the reader’s mind.

Like there’s Aaryan. I read about his “mother” and his “father”; his “grandmother” and his “grandfather”. It’s truly difficult to follow a story where the characters have no names. In actuality, they do. But I perceive that the author has attempted to keep all these mysterious. Believe me, navigating through the book, with so many characters criss-crossing, while trying to understand who’s who, it wasn’t easy.

I was determined to know what the curse was. That’s what kept me going. The author has used high class English. I was happy to see many not-so-commonly used words in the book. But the basics such as a, an, the and words like for, at, in, upon, about, with, etc were completely askew. Most sentences were incorrectly formed.

Another thing that threw me off was the inherent negativity in each character, the air of hopelessness throughout the book, till the last couple of pages, when the “curse” is finally revealed. 

I will go with three stars for this book. A good attempt by a first time author. With the right editor, it could have been a really great book.


Blurb

Born in the lush mountains of Dalhousie in 1930, Shakuntala is a pampered child of a wealthy builder. On her wedding night she is gifted a secret to use wisely when the time comes. 

From the green valleys of Dalhousie to a village in Punjab reeling under the communal violence of 1947; from the Delhi of 1950s with its intoxicating smell of freedom to the Delhi of 1970s soaked in the hippie culture; from the Delhi of 1984 smelling of burnt tyres to the Delhi of 90s raising its Frankenstein of urbanization, the cancerous secret breathes with her, infects her. It is accidentally passed down, hidden under insecurities and jealousies, locked in its meaninglessness and leaving a trail of ruin. 

When her great- grandson accidentally discovers the secret in 2065, he is perplexed by the malice that flowed in his family's blood. Was it just the secret or his family would have destroyed itself even in its absence? Why was their love never greater than their unsaid expectations from each other? 

Grab your copy @

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Amit Sharma

Amit Sharma's first fiction book titled False Ceilings has been published by Lifi Publications. The book launch happened on 12 Jan 2016 in the World Book Fair in Delhi. 

Amit has been working in a Software Firm since the last ten years. He lives with his family in NCR. His wife is a teacher and they are blessed with a daughter who is in her terrible twos. 

Amit always keeps a book and a portable reading light in his bag (much to the amusement of his fellow travelers). His other hobbies include watching world cinema, travelling, digging into various cuisines, cooking, listening to music, painting, blogging, making his daughter laugh and helping his wife with her unnecessary and prolonged shopping.

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Thursday, May 19, 2016

Blog Tour: HELL TO PAY by Pamela Fagan Hutchins


Hell To Pay
by 
Pamela Fagan Hutchins



MY REVIEW

Disclaimer: I downloaded a free Kindle version of this book from the link sent by the author via The Book Club, in return for my honest review.

Hell to Pay is #7 in a romantic thriller series by Pamela Fagan Hutchins. I grabbed the opportunity to read and review this one since we are getting a book by a western author after a long interval.

When I read the first few pages, I was kind of confused. There were a slew of characters and way too many things happening, all together. It was difficult to navigate. This is probably because most of them have travelled through the first six books. A regular follower of the series would have been able to jump into the book immediately. But then, the book is also recommended as a standalone. I gritted my teeth and plodded on.

After the first 2-3 chapters, things became clearer and I could follow the story. Emily is a paralegal who works with her lover Jack. Jack has already proposed marriage and there’s a vague plan for them to be married in a month’s time. Emily is unsure. How could she wed a guy who hasn’t told her he loves her? But the sex is great. When they are in bed, it seems the future can only be amazing. But out of it, Emily remains unconvinced. Then there’s the backlog. Jack had been married to the beautiful Lena and two kids too, until all three were murdered in a bomb blast.

Dennis is murdered, in a gruesome fashion. Of all people, his best friend and partner, Phil, is the prime suspect. Phil’s fiancée Nadine is shattered. The District Attorney office seems to have a watertight case. Things get from bad to worse when Phil goes into a diabetes induced coma.

In the meanwhile, Emily, who had lost a baby (she had been married to a guy who’s bisexual, and prefers his boyfriend), is keen to adopt Betsy, a little Mexican girl who’s lost her parents. But Betsy is in a foster home belonging to Mary Alice and Trevon, who are part of an extremist church group.

The author takes the reader through some nail-biting moments in this racy thriller with a dash of romance. I liked the way Emily, Wallace, Emily’s father, Betsy, Michele and many others were characterised. I wish there had been more on the dashing Jack. But then, the story is tightly written and well presented.

The background, the scenes, and the relationships, have been well handled. I enjoyed the dialogues, especially between Wallace and Emily. Then there was the endearing Clyde. And many others, though blink and miss, were absolutely necessary to make the story complete.

One tiny peeve though: The story was running superbly well till the last major scene. After that, though things were tied up perfectly, the last bit was all rush rush. I wish there was a bit more there.

I found the final court scene adorable.

VERDICT: Readers of both romance and thrillers will love this one.   


Blurb 

USA Best Book Award-Winning Series, Cross Genre Fiction.
Third book in the Emily series, a spin-off from Katie & Annalise.

Big-haired paralegal and former rodeo queen Emily thinks she’s got her life back on track. Her adoption of Betsy seems like a done deal, her parents have reunited, and she’s engaged to her sexy boss Jack. Then client Phil Escalante’s childhood buddy Dennis drops dead, face first into a penis cake at the adult novelty store Phil owns with his fiancée Nadine, one of Emily’s best friends. The cops charge Phil with murder right on the heels of his acquittal in a trail for burglarizing the Mighty is His Word church offices. Emily’s nemesis ADA Melinda Stafford claims her witness overheard Phil fighting with Dennis over a woman, right about the time Phil falls into a diabetic coma, leaving Nadine shaken and terrified. Meanwhile Betsy’s ultra-religious foster parents apply to adopt her and Jack starts acting weird and evasive. Emily feels like a calf out of a chute, pulled between the ropes of the header and the heeler, as she fights to help Phil and Nadine without losing Betsy and Jack.



She says her first book came out in 2012 and that her latest, Hell to Pay, is the seventh book in the series. The books all have ties to Texas, with “an interrelated cast of kick-ass female protagonists.” She says the novel's heroine (“a former rodeo queen turned paralegal”) returns to her home town in west Texas and discovers an extremist cult has set up shop and is terrorizing the local townsfolk.

Read a Teaser 

Chapter One

Disco lights whirled around me, or was it the room? My inner party animal had atrophied, not that I’d ever been a real heavyweight. If it wasn’t for the fantastic people-watching—and the fact that this was the celebration party for the burglary acquittal of our firm’s client Phil Escalante the day before, and his engagement to Nadine, one of my best friends in Amarillo—I've bagged this shindig. Instead, there I was with tendrils of fake smoke floating past my face, ten

feet from a DJ dressed in a black latex fetish costume and spiked dog collar and A tall woman maybe ten years older than me appeared out of the low lights and sidled up to me, engulfing me in the odor of cigarettes. Her vanilla hair sported a generous dollop of dark chocolate roots, which was pretty funny to me since she had a body shaped like a cone. A waffle cone. A waffle cone with sparkly sprinkles from the spinning ball overhead. Behind her trailed a paunchy man of roughly her height. His eyes had locked on me in a way that made my skin crawl with leeches that weren’t there.

Rick James’s “Super Freak” ended. The silence in the cavernous L-shaped room was immediate and complete, but short-lived. A clamor of voices from the one-hundred- or-so guests resumed, their voices echoing off the bare walls and “Hey, Foxy Loxy,” the man mouthed at me. Or did he? Surely not. It was hard to tell with the lights playing tricks on my eyes.

The woman spoke past me. “You and your wife got any plans later?” Her bellow seemed to fill the room to its farthest corners, even with all the other voices. I winced and shrank under the eyes that shifted our way.

Not Jack, though. The horse rancher cum criminal attorney was nothing if not unflappable. His topaz eyes twinkled. “Emily’s not my wife.” 

The man surged toward Jack. “You’re not together?”

“I’m his fiancée,” I said through my recently tightened braces and painfully rubber-banded teeth, leaving out “and he’s my boss.” I waved my big, fat teardrop-shaped diamond at him to accentuate my point, then I pinched Jack’s arm where my hand was looped through its crook. I’d capitulated to the mouth gear when my childhood orthodontist saw the gap between my front teeth and insisted needed Invisalign then, filled my mouth with metal instead. Payback for never wearing my retainer, I guess.

The man and woman looked at each other and nodded. She asked, “Care to join us? We’ve got a room at a no-tell hotel nearby.”

Jack’s whole body shook and I didn’t dare look at him. I was a sucker for his laugh. In fact, I was a sucker for everything about him, from his lived-in boots to his permanent tan to his Apache cheekbones. Before either of us could think of an appropriate response, Phil interrupted.

“Millie, Pete, leave my poor friends alone.” He clapped a hand on my shoulder and gently pushed me aside to clap his other onto Jack’s. “They’re not swingers. And this isn’t a swingers social. I’m out of the business.”

The space between Millie’s eyebrows narrowed and puckered as drops of

light rained down on her face. “It’s a free country, ain’t it?”



Grab your Copy @


ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Pamela Fagan Hutchins writes overly long emails, best-selling, award-winning mysteries (WINNER USA Best Book Award, Fiction: Cross Genre, Finalist) and hilarious nonfiction. The Houston Press named her as one of Houston's Top 10 Authors (2014).

She is a recovering attorney and investigator who resides deep in the heart of Nowheresville, Texas and in the frozen north of Wyoming. Pamela has a passion for great writing and smart authorpreneurship as well as long hikes with her hunky husband and pack of rescue dogs, traveling in the Bookmobile, and her Keurig. Visit her at http://pamelafaganhutchins.com or drop her a note pamela at pamelahutchins dot com. 

And if you would like her to visit your book club, women’s group, writer’s group, or library, all you have to do is ask.

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Monday, May 16, 2016

Book Blitz: MY LAST LOVE STORY by Falguni Kothari


My Last Love Story 
by 
Falguni Kothari



Blurb 

Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes’s, Me Before You, My Last Love Story is a heartbreaking and poignant tale about the complexities of trauma and whether love can right a wrong.

***
I, Simeen Desai, am tired of making lemonade with the lemons life has handed me.

Love is meant to heal wounds.
Love was meant to make my world sparkle and spin.
Love has ripped my life apart and shattered my soul.

I love my husband, and he loves me.
But Nirvaan is dying.
I love my husband. I want to make him happy.
But he is asking for the impossible.

I don’t want a baby.
I don’t want to make nice with Zayaan.
I don’t want another chance at another love story. 




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ABOUT THE AUTHOR 


Falguni Kothari is a New York-based hybrid author, and an amateur Latin and Ballroom dance silver medalist with a semi-professional background in Indian Classical dance. She writes in a variety of genres sewn together by the colorful and cultural threads of her South Asian heritage and expat experiences. When not writing or dancing, she fools around on all manner of social media and loves to connect with readers.

My Last Love Story is her fourth novel.


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Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Blog Tour: VOYAGERS INTO THE UNKNOWN by Ruchira Khanna


VOYAGERS INTO THE UNKNOWN 
BY 
RUCHIRA KHANNA



Blurb 
In the historic Indian town of Agra, you can find a very unusual tour company, which is owned by a charming young man named Raj. Although Raj's official job is to show off the historical landmarks of Agra, including the legendary Taj-Mahal, his true mission is to heal the souls of his broken "birds," as he affectionately refers to his tour participants. His business operates purely upon word-of-mouth referrals, ensuring that all of his tour members arrive in Agra with their hearts in their hands, ready for the spiritual growth and cleansing that Raj is known to provide. Healing the hearts of the spiritually damaged can be a difficult job, and in this particular tale, Raj finds himself faced with his most challenging tour group yet. First, there is Ira, a stunningly gorgeous but fragile young woman on the brink of suicide. Next, we meet Darci and Lennard, a couple on the verge of divorce. Then there is Carl, an irritable, antisocial workaholic who has burned all of his bridges. Lastly, we meet Asha, an elderly widow who still yearns for the company and comfort of her late husband. When disaster strikes the tour group, everything is thrown into jeopardy, including lives, relationships, and Raj's very reputation as a tour guide. Raj must find a way to lift the spirits of these five special travelers, even in the face of death and despair. Venture into the unknown and discover how Raj Touristry heals the brokenhearted, one soul at a time. 




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ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

A Reiki Master where she passes out information about channeling universal energy and conducts sessions. The author of “Choices”, “The Adventures of Alex and Angelo” but just another soul trying to make a difference in this lifetime.

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