Saturday, October 29, 2016

Blog Tour: WITH YOU I DANCE by Aarti V Raman


Book Tour

With You I Dance
by
Aarti V Raman




My Review

The story is about Meera Sagar, the elder child of Ashok and Sarita Sagar. The parents find their daughter unreasonable and stubborn, especially her mother. In our society, it’s expected of a girl to prepare herself to become a housewife all through her growing years. She may study, go to work – yeah, we have evolved that much – but at the end of the day, she’s meant to get married and reproduce. The ultimate goal of a woman!

Meera doesn’t care for that. It’s not that she’s against marriage. It’s just that she wants to make something of herself. Being stubborn, she gets her own way when she insists on moving to New York to study ballet at Juilliard School. She ekes an existence for herself there, getting to be an understudy of an understudy. As luck would have it, with both the artiste playing the main role in Swan lake and the understudy falling ill, Meera gets the opportunity of a lifetime, getting to be under the limelight.

But what does Meera do with this chance? She freezes on stage before throwing up her lunch. That’s it! Her career is over. Finito! She rushes back to India with her tail between her legs. At this point she’s not only messed up her career but also her love life. Yeah, her relationship with Abeer!

Abeer Goswami is a hotshot lawyer and in love with the difficult Meera. But when she disappears from New York, he believes she’s dead to begin with. Later, he finds out that he’s been dumped without a bye-your-leave. That too, immediately after he proposed marriage. The shattered Abeer moves to Mumbai to continue to build his career, working long hours.

Meera’s back and her parents want her to get married. But is the headstrong woman ready to listen? Not at all. She wants to set up a ballet school in Mumbai. Sarita loses it while businessman Ashok makes a deal with his daughter in the pretext of helping her. Then there is Niketu aka Bullet, her younger brother whose actually the wiser one.

Abeer and Meera’s paths cross again, but it looks like he’s in a relationship with her best friend Zoya. At every point, Meera’s life seems to get worse than before. Will she bounce back and find herself? Will she ever live a happy life?

The book is all about Meera’s journey in finding herself and has been beautifully narrated. I liked the way the author has touched upon ballet, a young girl’s dream to learn this uncommon dance form. Well-researched and presented, I must say. Not saying too much or too little, it’s just right.

I liked Meera’s characterisation the best. Abeer was her perfect partner. Zoya’s character was well drawn, as were Sarita and Ashok. Bullet brought with him many light moments and he’s a wonderful brother, even while being his wild self.

The title is perfect for the book. The language is excellent and the proofing is near perfect. What more can a reader ask?

No, I couldn’t think of any negative points in this one. I finished reading it with a wide smile on my face. A beautiful romance indeed!

VERDICT: I loved the book.



Disclaimer: I received a paperback of this book from the publisher via The Book Club in return for my honest review. I received no monetary compensation for the same. 

Blurb

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.


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About the Author





Aarti V Raman is an established novelist in the romantic thriller genre (White Knight, Kingdom Come) with her third book, a contemporary romance titled “With You I Dance” out soon with Fingerprint Publishing.

29 years old, she graduated from Mumbai University in 2007 with a degree in Mass Media focused on Journalism, which provided her the perfect background for conducting sound research on any project. She then went on to study Creative and Professional Writing at Deakin University in Melbourne for post-graduation in 2008. It was there that she learned to hone her craft and lifelong ambition of writing romances that had strong characters and stronger stories that remained etched in the reader's minds.

While waiting for her big break, Aarti pursued commercial writing and gained a vast amount of knowledge (from fishing tackle to soft toys) that she claims have helped her with molding better stories. Her first novel "White Knight" was published by Leadstart in 2012 and gave her the impetus to continue writing. In 2013, her work was excerpted in the Tamil Edition of Mills and Boon novels. And in 2014, her short story "Post-Coital Cigarette" was chosen to be part of the Rupa Romance Anthology "An Atlas of Love" curated by bestselling author Anuja Chauhan.

Her latest novel "Kingdom Come" (Harlequin MIRA) has enjoyed a brief stay at the bestseller lists in Amazon India. Her work is represented by Red Ink Literary Agency, Delhi. And very recently, she was a speaker and panellist at the Goa Arts and Literary Fest 2014, Vth Edition.

She is currently expanding her skill set to include copy editing, content marketing, and creative writing workshop that help her explore the wonderful world of words in various forms.


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Saturday, October 15, 2016

Book Review: KNITTED TALES: A COLLECTION OF EMOTIONS by Rubina Ramesh

Congratulations Rubina Ramesh! I am sure this is the first of many more to come. Looking forward to reading more and more of your writing.



The title drew me right in. I am a sucker for emotional drama. What’s the worth of a story if it doesn’t make one emote? I need to either laugh, cry, love, hate or whatever. And so I delved into the book that promised a whole collection of them.

The cover goes perfectly with the title and even more so with the stories that have been knitted within.

I have read the author’s writing on and off and have always believed she’s an excellent story-teller, especially shorts. Rubina Ramesh has her own style of presenting a story – THUD – like a slap on one’s face. The scenes make you sit up and take notice as she weaves words into sentences that stir you up.

The book begins with a tale called “A secret in their closet”. Curiosity tickled, I read on, goose pimples standing out on my skin. The story of Anjali and Payal is sure to make you bite your nails.

I never expected “Betrayal” to end the way it did. Hard hitting! The writing is so powerful that you want to kick the antagonist, hard.

“Chiclets” is a sweet little story that absolutely touched my heart – simple and beautiful.

“Forgive Me, for I have sinned” touches a bold theme. I liked Sharda’s character – the wife who accepts her husband Abhijit for exactly what he is. Nicely penned with crisp dialogue.

“Lolita” is one of the best stories. I so loved the way Lolita is brought to life by the author’s words. I want more. Is there a full novel in the making, Rubina Ramesh? (Please say ‘yes’)

“No Regrets” is another cutesy story about NRI life in the USA. I loved the way Raima dealt with her situation as an undervalued housewife.

“SuvarnaRekha” has a surprising setting, interesting story, unexpected ending. I felt sad while reading it, but I don’t think the lovers really cared. What attitude!

“The Little Godmother” is heart touchingly beautiful. A lovely must read for young parents.

“The Missing Staircase” – I could so relate to Christie’s beautiful relationship with her grandfather. The title is perfect and the second half startlingly unexpected.

“The Other Woman” – I cried for fourteen-year-old Aru. Touched me deeply. I still don’t know if I should be angry with Aru’s parents or feel sorry for them.

“Daddy, Hear me out” – I went back to my children’s school days. My daughter used to hate exams and the pressure they brought with them. Jaspreet’s situation will touch a chord among many youngsters. The story is a clarion call for us to wake up to reality and let our children live their lives. The scene where the author has described Jaspreet’s thoughts as she sits at the examination table brings the anguish of a student to life.

I suck at examinations. I hate them. My mind stops working when the question paper lands on my desk and all I see is a black abyss. I can see the answers at the end of the black tunnel. Often I run towards them, hoping I can hold them in my two hands and put them down on the paper. But they escape me. Like small angels, naughty ones, who have just come to torment me and then flutter away. Mocking me with their presence, yet escaping me and leaving me behind, parched.”

“Cliff Notes” is in first person (as many of the above stories) and is the best of the lot. At the end of it, I wanted to hug this ‘person’ who was telling the story.

Other quotes from #KnittedTales that stayed back with me:

If silence had a sound of its own, then there would be a cacophony of screams.”

 “Her heart soared when trembling hands held an umbrella over her, lest the angry sun peeled away the layers of her beauty.”

VERDICT: You can’t afford to ignore Rubina Ramesh’s words or her writing style, if you are an avid reader. You’d miss something truly valuable.



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About the author


Rubina Ramesh is an avid reader, writer, blogger, book reviewer and marketer. She is the founder of The Book Club, an online book publicity group. Her first literary work was published in her school magazine. It gave her immense pride to see her own name at the bottom of the article. She was about 8 years old at that time. She then went to complete her MBA and after her marriage to her childhood friend, her travel saga started. From The Netherlands to the British Isles she lived her life like an adventure. After a short stint in Malaysia, she finally settled down in the desert state of USA, Arizona. Living with her DH and two human kids and one doggie kid, Rubina has finally started living the life she had always dreamed about – that of a writer. 


Friday, October 14, 2016

Blog Tour: NO SAFE ZONE by Adite Banerjie



NO SAFE ZONE 
by
ADITE BANERJIE




Blurb

Qiara Rana will do anything to save her mentor and their non-government organization from ruin. Even if it means visiting the city she had vowed never to return to. But within a few hours of landing in New Delhi, she is being chased by a gunman and is a potential suspect in the murder of a high-profile businessman. 

The only person she can turn to for help is Kabir Shorey, the man who stood her up ten years ago. Past and present collide in a deadly plot of crime and greed that moves from the cosmopolitan streets of Delhi to the bazaars and villages of Rajasthan. 


Excerpt from #NSZ


Kabir couldn’t take his eyes off the game in progress. The sight of the polo players astride their horses, moving as a seamless entity, while steering the ball away from their opponents made him restless. He hadn’t ridden a horse or held a polo club in his hands for years. He had to use all his self-control to stop himself from rushing on to the field, pulling down one of the players and laying claim to his horse.
The memories came galloping back from the deepest recesses of his mind—Chetak with the brilliant white star in the middle of his forehead. What a dream team they had made. Chetak could anticipate his every move on the polo field even before he could think of it. They had never lost a game, making their perfectly matched combination the envy of every player in Rajasthan. If only they hadn’t been such a success on the polo turf…maybe things would have been different. Kabir’s heart burnt with longing and regret and the emotions bubbled within him like a dormant volcano beginning to stir up again.
Taking a deep, self-sustaining breath he raised his telephoto-lens equipped camera to his eyes, more to hide the dampness in his eyes. He focused on the spectators stand as he tried to reorient himself to his mission. He was here to get information on Ranveer Khanna, a known polo aficionado. It was the final day of the annual championships hosted by the Army Polo Club and Khanna was bound to show up.
Suddenly, two men appeared in the camera’s view finder. One of them was definitely Khanna while the other was a taller, stockily built man in his mid-twenties.
Kabir snapped a few pictures in quick succession. The younger man seemed to be agitated and was waving his finger threateningly at Khanna. He also didn’t quite fit the typical characteristics of a polo enthusiast. His attire was a little shabbier than what the other patrons of the club sported at such an elite affair. Perhaps, he was a chauffeur or a helper? His attitude though was far from servile. In fact, Khanna looked a trifle intimidated. After a couple of minutes, Khanna said something and turned to go inside the club.
Kabir took a few more random shots as he saw a waiter approach Khanna and say a few words to him.
Just at that moment Kabir’s cell phone beeped in his shirt pocket. It was Zayed—his new partner! Smirking at the thought, Kabir answered the call.
“Our man is here. Found out from the concierge, Khanna has recently acquired two stallions and is also a patron of a polo team in Argentina. It seems like he is either partnering with some other loaded investors or is a front for them.”
He waited to hear out Zayed’s response and swallowed the oath that sprang to his lips. “Zayed, if you already knew it, why you didn’t tell me?” Seconds later Kabir burst out, “Don’t give me that bullcrap. You and I are supposed to be on the same team, remember? If you had any doubts about my capabilities you should have spoken up at the meeting. If we have to work together, we share information, got it?”
Kabir felt his blood pressure rise up a notch as Zayed disgorged some more intel. Apparently, the NCA had informed him that Girls Rock! might be a money laundering front for Khanna.
“Someone from Girls Rock! is supposed to meet—hello? Are you there?”
Kabir cursed as he checked the screen of his phone to find the network signal had dropped. Moving away from the bleachers, he walked towards the club, trying to reach Zayed. He paced around a bit outside the entrance, waiting for the network signal to show up. Not even one blasted green light. He stormed into the club house in search of a landline phone. What else was Zayed not telling him? Clearly, Zayed’s reputation of not being a team player was quite accurate. It seemed like he needed to lay down some ground rules with his partner soon or else this investigation was doomed.
Scanning the lounge area, he spotted Khanna talking to a woman whose back was turned to him. After a few seconds, he saw her get up and follow Khanna out.
Kabir’s glance froze on the woman. She was petite, with the same china-doll-like figure, the same sexy gait, the same sway to her hips that made his heart pump harder. He raised the camera to his eyes, zooming in on her face to get a closer look but she was looking away. Nevertheless, he got a couple of shots before she disappeared down the corridor towards the inner sanctum of the club.
Was it her? Watching a polo match after all these years had sent his mind into throwback mode. He must be hallucinating! Get real, Kabir! 


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About the author





Adite Banerjie discovered the wonderful world of books at an early age which sparked her interest in writing. After a fulfilling and exciting career as a business journalist she turned her attention to fiction. Her latest book is a romantic-thriller No Safe Zone, published by Harper Collins India. She has penned two books for Mills & Boon (The Indian Tycoon’s Marriage Deal and Trouble Has a New Name) and written several screenplays. When she is not grappling with her current work-in-progress, she enjoys spending time with her writer husband and watching back-to-back movies. 

Media Mentions:

Click Here to read the article in The Hindu Metroplus

Click Here to read a book review of No Safe Zone in Millennium Post

Click Here to read the article in The Big Thrill magazine






                  


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Thursday, October 6, 2016

Sharing: WHY AM I AN INDIE AUTHOR?

#PoweredByIndie

I began to write suddenly in December 2000. Yeah, you read that right. It was a sudden lightening strike. I have been an avid reader since I was a kid. I remember thinking of the stories that I had read for a long time, weaving multiple endings to it in my mind – especially if the story had a sad ending.

In my imagination, I hit Mr. Bumble (of Oliver Twist notoriety) hard on his head when he refused to feed Oliver even when the child begs, “Please Mr. Bumble, may I have some more?” This was every time I read the book and I must have done so at least half a dozen times and cried copious tears every time.

And the same was true of the umpteen books that I read. I did magic with Mandrake and I beat up goons along with Phantom. Life was truly fun! But writing? It was never my cup of tea until that day in December 2000.

And what did I start writing? A novel, no less. I fell in love with the romance genre after reading my first Mills & Boon when I was barely thirteen. By the end of the book, I was hooked for life. I used to always imagine love stories set in India. It had been obviously deeply embedded in my subconscious and had finally burst forth as The Malhotra Bride – the first book I ever wrote.

It took 14 years and a number of rejections from publishers around the world when I finally indie published this book on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. I have never looked back after that.

Today, I have nine ebooks indie published – all Top Amazon Bestsellers – in India, USA, UK, Australia and Canada. I am both proud and humbled by the response from my readers. Those novels that I had published as series on my blog are now being read by people around the world and I get paid for this – month after month.

The best part of Kindle Direct Publishing is KDP Select. This is Amazon’s exclusivity for using only their platform to publish our books. I am simply loving it and I will tell you why.

1.       To begin with, the percentage of royalty doubles when using KDP Select.
2.      Internet users/buyers around the world know Amazon. We should find most ebook readers on this platform for sure.
3.      The best is KENP that is the latest introduction. This option enrols my book for #KindleUnlimited where a member can borrow my ebook to read and I get paid for every page read. This is like manna from heaven for an author as it shows that her books are actually being read. And yes, this has made my royalty shoot through the roof.

Imagine having 10000 to 16000 pages of one’s books being read every 24 hours, around the world! Yes, that’s what’s happening to mine.

I am thrilled to be an indie author, all thanks to Amazon. Yeah, and getting rich too while doing what I love best!


KDP on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KindleDirectPublishing


Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Cover Reveal: KNITTED TALES: A COLLECTION OF EMOTIONS by Rubina Ramesh



RELEASING ON THE 10th OF OCTOBER 
Knitted Tales: A Collection of Emotions 
By 
Rubina Ramesh

Every tale has a path to follow to reach its destination.. but it may not exactly be the one we should follow.

WHAT IS THE ANTHOLOGY ALL ABOUT?

What forces an innocent girl to become a sex symbol? Her desires? Or cruel fate? 

Is a lifetime enough—for avenging a betrayal? How do you hide secrets that never stopped haunting you? 

Can vengeance and secrets of your past devastate your present? How can long-buried crimes of yours suddenly raise their head? Can sinning be saving?

Is your spouse your soulmate? What if they never understood your feelings? Can you still live with them?

Lastly, does life give only two options? Live or die? What if there is a third?

In her debut anthology, Rubina Ramesh tries to find answers to these questions that are often from the heart and yet makes the mind ponder over the solution. Or is it the other way round? Either way, Knitted Tales is a bouquet of emotions that is bound to touch both your head and your heart.


WHAT INSPIRED ME TO WRITE THIS ANTHOLOGY...

Dear Friends and Aspiring Writers,

My journey as a writer started after I joined Wrimo India. It’s a group of aspiring authors where all members are challenged to write, by the NaNoWriMo ML for India region and the Founder/Admin of Wrimo India, Sonia Rao.  Along with the other admins, Neel Ina and Dola Basu Singh, she made our lives pretty tough if we did not submit on time.

Our work was critiqued, broken to pieces and then mended again by all the Wrimo members. I laugh now, whenever I reminisce about those days. We writers are so passionate about our work that even a little bit of criticism makes us want to hide our baby. But in this group, we trained ourselves to accept all types of honest criticism. We sculpted our stories and life continued. This happened around 2 years ago.

Then, one fine day I found that I had gathered around 17 stories and forgotten all about them. As I dusted away the layers of neglect, I fell in love with my own stories. I am a narcissist. :)  But then, all writers are, aren’t they? I do hope what I have written from my heart, touches you. Here are the stories of a writer who aspires to always write from her heart. With NaNoWriMo just around the corner, here’s raising a toast to inspiration!



Releasing on 10th of October 2016
Add the cover of 
Knitted Tales: 
a collection of emotions 
by 
Rubina Ramesh
to your 



Proofread by Nikita Jhanglani 
Cover Designed by Sachin Venkatesh

About Rubina Ramesh


 Rubina Ramesh is an avid reader, writer, blogger, book reviewer and marketer. She is the founder of The Book Club, an online book publicity group. Her first literary work was published in her school magazine. It gave her immense pride to see her own name at the bottom of the article. She was about 8 years old at that time.  She then went to complete her MBA and after her marriage to her childhood friend, her travel saga started. From The Netherlands to the British Isles she lived her life like an adventure. After a short stint in Malaysia, she finally settled down in the desert state of USA, Arizona.  Living with her DH and two human kids and one doggie kid, Rubina has finally started living the life she had always dreamed about – that of a writer. 

Her other published works include
'Home is where Love is’ a short story in the anthology Writings from the Heart. 
Ed. by Beth Ann Masarik 
‘You Stole My Heart’ and ‘Let me Go’. Short stories as a part of the anthology 
‘Long and Short of It’ by Indireads
'Wake Me Up' as a part of the anthology ‘Marijuana Diaries’ by Fablery Publishers


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Monday, October 3, 2016

Blog Tour: CABBING ALL THE WAY by Jatin Kuberkar



CABBING ALL THE WAY
by
Jatin Kuberkar



Blurb

Twelve people agree to an idea of running a shared transport service from a common residential locality to their out-of-civilisation office campus. Twelve different minds with equally diverse personalities gel with each other to fulfil a common need. At first, the members collide on mutual interests, timings, priorities and personal discipline, but in the course of their journey, they become best friends, make long-lasting relationships, mentor and help each other on various mundane matters. The journey goes on fine until one day some members try to dictate terms over the group. The rift widens with each passing day, the tension surmounts and finally all hell breaks loose... Will the journey continue? Fasten your seatbelts for the journey is about to begin...

Read an excerpt @
Readomania 

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About the author





Take an ounce full of imagination and a scoop of humour. Mix them well. Now put a few teaspoons of feelings and emotions and simmer until it smells good. Add spices for taste. Put the mixture on the platter of dreams and garnish it with a few peanuts of desires and some herbs of passion – that’s all it takes to be Jatin Kuberkar. Jatin is a software engineer by day and a passionate writer by night. When not tangled in software codes, Jatin likes to express his inspirations in the form of poetry, short stories, novels and essays.

He lives in Hyderabad and adorns polymorphic forms in his personal life as a son, a husband, a father, a friend, a mentor, an observer, a criticand the list goes on… He is an ardent lover of Hyderabadi biryani and is a worshipper of chaai. If granted a boon, Jatin would love to learn magic from Hogwarts and fly around on a broom stick. 

Jatin is the author of two other books. Rainbow Dreams, a collection of poetry and While I Was Waiting, a collection of short stories. This is Jatin’s third book.

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