Meet the Creator: REET SINGH, author of Scorched By His Fire

Reet Singh

Welcome to my blog Reet Singh. Your second book The Cure Was Love was released on 1st November 2014 by Mills and Boon, India. Congratulations!

Thank you so much, Sundari!

Sundari: Your first novel Scorched By His Fire happened because you won the Passions Contest held by Harlequin Mills & Boon. What was your reaction when you first learned of the result? Were you expecting it or was it a surprise?

Reet: Gosh! You've taken me back, Sundari, to one of the most exciting times of my life. This was my third Passions contest. The one that Ruchi Vasudeva and Adite Banerjie walked away with – I also participated, and read the shortlisted entries to look for clues to what worked for them. The next year was my year because all the research paid off!
After submissions closed, all I could do was twiddle my thumbs and dream. Then, without warning, I got a phone call from Mills and Boon where a very nice lady asked me if I was indeed Reet Singh. She said she had called to verify my contact details. The penny dropped then, and I just knew I had made the shortlist.
Voting began, to choose the best three stories out of five, when – again – I got a phone call asking if I was alright with public appearances. By then, I had become clairvoyant, so I knew I had made it to the top slot.
So to answer your question, it was a surprise, kind of, but I was prepared also, sort of!
Haha, I know! My brain got all jumbled up then with excitement at the possibility of becoming a Mills and Boon author, and it is scrambled now, probably forever, because the excitement is nowhere near dying away!

Sundari: That is quite a story and a super success at that. Kudos! They say that the first novel usually has traces of the author’s biography. How far does that apply to your book?

Reet: A tiny bit, I won't lie! For instance, I've been to Mauritius, so it was a natural, picturesque location for the setting of “Scorched by His Fire”; I am impulsive and passionate – as was Mita; I have a partiality – ahem – for tall, dark and handsome men, which is why Mita couldn't resist Tanay.
But that's about it. The rest is all a figment of my vivid imagination. Some of the things Mita did, I wouldn't dream of doing - like asking a veritable stranger to pretend to be my fiancé! The idea!

Sundari: Now we know. Could you please present the blurb of your novel as a tweet to my readers, in 140 characters.

Reet: Meet Mita's hot fake fiancé–can enmity in Mauritius become passion in India? #ScorchedByHisFire http://www.reetsingh.in/for-18-and-above.php

Sundari: Good one. I was going to ask you if you plan to come up with a book that has a medical background before I saw the gist of The Cure Was Love. Rudy is a surgeon from New York while Simi is a medical student. So what plans have you for your next one? Would you like to share a glimpse of it?

Reet: I could write medical romance, and maybe I will some day, but for now I'm enjoying the freedom to invent. My next one is going to be based wholly in India – my characters are getting no foreign junkets this time – specifically, I have chosen vibrant and colorful Punjab for the setting. If Mohini and Sameer behave, I might weave a short visit to Mumbai into the plot. Sundari, I might ask you for help with locations etc, you being a Mumbai Gal!

Sundari: You are most welcome! Will be glad to be of help. You have written a book for teens called The Zaken Takeover. Do you have another book planned along those lines in the near future?

Reet: I sure do! The Mystical Amitree is an adventure story. I am currently in the process of completing it; during NaNoWriMo 2014, so expect it to be available in December or January, on Amazon KDP. The story starts in Delhi and moves rapidly to Africa as Arjun, a ten year old boy, goes looking for his missing uncle.  There are all sorts of mysteries to solve on the way, and I am having great fun writing it!

That’s simply awesome Reet Singh. It was lovely having you here on Flaming Sun. I absolutely enjoyed reading your answers. I wish you all the best with all your writing (ad)ventures. Keep up the great work!

Blog Tour: MEET THE CREATOR "YAMINI VIJENDRAN" of Full Circle Fame

Meet the Creator of FULL CIRCLE

Yamini Vijendran
(Pic Courtesy: www.indireads.com)

Hello Yamini Vijendran, welcome to my blog. I enjoyed reading your book Full Circle. I must say that it’s a very quaint romance and it needs a mature mind to create the book. 

Sundari: How much of the book is from real life and how much is from your imagination?

Yamini: First of all, thanks for hosting me on your blog Sundari. You are one of the authors in the blogosphere and ‘authorosphere’ whom I admire and respect a lot. It is a pleasure to be interacting with you.

Well, yes, parts of this book are from real life. Malini has shades of me, my aunts and my mother. The setting is very similar to a retirement home I have visited in Pollachi, Coimbatore. But the story that weaves through these real entities is imaginary.

Sundari: Thank you for saying that about me Yamini. That’s really big of you. I think you are an excellent writer too. To continue... usually the protagonists of romantic novels range from age 14-40. How did you land up writing about senior citizens?

Yamini: I did not really start with a specific intention to explore that demography. However, I have always wondered how it would be if I were to meet my youthful crush after many years, how we would interact, and what feelings would run through us. So that and the song from Aandhi, “Tere bina zindagi se koyi”, were my biggest influences in conceptualising Full Circle.

Sundari: That's truly interesting! And who do you think is the target audience for your novel?

Yamini: I think because of the demography Full Circle explores, it will find patronage among an entire range of people. Whether you are in your twenties or your sixties, Full Circle is a story that offers something for everyone. Although it is not fast paced and steamy the way young adults would like it nowadays, it has that rustic charm that many will find attractive.

Sundari: I agree with what you say about the rustic charm. You have set the story in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu with a lot of detailing. Incidentally, it is my place of birth and helped me connect with the story. How did you do the research?

Yamini: I have relatives in Kumbakonam who helped me with the setting, information about the temples and the life in the agraharam. My own paternal aunt has lived in one such agraharam, so her experiences and inputs helped. And as always, the internet is ever present as the biggest tool for research, so what I did not find anywhere else, I found on the web.

Sundari: I agree with you completely about the internet. I do most of my research there too. Now, imagine yourself in Rumi’s place. What would have been your reaction if it had been your Grandmother who had found the love of her life at 60?

Yamini: To tell you the truth, it would be a bit difficult to digest, not because I have anything against my grandmother or love, but because of the way we have been brought up and the way we have conditioned our minds to think. It would probably take time, but I would like to think that I would eventually be able to accept it. My Rumi is what I would aspire to be in such a situation.

Sundari: And hopefully you are creating more Rumis out there in the world as people read your book. I could not but admire her character. It has been a little more than a year since Full Circle was published. When should we expect your next? Can you tell us something about it?

Yamini: I have been working on a couple of scripts, progressing a bit and fizzling out mid way. So I am not sweating it out to churn out books fast. I take my time as a writer and am confident that whatever I write, even if it just one more, will be something that will leave a mark of its own. 

Bravo Yamini! With that we come to the end of our little chat session with the Creator of the lovely romance novella Full Circle. If you like to read a soft love story in a small town setting, then you will surely love this one folks! Go for it. 

Blog Tour: SPOTLIGHT, REVIEW & INTERVIEW of ANDY PAULA and her LOVE'S LABOR

Love's Labor by Andy Paula

The Blurb

Piali Roy has run away from home and the two stubborn men who love her. One is her beloved Baba; a rigid traditionalist, he refuses to accept anyone from outside her caste and community. And then there is Sathya, the unsuitable outsider. He loves her truly, madly, deeply and has even called off his marriage for her sake. Neither man will budge, and the small town of Jampot, where everyone knows everything, is not big enough for the two of them.

Away from their unreasonable demands, Piali strives to find peace in the mountains. But within six months, her lover tracks her down. Once again, she betrays the one by trusting the other.

Will her labor in the name of love be in vain, or will love transcend all differences?

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My Review

Piali is a teacher who works with 12th standard students in Mussourie. She lives by herself at the accommodation close to her school. She is in charge of the centenary celebration that’s being organised at the school. In the middle of a busy day, she gets a call from Sathya, the love of her life. He has discovered her whereabouts.

From this point, the story takes you in flashback. If Sathya is the love of her life, then why are they not together? You have to read the story to find out.

I somehow feel that Piali’s character is very similar to author Andy Paula’s. It’s just an instinct. Both are teachers who love teaching English. Piali has a powerful leadership quality that also somehow tells me is a lot like the author. The President of the country visiting the school again appears to be based on Andy’s connection with Ex-President Abdul Kalam.

Apart from that, I liked the way Piali Roy has been etched. Her struggle with her parents, her father’s stubborn attitude and her mother’s silent support of her father – everything has been framed well.

I loved Sathya’s character. He is the perfect character for a romance and really came across as a hero. Lucky Piali!

One thing disappointed me, though. The end was abrupt and I was startled to see that that was it, the story was over. Quite unexpected!

All in all, a very well written, lovely story that is worth a read. Congratulations Andy Paula -  looking forward to reading more of your work!

I will go with a 4-star rating for Andy Paula's Love's Labor. 

The cover is perfect for the book and has been done by Naila Ahmed. Kudos Naila!

Meet the Creator of Love’s Labor

This is the first in my ‘Meet the Creator’ (read ‘author interview’) series. Do be kind and post your positive views.

Andy Paula is the author of Love’s Labor, a romance novella published by Indireads. It’s her debut novel and obviously a labor of love. I enjoyed reading Andy Paula’s Love’s Labor and I am happy that I got this opportunity to meet the creator of this beautiful romance. 

Sundari Venkatraman: Give a description of your novel ‘twitter’ style, in 140 characters. 

Andy Paula: #PialiRoy #SathyaNair Impossible mission-love! Domineering fathers, doting mothers. Can lovers beat odds? No Love without Labor http://www.amazon.in/dp/B00H6UARAK 

SV: Can you describe your journey from Anindita Sarkar to Andy Paula?

AP: Anindita was christened Andy by her schoolmates and assured that she would win the Pulitzer some day. Andy laughed at the idea knowing full well that good compositions in the grammar paper did not translate to a literary award. She grew up, mastered in English and picked up the red pen. As an educator, she lived out her childhood dream of teaching English. Working in various public schools of India brought her the experience, the adulation and the spondylitis.  It was when the last happened -with the heaps of notebook and exam paper corrections- that a corporate training opportunity arose. Relieved at dropping the red pen and picking the mouse, the corporate trainer went on to train the IT sector in Voice and Accent, Culture and Behavioural modules. Six years into that and UK beckoned. 

Quitting my corporate career - without batting an eyelid! – it was when I was savouring the English sounds, sight and smell that the blogging bug bit me. As my dormant muse raised its pretty head, and surprised me by keeping it raised, Indireads happened. Love’s Labor, a story untold, was waiting to be told and by now I remembered the Pulitzer ‘prediction’. So revisions, edits, give-up stages later, I finally went with the flow (read, editor) and the book saw the light of the day. Some labor, that!

SV: They say that debut novels generally verge on a lot of incidents from the author’s life. How much of Love’s Labor follows yours? 

AP: A lot. The plot, the characters, the settings, the conversations – all are real. What is not is the end. And the names. 

SV: I see that you are a corporate trainer. Do you see yourself becoming a full-time writer?  

AP: Had Love’s Labor sent me laughing to the bank, I could’ve answered this with more certainty, Sundari! Since I’m still reeling under the impact of the lack of zeroes on the paycheck, I am unable to say.  

SV: Love’s Labor was born out of the impact of a real incident in the life of someone you know. What about your next book?

AP: Love’s Labor is one real life incident; my next is many people, many lives. 

SV: Love’s Labor is a romance. Do you plan to continue writing in the same genre or…?

AP: Everyone loves a love story. So romance has a huge market that Indirom, the flagship of Indireads, decided to tap. 

For now, I don’t have a roadmap but my stories will always be about human relationships, I think. That is what fascinates me the most.  

That was a lovely conversation with Andy Paula, the creator of Love’s Labor. It was fun talking to you about your journey as a writer Andy. I hope you get a number of ‘zeroes’ in your upcoming paycheck. Looking forward to reading your next book. 

     The Book Club Presents Andy Paula's Love's Labour 

Andy Paula - slideshow

Meet the Author

Andy Paula is a corporate trainer by profession and a writer by vocation. After the innumerable essays, poems, articles, editorials, congratulations & condolence letters she wrote for herself and others refused to satiate her writer's Self, she finally put herself seriously to the task and wrote Love's Labor,a romance novella that is now on Goodreads. 

To know more about the versatile author click here.

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