A to Z April Challenge 2024: R for THE RUNAWAY BRIDEGROOM

THE RUNAWAY BRIDEGROOM is a novel I wrote while working full time. I used to blog my novels those days as there were no takers for them in the traditional publishing world. I also used to manage my kitchen, making no less than three meals every day.

Well, the story wanted to be told, the characters insisting on having their say; and how could I refuse? I used to write one chapter per week, publishing them every Friday. Even today, in its final form, most of the thirty-eight chapters in this book are brief, all because I had managed to write one chapter every Thursday night, determined not to give up telling my stories.

There was another feedback many readers insisted on giving me: They have only heard of runaway brides, but never of any runaway bridegroom. I’m only thrilled that my tale is unique. 

Jokes apart, this story is about child marriage (a taboo subject, but still prevalent in the smallest of villages in India) and I had to tell my version of such a wedding. 

The Runaway Bridegroom is also the first book in the Marriages Made in India series which consists of 6 books in all. 

Story-in-Brief: 

Chanda Maheshwari’s family is shaken when her thirteen-year-old bridegroom Veerendra runs away immediately after the wedding. The eight-year-old child doesn’t even understand the impact on her life. Unable to face their neighbours and friends, the Maheshwaris move from their village to Jaipur and begin a new life in the city.

Fourteen years later, Chanda is studying in a Delhi College. She takes up a temporary job at RS Software Pvt. Ltd. and falls head-over-heels for the boss of the operation. But what about Ranveer Singh? Is he interested in her?

Ranveer’s secretary Shikha is desperate to make him fall for her. All she wants is life-long security with a rich man. But it’s nerd Abhimanyu who keeps getting in the way. Abhi is Ranveer’s second-in-command and Shikha isn’t keen on him as she’s eyeing the main chance.

When Ranveer appears to show interest in Chanda, she’s faced with a new problem. Astrologer Vidyasagar insists that she would get back with her husband Veerendra. Does anyone want to know what she wants?

Chanda feels torn between the man she has fallen for and the family values that have been instilled in her. Will she ever find happiness?

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Book Blitz: THE RUNAWAY BRIDEGROOM (Marriages Made in India) by Sundari Venkatraman

Paperback: 256 pages

Publisher: Westland Books 

Publication Date: August 31, 2019

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Language: English

Available across all bookstores in India

Genre: Romance

Eight-year-old Chanda Maheshwari and thirteen-year-old Veerendra Singh Choudhry are married as per custom. But when the bridegroom runs away immediately after the wedding, the Maheshwari family’s world comes crashing down. They move to Jaipur to begin a new life in the city.

Fourteen years later, as a management student in Delhi, Chanda takes up a temporary job at RS Software Pvt. Ltd and finds herself falling head-over-heels for her boss, Ranveer Singh. But, for all her feelings, Chanda is still a married woman. Meanwhile, Ranveer’s secretary, Shikha, is determined to win him for herself. Even though his second-in-command, Abhimanyu, keeps getting in the way, she keeps a steady eye on the main prize. So when Ranveer starts to show an interest in Chanda, Shikha is furious. Back in Jaipur, an astrologer predicts that Chanda’s errant husband will soon make an appearance.

A secret childhood marriage, a vindictive secretary and unwelcome cosmic predictions—how much can Chanda deal with? And does anyone care about what she wants? Torn between the man she loves and the claim a missing husband still has on her, will Chanda ever find happiness?

Available across all bookstores in India

It would be great if you can add this book to your TBR

Sundari Venkatraman is an indie author with forty-plus titles to her credit, which have sold more than 1.5 lakh copies around the world. Her books consistently feature in the Top 100 Bestseller Lists on Amazon in both Romance and Asian Drama categories. Her latest romance novels have all been on the #1 Bestseller slot in Amazon India for over a month.

As a child, Sundari loved to read books with ‘lived happily ever after’ endings. They were all about good triumphing over evil. As a teenager, her favourite books were romance novels from Mills & Boon. She was fascinated by them, so much so that she began to visualise the stories set in India.

Sundari was forty when she began her writing journey, completing the first draft of her first novel in thirty-five days. She has not looked back since.

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A2Z April Challenge 2019: Q for QUIRKY SAMRAT

Samrat is a private detective who walks in and out of some of my books and Quirky is a description that fits him well.

I was extremely impressed by a detective I read about in one of Agatha Christie’s books (no, I am not talking about Poirot) and that character kind of got imprinted in my brain. 

Samrat is not the Quirky detective's real name. Read on to know all about it. 

A glimpse into the Quirky Samrat…

In the meanwhile, they contacted Samrat, the private detective highly recommended by the twins’ friend. Ram thought that a name like Samrat sounded fraudulent, but Bharat’s friend had insisted that the man was a genius. 

Both the brothers were rather skeptical when Samrat agreed to meet them immediately. From what they knew about the man, he worked on his own and sometimes hired a couple of guys as freelancers. How could he be free the moment they contacted him? Not left with much of a choice, they invited the detective over to their hotel at 7 pm. 

Samrat arrived a few minutes before time and the receptionist called their room at five minutes to seven to announce his arrival. Lakshman looked at Ram askance before requesting the receptionist to send their guest up. 

The man who entered their room appeared nothing like a sleuth. Their idea of one was that he would be tall and muscular, strong and fit enough to combat bad guys. But this man standing in front of them was thin and nondescript. Would he be suited for the kind of work they had in mind for him? ‘Well, procrastinating will get us nowhere,’ decided Ram before offering their guest a seat. Well manners prompted Lakshman to provide Samrat with a glass of water before they spoke to him.

After the introductions, Ram said, “Actually Mr. Samrat, this case might be a bit complicated as it’s being opened after fourteen years. By the way, is Samrat your first name or last?” he asked, not able to control himself.

“It’s neither, Mr. Maheshwari. The name my parents gave me is Rajesh and my surname is Khanna. Can you imagine anyone taking me seriously if I announce myself as Rajesh Khanna? The first couple of ventures that I tried to pick up fell apart just because of this. That’s when I coined this name for myself. Samrat seems to work well with everyone.” The visitor’s face was serious once again.

I introduced Samrat in The Runaway Bridegroom. Later, he insisted on walking into An Autograph for Anjali, Simha International, and then again in Tied in Knots. 

Quirky Samrat is good with lists and is meticulous when he sets out to check facts. While people are amazed that he’s ready to follow up on the predictions of an astrologer, he has no qualms about it. The fact is that there’s not much else to work on in that particular case when Samrat sets out to search for The Runaway Bridegroom, Veerendra Singh Choudhary. 

Quirky Samrat is the one who traces Jayant’s murderer in An Autograph for Anjali. He understands people, he knows how to press the right button to get the answers he needs.

Quirky Samrat helps Rohit of Simha International, not once, but twice in the book. I think I will leave it to you to read the book to find out more.

Quirky Samrat assists Rajvardhan Thakore of Tied in Knots to put a case together against Raja Harischandra Gajanan. 

I am sure Samrat is going to be a part of many more of my books in the future. 

A2Z April Challenge 2019: O for OBJECTIONABLE SHIKHA

I introduced Shikha in the guise of a vamp in my book The Runaway Bridegroom. She’s a powerful character and is as objectionable as one can get. She drinks, smokes, swears loudly and is bitchy into the bargain. More than all that, she wants to marry a rich guy and settle down for good. She's so objectionable that some beta readers and an editor told me that I should do away with this one as she was getting more than her share of the limelight as a secondary character.

But somehow, Shikha refused to let go of me. She insisted on remaining in my book, grabbing a number of scenes and sequences.

And till date, I have never regretted the decision to let her do what she wanted. The best part is that I could create a separate novel for Objectionable Shikha called His Drunken Wife as she wanted her story told. 

Yeah, that way I listen to my characters and go with the flow as they demand for space in my books. I feel that makes writing more of a joy to me, letting imaginary people tell their tales to their satisfaction, through me. 

About Objectionable Shikha…

Shikha was a few months over thirty-one and had worked hard throughout her life, always keeping her eye on the main chance. Her prime goal in life was to strike it rich by making the right marriage. She had moved around a few companies, working as a secretary trying to get the attention of her bosses. But it seemed that she always seemed to garner the wrong kind. All the men she had met so far had been ready to share her bed, but not her life. It never struck Shikha that those were the vibes she was emanating and that every man was only responding to it.

Tornado Giveaway 2: Book No. 55: THE RUNAWAY BRIDEGROOM by Sundari Venkatraman

Go to Book No. 54

Check all the Books Here 

Name of the Book: THE RUNAWAY BRIDEGROOM

Author: Sundari Venkatraman

Read some reviews:

1. Rubina Ramesh
2. Inderpreet Kaur Uppal 
3. Sumeetha Manikandan 

The Story:

Chanda Maheshwari’s family is shaken when her thirteen-year-old bridegroom Veerendra runs away immediately after the wedding. The eight-year-old child doesn’t even understand the impact on her life. Unable to face their neighbours and friends, the Maheshwaris move from their village to Jaipur and begin a new life in the city.

Fourteen years later, Chanda is studying in a Delhi College. She takes up a temporary job at RS Software Pvt. Ltd. and falls head-over-heels for the boss of the operation. But what about Ranveer Singh? Is he interested in her?

Ranveer’s secretary Shikha is desperate to make him fall for her. All she wants is life-long security with a rich man. But it’s nerd Abhimanyu who keeps getting in the way. Abhi is Ranveer’s second-in-command and Shikha isn’t keen on him as she’s eyeing the main chance.

When Ranveer appears to show interest in Chanda, she’s faced with a new problem. Astrologer Vidyasagar insists that she would get back with her husband Veerendra. Does anyone want to know what she wants?

Chanda feels torn between the man she has fallen for and the family values that have been instilled in her. Will she ever find happiness?

You can also buy @

About The Author 

Sundari Venkatraman 

Even as a kid, Sundari absolutely loved the ‘lived happily ever after’ syndrome as she grew up reading all the fairy tales she could lay her hands on, Phantom comics, Mandrake comics and the like. It was always about good triumphing over evil and a happy end.

Soon, into her teens, Sundari switched her attention from fairy tales to Mills & Boon. While she loved reading both of these, she kept visualising what would have happened if there were similar situations happening in India; to a local hero and heroine. Her imagination took flight and she always lived in a rosy cocoon of romance over the years.

Then came the writing – a true bolt out of the blue! She could never string two sentences together. While her spoken English had always been excellent – thanks to her Grandpa – she couldn’t write to save her life.

All this changed suddenly one fine day in the year 2000. She had just quit her job as a school admin and didn’t know what to do with her life. She was saturated with simply reading books. That’s when she returned home one evening after her walk, took some sheets of paper and began writing. It was like watching a movie that was running in her head – all those years of visualising Indian heroes and heroines needed an outlet and had to be put into words. That’s how her first novel, The Malhotra Bride, took shape. While she felt discouraged when publishing didn’t happen, it was her husband who kept encouraging her not to give up.

In the meanwhile, she landed a job as Copy Editor with Mumbai Mirror. After working there for two years, she moved to the Network 18 Group and worked with two of their websites over the next six years, as Content Editor.

Despite her work schedule, she continued to write novels and then short stories and had them published in her blogs. She also blogs voraciously, writing on many different topics – travel, book reviews, film reviews, restaurant reviews, spirituality, alternative health and more.

Her first eBook Double Jeopardy – a romance novella – was published by Indireads and has been very well received by readers of romance.

In 2014, Sundari self-published The Malhotra Bride (2nd Edition); Meghna; The Runaway Bridegroom; Flaming Sun Collection 1: Happily Ever Afters From India (Box Set) and Matches Made In Heaven (a collection of romantic short stories).

2015 brought yet another opportunity. Readomania came forward to traditionally publish this book – The Madras Affair – a mature romance set in Madras.

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Sharing: BOX SET OF MY THREE BOOKS

I would like to share my latest news with all my readers. Having self-published three books on Amazon under the banner of Flaming Sun, I decided to make a box set of the collection under one umbrella and sell it as a combo unit. That's how Flaming Sun Collection 1: Happily Ever Afters From India Box Set was born. I have to thank both my kids - Vinitha & Vignesh - for making the 3-D cover for the same. 

This Box Set contains my novels The Malhotra Bride, Meghna and The Runaway Bridegroom and is priced way lesser than the three books if bought separately.

Buying links:

Amazon.com | Amazon.in | Amazon.co.uk | 

Amazon.ca | Amazon.com.au

Blog Tour: THE RUNAWAY BRIDEGROOM by Sundari Venkatraman by The Book Club

THE RUNAWAY BRIDEGROOM

by

Sundari Venkatraman

Blurb

Chanda Maheshwari’s family is shaken when her thirteen-year-old bridegroom Veerendra runs away immediately after the wedding. The eight-year-old child doesn’t even understand the impact on her life. Unable to face their neighbours and friends, the Maheshwaris move from their village to Jaipur and begin a new life in the city.

Fourteen years later, Chanda is studying in a Delhi College. She takes up a temporary job at RS Software Pvt. Ltd. and falls head-over-heels for the boss of the operation. But what about  Ranveer Singh? Is he interested in her?

Ranveer’s secretary Shikha is desperate to make him fall for her. All she wants is life-long security with a rich man. But it’s nerd Abhimanyu who keeps getting in the way. Abhi is Ranveer’s second-in-command and Shikha isn’t keen on him as she’s eyeing the main chance. 

When Ranveer appears to show interest in Chanda, she’s faced with a new problem. Astrologer Vidyasagar insists that she would get back with her husband Veerendra. Does anyone want to know what she wants? 

Chanda feels torn between the man she has fallen for and the family values that have been instilled in her. Will she ever find happiness? 

Buy @

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Amazon.ca | Amazon.com.au

Meet the Author

Sundari Venkatraman has authored four ebooks so far, The Runaway Bridegroom being the latest. Three of her books, namely, The Malhotra Bride; Meghna and The Runaway Bridegroom have all been self-published on Amazon under the banner of Flaming Sun. All three books are regularly seen on Amazon’s Top 100 Bestsellers’ Contemporary Romances list. 

A great fan of Mills & Boon romances over the past four decades, Sundari has always believed in ‘Happily Ever Afters’ and all her books promise happy endings. 

The Runaway Bridegroom talks about ‘Child Marriage’, an evil perpetrated even in the 21st century in a country like India. While a large number of the country’s population live in the cities and lead modern lives, there are many who follow old customs unaware of the negative impact on the lives of the younger generation. 

The book is a work of fiction and of course does not preach. The author has but made an attempt to bring this ancient custom to the eyes of the modern public around the world while bringing a simple solution to the protagonists, the victims of child marriage. 

“I hope you enjoy reading the book as much as I loved writing it,” says Sundari Venkatraman. 

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Cover Reveal: THE RUNAWAY BRIDEGROOM by Sundari Venkatraman

Cover Reveal: 

THE RUNAWAY BRIDEGROOM 

by 

Sundari Venkatraman

Sneak Peek

     Chanda Maheshwari’s family is shaken when her thirteen-year-old bridegroom Veerendra runs away immediately after the wedding. The eight-year-old child doesn’t even understand the impact on her life. Unable to face their neighbours and friends, the Maheshwaris move from their village to Jaipur and begin a new life in the city.

     Fourteen years later, Chanda is studying in a Delhi College. She takes up a temporary job at RS Software Pvt. Ltd. and falls head-over-heels for the boss of the operation. But what about  Ranveer Singh? Is he interested in her?

     Ranveer’s secretary Shikha is desperate to make him fall for her. All she wants is life-long security with a rich man. But it’s nerd Abhimanyu who keeps getting in the way. Abhi is Ranveer’s second-in-command and Shikha isn’t keen on him as she’s eyeing the main chance. 

     When Ranveer appears to show interest in Chanda, she’s faced with a new problem. Astrologer Vidyasagar insists that she would get back with her husband Veerendra. Does anyone want to know if she wants to do that? 

     Chanda feels torn between the man she has fallen for and the family values that have been instilled in her. Will she ever find happiness? 

About the Author

Even as a kid, Sundari Venkatraman absolutely loved the 'lived happily ever after' syndrome as she grew up reading all the fairy tales she could lay her hands on, Phantom comics, Mandrake comics and the like. It was always about good triumphing over evil and a happy end. Soon, into her teens, she switched her attention from fairy tales to Mills & Boon. While she loved reading both of these, she kept visualising what would have happened if there were similar situations happening in India; to a local hero and heroine.

Her imagination took flight and she always lived in a rosy cocoon of romance over the years. Then came the writing - a true bolt out of the blue! She could never string two sentences together. While her spoken English had always been excellent - thanks to her Grandpa - she could not write to save her life. She was bad at writing essays in both school and college. Later, when it was time to teach her kids, she could manage everything from Science to Mathematics and History & Geography.

When it came to writing compositions, her kids found her of no help at all. All this changed suddenly one fine day in the year 2000. She had just quit her job at a school's office and did not know what to do with her life. She was saturated with simply reading books. That's when she got home one evening after her walk and took some sheets of paper and began writing. It was like watching a movie that was running in her head - all those years of visualising Indian heroes and heroines needed an outlet and had to be put into words. That's how her first novel, The Malhotra Bride, took shape.

While she felt discouraged when publishing did not happen, it was her husband who kept encouraging her not to give up. There was no looking back after that. While publishing took a long time happening, Sundari continued to write novels and then short stories. Her luck turned when Indireads approached her to write for them and Double Jeopardy was born.

Now it’s all about self-publishing her books on Amazon. Her first self-published book is The Malhotra Bride (2nd Edition) in February 2014. Then came Meghna in June 2014. And now it's time to unveil The Runaway Bridegroom, all set to release on September 13, 2014.

Are you ready????????????

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