Blog Tour: SCORCHED BY HIS FIRE by Reet Singh

Scorched by His Fire

by 

Reet Singh 

MY REVIEW

I bought a copy of Scorched By His Fire by Reet Singh at Crossword, Sion as I love reading romances, especially in the Indian setting. 

Twenty-six year old Mita lives with her mother and grandparents in Mauritius. Her uncle is keen to get her a suitable husband while she’s dead set against the idea. Her best friend is Sammy who is married to Laxmi. Laxmi is rather insecure about her husband’s relationship with Mita. That’s why her brother decides to intercede on Laxmi’s behalf. Tanay is tall, dark and handsome and meets Mita at a house party. He is extremely rude to her believing that she’s out to break his sister’s marriage. Sparks fly between the two from the first meeting. Will they get together is for  you to find out after reading the book.

The novel is written in excellent English and moves easily – beginning in Mauritius and moving on to West Bengal. 

While Mita is beautiful, she also tends to put on weight with her mom’s delicious cooking. Realistically portrayed! I liked the heroine. She’s desperate to see the world and opportunity knocks on her door when she finds a letter that takes her to India. Tanay is a private detective and also has a project in India creating the perfect setting for the two to spend more time together. 

I found Tanay quite overbearing. While that kind of suits the circumstances, I can’t imagine a modern girl putting up with a guy’s tantrums nowadays. Why would Mita tolerate his obnoxious behaviour? Is it because he is good-looking? Later, of course, he becomes his well-behaved self and we are able to accept Tanay for what he is. 

The sizzling romance between the couple along with peppy dialogues keeps the story moving and makes for an interesting read. 

I will go with 4 stars out of 5 for SCORCHED BY HIS FIRE by Reet Singh. 

The Blurb

 Mita Ramphul can't face another family set-up with a 'nice young man'. What she needs is to divert her family's attention so introducing the devastatingly handsome Tanay Devkumar as her new boyfriend is a stroke of brilliance. Until Tanay's scorching hot kisses threaten to shatter her plans for the perfect pretend date. 

He might drive her crazy, yet spending time with Tanay sparks a passion Mita never knew she had. It's only meant to be temporary, but when Tanay looks at her with that smoldering fire in his ebony eyes Mita can't help but surrender to the temptation of her fake boyfriend.

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Meet the Author

Reet has a romantic soul, partly genetic but certainly attributable to the romantic fiction she devours by the kilo. When she's not watching romcoms, or doing creative things with wool and a crochet hook, or playing Scrabble, she can be found in the kitchen putting together her 'world-famous' one-pot meals.

Married for three decades, her prototypical tall, handsome, and sensitive hero-husband still makes her heart skip a beat. Writing about love and happy endings feeds her romantic soul; hearing from her readers thrills her.

Having a mother that read to her, she paid it forward, telling bedtime stories to her sons and nieces until they grew too old too fast. As a reaction to them growing up before she knew what was happening, she began writing for older children, and has published children's books on Amazon, for Kindle.

You can stalk her @

                          

         

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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!

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 EKKOS CLAN by Sudipto Das

The Ekkos Clan 

by 

Sudipto Das

The Blurb

"The Ekkos Clan" is the story of Kratu’s search for the killers of his family, his own roots and the mystery behind his grandmother’s stories.

It’s the fascinating account of Kubha and the basketful of folklore she inherited from her ancestors. The eventful lives of Kubha and her family span a hundred years and encompass turbulent phases of Indian history. The family saga unfurls gradually, along with Kubha’s stories, through the three main characters – Kratu Sen, a grad student at Stanford, Kratu’s best friend Tista Dasgupta, and Afsar Fareedi, a linguistic palaeontologist.

Afsar hears about Kubha’s stories from Kratu in a casual conversation, but she figures that these stories are not meant to be mere bed time tales – they contain rich linguistic fossils and layers of histories.

In a bizarre incident Kratu miraculously survives an attempt on his life. His sister and uncle had not been so lucky. Were these murders acts of revenge, or a larger ideological conflict connected to Kubha’s stories which conceal perilous secrets that should be suppressed?

Afsar, Kratu and Tista travel across continents to unravel the mystery of Kubha’s roots and the origin of her stories.

At a different level, the novel subtly delves into the origin of one of the oldest civilizations of the world and the first book written by mankind.

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Meet the Author

Sudipto was born in Calcutta to a family which fled Bangladesh during the partition riots of 1947. He grew up listening horrid stories of the partition, something which he has used extensively in his debut novel The Ekkos Clan. He completed his engineering from IIT Kharagpur in 1996. He lives in Bangalore.

You can stalk him @

                          

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Media Mentions 

"A promising debut in the growing realm of modern Indian fiction" - Jug Suraiya 

"An Indian thriller inspired by Dan Brown & Harrison Ford!... fast-paced thriller, replete with murder and miraculous escapes" - Telegraph 

"If you are a history buff and a thriller aficionado, then [it] might just be the book for you" - The Hindu 

"A tale of the Indian civilization and culture... takes you on a roller coaster ride" - The New Indian Express 

"An interesting read for an afternoon... One feisty woman's partition story" - Bangalore Mirror 

"Should be read for its sheer aspiration and the intelligent handling of historical material" - The Sunday Guardian 

"Is essentially a mystery novel, but is grounded in a substantial base of research and exploration into our past" - newsyaps.com

       




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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: FULL CIRCLE by Yamini Vijendran

My Review

Malini is 60 plus and lives with her son, daughter-in-law and teenage granddaughter in the city of Chennai. She’s been widowed since two years and feels a strong urge to visit her roots at Kumbakonam. Much against her family’s wishes, Malini shifts to a Retirement Home there. Is fate calling out to her?

I am amazed at Yamini coming up with a 60-year-old heroine for a romance novella. But the author has proved that she can write a convincing story and how! Beautiful story, well-written making for a thoroughly enjoyable read.

There were at least two situations where I could not help shedding tears. Congratulations, Yamini Vijendran! Considering this is her maiden venture, the author is bound to get better and better. It really makes me look forward to more from her.

Full Circle 

by 

Yamini Vijendran

The Blurb

 Outwardly, Malini is a contented, sixty-something grandmother with a loving family and everything a person could wish for. But Malini has lived her entire life with a secret confined to the deepest recesses of her heart.

Haunted by the past, she travels to Kumbakonam, her native town, which she had left years ago. There, she comes face-to-face with her long-lost love.

After forty years, will Malini be able to reclaim her own life, when love comes knocking at her door once again?

Buy @

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Meet the Author

Yamini Vijendran (@saimini) is the author of ‘Full Circle’, a romance novella published by Indireads. After being a Software Professional for 7 years, Yamini has been freelancing from home for the past 3 years. She loves to dabble in fiction and romance and drama are her favorite genres. Her short stories have been published in ‘Love Stories That Touched My Heart’, an Anthology published by Penguin India, New Asian Writing and Six Sentences. Yamini also likes to pen poems when inspiration strikes, and her poetry has been published in The Indian Review, Contemporary Literary Review of India and ‘A World Rediscovered’ a poetry Anthology by Cyberwit Publications. Yamini draws material for her stories and poems from the world around her. When she is not converting her experiences to stories or poems, Yamini reads, plays with her toddler, and fools around her laboratory, that is, the kitchen. 

You can stalk Yamini Vijendran @

                          

           

       




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Sharing: LITOMANIA 2014 DAY 2

L-R: Christopher Doyle, Shubha Vilas Das, Meghna Pant, Anand Neelakantan & Shatrujeet Nath

On the second day, I decided to go to Litomania only in the afternoon. Luckily for me, I remembered to take my camera. I had expected the shows to run late like the earlier day. But they were only late by a few minutes. I went to Does mythology need a twist? By Christopher Doyle, Shubha Vilas Das, Shatrujeet Nath and Anand Neelakantan. The moderator was Meghna Pant. I have to mention here that she was excellent, asking the right questions and being an intelligent listener. 

I am familiar with Anand Neelakantan’s writing as I am reading his book Ajaya in which Duryodhana is the protagonist. Author Anand Neelakantan is well known for his contrarian views as he takes the sides of the ‘supposed’ villains from mythology. His first book is Asura which tells the story from Ravana’s view point. 

After attending this programme, I am keen to read Christopher Doyle’s books too. Swami Shuba Vilas Das spoke really well and it was fascinating listening to him. 

Meghna Pant & Anand Neelakantan

The last part of the programme was just Anand Neelakantan and Meghna Pant as they spoke about the author’s latest book – The Rise of Kali – that continues with Duryodhanan’s story. The author explained why he felt the need to tell the story from what people considered the ‘villain’s’ view point. Amazing!

L-R: Vikram Sathaye, Parul Sharma, Sorabh Pant & Rishi Piparaiya

The next programme was Do happy people make great humour writers? I must say that this was the best one that I attended. I was sitting in the second row and laughed non-stop, almost falling out of my seat a few times, for the whole hour.  It was Sorabh Pant, Parul Sharma and Rishi Piparaiya – all authors – with Vikram Sathaye playing moderator. While Parul is quietly humorous, Rishi spoke very little. It was Sorabh who stole the show along with Vikram. Every time Sorabh opened his mouth, the audience were in splits. He was simply howlarious! And so was Vikram with his jokes on the cricket team. While making people laugh, Sorabh Pant also had many intelligent things to share – like how ‘chaos’ and ‘adrenaline rush’ make him what he is – a very successful stand-up comedian. It was the most awesome one-hour session. Loved it!

L-R: Shoma Narayanan, Leena Varghese, Sudeep Nagarkar & Sachin Garg

I crashed midway into Are Romance Novels just a Happy Bubble? Does reality often burst it? In conversation with Shoma Narayanan, Sudeep Nagarkar, Leena Varghese and Sachin Garg. The discussion was kind of tanda after that humour session. I liked a number of things I heard from Leena Varghese. Very mature stuff about how relationships depend on accepting the other for what he/she is. Very valid points indeed! What surprised me was the number of male romance authors that I came upon during the lit fest. After Ravinder Singh the earlier day, it was Sudeep Nagarkar and Sachin Garg on the second day. And believe me, they are all super successful. Sudeep has done his engineering, not enjoying it at all. It was only after he received the printed copy of his first book that his family got to know about his becoming a published author. The three-book old Sachin Garg also happens to own a publishing house. Impressive! 

I got out at the tail end of the programme as it was question time and I was getting quite late. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the 2-day Litomania lit fest organised by Think WhyNot. Kudos guys!