Saturday 31 March 2018

#Spotlight ; Generously Yours by Inderpreet Uppal




GENEROUSLY YOURS
by
Inderpreet Uppal



BLURB

‘Love is forever’ or so thought Diya. 
Shy, bookish and loving, Diya never thought she would ever need to be anything else. Her charmed life slips away from her in ways, she never imagined. 
Will Viren be able to sort the jumble of their lives or is it already too late? 
A bittersweet story of life, longing, and lasting love.

Grab your copy @


About the author


Inderpreet writes for her love of writing, edits manuscripts,  and reads endlessly. A sprinkling of fiction, a dash of books, and a bit of opinion add to the eclectic mix that is Eloquent Articulation. She is a Masters in Human Resources Management and an Army brat, she now joins her adorable Army hubby across the country. Books, editing, reviews, freelance writing, posts, and blogging keep her busy whenever she gets a breather from mothering her ‘too tricky to handle son’. She has recently published her first book on Amazon, GENEROUSLY YOURS,       



                          

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Thursday 22 March 2018

#BookReview ; The Liberation of Sita by Volga



Valmiki’s Ramayana is the story of Rama’s exile and return to Ayodhya, a triumphant king who will always do right by his subjects.
In Volga’s retelling, it is Sita who, after being abandoned by Purushottam Rama, embarks on an arduous journey to self-realization. Along the way, she meets extraordinary women who have broken free from all that held them back: Husbands, sons and their notions of desire, beauty and chastity. The minor women characters of the epic as we know it – Surpanakha, Renuka, Urmila and Ahalya – steer Sita towards an unexpected resolution. Meanwhile, Rama too must reconsider and weigh out his roles as the king of Ayodhya and as a man deeply in love with his wife.
A powerful subversion of India’s most popular tale of morality, choice and sacrifice, The Liberation of Sita opens up new spaces within the old discourse, enabling women to review their lives and experiences afresh. This is Volga at her feminist best.

The Liberation of Sita is a mythological fiction with feminist twist written by Volga, translated from Telegu by T. Vijay Kumar & C. Vijayasree & published by Harper Perennial, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers. The author’s real name is Popuri Lalitha Kumari & Volga is her pen name. She is a noted feminist writer in Telegu. She has nearly 50 publications including novels, short story collections, poems, etc in Telegu. She has won several awards including the Sahitya Akademi Award. She is currently the executive chairperson of Asmita Resource Center for Women, Hyderabad.

The story revolves around Sita & her path to self-realization while enduring whatever difficult situations came in her way. The author inculcates a more human nature into the character of Sita than the kind of godly woman she has been portrayed till date. It also narrates several incidents including but not limiting to her kidnapping, abandonment, etc. The stories focus on several women characters who help Sita realize her true self worth. To read this phenomenal book, get it here
As soon as I put out on social media that I am going to read this book, I received several messages from my friends to relish this book as it is one of their best reads. As I finished reading this book, I can only say that all that hype was justified. The author has been able keep the flow of the stories in sync with the feminist narration. Different the women characters who are generally sidelined in mythological depictions have been brought into focus by the author. The journey of Sita from an innocent princess to that of a woman who knows her self-worth is inspiring. The title, language & cover are all brilliant. A book not to be missed.

Tuesday 20 March 2018

#Spotlight ; My First Breakup by Dhruba D. Roy

About the Book:


“Oh God, why me?”


This is perhaps what we think of when we go through a ‘breakup’.
This story is about Anirudh and Anvi.
Both of them have their own thinking which are not alike.
The story begins with Anirudh meeting with and accident. As he slowly succumbs to the pain, he starts reflecting about his bygone college days where he found his love for music. He loves Anvi dearly who is a long-lost friend of Anirudh.
The story reveals how Anirudh struggles as the hands of reality strikes him down.





Book Links:
Amazon * Goodreads

From a Writer to an Author


It feels good to be an author of a book. It’s sort of a recognition that distinguishes anyone from being a writer to an author. To be honest, I never loved writing in my childhood. In fact, I would even question the need of writing an essay during my school days. Many a times I was even caught copying while writing an essay during my English literature classes. So, why did I become an author????

The answer is very simple. I had something stuck in my head and it was tingling me from the inside, asking me to get it out. So that was the moment when I decided not to ignore my feelings and rather express them in the form of creative writing. I started putting down my thoughts on paper and before I could realize, I noticed this thought of mine to be about 240 pages thick with around 55,500 words, quite a fat thought huh!!!

Yes, I had just drafted my first story, but I wasn’t done yet. This was my creation, so I decided to give it a name, a name with which I could call it. After days of brainstorming, I came up with a name that I though would perfectly suit the theme that the book tried to portray, and there it was ‘My First Breakup’.

Now it was time for me to make a decision if my creation, this though, ‘My First Breakup’ was good enough to be read by others.

“Nah!!! No body cares about what you have to say…..

No, it’s not gonna make sense to others”, my Practicality forewarned my Imagination. But then again,

“There might be somebody willing to hear you out.

There might be people out there ready to accept your thoughts for what they are”, my Imagination countered back.

At this juncture I decided to get my book published. It is difficult to get a book published but I believe, if we have faith in our work, we eventually get what we want no matter how long it might take.

Being an author is not something that I have ever considered myself to be. I still feel I am no author, I am just a narrator who likes to tell stories for what I perceive them to be. “My First Breakup” is a story that I feel will connect with many of us as we all know that there is a phase where most of us fall in love only to snap out of it.

“My First Breakup…. Learning to let go!!!”

#Dhruba D Roy


About the Author:

Dhruba Das Roy  is a freelance writer, a musician by passion, and a software engineer by profession. He is from Assam, but born in a small town of Meghalaya, where he finished his schooling. He then obtained his degree in engineering from the esteemed college of National Institute of Technology. He discovered his love for music there and was the lead vocalist of his band, “The Rozarts”.

He loves rock and roll and is a great fan of the pioneers of rock and roll-(Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Queen and the list goes on).Unfortunately, as engineering life came to an end, the band had to split. Recently, he moved to Kolkata where he is working in one of leading software service based companies in India.

Not everyone can put their thoughts into words. Dhruba had never tried his hand in writing; but he had an experience, an experience which changed his life for the better. Being a vocalist, his only way of expression was through the creative way. He decided to pen down his thoughts and he discovered that writing came naturally to him. His thought process in the novel relates to the general mass in many ways. He decided to stretch his limits and ended up voicing his thoughts in a different way this time.

Contact the Author:
Website * Facebook * Twitter







Thursday 15 March 2018

#Spotlight ; Forsaken Heart (The Forsaken #1) by Elise Whyles

About the Book:
Punished for sins not her own, can a mortal claim her vampire mate?

The world of immortals must unite to save both themselves and the mortals they co-exist with from an ancient evil.

For Bede MacTaggert this means trusting in the warrior sent for her sister—a man of mystery, of power, and one who could easily sweep her into a world she's destined to be part of.

An imperial guard to the king of vampires, Gawain has always tuned out the needs of the flesh. Dedicating himself to the service of the royals, he's lived on the fringes of his people for centuries. Now he's forced from the shadows and into the arms of a woman who will awaken his heart and body to a passion unequaled.


Book Links:
Goodreads * Amazon

Read an Excerpt:


"Frails are not to be toyed with," Gawain ground out and grabbed the girl, spinning her away, his sword at the ready as the man heaved upward, a dagger clutched in his hand. Gawain's sword rested easy on his palm, ready, the surface slicked with blood as he faced the coward.

"She's mine to do with as I choose." He gurgled, collapsing to the ground, his weapon falling from pudgy fingers. "Paid ten pieces of gold for 'em both, and I aim to get a might of use out 'em."

"Now she's mine," Gawain declared. Raising his sword, he drove it through the man's chest, pinning his twitching frame to the ground. He stepped back, his gaze sweeping the clearing. Males such as this did not travel alone, his cohorts would be close. He'd need to find and kill them…

Searing pain lanced through him, splitting his chest. Gawain glanced down. The thin, sharp tip of a blade stuck from his chest. He touched the blade and snarled. The metal was warm, when it should have been cold. Shock slammed into him as the blade began to glow, turning a searing red before changing back to normal, or as normal as it could be with blood racing down the weapon.

Whirling, his hand already scrabbling for the dagger's hilt in his back, he grabbed his assailant by the throat and lifted. Grunting as he pulled the weapon free, his lips curled upward. "You'd do well, wench, to know your place."

"If you think I mean to let you do her harm…" Sputtering, her nails digging into his wrists, the girl's brown eyes stared into his. Fear lay within the depths but something else stirred. Something dark, dangerous, easily recognized if one knew what they were looking for.

His fingers moved, tightening, loosening as he pulled her against him. Inhaling, he caught the faint scent of blood, fear, sweat, fire, and something sultry, sweet, and light on his tongue. Drawing the scent deep, he wallowed in it, his body responding to the aroma he'd dreamed of but never found.
Gawain inhaled slowly, his muscles tightening, burning. Using the tip of her dagger, he pushed the material of her shift aside. The scrolling marks of a serpent flared before his eyes. It coiled and danced beneath the girl's flesh.

About the Author:
Born in Northern British Columbia, Elise is a small-town girl. She writes in a variety of genres including paranormal, contemporary suspense, m/m in various lengths. Currently, she lives in British Columbia with her husband and son, one dog, one cat, and a gecko. Elise enjoys reading as much as she does writing, with some of her favorite books being read until they fall apart. 
She is currently working on the next book in the Forsaken Series, Burning Rain. As well she has a new contemporary she’s working on. For more information on Elise, or to check out her books you can find her on Facebook, twitter, and her website.



Contact the Author:


Saturday 10 March 2018

#BookReview ; Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx



Annie Proulx has written some of the most original and brilliant short stories in contemporary literature, and for many readers and reviewers, "Brokeback Mountain" is her masterpiece.
Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist, two ranch hands, come together when they're working as sheepherder and camp tender one summer on a range above the tree line. At first, sharing an isolated tent, the attraction is casual, inevitable, but something deeper catches them that summer.
Both men work hard, marry, and have kids because that's what cowboys do. But over the course of many years and frequent separations this relationship becomes the most important thing in their lives, and they do anything they can to preserve it.
In gorgeous and haunting prose, Proulx limns the difficult, dangerous affair between two cowboys that survives everything but the world's violent intolerance.




Brokeback Mountain is a short gay romantic story written by Annie Proulx & the book has been published by Scribner Book Company. The story was originally published by The New Yorker which won the National Magazine Award for Fiction for its publication of "Brokeback Mountain," and the story was included in Prize Stories 1998: The O. Henry Awards. The author is an American journalist and author. Her second novel, The Shipping News (1993), won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for fiction in 1994. Her short story "Brokeback Mountain" was adapted as an Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe Award-winning major motion picture released in 2005. Brokeback Mountain received massive critical acclaim and went on to be nominated for a leading eight Academy Awards, winning three of them.

The story is set in a conservative time where Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist meet each other at a job where they were meant to look after cattle at Brokeback Mountain. As they spent more & more time together, they became intimate & even though they reassured each other that they weren’t ‘queer’ but both of them knew that this relationship wasn’t just a phase that would pass away. But as their work wasn’t a permanent one, they both decided to part ways. But will it be the end or will their love story continue to bloom, get the book here to know,
Even though I’ve heard a lot about the movie adaption of this story, luckily I haven’t ever got the chance to watch the movie & now since I’ve already read the story I am very excited to watch it. It’s my first book by Annie Proulx & her writing style really intrigued me. The simplicity of depicting emotions is moving & keeps you involved with the characters. The ending blew me away. The language was a bit complicated, the title fits perfectly while the cover could’ve been different than just the movie poster. Every single reader should try it out sometime.




Friday 9 March 2018

#ReleaseDayBlitz ; My First Breakup by Dhruba D.Roy

About the Book:

“Oh God, why me?”


This is perhaps what we think of when we go through a ‘breakup’.
This story is about Anirudh and Anvi.
Both of them have their own thinking which are not alike.
The story begins with Anirudh meeting with and accident. As he slowly succumbs to the pain, he starts reflecting about his bygone college days where he found his love for music. He loves Anvi dearly who is a long-lost friend of Anirudh.
The story reveals how Anirudh struggles as the hands of reality strikes him down.





Read an Excerpt:


   This is it. One wrong move and I find myself crying to sleep. Days, maybe weeks of putting up the brave face. The ultimate, cliché teenage drama. Everyone has been through it and everyone has heard of it. But for me it was the first time. Maybe the last, hopefully. 
   So, wearing my heart on my sleeves, I fell in ‘love’. Not once, but twice with the same guy in a row. Tramp? No. I was in love. Deeply, madly, unconditionally. Until the hands of practicality punched me right on my face. I was left stranded and confused. Wondering why all of this was happening to me.  Another cliché moment. But for me, it was the first time.
    There is something about human nature which seeks for sympathy. Just had a breakup? The whole world is conspiring for you to be unhappy. No, I will not smile, the world is a cruel place. It takes days for people to get over it. For me? Well no surprise to you, it took a year. One entire year of  ‘the wait’. Sitting back now and thinking about it, I find it funny. No, I find it hilarious. So, what happened after the year was over? Did I just miraculously wake up one day and think to myself that, “hey, you know what…. you are a great girl, get over it…move on!!” No, I realized that he had thought of this way back. He had moved on way back. While, the “so-in-love” me, was waiting. Simply waiting for my stars to turn and relive the same love story again. 
  The moment you see that your ex has a different face beside the “in a relationship” status, that is the moment you realize how blind and ridiculous you were. The once cute goatee seems like a bush now, that smile which made you smile makes you want to knock off all his teeth, his fascination for food makes you notice his peeking belly pouch. In a nutshell, you are no longer in love with him and his flaws. So then, life brings you to a fork road. The fun road is where you sit back and spread wild rumors about how terrible he is and how he broke your heart. Believe me, the devil will tempt you to follow this path. It is a fantastic journey, but a few more months of futility. So I chose the better path. Get up, pull yourself together, shrug off the dust and embrace the new journey. I am glad I chose the latter. Very glad.
  What do you do when an entire part of your life has been erased which once held so much of importance to you? You try and fill it up with things you never had time for otherwise. Socialize, go out, write, sing, laugh, read, stare randomly out of the window and get lost in your own beautiful world. Life was better. I am an ardent believer in unconventionality. Why follow the crowd? I won’t make my own crowd! No siree! I won’t even sit at a distance and laugh at the crowd. I would rather live in a parallel world, a different dimension maybe. I can see you. But you can’t touch me. You can’t judge me. I can be me. Shamelessly.
Raise thewalls high. Build the impenetrable walls. Shut the gates. It’s my own perfect world. A year goes by in my world. Everything is healed.
I decide to open up the windows a little bit. A little fresh air will cause no harm. I felt a whiff. A new breeze. That felt nice. It felt familiar. Maybe I can open up my windows just a wee bit more. I will shut them off immediately. They are wide open now. Even today. I never shut them. I was never able to.
   Vulnerable or strong? Please be vulnerable, please be vulnerable……… pleaded my heart. Shut up already. You have created enough chaos. I am in charge now. No more “Fairytale dreams”, no more car rides, no more falling for flattering messages, no more being silly in love.
Do you have a tiny voice at the back of your head which speaks back to you and gives life advice, for god’s sake? Well mine is louder than my own voice, has a humongous ego and can be downright obnoxious sometimes. It’s difficult living with it seriously. You know the worst part? It is usually right.

‘ I love you’. Nope, no you don’t. I could die for you. No you can’t. ‘I have waited my whole life for you’. Were you born yesterday? ‘I just want to be with you’. Yeah, you want to be in my pants. The voice is annoying I tell you, but it is always right. If I was anything like the voice then I doubt whether I would have had any friends.

About the Author:

Dhruba Das Roy  is a freelance writer, a musician by passion, and a software engineer by profession. He is from Assam, but born in a small town of Meghalaya, where he finished his schooling. He then obtained his degree in engineering from the esteemed college of National Institute of Technology. He discovered his love for music there and was the lead vocalist of his band, “The Rozarts”.

He loves rock and roll and is a great fan of the pioneers of rock and roll-(Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Queen and the list goes on).Unfortunately, as engineering life came to an end, the band had to split. Recently, he moved to Kolkata where he is working in one of leading software service based companies in India.

Not everyone can put their thoughts into words. Dhruba had never tried his hand in writing; but he had an experience, an experience which changed his life for the better. Being a vocalist, his only way of expression was through the creative way. He decided to pen down his thoughts and he discovered that writing came naturally to him. His thought process in the novel relates to the general mass in many ways. He decided to stretch his limits and ended up voicing his thoughts in a different way this time.







Saturday 3 March 2018

#BookReview ; Prem Purana by Usha Narayanan

Blog Tour by The Book Club of PREM PURANA by Usha Narayanan


PREM PURANA:
MYTHOLOGICAL LOVE STORIES
by
Usha Narayanan


BLURB

Stories of love and extraordinary devotion 

No one is untouched by love, not even devas and asuras, kings and nymphs. And when they face life’s unexpected tribulations, their love also undergoes trials. Read how Ganesha took myriad forms to please Riddhi, Siddhi and Buddhi, how Ravana shared an unbreakable bond with his true love, Mandodari and how Nala and Damayanti’s relationship was tested till almost nothing remained. 

Tormented by passion, wracked by betrayal, torn by the agony of separation, love in its many splendored forms is the origin of these incredibly endearing stories of Prem Purana. 

REVIEW 

Prem Purana is a collection of love stories involving Hindu mythological characters written by Usha Narayanan & published by Penguin Books. The author had a successful career in advertising, radio & corporate communications before becoming a full time author. She has written several books, including the suspense thriller The Madras Mangler & the fun office romance Love, Lies & Layoffs. Her books Pradyumna: Son of Krishna & The Secret of God’s Son have been praised an ‘Indian mythology at its fiercest & finest’.


The book is a collection 3 love stories which involve Hindu mythological characters. The first is Ganesha’s Brides, the story is about Ganesha’s quest to win over the hearts of RIddhi, Siddhi & Buddhi the 3 daughters of Brahma & Laxmi. Mandodari is about the pious love story between Ravana the learned king of Lanka & Mandodari. How she never left her husband’s side & tried to warn him again & again to bring him on dharma’s path. The last is Damayanti, her love story with Nala the king of Nishada is quite well known & reinforces the idea that true love always win. Get this book to unravel these sweet & intense love stories.

I have heard great things about Usha Narayanan’s work but never got the chance to read any of her books & I admit that I’ve missed a lot. The book etches the characters beautifully & makes a clear picture regarding each one of them. The stories are indeed interesting while the language used is easy to comprehend. The cover is gorgeous & the title fits too. A must read! 



READ AN EXCERPT
Ganesha stood with Brahma’s daughter Siddhi on the sacred soil of Kailasa, offering worship to the linga that Parvati had installed. He glanced at his companion’s proud face, knowing that he had embarked on a rough path in attempting to win her over. For now, however, he had to focus on his confrontation with Parasurama whom Shiva had blessed with his great axe.
Siddhi watched from a safe distance as Ganesha bowed to the warrior and requested him to wait until Shiva granted him permission to enter. But Parasurama angrily pushed him aside and strode towards the cave. Ganesha intercepted him, causing the angry warrior to raise his axe to threaten him.
Finding that his antagonist would not listen to mere words, Shiva’s son extended his trunk by many lengths and wound it around Parasurama 100 times. He then raised the warrior into the skies so that he could see the seven mountains, the seven oceans and the seven islands of the earth below him. Then he whirled him around and showed him all the lokas including Vaikunta, where Lord Vishnu presided on his lotus throne with Devi Lakshmi. With his yogic power, Shiva’s son granted Parasurama a vision of Goloka, the purest of realms, where blue-hued Krishna resided with Radha and his gopis.
After showing Parasurama how insignificant he was when compared to the primordial universe spanning endless time and space, Gajamukha dropped him gently on the ground outside Shiva’s cave. He smiled at Siddhi who stood dazed, clinging to a tree for support, as she too had been granted the supernal vision by Ganesha’s grace. She realized now that her cheerful friend was called Vakratunda not because of his crooked trunk, but because he was the one who straightened out the crooked.
Parasurama recovered from his stupor and saw that he was lying on the ground at Ganesha’s feet. Incensed by this humiliation, he sprang to his feet and took up his mighty axe. The parasu hurtled towards Ganesha with a deafening roar. Siddhi trembled, certain that her friend would not survive the dire power of his father’s weapon.
Strangely enough, Gajamukha made no attempt to counter Parasurama’s axe. Instead, he joined his hands in worship to the parasu and stood calmly as if reconciled to his death.
Siddhi heard a horrific crack as the parasu struck one of Ganesha’s tusks and severed it completely. It fell to the ground with a crash, smeared in blood, looking like a crystal mountain covered in red chalk. Shiva rushed out of the cave, followed by Parvati, who turned into fiery Durga when she saw that her son had been wounded. She discerned what had happened and raged at the warrior who stood before her with the axe that had returned to his hand.
‘O Parasurama!’ she said. ‘You may be learned and wise and the son of a great sage, yet you have allowed wrath to overcome you. You received your parasu from your guru, Shiva, but abused your gift by using it to wound his son. Ganesha, on the other hand, allowed the axe to sever his tusk due to his respect for his father’s weapon. What next will you do, Parasurama? Will you assail mighty Shiva himself? Presumptuous warrior! I curse you this day that though you are an avatara of my beloved Vishnu, no one on earth or heaven will ever worship you!’
Parasurama cowered before the angry goddess whose fury grew by the moment. ‘It is only due to Ganesha’s forbearance that you are still alive, for he can kill a hundred thousand Parasuramas in the blink of an eye,’ she said. ‘But I am unwilling to be so tolerant and will end your life today!’
Durga rushed towards him, with her trident aimed at his head. Parasurama stood unarmed and unresisting. He closed his eyes, joined his hands together and surrendered to Krishna.
‘Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya!’ Parasurama chanted, invoking his god with his last breath.
At once, Krishna appeared before him, lustrous and omnipotent, granting him protection with one raised hand. Durga stopped mid-stride and gazed at Krishna. Her wrath vanished, dissolving like mist in the light of the sun. A beatific smile adorned her face. She offered him a reverential welcome along with Shiva.
Krishna addressed them gently, a calm smile on his face. ‘I have come here to rescue my devotee,’ he said. ‘Though Parasurama has committed a grievous sin, I request you to forgive him, Parvati. He is your son too, for you are the divine mother, the refuge of all creation. As for you, Parasurama, you have to undertake a severe tapasya to attain forgiveness. Worship the Devi who animates the three realms in the form of the gentle Gauri and the fierce Durga. Seek the blessings of Ganesha who is now Ekadanta, the lord with one tusk.’
Having offered his counsel, the lord returned to Goloka. Parasurama prostrated himself before the gods and laid his axe at Ganesha’s feet in tribute. He then retreated to a distant mountain to begin his worship. Parvati took her son into her mansion, to coddle him after his fierce encounter.  

Grab your copy @

Amazon.in | Amazon.com | Flipkart


About the Author



Usha Narayanan had a successful career in advertising, radio and corporate communications before becoming a full-time author. Her bestselling novels span multiple genres: ‘The Madras Mangler’, a suspense thriller; ‘Love, Lies and Layoffs’ (Harlequin) and ’Doctor Stalker Spy’ (Juggernaut), lighthearted romances; ‘Pradyumna: Son of Krishna’, ‘The Secret of God’s Son’ and her latest ‘Prem Purana’ (all from Penguin) that have been praised as ‘Indian mythology at its fiercest and finest.’ Two new books are in the offing. When she is not travelling, writing or editing, Usha reads everything from thrillers and romances to the puranas.

Click here to check out all the titles by the author...


Praise for Usha’s books:

'Like the best of our mythological tales, Pradyumna: Son of Krishna too is a multilayered one...There is valour, there is cowardice, there is glory, there is shame, there is sex, lies and deception.’

The Secret of God’s Son is a compelling read on mythological tales.’ – The Sentinel


Prem Purana is so good! I am impressed at how Usha can write about Ganesha with so much personality while at the same time showing him as a cosmic divine being. ’ Dr Laura Gibbs, Professor, Indian Epics, University of Oklahoma 


You can stalk her @
      
        


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