Sunday 22 November 2015

Book Review: Shadi on Toes




#BookReviews  #ShadiOnToes

Title: Shadi on Toes
Author: Payal Sareen Reddy & Ashoka Bala Reddy
Publisher: LiFi Publishing
Pages: 165
Price: Rs. 140
My Rating: 3.75/5

Blurb:
Her dream for Mr. Right leads her through a series of encounters ranging from a hilarious speed date at a train station to a frightening drive through the alleys of South Mumbai with a mysterious criminal. Meet Riya and her blind dates in Shadi on Toes.

Review:
Getting the daughters married at the right age (preferably right after college) is every parents' dream. They feel extremely stressed during this phase however no one understands or considers the stress and pain that a girl has to go through during this process. The book reflects on the journey that a girl goes through from the day search begins till she gets married.

The book revolves around Riya, Preeti and the narrator who meet in PG and become best friends. Eventually they rent an apartment and share the struggles in each other's lives. The incidences are mainly revolving around Riya and her search for Mr. Right. During the process she is seen from speed-dating at train station to temporary relation with a criminal. The whole process is interesting, enjoyable and at times hilarious and shocking.

The book is in narrative style and although it is not the usual way but it suits the requirement and keeps you interested and glued. The book also reflects on certain commercial aspects like fake profiles on matrimony and some social aspects like family pressure and stress on materialistic things.

It is an easy and pleasant read which is fun-filled, romantic and full of drama.

My rating for this book is 3.75/5

I enjoyed it, I hope you enjoy it too.

You can grab a copy at:

Till then
Take Care

Wednesday 18 November 2015

Meet Robert Eggleton - Author who donates proceeds to Child Abuse Prevention Program

#AuthorInterview

As a blogger/writer I get in touch with a lot of people but its rare to find an author who donates half of the proceeds to a charity.
I am honoured to introduce Robert Eggleton - Author of Rarity from the Hollow book.


1.      Please tell us something about yourself.

I’m sixty-four years old and just now entering the fiction marketplace. I’ve dreamed of becoming a published author for decades. Rarity from the Hollow is my debut novel. After earning a master’s degree in social work in 1977, children’s rights became my personal calling. I’ve been a children’s advocate for over forty years. In 2002, I started a job as a children’s psychotherapist at the local mental health center. Six months ago, I retired from my job so that I could write and promote my fiction. It wasn’t a clean escape though. I had to make a deal with my conscience to justify leaving that job: author proceeds from Rarity from the Hollow have been donated to a child abuse prevention program.


2.      Please tell us something about your book, what makes it unique from other books?

Rarity from the Hollow has been called unique. It’s received mostly glowing book reviews, most of which have used the term unique or a synonym. Frankly, I didn’t think that I was writing anything that unusual as I worked on it. After it was published, one book critic, Bryan Zepp Jamieson, called it “…another quarter turn beyond Vonnegut….”
The novel is a children’s story for adults written in the colloquial voice of an eleven year old girl.  But, Lacy Dawn is not a typical little girl, and if you think of her as such, you may be shocked. It is adult literary science fiction: an android was sent by the Manager of the Mall on planet Shptiludrp (Shop ’Till You Drop) to recruit Lacy to save the Universe from a surprising and lethal threat. The story's content addresses social issues, satiric of most everything that it touches upon and is not for the prudish, fainthearted or easily offended. Will Lacy Dawn's magic enable her to save the universe, Earth, and, most importantly, her own family?
  
3.      The book is classified into “social science fiction” – it is not a common genre, what motivated you to write about it?

In the 1970s, Ursula K. Le Guinn coined the term, "social science fiction." Rarity from the Hollow integrates serious social issues into its narrative – child abuse, domestic violence, PTSD experienced by Vets after returning from war…. Historically, speculative fiction has fuelled social activism, debate, and the adoption of evolving or devolving social policy. In 380 B.C., Plato envisioned a utopian society in The Republic and that story represented the beginning of a long string of speculations: ecology, economics, politics, religion, technology, feminism…. Maybe “social science fiction” is not a common genre today, but it has historical roots. 

I hope that readers will think about what I’ve written long after they have turned the last page of Rarity from the Hollow. The story is not preachy or anything similar, but I do hope that it prompts readers to reflect on the lives that some folks experience, especially those lives affected by child abuse and neglect.

4.      What was your inspiration for writing the story?

In 2002, I started working as a children’s psychotherapist in an intensive day program. Most of the kids, like me as a child, had been traumatized, some having experienced extreme sexual abuse. Part of my job was facilitating group therapy sessions.

One day at work in 2006, a few seats away from me around a table used for written therapeutic exercises, sat a skinny eleven year old with stringy brown hair. This girl was inspiring to other kids, staff, and, especially to me and my dream of writing fiction. Her name became Lacy Dawn. Rather than focusing on her victimization, she spoke of dreams – finding a loving family that respected her physically and spiritually. She inspired me to make my own dream come true, to write fiction – a powerful female protagonist who takes on the evils of the universe.

5.      What were the key challenges that you faced while writing the story?

I enjoy writing. Writing itself doesn’t present challenges. There was one scene, the third chapter that was very hard for me to write. This scene involves domestic violence and is harsh, the only graphic violence in the story. The novel becomes satiric and comedic. When writing about the domestic violence, tears would blur my vision of the monitor every time that I reworked it, a challenge to get it right. 

6.      Which part of publishing process is the most taxing for you? Is it writing, editing, proposing to publishers or something else?

I enjoy writing. Writing itself doesn’t present challenges. The challenges began after Rarity from the Hollow was published – self-promotion. The marketplace if flooded with books. Small presses don’t have budgets to promote books. Letting people know that my novel exists has been was up to me. Every step of the path after the last period of the story has been a challenge because self-promotion is not a good fit to my personality.  

7.      Any other projects you are working on? Yes, what are they?

I’ve started to take a second look at Ivy, the next full-length Lacy Dawn Adventure, in light of what I’ve learned while self promoting Rarity from the Hollow. I have three short stories that I’m working on finding a home for, and a literary poem.

8.      Lastly, if you have to describe your book in few lines, how will you do it?

I’ll use the words of a book reviewer to answer your question: “…Rarity From the Hollow by Robert Eggleton is a hillbilly version of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy The author has managed to do what I would have thought impossible; taken serious subjects like poverty, ignorance, abuse, and written about them with tongue-in-cheek humor without trivializing them… it’s a funny book that most sci-fi fans will thoroughly enjoy….”


Quick Summary of the book:

Rarity from the Hollow is adult literary science fiction with content that addresses social issues. Written in the colloquial voice of an eleven year old going of two million, this novel is not for the prudish, fainthearted or easily offended. It is a Children’s Story for Adults. Lacy Dawn is not a typical little girl, and if you think of her as such, you may be shocked. 



She lives in a hollow with her worn-out mom, her Iraq War disabled dad, and her mutt Brownie, a dog who’s very skilled at laying fiber optic cable. Lacy Dawn’s android boyfriend has come to the hollow with a mission. His equipment includes infomercial videos of Earth’s earliest proto-humans from millennia ago. He was sent by the Manager of the Mall on planet Shptiludrp (Shop ’till You Drop): he must recruit Lacy Dawn to save the Universe in exchange for the designation of Earth as a planet which is eligible for continued existence within a universal economic structure that exploits underdeveloped planets for their mineral content. Lacy Dawn’s magic enables her to save the universe, Earth, and, most importantly, her own family.



Please do leave your comments and if the book intrigued you, do grab a copy from following links:




Till Then
Take Care


Monday 9 November 2015

Quick Titbits - Granny's Prescriptions #3

#QuickTitbits #Hiccups

Dadi Maa ke Nuskhe ~ Hiccups

To get rid of hiccups instantly
Take a big sip of water
Plug you ears with your fingers
Look up (as much you can)
Drink very slowly
Doing this will stop your hiccups instantly


Sunday 1 November 2015

BNLF Indiblogger Meet - A Life Altering Session

#BNLF  #IndiBlogger


Yesterday I had the privilege of going to BNLF. Given I am very new to blogging world, I was
sceptical of going on a Saturday morning (you know it's a day to sleep in after 5 days of hardship) but now I am very happy that I didn't let laziness overcome me
By the time I came back home, I felt like I had the happiest and most useful day of my existence. And I have Indiblogger and all new friends I made there to thank.

The day was full of learnings, excitement and great speeches from successful people (like Bruce Dikinson, Christoph Trappe, Preeti Shenoy, Jeff Bullas etc.).

Below is the summary of what I have learnt in one day... And I do hope to apply these in my life going forward - 


  • To be successful blogger one should blog at least once a week - It gives consistency to the fans and also it allows you in Google SEO ~Thanks to almost all speakers yesterday for this tip
  • Blogging and writing is for my own passion and satisfaction. It is not to show someone (relatives and other people) what I can or cannot do. ~ Purba Ray
  • Don't be afraid to write what you want. Be original and write what you want to write, instead of what others want you to write. ~ Arnab Ray
  • A good blog post should be at least 500-600 words long. However blog post of 1200 words is shared most. ~ Christoph Trappe
  • A successful post follows 60 - 30 - 10 rule i.e. 60% Talking - 30% Responding/Resharing -10% Links ~ Christoph Trappe
  • "Authentic stories are lived and then told!" - Also, they need to be vulnerable, candid and have some kind of conflict ~ Christoph Trappe
  • Headlines are very important. Write multiple and choose best ~ Christoph Trappe
  • Our voice as bloggers make a difference. Write to create impact ~ Anshul Tiwari
  • Being miserable doesn't help. If you are persistent and passionate about what you want, you can achieve it. ~ Kanan Gill

  • "Done is better than Perfect" - Meaning one should start writing and improve instead of wanting to write a perfect piece and never write. You discover yourself through the journey ~ Jeff Bullas
  • "Run when you can, Walk if you have to, Crawl if you must; Just never give up - Dean Karnazes" - Very clear and apt. ~ Jeff Bullas
  • Writing is like exercising. If you want to build muscle you don't just work out for one day and have great expectations out of it. To have good writing muscle in your brain, one should write everyday (be it anything - blog post or a story or even an email to friend) ~ Preeti Shenoy

  • Four things to be successful ~ Preeti Shenoy
    • Do something you have never done before
    • Don't let rejections affect you
    • Develop your skill sets
    • Push your limits
  • Don't look for customers, they leave you. Instead look for fans, they always stay with you ~ Bruce Dickinson
  • 0 + 0 = 1... be a creative mosquito and make it happen ~ Bruce Dickinson

I hope this post helps people who were there with me and to people who couldn't attend

Unfortunately I missed today's session and if someone could share highlights, I would be greatful.

Till then
Take Care