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Twisted - Shravya Gunipudi

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“Imagination is just distorted reality.” Shravya Gunipudi ‘Twisted’ captures the reader’s imagination from the first page of its prologue itself. Ria, the attractive protagonist, is involved in an accident that leaves her a trifle confused about her life and the people populating it. She begins seeing visions which leave her even more confused as repressed memories of childhood spring up. “Somehow, after the accident, it feels like all my memory is there, but it has been jolted out of its place. The bits of memory are floating around in my head and it is up to me to put each part back where it belongs.” Ria’s son, Dhruv, means the world to her. However, she is not as sure about her husband, Jay, whom she addressed by another name after the accident – Anuj. As visions assail her, the intensity of her emotions haunts her. Her psychiatrist, Lekha, and her close friend, Sanjana, try and get the missing bits of her memory back. When she meets her neighbour, Tanmay, she

A Royal Affair by Preethi Venugopal

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What happens when a beautiful English lady and the attractive scion of the erstwhile royal family of Sravanapura fall in love? Having met at Oxford, Prince Vijay Dev Varman is deeply attracted to the blue-eyed beauty, Jane Worthington, who is an Indophile determined to savour everything about his fascinating country, India. Jane is a free bird who abhors restrictions. Her natural curiosity and open nature create ripples in Vijay’s heart, but lies and deceit make them break up, not once, but many times over. In fact, misunderstandings rule their lives and they end up playing hide-and-seek with their emotions. Jane gets a promotional transfer to India, where she has to lead a team and anchor a documentary on the ancient monuments constructed by the Hoysala kings in South India. She also has a mission to fulfil there, to find her grandfather Bill’s twin brother, Daniel, a soldier in the British Indian Army who had gone missing in 1947.  Daniel, who had always been a he

Avishi by Saiswaroopa Iyer

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AVISHI by Saiswaroopa Iyer Blurb Long before the times of Draupadi and Sita Immortalised in the hymns of the Rig Veda But largely forgotten to the memory of India Is the Warrior Queen with an iron leg, Vishpala Brought up in the pristine forest school of Naimisha, Avishi reaches the republic of Ashtagani in search of her destiny. When Khela, the oppressive King of the neighbouring Vrishabhavati begins to overwhelm and invade Ashtagani, Avishi rises to protect her settlement. But peril pursues her everywhere. Separated from her love, her settlement broken, with a brutal injury needing amputation of her leg, can Avishi overcome Khela? If stories about ancient India, especially those with strong women characters interest you, then Avishi is a story you must read! Guest Post: How did you decide to write a story about a warrior queen with an amputated leg and how did amputations work back then? It must have been a gruelling process in i

Back Off, Back Ache!

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                                                https://in.pinterest.com/pin/37576978116150182/ “Ouch!” And that was it! My back decided to misbehave just as we were in the throes of packing, all set to move from Chennai to Kerala. It was not as if I had turned into a contortionist or anything like that. Oh, no, I was too smart to do that. And why, you may well ask! It was around five years back that, in the flush of youth (ahem! ahem!); all right, I take that back. Around five years back, when hues of lurid burgundy had taken over the black in my hair, I decided that it was time I turned towards a healthier lifestyle. What could I do to get there without too much of a struggle? Eat healthy? Well, that was a tough choice, because carbohydrates, proteins, sugar, oil and salt, I loved them all to distraction. Walking? Definitely a better choice if I could get off my back and move outside into O2. Incidentally, to avoid misunderstanding, O2 happens to be the nam

The Doodler of Dimashq – Kirthi Jayakumar

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“The moon had been appeased. The sea grew gentle again. The butterflies danced in the space between the two. Peace had been made.” Ameenah, a child bride from Dimashq, or Damascus, yearns for peace her entire life. However, peace is as elusive as a little bird on a tree just beyond her reach. Apprehensive at first when she marries Fathi and moves to Aleppo, she finds happiness with him, his parents and his grandmother, who she “would make my own, cherishing that bond dear till my last breath.” Fathi keeps his promise to Majid, her brother, and sends Ameenah to school. However, Ameenah has a special gift, the art of doodling, of bleeding ink over the sheet in ornate lines and intricate designs. Through her doodles, she attempts to make sense of the violence that is soon to become a constant part of her life as she gets embroiled in the Syrian war, losing the ones she loves most in life. From then on, it is a constant struggle to use her doodles to give solace to childr

A Window to her Dreams by Harshali Singh

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“She stands at the window every night, a bystander to the life that surrounds her.” The haveli with the hundred doors, a silent sentinel that has stood over the decades, speaks of despair absorbed, heated discussions, reminiscences, of a family that “has gone through its own trials and tribulations.” The head of the Sharma family, Arun, is the breadwinner, passive and resigned to his fate. His wife, Uma, is the real strength behind the family, full of gumption and emotional fortitude, as she protects her offspring in various ways. “He handled the world outside the wall and she, within.”   Aruna, Bhavya and Charu are born in quick succession, but it is only when Dheeraj is born that Uma feels usefully productive, for she has produced the heir apparent. However, then comes God’s gift to Uma as Etti, Fanny and Gina make their appearance. Aruna, the eldest, separates from her first husband, the cruel Rafi after his “never-ending onslaughts on her persona”.  The wind

A Warrior Woman For All Seasons

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Do people get better at what they do as the years go by? Does a warrior woman get more mettlesome as more and more thunderbolts are thrown her way? If so, Mrs. Nalini Chandran must be one fierce warrior, at the age of eighty! When did it all begin? Did it start when she was a young girl, travelling around the country, finding wonder in everything she saw? Her father was a Railways employee, and he enjoyed taking his family around by train. Nalini and her brothers looked forward to these journeys, and they watched the world whiz by as they sampled the train food thalis that changed with every station they crossed. Her mother was the disciplinarian, who tamed her children with love, but her father was the one Nalini hero-worshipped, as he guided her into reading the classics, Shakespeare, the Bible and beautiful poetry. Nalini learnt Kathakali for seven years at a time when girls were not encouraged to go on stage and make spectacles of themselves, as a few envious

Interpreting the World

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The Piano #FridayFotoFiction The unearthly music echoed around. “She’s playing the piano again!” breathed Namita, rapturously.   A proficient piano player, Ujwala had performed across the country. However, after her beloved husband passed away, she had locked away the piano along with the love in her heart. “Ujwala, we long to hear you play again,” pleaded her friends. She had shaken her head. Two years flew by, but no music had echoed in the cottage. Till today. Ujwala welcomed the group in, as the music played on. “Who is the magical artiste?” asked Namita, surprised. “How well she interprets the world through her music!” added Annie. Ujwala led them in. They gazed at the delicate girl whose long fingers tripped across the keys. “Naina!” called Ujwala softly. The music ceased; the girl turned, smiling. “How well you play!” Annie suddenly stopped. Shocked, they gazed at Naina’s beautiful but sightless eyes. The Piano #FridayFotoFiction

Snowbound by Olivier Lafont

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What can Adam and Zach do to revive Christmas? Do read Snowbound by Olivier Lafont to find out. Print Length: 339 pages Publication Date: May 18, 2017 Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC Language: English Genre: Young Adult Adventure/Fantasy  Christmas is dying. The last Santa Claus had triplets who each inherited a portion of his father’s power, and that split is now tearing apart the soul of Christmas. Niccolo Vecchio, the eldest, has fortified the North Pole into a citadel of ice and metal. Santini, the middle brother, is in hiding somewhere in the Mediterranean. The youngest brother, Niccolo Piccolo, is raising legions to reclaim his inheritance. Two of the triplets will have to renounce their claim in the next forty-eight hours, or this Christmas will be the last one ever. And it’s up to Adam, underachieving teenager sub-ordinaire, and his brand new jock bully Zach to make that happen… It would be great if you