Guest Post by Sandeep Sharma

Hello Fellas, today I invite Sandeep Sharma for a guest post where he would share his journey of being an author. I hope you will relate to him as we all have gone through such a phase.

                               ~Surbhi Sareen

I want to start something

“I want to start something.”

“What?”

“I want to become a writer.”

“That’s good.”

“But how?”

I once had this conversation with my father. He gave me two brilliant advices. First was that before thinking to spend ‘money’ (in this case your dedication), spend ‘time’. His advice was actually to talk to some authors and have an insight of the industry. I tried a lot but no one actually helped me back then. The reason is still unknown. Will talk about the second advice in a while, before that I’ll tell you what I did wrong in the journey of becoming author.

After reading Sydney Sheldon’s ‘Are You Afraid Of Dark’ at the age of 15, my interest in reading grew up. I then picked ChetanBhagat’s ‘5 point someone not to do in IIT’. I picked this book as someone advised me to readthe same. I loved the book. The best part of the book was the flashback thing. I never could have imagined that a book could be so good that it will indulge me for 8 hours straight. Then I inclined towards Indian Authors and picked Kushwant Singh’s ‘A train to Pakistan’. This was my dad’s choice. It was fabulous but was not as entertaining as my previous reads (my personal view as I love different kind of genre and writing style). After reading these 3 novels, suddenly at the age of 18, I decided to write a book. It took me 4 months to complete the script of 38,000 words. I was extremely happy and then I started to take series of wrong decisions.

I decided to publish it through Notion Press. Back then, I had no idea about editing. I never thought that my English could become such a hindrance. I always thought that the story backs up the book and English and writing style is just a side-line. I was so excited to see the printed form of my work that I paid no attention over cover design and editing part. Within a month, my paperback dream got fulfilled. I was in college and was confident that everyone will surely buy and support the author. ‘The Author’, I still regret that day when I thought I have become an author.

I placed 100 books in the common area and invited teachers and students to see the ‘Mammoth’ thing that I have achieved and in short buy the books so that I can proudly shout that I sold out 100 copies within an hour.

Hour passed, a huge gathering came but the sales were just 2. That was the first realization of truth. If we compare this to present scenario, you’ll see 100’s or maybe thousands of ‘likes’ on your posts regarding the book release but the sales will be just 1 or 2%. Be ready to feel heart-broken as I was not. I cried that day a lot as I knew nothing what lies in the future; future was even darker. First professional review came for the book and the unexpected occurred. The reviewer tore the book apart in his review. ‘Young Author’ died that day.

Then begins the time of self-realization. Journey of going back to basics starts and then I realized the meaning of my father’s second advice. His advice was ‘before asking how, you should ask when?’ The basic idea of becoming an ‘Author’ is to know when to write a book. Before writing a book, read at least 100 books. (I read around 200 books before writing ‘Hey Dad! Meet my Mom’ and that paved the way of my ‘little’ success in the industry.) Study the writing style of your favourite author. Try to gulp down the small elements that authors deliberately put in their write ups and after doing this, you’ll surely have a story in your mind. Once you have the story ready; stop reading. STOP READING when you are writing. While writing the book, there will come sometime when you’ll feel demotivated, that is the time to read again. Simple, isn’t it.

Now as your book is ready. Wait. Re-read and hire a professional editor. Ask some of your friends to give honest opinion about the book. During this process, just relax. Don’t panic. Now when the publishing part starts, switch from ‘Author’ to ‘Salesman’.

That’s all for today; hope that this will help.

 

About the author

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Sandeep Sharma (23), made his debut in the writing industry with ‘Hey Dad! Meet my mom’, the book which is still a hot topic of discussion amongst readers. He is currently working on his start-up venture named ‘Author Paradise’ that works for the benefit of Authors to provide them well-organized online & offline publicity. By education, he is a civil engineer who graduated from JSS Academy of Technical Education, Noida.

He is very passionate about writing and has been writing short stories for his personal blog since 6 years and they were published various times. He has also co-founded ‘The Author’s Blog’, a platform that tries to bridge the gap between authors and readers. He is an avid reader and loves to review books on his blog. He is a well-known reviewer in the literary world.

He can be contacted through:

E-Mail: [email protected]

Facebook: www.facebook.com/sandeeplochansharma

 

Spotlight : My Last Love Story by Falguni Kothari

 

My Last Love Story 

by 

Falguni Kothari


Blurb 

 
Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes’s, Me Before You, My Last Love Story is a heartbreaking and poignant tale about the complexities of trauma and whether love can right a wrong.***

I, Simeen Desai, am tired of making lemonade with the lemons life has handed me.

Love is meant to heal wounds.

Love was meant to make my world sparkle and spin.

Love has ripped my life apart and shattered my soul.

I love my husband, and he loves me.

But Nirvaan is dying.

I love my husband. I want to make him happy.

But he is asking for the impossible.

I don’t want a baby.

I don’t want to make nice with Zayaan.

I don’t want another chance at another love story.

Grab your Copy @
or grab this book free at #KindleUnlimited 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

 

 Falguni Kothari is a New York-based hybrid author, and an amateur Latin and Ballroom dance silver medalist with a semi-professional background in Indian Classical dance. She writes in a variety of genres sewn together by the colorful and cultural threads of her South Asian heritage and expat experiences. When not writing or dancing, she fools around on all manner of social media and loves to connect with readers.My Last Love Story is her fourth novel.
Stalk her @


        

 

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Case of missing Whatsapp Dp

BREAKING NEWS : The missing of display picture on whatsapp has created a havoc. Many people are getting in depression and above all, relationships are affected.

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Case1

Shamli : Nikhail your daughter is in wrong company!

Nikhail: What happened? What has she done?

Shamli : She has hidden her profile picture on whatsapp. She is surely having an affair that is why she is hiding it.

Nikhail: Yes, I will ask her tonight.

Jiya: Yo dad! Wassup?

Nikhail: I need to talk to you?

Jiya: Ya say?

Nikhail: Are you hiding something from us?

Jiya: No! What happened?

Nikhail: Then why your whatsapp dp is hidden?

Jiya: It is not hidden dad. I don’t know what is wrong with it. Some technical problem.

Shamli: Nikhail, your daughter thinks that she is smart and we are all fools here. She is lying. Keep a check on her!

Jiya: I am taking your phone. When you will tell me the truth then only you will get.

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Case2

Wife: I want a divorce.

Husband: What!! Why?

Wife: You have changed alot and this is a negative change.

Husband: I am not getting what the hell are you saying?

Wife: You don’t love me anymore. Are you dating someone else?

Husband( dumbfounded) : Are you in your senses? Why would I do that?

Wife: Then why your whatsapp dp is hidden? It always shows our picture but today it didn’t show. So, this clearly means you are cheating me. Otherwise, why would you do that?

Husband: I really don’t know what has happened. Trust me babe, I love you.

Wife: No, you are lying. Now my lawyer will speak to you.

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Case3

Jan KAum : I want to file a missing report.

Officer: Yes, please give me the details.

Jan KAum: My whatsapp dp is missing. Can you please help me find that?

Officer: When you saw it last?

Jan KAum: Yesterday I updated my dp but nobody messaged me to praise about my dp. I found something suspicious. I checked the dp, it was there. But when I asked my wife, she said it was not there. I was baffled when she said all that. And today, the reporters have shown this news of missing dp. Please take some action about it.

Officer: Okay! Thankyou for corporating with us. We will deal with this.

The investigation for the missing dp starts and when they find out that the leads are at Jan’s home. They surround his house. The officer goes in his house.

Jan Kaum: Hello sir! Have you found out?

Officer: The culprit is in your house.

Jan Kaum: What are you saying? I live here with my wife and my 7 year old kid.

Officer: Come with me in this room.

It was the kid’s room and he was lying on the bed with phone in his hands. He opens whatsapp and laughs. He had accidently created the hide your dp option. When The officer confronted him, he got scared. He told his dad,

Kid: I was chatting with my friends and I had your make your changes id. I accidently did that and thats why everybody is unable to see each others dps. Sorry dad!

Jan Kaum: He quickly changed the settings and everyone could see the dps.

HEnce, The case of the missing whatsapp dp was solved and the option of hide your dp was introduced.

P.S. : I wrote this random writeup on whatsapp dp. There is nothing real in it. It is to lift the mood and mock at us only as we are so addicted to whatsapp these days.

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Encounters

‘Encounters’ Someone’s Always Waiting by Sumana Khan is a series of anecdotes that has some deeper meaning. It is a collection of five fantabulous stories that will give a solitudary peace. Sumana has a quality of showing mysticity and suspense in her work just like the poetry of S.T. Coleridge. I know this is a short story or rather say novellas or maybe novelettes which can’t be compared to a poet but what I feel is, it has an essence of mystery in it.

Cover- The cover is the most appealing element of the book that has a wonderful picture of a man standing alone on a boat in a lake and has shadows of trees when we look at the water. The colour scheme perfect suits the cover.

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Title- Sumana has chosen a perfect title ‘ Encounters’ as all the stories are about Encounters only. Also, the subtitle is really deep and thoughtful, ‘Someone’s Always Waiting..’ It creates an aura of imagination in one’s mind.

Stories at a Glance

First LOve– It is the very first story of the book. The second line at the start is bit obscure with repetitive words which makes the start weak. But as the story progresses the interest is build up and you are left imagining yourself in the story where a forensic expert undergoes hallucinations about a man named VRka whom she has met once. This piece brings chills to your spines and has a great effect on your mind. The animal imagery is used preety well. The story takes a turn at social issues, abuse, murder, mystery, science fiction.

The Storyteller– This story has a yet another essence of life. It has a story within a story concept which ends up into a fantasy concept. The elements of mystery can be very well seen in it and at times a feeling of eerie arises in the mind. It is about an agarbatti salesman( unusual character) who encounters a man who is a storyteller and tells about his story. This is not a normal storyteller as it has deeper meaning hidden in it. This piece mainly highlights the Tsunami that hit the area in 2004 which led to huge destruction and loss of lives.

Reminiscence-A normal yet extraordinary story of a man and his wife, Radha who are old and tried to manage their life by performing daily chores of their life. This story makes us learn how to value small things in our lives. The end keeps you stunned so mind it, it is not a simple husband wife story. It has an element of paranormality in it.

Happiness Clinic– It is a story of a retired accountant who is in search of himself and when he finds the biggest purpose of his life, he is shocked to discover a strange fact about himself. He feels what as if, what has happened actually was in his mind. The name Happiness Clinic has a special significance which leaves in an awe.

Best Friends Forever-It is the last story of the collection and my favourite story precisely speaking. It has so many twists and turns that all your predictions are proved wrong. This is an imaginative piece that has elements of gothic fiction, subconsciousness, confusion. It is a roller coaster ride of events that doesn’t scare you but leaves you in a bitter sweet remorse mode.

Characterisation- Sumana has beautifully portrayed her characters in all the five stories. All these characters are different from each other and have their own speciality. The author has played with her characters and a strong sensitivity and attachment could be felt with them. They are the pillars in developing the plots of these stories.

Style- The author has used vivid imagery, impeccable descriptions, jargons in her stories. The use of first and third person narrative could be seen. Some sentences are really deep.The language is simple, lucid and sometimes obscure.

Negatives- I would say the author has done her work perfectly as she has all the traces of binding an audience but the editor seemed lacking in the race. Some of the sentences are unclear and obscure. They have fragments in it which makes it heckneyed. There is a pattern in mistakes. Almost at all the places, tense errors could be noticed. Moreover, The use I’d creates confusion as the reader doesn’t come to know whether it is I would or I had.

For instance: “Thirty two and single- that’s how I’d be described.”  ( confusion of I’d)

In Flesh and blood. ( fragmented sentence)

The tears came. ( fragmented sentence)

~ FIRST LOVE

Favourite sentences- There are many sentences that took my heart so that need an honourable mention with claps*

“Such rib racking cries are like a storm,” ( right word at right place) ~First Love

“Swarms of mosquitoes and flies rise in a static buzz and hover my head like a satanic dark halo.” ( What a description!) ~ The Storyteller

“The mind is like a closet…This negativity takes over our personality…it spreads like a dark ink drop blotting on a tissue paper.” ( phantasmagorically magical)

“Let sunshine illuminate every dark corner.” ( Healed the soul)

“So when you are told it is all inconsequential, you are only destined to be a wife and amother- it is heartbreaking.” ( A harsh truth!)

~ Happiness Clinic

Video –https://youtu.be/VUcCmlKh2dA

Others’ reviews- http://prernanayak.blogspot.in/2016/05/review-encounters-by-sumana-khan.html

https://kavipriyamoorthy.wordpress.com/2016/05/11/encounters-by-sumana-khan-book-review/

http://luciferhouseinc.blogspot.in/2016/05/encounters-review.html

Availability- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27774874-encounters—someone-s-always-waiting

https://www.amazon.in/Encounters-Someones-Waiting-Sumana-Khan-ebook/dp/B018KCH3OU

http://www.flipkart.com/encounters-someone-s-always-waiting-english/p/itmeczmbccvzegjr?pid=9789385523182

http://cinnamonteal.in/books/encounters-someones-always-waiting/

About the Author

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Sumana Khan was born and raised in Bangalore where she pursued a career as an It consultant. She currently lives in the Uk and is a full time writer and student. She holds a Master of Letters in Creative Writing from University of Glasgow and is pursuing her M.S.c in Psychology. her website is http://www.sumanakhan.com. ENCOUNTERS is her second book.

 

 

 

The Crossbow Code by MC Raj- A quick analysis

The Crossbow Code is a mind boggling novel that will make you think about the events. MC Raj, the author of this book has done an amazing job in delineating the story of this novel. Before starting my review I would like to share a small interaction that I had with him regarding this book. After completing the book, I asked him certain questions and the way he answered them, was fascinating. Here is a small interview like session with him :

Thank you for all the compliments on the novel and its author. Now let me take up one by one the questions that you have raised.
1. Is it all fiction? Yes. It is a historical fiction. It means the fiction itself is based on a certain amount of history. But it is not a history book. A story is woven around many historical facts and circumstances. But nothing like this ever happened in the way the story is woven. for example, there is no evidence that Jesus (Kris) had two Muslim wives. It is impossible historically as Islam came much after Jesus. In this sense, we can say that it is only a fiction splattered with some history.
2. Mahatma Gandhi: There are many books written on Gandhi and on his experiments with truth. It is well acknowledged by historians that he used to sleep with some young girls naked as he wanted to test his will-power. This particular dimension of great people making use of women for different purposes is a matter of concern for me. I have a very liberal view on sex. If Gandhi had sex with many women it is none of my business to criticize him. But if anyone makes use of women then it is a matter of serious concern. I have written quite a few things about Gandhi in my books and in this novel I have been quite mild.
3. Is it Karl Marx? Yes. It is Karl Marx that I have in mind. In a conference among Christian theologians, I said once: Jesus is the first Marx and Karl Marx is the second Jesus. They took it well.
4. About my research work: I am a student of philosophy. I did more Western philosophy. I also read many volumes of the history of the Popes. I am a voracious reader of books of history, philosophy, and Leftist literature. I have done researches in many European countries but not on Jesus. Such a study was and is of my personal interest. I have travelled to many countries and all the countries that I have described in this novel have come from my personal visits to them. I travel to Germany two to three times every year and have fallen in love with river Rhine. I have visited the first ever market of Black slaves in Porto Alegre in Brazil. I went to Rome and Vatican mainly because I wanted to write this novel.
5. When I want to write a novel the plots run in my mind for a few years and only when I am convinced of a total story line I begin to write the novel. Once I sit and start writing the novel then it takes me only three to six months, as I also have a lot of other work. But it is usually intensive writing. I took only three months to write the Crossbow Code.
6. The Poetry and Verses: I write poetry for pleasure. In all of my novels, there are a few poetries. As I write I become poetic and I pen them down. They add a special aesthetic flavor to the novel.
These answers were really helpful for me as it gave me an idea about his thoughts.
Book Review
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Cover- The cover of the book is captivating and gives us a tinge hint about the mystery that we are going to read.
Title- The title is intriguing ‘The Crossbow Code’ and gives the readers a senak peak of the mystical elements in this book.
Setting- The setting takes place at various places like VAtican, India, Mumbai and many more. The descriptions are refreshing.
Plot- The plot is crisp and gripping. The author has done full justice to the development of the plot. It is a story of mysterious Kris and his struggles till the end of his life. During the course of journey, there is risk, thrill, mystery and many more. It is a power pack story that keeps the reader glued to the book.
Characterisation- The author has done a splendid task in showcasing the characters. My personal favourite character is of Kris. Kris is a mysterious character that has lot of secrets in him. The way he hides his truth and survives is impeccable. His love for his wives Fatima and Rhea moves the readers.
Further, the characters of Fatima and Rhea are well crafted who are loyal towards their husband and takes keen interest in the happenings around them.
MC Raj is not only good in portraying protagonists but also in his antagonists. The villains are flat characters who remains the same throughout the novel. The way they hatch the conspiracies is unique and how they find out a way with the things is mind blowing.
Theme- The author has shown various sides of life in his novel. The dark side of church is thoroughly incaptulated in this novel. Further, the other side of Mahatma throws light on his views about self control by sleeping with naked women wothout touching them. Not only this, the author has given a clear picture of KArl Marx’s views and Bhim’s views. Besides that, there are others who have been fantasmagorically highlighted.
Style- The author has used third person narrative with impersonal descriptional pattern. The sentences have a range of short, simple, complex and compound sentences. We also find self mockery and remarks at the end of the conversation. Furthermore, there are poetic traits also that has river like imageries, metaphors etc. There are verses in name of Jesus which gives us an image of Christianity. Even there are glimpses of Buddhism from the views of Bhim.
About the Author