Abracabadra

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Tornado Giveaway 2: Book No. 45: ONLY WHEAT NOT WHITE by Varsha Dixit

Name of the Book: ONLY WHEAT NOT WHITE
Author: Varsha Dixit

Read some reviews:

1. Lisa Cullinan
2. Mina Khan
3. Shriya Pandit

The Story:

What if the one you completely love is the one you simply can't! Twenty-six-year-old Eila Sood moves to America to mend fences with her estranged older sister, Sheela. Eila and the rest of the family in India had cut off ties with Sheela after she married Steve Jacobs, 'out of caste, and out of color'. Elia soon realizes that Sheela's marriage is on the rocks. To help pay Sheela's household bills, Eila takes a second job at an afternoon strip club. When she crosses paths with the owner, the handsome Brett Wright or 'blue-eyed ogre' as Elia calls him, he both infuriates and fascinates her. Brett turns out to be her reluctant and unquestionably sarcastic knight in shining armor. As Eila and Brett spend more time together their desire for each other builds. However, when Brett discovers the true reason for Eila's refusal he storms out of her life, accusing her of being a prejudiced coward. Will Eila find the courage to break stereotypes and embrace her love? Will Brett find solace in the arms of his ex-girlfriend Cate? Will Sheela and Steve divorce? All of these questions and more are answered in Varsha Dixit's latest and humorous and steamy love story.

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About The Author

Varsha Dixit

About the author in her own words: I'm the author of four books and the genre that I write is contemporary romance. Penning stories defines and completes me.I thinks of myself as a borderline obsessive-compulsive dreamer who thinks deep but writes light. A true ‘feel good’ junkie seeking quick fixes, I love a good laugh and a good book. A voracious reader of who dunit mysteries and legal dramas, I did sit down to pen a book on serial killers but finding it impossible to maim or kill anyone, even on paper, I penned a romantic story instead. Thus, I found my true calling – at least for the time being.Even though creativity is gender free, I feel blessed and enriched to be a woman.
Currently, with my family, I'm settled in the US.

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Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Wordless Wednesday #95

Once upon a time when cell phones were not born, humanity had ways to shout for HELP.

Today, when I see those call boxes, I get curious if they work? Do they have representatives sitting on the other end waiting to hear our tales of emergency?

Today as I Ponder over issues that were sometime in the past a need, a requirement, an urgency and could have become extinct, makes me wonder how far man has traveled!

Mantra for today: The man has flourished no doubt, but alas has left his ethics behind!

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Tuesday, August 18, 2015

The Irony

Trisha lay still accompanied by silent sniffs.
"Don't worry Trish. I am right here" she said in a pacified tone.
"Oh! I am scared Mommy," she said while sniffing, "Will it hurt?"
"Not at all dear!"
Soon she felt the prick, the pressure on her arm build up, and within seconds, everything was back to normal.
She wailed, whimpered as the nurse dabbed cotton on the spot.
Mom took over with a gentle smile while making her sit up.
Aha! The paradox of life that in spite of a whining, weepy kid, the Mom was wearing a smile

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In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story about a character who is called to have the back of another. What circumstances led up to this moment? What are the character motives? Think about the interaction, the setting, the tone. What does it look like to have another’s back?

Join in the fun at CarrotRanch.

Friday, August 14, 2015

Tornado Giveaway 2: Book No. 26: INDIA WAS ONE by An Indian

Go to Book No. 25

Check all the Books Here

Name of the Book : INDIA WAS ONE
Author: An Indian

Read some reviews:

1. Rubina Ramesh
2. Devika Fernando
3. Swati Shenoy

The Story:

…Suddenly, he saw something shiny at the bottom of the abyss. He squinted his eyes to see what it was. He ran back to his binoculars and turned them to see what it was. Sharp barbed wires that separated the two mountains came into focus. He had come as far as he could in his country. But she was standing in another country.

He was in South India and she was in North India…

Have you ever imagined India being divided into two countries? What happens to the millions of Indians who are from South India but are now residing in North India? Kaahi & Jai were two such people who got trapped in this situation. Everything was going smoothly for them and suddenly, their world turned upside down.

How will they get together? Will India become one again?

Take an exciting journey with them from their college days in Mumbai to their life in the US and back to India when they find out that India is divided.

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About The Author

An Indian

The Author calls himself An Indian. We have no pics of him. But the Author does have something to say to every Indian out there....

Dear Readers,

I wanted to tell a story peppering it with Indian languages and narrating my experiences, inter-weaving them with some imaginary tale. When I mentioned this idea to my wife, her very first question was, "who is your target-audience?" That made me "think outside the box". After reading the book, you'll agree that there is no target-audience. I'd say - 10+, any sex, from any country, any ethnicity, any religion - is the intended audience.

When I wanted to tell a story, I wanted to "lull" the reader into thinking that they are just reading a travelogue. Making them wonder where (if at all anywhere) the story is going. Is it just another boring experience written by a NRI? AND THEN BOOM. It hits you. Suddenly, along with the characters, the reader's dream-world shatters.

This book is broken up in 3 parts. And it is intentional. Let me explain why.

The first part is about the Indian culture. Most Indians (in India) already know it. But what about NRIs? They may find it nostalgic. And what about their kids. They may have a better understanding about their roots and culture. And the non-Indian find it very fascinating.

The second part is about life in the US. Readers who are in the US may find it a bit like a travelogue. However, others may find it very interesting. Those who can't be here get a glimpse into the US life of an Indian (and the US life in general).

The third part is for everyone.

Hence, you'll notice that different people react differently to this book. There is something for everyone.

I hope this helps you.

Thank you,
An Indian

The author was born and raised in Mumbai, India. He came to the US in 1989 and lived in New York. This book is for those who like travel, history, romance, culture, cuisine, sports, political-thriller, etc. It’s dubbed as a realistic-fiction. A fiction based on some real events. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.

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Book Review: The Seventh Cup by Nitesh Jain

NAME OF THE BOOK :
THE SEVENTH CUP

AUTHOR :
NITESH JAIN

USP: MYSTERIOUS!!!

CHECK THE COMPETITION OUT HERE

BLURB

A student of history in Switzerland goes missing.
A man drinks exactly seven cups of coffee everyday in the same restaurant and believes in Mind Transportation. Two newly married Swiss detective agents arrive and begin a shocking tale of love, friendship, betrayal and death. From the colorful coasts of Goa, India to the enchanting backdrop of Zurich,Switzerland, the mystery of Verona Schmidt baffles everyone. With shocking twits and turns in every chapter, The Seventh Cup might just have the addictive flavor to stir the readers mind...may be forever !!!

My Review

The Seventh Cup is a story revolving around a student of history, Verona who goes missing and how an agent gets around to solving this mystery by traveling countries and interviewing people and getting logistics straight amidst juggling romance with her newly married husband.

This is a story about Avinash and Verona, two characters from different background, and the story goes on to become how they get involved with each other via many terminologies that the author introduced such as 'Mind Transportation' 'Law of Attraction, The Phenomenon of Universal Rearrangement'

No doubt the phrasing was delectable and putting a distinct flavor in the mouth of the reader, but alas it did not last for long since the theory did not actually hold true towards the end thus, created confusion in the reader's mind. However, I would love to have a storyline developed on the above locutions and see where it goes :)

The Seventh Cup story is about friendship, goof-ups, confession, jealousy, hatred, murder, which eventually led to self-immolation.

Slow in the first half thus forcing the reader to read. The story is a mixed of tenses again leading to more confusion. Some scenes and dialogs between Verona and Avinash seemed to be a drag too. Also, some scenes of interaction between the detectives could have been omitted.

Amidst all the above pros and cons, the author left the reader spellbound with the climax, which was mind-blowing! Thus, making me raise my thumb up for a suggested read, and an inclination to read, "The Secret" which I had been delaying for a while.

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CHECK THE COMPETITION OUT HERE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nitesh Kumar Jain (1987) spent his childhood days in the beautiful state of Assam in India and pursued his schooling at Carmel School, Jorhat. Later he went to BITS Pilani, KK Birla Goa Campus. He graduated as a Chemical Engineer in the year 2010 and worked as a trainee at Aditya Birla Chemicals inThailand for six months. He did his post-graduate work in Chemical and Bioengineering from ETH Zurich, Switzerland, and later (2012) worked as an intern at BASF AG, Basel. During his two-year stay in Switzerland, he conceptualized his debut novel, The Seventh Cup.

Apart from writing he loves photography and travelling to new countries to explore different cultures. Nitesh has visited several countries during the past few years such as Thailand, Switzerland, Italy, Germany,France, Austria,The Netherlands. He wish to visit Turkey, Australia and the Nordic countries in the coming years. He believes in the saying by Paulo Coelho: When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it!!!

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Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Tornado Giveaway 2: Book No. 21: MARIJUANA DIARIES Compiled by Paulami Duttagupta

Go to Book No. 20

Check all the Books Here

Name of the Book : MARIJUANA DIARIES
Compiler : Paulami Duttagupta
Edited by : Nethra A.

Read some reviews:

1. Sundari Venkatraman
2. Nikita Jhanglani
3. Ruchi Singh

The Story:

Marijuana Diaries, an anthology on addiction and obsession, has 17 stories by new and established writers. As writers introspect and celebrate addictions of various forms, the pages of this diary fill up.

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About The Authors

Contributors: Gulzaar, Raghuvir Shekhawat, Deepali Junjappa, Meera Bharadwaj,Priyaa Trippayar Sahasranaman, Subha N Nivedita and Dr. Tahmina Khaleel Rochelle Potkar, Paulami DuttaGupta, Reshma Ranjan, Rubina Ramesh, Nehali Lalwani, Nethra Anjanappa, Janaki Nagaraj, Aparajita Dutta, Brindaa Lakshmi and Ahana Mukherjee.

About the Editor

Paulami DuttaGupta

Born in Shillong, many moons ago, with schooling at Loreto Convent, and an English Honors from St. Edmunds College, Paulami Duttagupta started her career with All India Radio Shillong. She had written and also given her voice to a few shows there. Later she came down to Kolkata and got a post graduate degree in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur University. She had also taken up a fancy to learning Spanish, but today confesses that she has forgotten most of it.

She has written for ‘The Times of India’ in the ‘Guwahati-Shillong plus Edition’ and also ‘The Shillong Times’. Television had always attracted her and was connected to the Bangla TV industry for about 6 years. She was associated with ETV- Bangla, Akash Bangla and Sony Aath in this period.

Having left her day job in 2012, Paulami took up full time writing. Her first novel, “Pinjar” released in early 2012.

Her second novel “Unplanned Destiny” released in 2014. She is also the screenplay writer of the national award winning Khasi film – “Ri Homeland of Uncertainty”.

“Ri” has been adapted into a novel and is releasing in Sepember’14.

She is currently working on her next project as movie script writer.

Apart from writing full length novels, she has written several short stories and articles. She has also contributed to the “Minds@work Anthology” and the “Family Matters International Anthology” in 2013.

Recently she has contributed to the “Learning and Creativity Anthology” , “Her Story Anthology”, and “Celebrating India – Love across Borders Anthology”.

When she is not writing or watching movies, Paulami is either reading biographies or classic pieces of literature. Cricket, food, cinema, books and music are an integral part of her life.

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Go to Book No. 22

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