Spotlight of False Ceilings by Amit Sharma

 

A FEW PRAISES Amit has expounded on every single character making them three-dimensional and identifiable. -Maniparna Sengupta Majumder  The book is a light transfamily saga and will be fond for all readers who are interested in a debut author. The narration is simple and will engage the readers till the end. -John Pinto Apart from the characters, the almirah plays an important role in the book. That almirah has seen and also became a reason for the deaths of the family members. What is in it? What secret it beholds? False Ceilings has all the answers.​ -Meera ​

WHAT IS THE BOOK ALL ABOUT ...

Born in the lush mountains of Dalhousie in 1930, Shakuntala is a pampered child of a wealthy builder. On her wedding night she is gifted a secret to use wisely when the time comes.
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From the green valleys of Dalhousie to a village in Punjab reeling under the communal violence of 1947; from the Delhi of 1950s with its intoxicating smell of freedom to the Delhi of 1970s soaked in the hippie culture; from the Delhi of 1984 smelling of burnt tyres to the Delhi of 90s raising its Frankenstein of urbanization, the cancerous secret breathes with her, infects her. It is accidentally passed down, hidden under insecurities and jealousies, locked in its meaninglessness and leaving a trail of ruin.

When her great- grandson accidentally discovers the secret in 2065, he is perplexed by the malice that flowed in his family's blood. Was it just the secret or his family would have destroyed itself even in its absence? Why was their love never greater than their unsaid expectations from each other?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amit Sharma's first fiction book titled False Ceilings has been published by Lifi Publications. The book launch happened on 12 Jan 2016 in the World Book Fair in Delhi.

Amit has been working in a Software Firm since the last ten years. He lives with his family in NCR. His wife is a teacher and they are blessed with a daughter who is in her terrible twos.
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Amit always keeps a book and a portable reading light in his bag (much to the amusement of his fellow travelers). His other hobbies include watching world cinema, travelling, digging into various cuisines, cooking, listening to music, painting, blogging, making his daughter laugh and helping his wife with her unnecessary and prolonged shopping.

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No Accidents!

"Tisha, I Dare you!" Mom glared into her toddler's eyes while rapidly washing her hands.

The toddler at first lowered her gaze and tried to distract herself with the toy nearby. But that urge was too strong. She twisted her mouth indicating she needed to let go. 

Mom could feel her strong desire. She kept talking comforting words. 

Finally, she leads her towards the toilet seat, after a quick pull of her training pants and placement on the seat, the relief on letting go brought a smile on Tisha's lips while Mom was elated over no accidents!


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 In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that changes with a smile.
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Spotlight: Hell to Pay by Pamela Fagan Hutchins

Hell To Pay by  Pamela Fagan Hutchins Blurb  USA Best Book Award-Winning Series, Cross Genre Fiction. Third book in the Emily series, a spin-off from Katie & Annalise. Big-haired paralegal and former rodeo queen Emily thinks she’s got her life back on track. Her adoption of Betsy seems like a done deal, her parents have reunited, and she’s engaged to her sexy boss Jack. Then client Phil Escalante’s childhood buddy Dennis drops dead, face first into a penis cake at the adult novelty store Phil owns with his fiancée Nadine, one of Emily’s best friends. The cops charge Phil with murder right on the heels of his acquittal in a trail for burglarizing the Mighty is His Word church offices. Emily’s nemesis ADA Melinda Stafford claims her witness overheard Phil fighting with Dennis over a woman, right about the time Phil falls into a diabetic coma, leaving Nadine shaken and terrified. Meanwhile Betsy’s ultra-religious foster parents apply to adopt her and Jack starts acting weird and evasive. Emily feels like a calf out of a chute, pulled between the ropes of the header and the heeler, as she fights to help Phil and Nadine without losing Betsy and Jack. She says her first book came out in 2012 and that her latest, Hell to Pay, is the seventh book in the series. The books all have ties to Texas, with “an interrelated cast of kick-ass female protagonists.” She says the novel's heroine (“a former rodeo queen turned paralegal”) returns to her home town in west Texas and discovers an extremist cult has set up shop and is terrorizing the local townsfolk. - As told to Houston Press. Read a Teaser  Chapter One Excerpt Disco lights whirled around me, or was it the room? My inner party animal had atrophied, not that I’d ever been a real heavyweight. If it wasn’t for the fantastic people-watching—and the fact that this was the celebration party for the burglary acquittal of our firm’s client Phil Escalante the day before, and his engagement to Nadine, one of my best friends in Amarillo--I've bagged this shindig. Instead, there I was with tendrils of fake smoke floating past my face, ten feet from a DJ dressed in a black latex fetish costume and spiked dog collar and A tall woman maybe ten years older than me appeared out of the low lights and sidled up to me, engulfing me in the odor of cigarettes. Her vanilla hair sported a generous dollop of dark chocolate roots, which was pretty funny to me since she had a body shaped like a cone. A waffle cone. A waffle cone with sparkly sprinkles from the spinning ball overhead. Behind her trailed a paunchy man of roughly her height. His eyes had locked on me in a way that made my skin crawl with leeches that weren’t there. Rick James’s “Super Freak” ended. The silence in the cavernous L-shaped room was immediate and complete, but short-lived. A clamor of voices from the one-hundred- or-so guests resumed, their voices echoing off the bare walls and “Hey, Foxy Loxy,” the man mouthed at me. Or did he? Surely not. It was hard to tell with the lights playing tricks on my eyes. The woman spoke past me. “You and your wife got any plans later?” Her bellow seemed to fill the room to its farthest corners, even with all the other voices. I winced and shrank under the eyes that shifted our way. Not Jack, though. The horse rancher cum criminal attorney was nothing if not unflappable. His topaz eyes twinkled. “Emily’s not my wife.”  The man surged toward Jack. “You’re not together?” “I’m his fiancée,” I said through my recently tightened braces and painfully rubber-banded teeth, leaving out “and he’s my boss.” I waved my big, fat teardrop-shaped diamond at him to accentuate my point, then I pinched Jack’s arm where my hand was looped through its crook. I’d capitulated to the mouth gear when my childhood orthodontist saw the gap between my front teeth and insisted I needed Invisalign then, filled my mouth with metal instead. Payback for never wearing my retainer, I guess. The man and woman looked at each other and nodded. She asked, “Care to join us? We’ve got a room at a no-tell hotel nearby.” Jack’s whole body shook and I didn’t dare look at him. I was a sucker for his laugh. In fact, I was a sucker for everything about him, from his lived-in boots to his permanent tan to his Apache cheekbones. Before either of us could think of an appropriate response, Phil interrupted. “Millie, Pete, leave my poor friends alone.” He clapped a hand on my shoulder and gently pushed me aside to clap his other onto Jack’s. “They’re not swingers. And this isn’t a swingerssocial. I’m out of the business.” The space between Millie’s eyebrows narrowed and puckered as drops of light rained down on her face. “It’s a free country, ain’t it?” Grab your Copy @ amazon.com | amazon.in | amazon.co.uk | Barnes and Noble ABOUT THE AUTHOR  Pamela Fagan Hutchins writes overly long emails, best-selling, award-winning mysteries (WINNER USA Best Book Award, Fiction: Cross Genre, Finalist) and hilarious nonfiction. The Houston Press named her as one of Houston's Top 10 Authors (2014). She is a recovering attorney and investigator who resides deep in the heart of Nowheresville, Texas and in the frozen north of Wyoming. Pamela has a passion for great writing and smart authorpreneurship as well as long hikes with her hunky husband and pack of rescue dogs, traveling in the Bookmobile, and her Keurig. Visit her athttp://pamelafaganhutchins.com or drop her a note pamela at pamelahutchins dot com.  And if you would like her to visit your book club, women’s group, writer’s group, or library, all you have to do is ask. Stalk Her  @

The Squirrel and the Compact Disc

"Sheesh she took it again," lamented Karly as she saw the branch that once had a cherry growing.

"I told you...let's pluck it." she reminded in an aggravated tone.

"But what's the use of an immature fruit. No one would have been able to eat it at home" Mom commented.

"Well, the squirrel did," Karly said while wiping her tears and removing those CDs from the branches that were hanging like an ornament. 

"These were of no use. The Squirrels did not get scared off their reflection. I rather use them to record my melancholic stories." 

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 In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that features a squirrel. It can be about a squirrel, for a squirrel or by a squirrel. Think nutty, naturalistic, dinner or ironic. Go where the prompt leads and don’t forget to twirl with imagination.

Book Review of Encounters by Sumana Khan

FEW REVIEWS... Encounters consists of 5 stories with a paranormal theme. Sumana creates such vivid scenes from the very first page that the reader is sucked into the stories. All the five stories are beautifully woven, with intricate details, believable characters and goosebumpy endings. It is hard to point at one story as a favorite. This one is a page turner you should not miss if you are a fan of paranormal tales. -Amit Sharma, Author of False Ceilings Those who have read Sumana Khan's The Revenge of Kailavya will understand when I say that this is one book I will pick up without even thinking or reading the blurb. I was a bit surprised that she went for an anthology. Her description in describing scenes always has proven picturesque and more than often eerie. -Rubina Ramesh WHAT IS THE BOOK ALL ABOUT  ENCOUNTERS is a potpourri of five sumptuous stories involving a motley crew of protagonists. Skating along the borders of fantasy and paranormal themes, the stories track incredible and poignant journey of self-discovery, tracing the cathartic aftermath of fleeting encounters. My Review Encounters is a book with five stories that will keep you engrossed while making you ponder over the ending. Each of them has a distinct flavor to it, and I should commend the author, Sumana for being able to keep that thin line of balance under the same theme--Encounter! First Love takes you on the coaster wheel of life of a woman who is independent, well established but still stressed out by her parents and society cause she is single. The drama unfolds after that, and it is gripping yet sensuous until the end. I absolutely loved the angle to this story.  The Storyteller is a meetup of a typical agarbatti salesperson who encounters a handful of people running an NGO, and the impact of those footsteps trailing along him when he cleans the bench will give you goosebumps! Reminiscence is an absolutely touching story of a middle class retired family giving a peep into his daily life. The narration is earthy giving a clear picture of all the scenes thus, making the reader feel the depth of each enjoyment, sorrow, and socializing.  Happiness Clinic provided an unusual angle, and it's amazing how the subconscious mind can actually help change the mindset of a man's dynamics if it is talked to.  Best Friends Forever had a twist, which is hard to believe esp with today's times. No doubt the author presented it flawlessly, but a soul to unite with her parents and the drama behind it is hard to digest. Overall, an enjoyable read but some words would pause my read since difficult to understand. Example: homa, mangalya, ghatam, ammouru, vatara,  etc. Also sometimes the necessity of words slowed down the pace such as: cream-geem, embroidery-seroidry, software – geeftware, finance – ginance, etc. It was fun to read in the beginning, but to have it again was losing its charm.  GRAB YOUR COPY HERE YOU CAN GET THIS BOOK DIRECTLY FROM THE PUBLISHER ABOUT THE AUTHOR  Sumana was born and raised in Bengaluru, Karnataka, where she went on to graduate with a BSc in Electronics, much to the surprise of her teachers, and relief of her parents. In what can only be described as a quirk of fate, she ended up as an IT consultant - a role she essayed for more than a decade. She then moved to the UK where she quit her job and pursued academic and literary interests. The result of this pursuit has been two Masters, one published book, quite a few manuscript drafts, and above all, being stone-broke perpetually. She currently lives in the UK with her husband and several books.   STALK HER @ Follow Us +Pinterest ​

Book Blitz of 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 @

amazon.com | amazon.in|amazon.co.uk 

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.

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Review: A Dog Eat Dog-Food World by Suresh Chandrasekaran

Interspersed with memorable lines, written in the author's trademark humorous style, this book is going to make you laugh, think, marvel and enjoy - all at the same time. -Radha Sawana This is one of the most humorous books I have read in recent times. I guess people who read Dilbert might have found some similarity in the cover design. The idea of the book is also similar - a corporate parody. ​ -Karthik ​ A Dog eat Dog food world is no run of the mill book, and for readers starved for genuine humor and satire—I would recommend it without a moment’s hesitation. ​ -Ramesh Grandhi WHAT IS THIS BOOK ALL ABOUT  A hilarious pseudo-history of marketing management, which explicitly denies resemblance to any actual history, and which will be horrified if some semblance be found. ‘A dog eat dog-food world’ is the story of a man who discovered that the path of life is strewn with treadmills and, if you get on one by mistake, you could keep running all your life to stay in the same place. The story of how just minding your own business can lead to unexpected consequences, guided by the ‘invisible hand’ of long dead economists. Anything you learn from the book – be it the basics of marketing management or a satirical view of Society – you do at your own risk. The tale only dogs the doings of Spike Fortune who only sought to feed dogs and Jerry Fortune who, being fortuneless, gets dragged helter-skelter by his uncle Spike’s careening pursuit of commercial success; Spike’s rival Tom Rich, who is unwillingly dragged into upstaging Spike and tries to do it by teasing the palates of cats, helped by the bumbling efforts of his nephew, Jasper Rich who would rather be chasing girls than chasing cats. My Review I wish I could just write a one liner here, "If you find today's marketing stunts hilarious yet witty, this book will be an excellent companion for you to mock at man's silly adventures." The book starts off on a note, "Who thought that a lot of money can be such a pain?"  There is sarcasm in his tone, and there is laughter in the little connections. The author has portrayed such hilarious moments in man's life, which we actually use for marketing and various tricks just to climb the ladder that brought out the ludicrous behavior of man.  Although I was snickering along, I could not connect with the characters and wish the author had spared a few words to define each of them since I as a reader was chortling away at their stupidity.  The line that stuck with me, "‘The difficulty with history is that you never know whether that is the way it really happened." Absolutely agree with it!  GRAB YOUR COPY ABOUT THE AUTHOR Fiction has been an addiction but the need to make a living took Suresh through Chemical Engineering and a PGDM at IIM-Bangalore and, from thence, to a long 16 year stint in the area of finance with specific expertise in fertilizer subsidies and a further two years as consulting expert in the same area. That, in his words, about sums up the boring part of his life, except for the people he was privileged to meet. Otherwise, he can be described as a mess of contradictions – a bookworm but avid trekker; alone but never lonely; enjoys solitude but loves company; lazy but a perfectionist, the litany is endless. Trekking, which side-tracked him from the writing for which he quit his job, is a major passion and he does, at least, one trek in the Himalayas every year in addition to numerous local treks. He reignited his passion for writing with a fairly popular blog www.jambudweepam.blogspot.in. The blog has been rated among the Top 5 humour blogs in India, twice in succession - in 2014 and 2015 - by BlogAdda, and has also been listed third among the Top Humour Blogs by Baggout. ​ ​He also has a short story published in a collection “Uff Ye Emotions” and has edited and written a novelette in an ebook anthology “Sirens spell danger” STALK HIM @