Book Review – Gently falls the Bakula

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Shrimati and Shrikant were once classmates and neighbours but they were brought up in completely different family environments. Never realizing that one day they would become a couple. ‘Gently falls the Bakula’ is a story of love, friendship, marriage and the meaning of life.

Author Sutha Narayan Murti has weaved this story so beautifully that it leaves the reader with no option but to read. The first half of the story is set in Hubli, a small town and the pace of life. She slowly and beautifully graduates the story to the hardships and the luxuries of living in Mumbai. The characters are so well crafted thatthey come to life. You watch and lament as ambition begins to dominate life dominate life and the essence of relationships fades.

Shrimati and Shrikant, young couple begin their marriage with great love and passion. Yet as modern life gets a grip on their life, this intelligent couple cannot hold together. The intelligent Shrimati struggles to save her marriage as she loses her individual identity while the ambitious Shrikant loses himself in a career unable to see or grasp the sacrifices she makes for him.

Bakula symbolizes the love for the couple. It plays a very significantrole in the story. It says that despite of all the hardships, love standsstrong and rooted as long as they make an effort but the momentambitions replace love the symbol of love loses its meaning.

A short and sweet story scores 7 on 10 for its concept and simplicity. Author Sudha Murti has written many more short stories, since this was the first one I read so I felt it deserved to be one of the first books I reviewed.

For any couple who feels that they are missing something in life, I recommend this book. It will help you rekindle the good times andfind reasons to get back together. Nothing should replace love, especially not material things which do not last forever.

Stay together, stay happy…wait for my next review…!!

 

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Book review – The Zoya Factor

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There are many good books out there but often we don’t know which book to buy or to read. So, over the next few months, I will be reviewing different books from Indian and International authors. I will rate them based on story line, language and author.

The first book on the list is Zoya Factor.

Zoya Factor was released in 2008 and is one of the first Indian books with the print run of 20,000. It is written by Anuja Chauhan, one of my favorite Indian fiction authors. I found this book when I was looking for something light to read.

Zoya Factor revolves around the glamour of celebrities like Shahrukh Khan, the pulse of our nation – Indian cricket team, the hardships of advertising agencies and Zoya, an average girl hailing from Delhi Karol Bagh.

The author impressively uses a combination of English and Hinglish to weave a Cinderella love story in Karol Bagh Delhi. She ingeniously combines the sweetness of love with the harshness of advertising, politics, superstition and cricket. She effortlessly embroils you in the painfully drama of match fixing which nearly ruined our love of cricket and the reputation of our country. It is an emotional rollercoaster of cricket, politics and love. The only drawback was the repetition when meeting the Indian cricket team, which made the storyline a bit obvious at times.

All in all, it is a good read with a great ending. It’s a solid 8 out of 10. I definitely recommend reading the book.

P.S. I was so impressed with Anuja’s style of writing that I borrowed her concept of giving my novel DARK WHITE a local essence with typical young Bhopali to connect to the readers and add a local flavor.

Thanks Anuja! I hope we meet one day so I can talk to you and memorialize the occasion with your Autograph on my copy of ‘Zoya Factor’.

How to market your book

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In the past few weeks, we have been discussing the process of becoming an author. We have touched upon the steps involved in writing a book from concept to editing. We have talked about the process of publication from sending excerpts to a publishing house to the fine lines of signing a contract. This week will discuss the final step of becoming a successful author ‘How to market your book’.

The marketing aspect is typically handled by the Publishing House but you should have some knowledge to ensure your book is marketed successfully. There are 3 basic principles of marketing a book:

1. Target readers: Who is the books’ audience? Each genre, each book has a different audience. Know to whom your book will appeal. Knowing your target reader profile – gender, age group, profession and interest level. This will make marketing the book easier.

2. Target market: Ask where is the target market? It is important to know where your book will be marketed and distributed – metro, a particular geographical location or online. This will give you an idea of where you can self promote your book to build a brand and increase book sales.

3. How marketable is the book in terms of content and interactive level. This knowledge will give you an idea of which mediums you can use to self promote your book.

On the basis of the above points devise a marketing strategy for your Book. This strategy covers all the following platforms:

1. Your presence online
2. Your presence in the market
3. Your presence using other print mediums
4. At ground level events
5. Strategy on the next book

This work begins the day you sign the contract with your publisher. While they edit take the opportunity to start your work as an Author-Marketer.

Develop a presence online
Use platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest to help you connect with the world, your audience. Also, create a website to promote yourself and your future books. You can also blog posts to develop an online audience. This will give you a large and ready audience to share your creativity.

Develop a market presence
Once the book is in the market, arrange for meets-greets with store managers to understand how to reach your readers.

Develop a presence using print mediums
Use the print medium to build a presence for yourself and your book. By building a print presence you can connect to people, your target audience in your target market.

Develop a presence using ground level events
Be ready to shed your shy personality as readers want to know you and understand your thoughts. Interactive sessions about the book, about topics other than books are extremely important as they help connect author to audience.

Strategy for the next book
Once an Author, always an Author. Once the first book is complete you should be thinking about the next book. For example, Dark White my first book has been published and marketed for a year now. Soon you will see my next creative efforts.

A Short Fiction Story

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Niraj and Tulika were two friends who believed in friendship more than anything else. They remained friends even as life took them on two very different roads.

Tulika got married right after college while Niraj started a transport business without his father’s help in the hills where transport was a necessity not a luxury. Their lives were often busy, but they still kept in touch and supported each other.

4 years after college, Tulika’s life had become a struggle. She had problems conceiving and she became depressed as her family accused her of being infertile. She began undergoing medical treatment to fix the issue but soon realized there was no support from her husband or her family. So, she stopped treatment and got a divorce. Soon after, she got married again to a doctor she meet during her treatment and had a beautiful son. During these trying times – the family taunts and the small town gossip, Niraj stood by Tulika.

4 years after college, Niraj’s business was successful; he got married and had a beautiful baby girl. However, even as his business continued to grow and his personal life began falling apart. Girija, his wife wasn’t happy with how much time he was spending on developing his business and decided to return to her parent’s home and file for divorce. During this trying time, Tulika stood by Niraj.

Tulika looked after his daughter and even, looked for the right wife for him. The doctor, her husband suggested his sister. Unfortunately, on the day of marriage the bride ran away and Niraj was left in despair. Tulika was caught between the two men in her life – her best friend and her husband who had raised his sister. If life couldn’t get any worse, her husband got sick and passed away.

Tulika and Niraj were now both alone. They started working together and helped each other with their children. They lived lonely lives until their children made them realize that they were better together.

Moral of the story, if you find a person with whom you get along very well, be with them and be happy.