Interview with Nisha Thakur on her debut novel: First You Plz

 How did you manage to zero-in on the subject and how long did you take to finish it your debut novel – “First You Plz”?

First You Plz is about today’s generation mindset that they wait for the opposite person to propose. They want their lover to take the first step. Many of my friends discuss a lot about who proposed whom or should they be the one taking first step and that’s how this topic came to my mind. It took me a year to finish writing this book.

 What age group have you targeted and what is the kind of response that you are getting?

My target audience is anyone who is eagerly waiting for their first love proposal, either to propose or to get proposed. The initial response of the book is very good. My readers liked the story line, they liked the simple language of the book, they liked the characters, they liked and many girls could relate to Avanti and the funniest part is many boys could relate Avanti to their girlfriends. They admitted that even their girls were as immature as Avanti.

 Can you describe the nature of some supporting characters? Which one is your favourite?

Supporting Characters are Meenakshi and Rachana. Meenakshi is a true friend who is always ready to help Avanti. Rachana is marketing pain and she relates every situation to various marketing jargons. Rachana is my favorite and she is a favorite character of many readers as well.

 Which scene did you have to really have to struggle to pen down?

I find it difficult to write about boys in love. I really don’t understand how they feel when they are in love. For me boys in love are a myth.

 Which scene is close to your heart?

Scene close to my heart is when Avanti, Meenakshi and Rachana are back from the trip. Meenakshi talks about Aaksh’s girlfriend and Avanti starts crying and scolds Meenakshi to stop. And Meenakshi and Rachana are shocked to hear this.

 Why do you think people should read your book – “First You Plz”

Girls should read First You Plz because there is a bit of Avanti in every girl. Surely while reading First You Plz they would meet themselves and feel she is just like me or she is just like my friend. Boys should read to understand the mystery about the girl’s behavior. Probably next time they would know a girl better.

Interview: A story of better late than never Author, Prem Rao!

Author, Prem Rao

1. Tell us something about your novels, “It Can’t Be You”, “He Sees Everything” and “Lucky For Some 13”.

“It Can’t Be You” was my debut novel published by Cedar in November 2010. It is a psychological thriller about the life and times of an officer in the Indian Army, Colonel Belliappa who is found dead one night. It takes the reader back to events in  his past and how they triggered a spiral of vengeance.

“He Sees Everything & Other Short Stories” was my first attempt to publish an ebook. It is an anthology of short stories set in contemporary India. Wherever there are people, there is greed, there is sacrifice; ingratitude and indebtedness; hatred and love; humor and poignancy. Woven around these emotions are these seven short stories set in contemporary India.

My second thriller was “Lucky For Some, 13” which was published by Mahaveer in December 2012. It’s again set in contemporary India and covers a terror plot which brings out various dimensions of terror as we face it now and in the future. It has for its main character, a lady officer in the Indian Army, Major Mohini Nair and is her story of battling the odds culminating in a three day climax where she has to rescue hostages including the man she loves.

2. How and where did you hit upon the subjects for these unique titles?

Most of my books sit at the intersection of two major interests, human psychology and the military. It is not unexpected therefore that both the novels had large elements of these in them. I loved thrillers as a kid and this abiding interest led me to write them myself, many years later.

3. What prompted you into writing novels so late? How has your journey been so far? What are your future plans as regards literary world?

For over 35 years, after my MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur where I specialized in Human Resource Management and Organizational Behaviour, I led a professional life specializing in these subjects. I was a corporate executive for nearly 30 years and an independent consultant/entrepreneur of the next decade. I didn’t have the time to write when I was in this profession.

In 2010, I was on the verge of retiring from a full time occupation so made the switch to become a full time writer, to return to a childhood passion I could not fulfill earlier. In fact, as a young man, I was very keen on becoming a journalist but that profession was not as popular then as it is now and I missed the opportunity in a sense. My plan is to keep writing, focusing largely on thrillers, as well as short stories capturing vignettes of life in contemporary India.

4. Which book was the toughest and which was the easiest to write? 

All were tough and all were easy. I shall speak of some cardinal differences. In my debut novel, I write largely using the first person narrative. This enabled me to burrow deep into the minds of my characters as it were and this helped bring out the best (or worst) in them. In “Lucky For Some, 13” the climax comes in the space of 36 hours, so the writing style had to be very different. In both novels, I have made extensive use of flash backs and back stories to build my characters and describe them as best I could.

5. Any special connections with any of the characters of either of the books?

No special link, really. I have already explained my interest in psychology and military history and this is reflected in my writing. As a kid growing up in the 1960s, I was exposed to a lot of writing on the Second World War and this influenced me to a large extent.

6. What do you do when you are not a writer?

I have a strong presence in social media with four active blogs and a Twitter account. Apart from my on-going writing projects, I spend a lot of time researching for my future writing. I am currently on the verge of completing my third novel, again a thriller, called, ‘ Let The Dead Stay Dead.”

Book Review: Once Upon The Tracks Of Mumbai

Name of the Author: Rishi Vohra

No of Pages: 262
Price of the Book:  INR 116
Rating:  3/5
Publishing Company:  JAICO PUBLISHING HOUSE 

Once Upon The Tracks Of Mumbai, is a tale of Mr.Babloo Srivastav who finds himself disconnected from the world which calls him ‘autistic’, ‘schizophrenic’ and ‘Psycho’ except Vandana who understands him the way he expects to be to. 

Railman…a fearless real-life hero who succeeds in doing all that Babloo secretly wishes to do….is Babloo his inspiration or ….is it the other way around?

Vandana…yearns for a soul mate to rescue her from the confines of the Railway Colony they all live in. Is she looking in the right place?

A random twist of fate on Mumbai’s endless, serpent-like, jingling local train tracks ties all these characters together in a complex weave of love, heartbreak and courage.

The Author, Rishi Vohra, Green MBA  succeeds in plotting the characters well be it Babloo’s so called ‘Autistic Nature’, ‘Vandana’s Smartness’ or Sikandar’s chameleon personality. However, the Rail Man’s identity is difficult to believe even in the name of fiction and straight away looks a pick up from movies like Krish and Ajooba.         Also, some repeated incidences of Railman’s bravery make the story dragging.

The Verdict - A manageable read only for book lovers. The boor is a read only for Babloo’s Character which takes away an extra rating.   

Book Review: First You Plz

By: Nisha B. Thakur  
E-Book Rating: 3/5

No of Pages: 78

First You Plz is a story of Avanti’s journey of ups and downs of her first love and how she exhibits immaturity as she deals with anxieties of her first love. Although Aakash – the guy whom she is interested he hasn't shown much interest in her, still in her heart she keeps on praying, first you plz…

First You Plz is a story of Immature Avanti – a story which all youngsters are most likely to experience at some point in of time in life … The tingling feeling, excitement, the pain are just few of the emotions which are well oozed out throughout the e-book.  The simplicity with which the author has penned down the book makes the pages of the book flow down with ease. However on the flip side, the e-book appears more like pages of diary from a immature writer with technicalities missed! 

The Verdict – A sweet touchy book which will surely bring smiles on each girls face and help guys understand what is transpiring in the girls mind which they majority of the times fails to understand!

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About Author- 

Nisha lives in Navi Mumbai with her family. After completing her Post Graduation in Communication Management she worked as a copywriter with a reputed ad agency in Mumbai. She now works as a freelance copywriter cum screenwriter.

When she is not writing, she composes poetry. Apart from writing, she enjoys cooking being  a big foodie, reading novels, watching cinema and surfing the TV. She is a spiritual person and a follower of Vipasanna meditation. She believes in God, Karma and Karmic connections. By means of all the experiences of her life she has written her debut novel.

Nisha is presently juggling with freelance copy and screen writing projects. She aspires to be a known author and film writer. She can be reached at firstyouplz@gmail.com

Tete-a-Tete with Author Arpit Vageria

Love is a feeling which each person experiences during his or her life. While some realize their true love for some its just ever confusing enough...Chocolate Sauce, soul dark sinful is a novel about four confused lovers Arnab, Aditi, Jhanvi and Rishi. 

In this Interview Author Arpit Vagheria shares his views on his novel, the experience he went through while penning the characters and scenes and why he thinks the novel is a must read.

 Chocolate Sauce – Smooth Dark Sinful is a tale of confused lovers. What excited you to select this subject for your debut novel?

Ans: It’s the confused tale of lovers which excited me to write it down. We see a change in perception, attitude and lifestyle along with different cities. My story revolves around Arnab and Jahnvi and it talks about the same.

 Fiction Novel is a basket of emotions. Could you spark upon your favourite situation or two in the novel where a reader would surely experience a roller coaster of emotions?

Ans: My favorite situation in novel is how Arnab and Jahnvi went through all the pain to make their respective birthdays special. Another one, when Arnab’s grandfather appears in his dream to get him corrected on blunders and showed him reality too.

 Which situation/character was most easy/difficult to pen-down and why?

Ans. Arnab’s character was quite easy for me to pen down for the reason I’ve been living a life of Arnab since my childhood and we think quite alike too.

Jahnvi was difficult to pen down as you need to think it from girl’s perspective. Which is just not easy.

 Who is your personal favorite character in the book and why?

Ans. I liked Dr. Raghubeer’s character a lot as it inspires, motivates one to live a life despite of difficult and breathtaking situations at times.

 Why Chocolate Sauce should be a must read book?   

Ans. One should read it to experience all three phases of a love life: Smooth.Dark.Sinful. You change your lifestyle, friends and many more with Tier-1 cities. You surely change values of relationship too with that. My story explains it all.

Arpit Vageria, born in Indore, is one the young authors of India. Chockolate Sauce is his debut novel. Apart from writing, he is currently employed in a leading media group of Mumbai.
He is a commerce graduate from Renaissance College, Indore and has done a management course from IBS, Mumbai. His other interests are listening to music, travelling and reading. 

Book Review: 14 Hours: An Insider’s Account of the 26/11 Taj Attack

Name of the Author: Ankur Chawla
No of Pages: 162
Price of the Book:  INR 175
Rating: 2/5
Publishing Company:  Rupa Publications India Pvt Ltd

14 Hours: An Insider’s Account of the 26/11 Taj Attack, is a biography  based on the terrifying experience of the clueless insider, the then operations management trainee, Ankur Chawla went through during the catastrophic attacks which jolted the Mumbai city in November 2008.  

While the whole of the Mumbai city public were glued to their television sets to get the minute by minute update of the places which were held hostage by the terrorists, the book documents challenges in the form of fighting fear of life and terror of  faced by an insider of one of victimized place, Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Hotel. 

An eye catchy book cover which reminds every Mumbaikar of the horror witnessed is written in a dreary manner. The writer’s attempt in making the book engaging has been unsuccessful as many sections of the book can be overlooked. Immature writing is clearly visible by the grammatical errors.   However, narration of wit and humour while facing in a life combating situation is worthwhile a praise.    

The verdict - The book is pass- through biography.  

A Total Paisa Vasool Book!

        Name of the book: Flirting with Fate

Author: Mrs Preeti Singh

Number of Pages: 248

Price: 150/-
                                         
  Rating: 3.5/5

Publishing Company: Mahaveer Publishers

The debut novel - Flirting with Fate is written by Mrs Preeti Singh with a tag line – Karma Always Returns. It is based on the life of Anand who chooses an easy path to crime, bloodshed, rape get love and be accepted and  be happy. Will he get away with his wrong doings or will he pay for his deeds? Join Anand in his journey and find out what fate has in store for Anand.

One word to define the crime-fiction novel is simply, “Gripping”. Once opened my first author signed copy, I was totally engrossed with the book and finished the book in a period of 2 days. Angry and apprehensive by Anand actions, touched by the love bestowed upon Anand by Sribehen, Mr Gonsalves, Ananya, Sunita, Gauri & Aslam Bhai and smiling when fluffy the dog would ponder were just few of the emotions which I went through when I joined Anand’s journey.       

The verdict is that discounting the fact that you will come across fluffy the dog’s wondering thoughts longer than an average dog’s, the book worth its buck. In a bindaas language  –  a total paisa vasool book!

A sensitive novel for like minded people...

Author: Ceclia Ahern

Number of Pages:  Paperback, 470 pages

Price of the book: INR 300

Rating: 2/5

Publishing Company: Harpercollins Publishers Ltd

The book is a debut novel by Ceclia Ahern who iterates the fact that life has to move on after the death of loved ones.  The novel revolves around the life of how devastated widow, Holly learns to live life after the death of her beloved husband, Gerry who leaves behind her a pack of letters, which guide her through her journey of life after his death until she finally acknowledges that – Yes, Life has to move on!

The Author, Ceclia Ahern is the daughter of the former Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. She attended Griffith College Dublin and obtained a degree in Journalism and Media Communications. Her debut novel PS I Love You was published in the year 2004 and was the No#1 bestseller in the in Ireland for 19 weeks and sold in over forty countries. The book was later adopted into a motion movie directed by Richard La Gravenese and starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler. It was released in the year 2007 in the United States. 

The protagonist, Holly would be easily associated by people who unfortunately have to go through the painful period until they finally come to the terms with life! A supportive family and friend circle help her laugh, cry and dance throughout the journey. Emotions flow well throughout the book, however, apart from the letters which Gerry leaves, the element of suspense and a mystery needed to keep the reader hooked on to the book seems missing. A skim of the few pages would give you a idea of what the book is about. 

The verdict is that the book would be good read for those sensitive nerves who in some point of their lives have identified themselves with the situation.