Rati Mehrotra's Blog, page 7
April 9, 2019
April Reads and Updates
April is the cruelest month, breeding
Germs in your flu-ridden house, mixing
Fatigue with fever, stirring
Sneezes with freezing rain.
I love The Waste Land. It lends itself so beautifully to parody. But there’s another reason I’ve been thinking of this poem lately. I am doing a re-read of The Dark Tower by Stephen King, and my favorite book in this series is the third, titled, like the poem it draws inspiration from, The Waste Lands. These are the books that first hooked me on the SFF genre a...
March 5, 2019
MAHIMATA Book Release Day
Today is the day! MAHIMATA, the sequel to MARKSWOMAN, is out in the world. The Asiana duology is complete. I am pleased and excited to share this story that I began so long ago. And also sad that it’s over. It is such a bittersweet feeling . Perhaps I have lived in the world of Asiana too long, and grown to love these characters too much. Thanks to all the readers who’ve taken this journey with me. Perhaps we will travel to Asiana again some day.
Meanwhile, if you happen to live in or near To...
January 21, 2019
Sunny Pictures for Cold Times
Happy New Year 2019, everyone! I just returned to frigid Toronto after a warm and colorful visit to my hometown, Lucknow where the food was great, the sun bright, the air polluted, and the traffic crazy. I’ll just leave these pictures here, okay? It warms me to look at them, especially as the temperature in Toronto dipped to ridiculous extremes this weekend: a feel of -35 C with the wind chill. Well, here is some sunshine, street food, and the odd buffalo. Enjoy!
[image error]The Lucknow Mela, or Fair
[image error]Dr...
November 27, 2018
Top Ten Reads of 2018
No year for me is complete without an enjoyable look back at my favorite reads. I just checked goodreads, and apparently I have read 71 books out of my modest goal of 40 for the year. Not bad for a busy year in which I launched my debut novel and edited a much-longer sequel, heh. I liked most of the books I read, so picking the top ten is a deeply difficult task. I decided: no more than one per author, and a sprinkling from different genres, although my reading skewed heavily to fantasy this...
November 9, 2018
ARCs of MAHIMATA!
Just to say that the ARCs of MAHIMATA have arrived, and they’re gorgeous! I am usually terrible with taking pictures, but with this cover I just could not go wrong. This photo is taken just outside the building where I live. Yes, we still have flowers in November in Toronto. Aren’t they pretty? Not as pretty as my book, heh.
November 1, 2018
In my Craft or Sullen Art
It’s been a while since I wrote a post on the art and craft of writing. In fact, I’m not certain I’ve ever written such a post, and it’s been on my mind lately, especially after Can-Con last month – which, by the way, was awesome. I recommend attending this well-run, literary-focused convention if you can make it to Ottawa in October of any year.
So. There are a gazillion books and articles out there offering writing advice. I’m just listing a few things that have worked for me. Some of it mi...
October 5, 2018
Can-Con 2018, Ottawa
Next weekend is Can-Con, Ottawa’s annual conference on Canadian science fiction and fantasy. I’ve heard great things about this literary-focused convention, but it’s the first time I’m actually going, so I’m pretty excited! I’m in three very cool panels with very cool people and will also do a reading on Saturday. Not sure what I’m going to read yet. Maybe an excerpt from Mahimata, sequel of Markswoman, which is due out next March. Or maybe something completely different!
Here is my schedule...
September 11, 2018
My Thoughts on Labyrinth
I just saw the 1986 musical fantasy film Labyrinth for the first time, and I have so many thoughts and feelings about it, I decided to do a post. You are warned, this post contains multiple spoilers for the movie, if you haven’t seen it. And hey, it’s up on Netflix right now, so if you happen to like seductive fairy tales, do yourself a favor and go watch it. Bonus feels if you like David Bowie, may he RIP.
I’m not going to rehash the plot here. You can easily read that on Wikipedia. Briefly,...
August 29, 2018
A Recipe for Success (Chola Masala)
Great news! The e-book of Markswoman is currently available for just USD 1.99 all over the United States at Amazon, BN, and Harper Collins! It is also one of BookBub’s Best Fantasy Books of 2018. Just look at the amazing company it is in! Heart-eyes…
To celebrate, I am sharing my recipe for chola, or chickpea curry. Why, you may ask. What has one to do with the other? And the answer is 1) just because I feel like it and 2) it’s certainly a dish Kyra has eaten at some point, in some form and 3...
