Aman Mittal's Blog, page 10
March 7, 2018
Author Interview: Angel A.
Angel A.’s debut work, Mary Poser, is releasing on August 21, 2017. For the occasion, I got hold of her few precious minutes and she agreed for the author interview:
Q. Thank you for agreeing to this interview. Briefly, about yourself?
I’m a bit of a nomad. French parents. I live in Australia (at the moment). I like to write about the places I’ve visited with fictitious characters that reflect the culture as I experienced it.
Q. What genre is your book?
The book is best described as a contemporary romance. It could also be assigned to multicultural romance and coming-of-age genres.
Q. What draws you to this genre?
I like to explore personal development issues. Love is the ultimate personal development challenge!
Q. Briefly, what led up to last/latest book? Also, please describe what the story/book is about in one sentence.
I was led to the book by a personal experience that made me want to explore this type of self-awareness challenge.
Description: Butterflies and white lies as Bollywood comes to Nashville.
Q. What was the time frame for writing your last book?
Around two years.
Q. How much research do you do?
Too much… Multiple trips to Nashville, where the story is told. I live in Australia!
Q. Do you aim for a set amount of words/pages per day?
Yes. This really encourages productivity and disciplined writing.
Q. What is the easiest thing about writing?
Imagining the story. I have a gushing imagination!
Q. What motivates you to write?
Love.
Q. When did you decide that you want to be a writer?
In high school. I won an award for a writing contest then.
Q. What are your thoughts on good/bad reviews?
I think all reviews are personal and they say just as much about the reviewer as they do about the subject of the review.
Q. What do you prefer: Pen or Computer? And how do you stay organised (any methods, systems, tools you use)?
I prefer the pen to jot down ideas. It’s faster and the flow feels more organic. The computer is where the organized part starts by creating structure and frameworks for the work.
Q. How do you relax?
By dreaming. Exercise is also a great escape for me.
Q. How did you find your agent?
Through a filmmaking associate.
Q. What were your few biggest learning experience(s) or surprise(s) throughout the publishing process?
The amount of work involved. I thought I could write a book and then stop. Finishing the book appears to be when all the work starts! Haha
Q. What would you have done differently if you could do it again?
I don’t like to think this way. I feel it is too self-critical. I prefer to believe that all steps taken are necessary. Even the ones where we stub our toe!
Q. Something personal about you people may be surprised to know?
I work hard on my self-confidence, having overcome some serious challenges.
Q. What’s next? What are you working on at the moment?
I have a few titles I am working on. I’m happy to play with ideas at the moment.
Q. Do you re-read books? One book that you would read again & again?
Not really. I always say I will, but I can’t remember ever having done so. It’s like trying to re-live a sunset. I find I’m better off looking forward to the next one!
Q. Your influence(s)/ favourite author(s)?
There’s too many for a short list! I wouldn’t want to leave any out.
Q. What book(s) are you reading at present?
Wuthering Heights by Emile Bronte. I can’t resist a classic…
Q. Best piece(s) of writing advice we haven’t discussed?
Just start. Waiting until it’s perfect is a lost opportunity. It will never be perfect in your own mind. The flaws make it perfect in its own way.
Visit Mary Poser’s website and check out the details on her upcoming movie!
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March 6, 2018
My Recent Reads Week #10-11
Hola Bookworms!
I have been quite busy with my reading schedule the previous book. I ended up reading three amazin books and will like to know which one you want me top post a review for next week?
A) Only Child by Rhiannon Navin (debut work, excellently written, genre Realism Fiction)
B) The Mask of Masculinity by Lewis Howes (genre: Nonfiction)
I think this one of the most important books I have read this year. Should included in school curriculums acroos the globe but that’s just my opinion.
5/5 from me on @lewishowes #themaskofmasculinity amazing content
March 5, 2018
BOOK REVIEW: Origami Birds by Tanya Jain
Origami Birds by Tanya Jain Published by Notionpress on 13/09/2017
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 100
Format: eBook
Goodreads
Origami Birds is a collection of forty-four poems written by Tanya Jain. In order to reach a reader’s heart these poems do cover a lot of topics that some of them might be considered sensitive but then I guess poetry is a way of expressing one’s feelings and a way for those who read them to share those expressions and feel a warmth in their heart too. It works both ways.
The title of this collection is rightly justified. When I received, I was curious about it and found a satisfactory verse that introduced me to it at the start:
Some birds are free,
Some birds are caged.
This origami bird is
molded from a page.
Set her free,
Or let her be.
Some of her verses are short some have a good length but I did not find anyone that might not justify its length. The poet here has a clear and a unique way to express her thoughts. The rhyming of phrases did not ever once feel that they are going out of the way nor they are strictly rhyming.
Some of my favorite poems from the book that truly shows Tanya as a poet and touched me are Priceless, Marriage, Strange Love Affair, Wheels of Time and Overlaps.
Some of them might seem an expression of darkness but it, either way, shows her vulnerability that allowed her to express her feelings in a complete manner. It is good to be vulnerable at times, both for women and men, it shows the true side of self and the insecurities we run away or hide them as skeletons in our closet.
The whole collection is mere 100 pages and is enjoyable. I do recommend you to get a cup of coffee or tea, and read bit by bit for as a reader to observe what the poet wants to say through her verses. Poetry does help to saturate the thoughts of a chaotic mind.
4 out of 5!
The post BOOK REVIEW: Origami Birds by Tanya Jain appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.
March 4, 2018
What have I been up to in February 2018?
The month of February has been a too much of an hassle for me. At the start of the month, I was busy working and launching my book on blogging called A Blogger’s Manifesto which is a short ebook about blogging that talks about my journey in the world of blogging and I have lot to offer for newbie bloggers and especially for those who are getting started out in the world of book blogging.
You can check it on Amazon or Goodreads for what others have to say!
Next, step, I took my blog from WordPress.com to a self hosted site using open source WordPress.org module. It was exciting at first, then became tedious when it came to transfer almost all data from .com to .org. It took me a lot of time to decide on theme or which plugins to use and setup and everything. Though I am professional web developer, I haven’t had any experience with WordPress prior to this.
Setting anything from scratch can be a tiring job in this fast changing world. It took me 7 days to organize every post (600+ posts at the time of transfer) and now I have to remind myself for taking the backup. (If you know, an easy way to do this, let me know). Though, I am not a big fan of PHP, I’d love to edit the theme I am currently using. Will look into that later.
Note: Also, I am accepting book review requests now. Email me if you want me to review you book/ebook at amandeepmittal@live.com
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March 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW: Hack the Entrepreneur by Jon Nastor
Hack the Entrepreneur by Jon Nastor Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Entrepreneurship
Pages: 205
Format: eBook
Goodreads
Jon Nastor is a famous podcaster by the name of Hack the Entrepreneur which shares same title as the book. I picked this book because I read somewhere about it in which they mentioned as quote from Nastor that no body is born an entrepreneur. It is sort of a skill plus lifestyle that you have to create, build around and live. Though after picking up this book, I can say, there are some inspiring moments mentioned in this book.
Jon Nastor’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2011 when he started some of his business online. In 2012, he was running a software company from his laptop and by travelling the world to play drums in a rock band. Might sound like a fantasy, but Jon shows clear appreciation of what Internet has brought on the table, not only for himself but like many others. His podcast channel has received over a million downloads and contains 200+ interviews.
The main focus in this book is converting an Idea into reality, pragmatically. Jon has put enough emphasis on pragmatic views and lessons learned in his own journey. There are enough tips on avoiding procrastination, validating your idea and getting inspired. I mean the title is something, isn’t it?
The chapters are quite short, majority of them two pages at max. Smartly entitled, with a perfect quote to describe what comes ahead. This book has some amount of business virtues as well as story of Jon’s journey.
4 out of 5
Check out the Podcast Channel on iTunes here.
Buy the book from Amazon (Kindle Unlimited Subscribers, it is free for you)
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February 26, 2018
BOOK REVIEW: Daughter of Shadow by Tyler Sehn
Daughter of Shadow by Tyler Sehn Series: Spiritbinder Saga #1
on 2015
Genres: Fiction, Fantasy
Pages: 338
Format: eBook
Goodreads
I have started this year with an addition of a pure fantasy novel. Tyler Sehn’s first book in the series of Spiritbinder Saga, Daughter of Shadow. You know you are going to read something deep when there is map of a kingdom or a location where most of the plot takes place. Daughter of Shadow follows the traditional way in the fantasy world of Rua.
The plot revolves around a warrior, Melea, considered as the greatest in the world of Rua. She serves the Lord of light and his empire’s mission is to attempt a global conquest. Melea is young, sharp, smart and has all qualities suitable for a warrior and the protagonist of fantasy. However, in the starting pages a reader can clearly observe the power of author’s imagination in combination with his effort in organizing the storyline which is vast in number of chcaracters and introduces sub plots from time to time. It does not take long for a reader to realise that the cause she is fighting for isn’t a good cause for other nations and she realises that. What happens when she is caught in the middle of all the mess and chaos?
The storyline is a complex one but that is the fun of a fantasy novel. From the start a reader can observe strong signs of solid sub plots and characters. The theme of good and evil are the basis of most fantasy novel and so of this one. The journey a reader will take upon reading this novel, as I did, is going to be full of vividness imagery throughout the book.
The characterisation could be the foundation of any solid novel in this genre. It is all about how an author manages the amount of vast characters possessing different personalities and traits. Tyler does this very well. He tries to create a balance between providing depth to important characters and that is enough for a reader to judge and fall in love with one or many of them. I loved the character of Melea for these reasons. Her life seems a tragedy and the author does a good job in showcasing it. The writing style is satisfying and has pace of its own.
This book is perfect read for you if you are fan or fond of reading epic fantasies.
4 out of 5
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February 23, 2018
BOOK REVIEW: Based on Lies – It Begins by Debarshi Kanjilal
Based on Lies - It Begins by Debarshi Kanjilal Genres: Fiction
Pages: 105
Format: eBook
Based on Lies: It Begins is the first in a series of two novellas published in 2017. The main element used in this novel is of psychological thriller following the life of Anuraag Sanyal, the protagonist of the novella. The writing certainly displays the dark corners of an imaginative mind.
The plot starts with the protagonist sitting in the middle of the night, suffering from insomnia writing in his notepad about the event of his past life. The storyline somewhat follows this pattern and a reader gets to see the Anuraag’s present too. He is having a troubled marriage for five years and had a lover in past, and one as a nearby cafe owner. Each new chapter decipher a new phase or a new skeleton in the closet of Anuraag’s past. Other characters that play their roles are essential, which I realised upon reading this novella. They all have involvement in events that turns into violent crimes where some have been victims to those crimes and otherwise some were the performers of them. As it is said in the blurb of the book, there are no innocent people in this book.
Along with these storylines, I find the characterisation interesting and is the spine of the novella. As you know, a novella has limited number of pages and the author, Debarshi does a great job with forming the whole dramatise personae and making them interesting in just mere 100 pages. Each character seems to have a dark past and are living with half voidness in their present. The twists and turns that are the outcome of actions of these characters, are so unexpected that they produce the thrill of reading a story. I could not put it down and read it in one go.
The story is fast paced, written using first person narrative voice. In the end, the reader is left with some of the questions of his own and the author has promised to answer them all in the second tier of this novella which is releasing this year. This book is an unusual and a unique book in terms of Indian contemporary fiction.
If you like psychological thrillers or a fan of Chuck Pahalnuik’s writing, this novella is definitely for you. It’s short, fast-paced and thrilling at the same time.
4 out of 5!
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February 21, 2018
BOOK REVIEW: The Book of My Life by Abhishek Vincent
The Book of My Life by Abhishek Vincent Published by Notionpress Genres: Fiction
Pages: 238
Format: eBook
Abhishek Vincent’s debut The Book of My Life: A True Love journey was released in late 2017. Full of emotions, and deciphering feelings page by page both of the character and the reader, it is a book not to be missed if you are a fan of romance fiction or like to read good heartwarming stories.
The plot uniquely starts at a railway where the author of the book stumbles upon a diary left behind a traveler. He discovers a tale of a young man in search of love. Starting from his middle school days, where he thought he found his first love along with happiness and continuing the journey after three more similar scenarios until he finally gets what he seeks. The ups and downs of his love lives and an incident that turns him empty inside with no hope left to be ever loved by someone again. But the “love” hasn’t given up on him.
The storyline is full of interesting incidents. The stories are aligned in a timely manner in the protagonist’s life. There four subplots that completes the major plot and the narrative voice following these plots is smooth and is written in first person voice. Even though I felt that the repetition of elements used in earlier subplots in this book, with quite similar incidents happening with the author. This does constitute a dragging element but just when I started to think more about it, the author pull of the curtains and introduces the climax in one of the subplots. That changes everything from a reader’s perspective.
The characterization is not that vast in proportion to the length of the novel. The main cast if deeply explored and I think this where the masterful efforts of the author of this book come into the picture. The way he develops and displays characters, to drive the plot forward, is an effort to appreciate. It is a well-written novel that happens to satisfy its own niche.
3 out of 5
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February 19, 2018
BOOK REVIEW: South of Main Street by Robert Gately
South of Main Street by Robert Gately Published by Entrada Publishing on 2016
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary
Pages: 272
Format: eBook
South of Main Street written by Robert Gately is a contemporary novel set in small-town Pennsylvania which explores the intangible ties that form a family, a community and the influence that one man can make crossing social and economic lines.
The plot starts with Henry Wolff who is as a daily routine is climbing out of his upstairs bedroom window and tries to enjoy few minutes as Tarzan. He is a little strange, recently widowed, father of two daughters, and suffers from mental challenges after losing his son. To make things worse, one of his daughter is suing him in order to gain control over a million dollar estate.
The storyline follows the protagonist, Henry Wolff throughout the novel where he changes the lives of people of the town. The main themes covered in the plot are simple, care free manner of a man who loses almost everything, the major impact of loved ones in one’s life, and how generosity can have impact on others’ lives.
The characters are a major part of this novel. It is them who drive the plot forward. There is every type of character you will find just like in one’s life. The trial of bringing diversity with characters works average for me. There could have been more insight in that. There is a good amount of inner reflection of each character explored with the storyline. This makes it realistic enough. I want to appreciate the writer’s effort in representing his characters in a unique way to the readers.
Written in third person narrative voice, this book is recommended if you are looking in a light mood or looking to read something cozy and satisfying.
4 out of 5
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Accepting Book for Reviews
The month of February has been super busy for me. At the start, I got involved in the launch of my ebook, A Blogger’s Manifesto (if you remember this post on the launch day). Of course, you do remember. I asked you guys to participate in helping me choose a book cover?
Nonetheless, just after launching my ebook, I started working on revamping this book blog (almost) from scratch and shifted its nitty-gritty to its own home with a link of its own. It is a time consuming, tedious work in transferring all the blog posts and then selecting a theme, finding the right plugins and organization in somewhat a new manner. You might be noticing a lot of changes here. The last of them have happened over the weekend, and I do not want to trouble you anymore with changing the UI.
Just want to drop a line about me being on Instagram as @amanhimselfreads. I will be sharing lots of content on books and motivate you to write more blog posts on your blog. If you are on Instagram, let us connect.
This post is me announcing that I am accepting books for review (as always) but there has been a slight change in Terms and Condition due to a lot of events that happened over the past weeks. If you want to send your book to review, you can contact me at my email: amandeepmittal@live but I urge you to read the following:
Book Review Updated Policy:
My reviews will consist of:
an honest and fair opinion
Rates using the stars system (1 to 5 stars)
will be more than a paragraph long
My review will include the synopsis of the book
My reviews will also be on Goodreads.com
Will be occasionally shared on Social Media channels
Some T&Cs:
I guarantee to post the review only on this blog
If a review is deleted or removed by the administrator/authority on a site like Goodreads.com and Amazon, I am not liable in any way.
The paid services are non-refundable and advance.
I have complete rights to the reviews I write on for this book.
The process of a review may take up to 30 to 60 days from the date I charge you for the service.
I have complete right to select the date I want to post the review/interview/book spotlight.
I love reading books and writing about them on this blog but that does not mean anyone (as an admin or an authority) can come and make the task of blogging harder. If you agree to these terms, I will review your book. You can read more about the updated policies here.
Thank you. 
