Manali Manan Desai's Blog, page 61

When You Thrive To Learn New Things ~ The Founder Of A Designing Firm & Co-founder of Multiple Ventures Shares His Story

Richard Branson says,

“Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming.”

True to these words by Mr. Branson we bring to you our #MondayMotivation blog. I have been featuring women into various businesses and independent professions on the #WonderWomen segment on my blog since the past one and a half year.

From today onwards, I will also be featuring men who have done the same under a new segment #MarvelousMen. Our very first feature on this segment, will talk about the story of Vaishal Desai. He is an Interior & Product Designer and is the founder and co-founder of multiple business ventures. His primary venture is the Ateliers Design Studio of which he is the director and founder. Ateliers is an architecture, interior and product designing firm which provides end-to-end designing solutions for home as well as workspaces.

Besides this, Vaishal is also the co-founder of Kraftbuzz and Urban Kaarigari. While Kraftbuzz is a lifestyle brand focusing on handcrafted footwear, bags, accessories, beauty care products and safety essentials; Urban Kaarigari offers customized architectural and interior products.

How did Vaishal get into such multiple and diverse fields of business and how does he manage them all? Let’s find out in his own words.

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“Since my schooling, I had an inclination and liking towards good interior as well as architecture and design. Drawing was always my favourite subject even when I was in school. Following my instinct, I took up technical drawing as an optional subject in school and immediately I felt that excitement, which continues to spark even today.

By mid-2000’s, I had that option to choose and get into a professional course like interiors and architecture. This field started getting an acceptance and recognition in India, hence I got the opportunity to follow my passion and enhance my skills. Getting the support of my family in letting me choose this field and pursue a degree herein was of course an added advantage too.

As for the challenges, well, interior designing as profession in itself has always been challenging and getting accepted as a professional in a genre like interiors is really a difficult task. In our country people don’t value a professional designer as they feel that designing is just pressing a few keys on the keyboard and it’s a quite an easy job. This made it difficult to get assignments, especially since I was a newbie. Gradually with time, things have changed and the future for this industry is now looking bright.

Though things are steady today, I remember when we had to things run post to post and struggle to make ends meet with earning as low as just 30k for the entire year.

Luckily, I had my family on my side who never forced me to quit. At occasions, I did get to hear that I could have done better if I had chosen a different field other than interiors. But this was out of the sheer care that my parents had for me.

I can say that it is because of this support that I have been able to sustain myself and expand my portfolio with multiple ventures. Though this is a proud worthy and gratifying feat, I maintain that I’m just trying to make a small name in the industry.

The turning point was between the years 2010 to 2013. Initially we were 4 partners at Ateliers and things didn’t fall into place in terms of work, so we mutually decided to part ways and keep our friendship intact.

Gradually I restarted Ateliers and things started to look better by 2015. My wife, Vidhi Parekh, came into the picture, and both of us settled down in Mumbai. Combined with her skills and passion, I got the backbone and support I had needed, on the business front as well as at home. Thanks to our combined efforts, we were able to take up more work.

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Kraftbuzz came to fruition because of her vision and passion for footwear. I am the business face whereas she is the creative face for it. In fact, for all my ventures, I rely on her for the creative inputs. Together, we make partners in the true sense, making business as well as home, a place to thrive and grow.

Maybe I can sound too dramatic, but I am always eager to learn new things and tend to experiment with new stuff, and this keeps me highly self-motivated.

The journey has just begun, but the milestone has been setting up two separate firms ( Ateliers and Kraftbuzz ) along with good inventory and machinery setup and even decent logistics in place.

The future plan is to diversify my portfolio even further and to encourage like-minded artists to come onboard with us and help them grow as well.  

My biggest learning has been that

“Persistence is the key, and for things to fall in place, we need to believe in ourselves.”

I haven’t achieved a lot to boast about much, but all I can say is that, “We need to believe in our abilities and things will take shape for sure.”

My simple motto and belief is that,

“God is the sculptor and we are the clay; alongside his blessings and with our efforts as well as our abilities, we are being shaped every moment.”

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To drop in a message to Vaishal, check out or inquire about his business-related services, please follow the links below:

Ateliers Facebook
Ateliers Instagram
Kraftbuzz website
Kraftbuzz Instagram
Kraftbuzz Facebook
Urban Kaarigari Instagram
Urban Kaarigari Facebook

Business profiles on other platforms

Behance
Houzz

 

Other personal and professional social media handles:

LinkedIn
Instagram personal handle
Facebook personal profile

 

Since you’re already here, we have something special for you. Use coupon code manali10 to get a whopping 10% off on any product of Kraftbuzz.in

#UnlockWriting 3.0 ~ 10th August to 16th August

Henry Ford said,

 

“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.”

In one of my recent posts, I had shared the works of five talented artists who gave a creative touch to a few of my written works. Continuing on that route, today I’m here with some new artworks around which have yet again been done by some amazing artists. And of, course, the words are mine!!

Late Arrival
[image error] Know more about this artist here

 

Smug
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Being Grateful
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Follow Your Passion
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Yes, Women Can
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Strangers & Their Smiles
[image error]Know more about this artist here

 

To check out the previous #ArtistColloboration post done in August follow link below:

Unlock Writing 3.0 phase 1

To check out the #ArtistColloboration posts done in previous months, follow the links below:

June first week
June second week 
June third week

In Conversation With Santosh Vihari

Last Saturday I spoke to Yash Pawaskar about his book Jazeera: Legend of The Fort Palace. Today. I thought I’ll chit chat with another fellow author whose book I recently read too.

Santosh Vihari, the guest for my today’s Instagram live session on #AuthorCollaborative segment, is the debut author of Maybe Love, Maybe Not. The book is a romantic one and quick read!

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Once I had read it, I had so many questions I wanted to ask Santosh about the book, its characters, his writing journey and much more. Turns out, Santosh had a few questions of his own around my latest book The Art of Being Grateful & Other Stories. 

Before I get into the details of our conversation, here’s a look at our reviews on each other’s read books.

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And, here’s Santosh’s review of my book.

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We both asked each other quite a lot of questions related to our books, our writing journeys, what inspires us to write and even handed out some tips to newbie and upcoming writers.

Here are the questions I asked Santosh:

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Santosh asked me the following questions:

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You can have a look at our full conversation through the video below:

Here’s where you can check out our books:

Maybe love, Maybe Not on Amazon India
Maybe love, Maybe Not on Amazon.com
The Art of Being Grateful & Other Stories on Amazon India
The Art of Being Grateful & Other Stories on Amazon.com

#UnlockWriting 3.0 ~ 1st August to 9th August

Mother Teresa said,

“None of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.”

Since the past few months, I have got in touch with many artists over Instagram and asked them if they would be willing to give a creative touch of their own to one of my writings.  The response from their end has been so welcoming and overwhelming that I was pleasantly surprised.

In June, I collaborated with 31 such artists, under the #UnlockWriting challenge.

#UnlockWriting Phase 1- 1st June to 10th June


#UnlockWriting Phase 2 – 11th June to 20th June


#UnlockWriting Phase 3 ~ 21st June to 30th June

Due to prior commitments, unfortunately I had to take a slight pause with these during the month of July.

Not to worry though because I’m back with these! Now, continuing with the same, here are the first five artist collaboration posts for the month of August.

Friendship Day Special
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Rakshabandhan Special
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Cute Love Story
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Ironical Human Behaviour
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Silly Happy Moments
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Stay tuned for more of such artist collaboration blog posts every week!

In Conversation With Yash Pawaskar

I’m a huge fan of historical fiction. Something about re-imagining the way the yesteryear were lived, just fascinates me as a reader. Amish Tripathi and Ashwin Sanghi are two authors whose books in this genre are my absolute favorites.

Source: Google images
Source: Google images

Having already read most of the popular authors and their books, I thought of exploring something new and recently read a book by an indie author in this genre, which I absolutely loved.

It is titled Jazeera and the author of the book is Yash Pawaskar.

[image error] Check out the book here

I reached out to him through social media to tell him how much I loved his book, and incidentally, he too had read my recent book, The Art of Being Grateful & Other Stories, and loved it!

[image error] Check out the book here

While reading the book, just like any other reader, both Yash and I had many questions about the characters, the story development, etc. So, we thought of having a chat over this through an Instagram live.

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We both asked each other 5 questions about our books, Jazeera and The Art of Being Grateful & Other Stories, respectively.

Here’s a list of questions I asked Yash and a small snippet of his responses.

1. Your book Jazeera is quite female oriented with many powerful female characters. Which one of them is your favourite and why?
2. Which part or chapter of the book was most challenging for you to write and how did you overcome it?
3. When are you planning to release the next book in this series and what can readers expect from it?
4. Tell us about your favourite memory of writing this book. If not while writing, tell us about a memorable moment after its release.
5. If the book gets adapted to screen, who would play the lead characters and why?

[image error]Find out  Yash’s full responses here

and, below is the list of questions Yash asked me + a small snippet of my responses.

All the characters in your book seem very real and relatable. How did you go about creating them?


Each story in the book comes with a poem. Did the stories inspire the poems or was it the other way around?


After reading the stories, I wanted to know more about the characters. Do you plan to take any of these characters/stories forward and write a novel?


The book feels like a fresh bouquet of flowers. It has short stories, illustrations, poems and tiny tales. What was the thought behind packaging all these together?


Do you plan to explore the ‘Being Grateful’ theme further or are there plans to write about other themes. What’s next?

[image error]Find out my full responses here

You can listen to our full conversation in the video below:

 

I highly recommend checking out Yash’s book and he recommends the same for mine! Would you like to give them a try? Then follow the links below:

Jazeera on Amazon India
The Art of Being Grateful & Other Stories on Amazon India
The Art of Being Grateful & Other Stories on Amazon.com

 

Anand Nilakantan Comments on The Untold Stories

A few days, back I received this mail from my publisher Ukiyoto Publishing.

[image error]Screenshot of mail from Ukiyoto Publishing

My book The Untold Stories has been called ‘a fine slice of life’ by Anand Neelakantan (writer of books like Sivagami and Asura, which are the prequels to the blockbuster Baahubali)

Wikipedia link to Anand Neelakantan’s works and achievements: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anand_Neelakantan

His comments will be a part of the new edition of The Untold Stories and this is what the cover will look like.

[image error]Cover of the new edition of The Untold Stories with Anand Neelakantan’s comments

For a newbie writer like me, this is proud worthy and overwhelming. Thank you for helping me reach this stage. Do keep supporting

When You Learn To Remain Calm In Order To Bear Good Results ~ A Law Student & The Founder of A Digital Platform Shares Her Story

Roy T. Bennet said,

“Sometimes all a person wants is an empathetic ear; all he or she needs is to talk it out. Just offering a listening ear and an understanding heart for his or her suffering can be a big comfort.”

In today’s #FridayFeature blog focusing on the #WonderWomen segment, we bring to you a woman who is the living embodiment of the above quote. She believes in empathy and lending a listening ear, so much so, that in her quest for it, she founded an online platform which is aimed at just that. Meet, Nandita Goyal, who is a Law Student and the Founder & Chief Editor of Humans of Surat; a platform where people’s stories, of success and survival, are shared. What was her motivation behind starting this page and how does she manage time between her studies and maintaining this platform? Let’s find out in her own words.

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“I used to participate in Model UNs in high school which ignited this interest in research work and debates. This was later backed up by the fact that my mother is in the legal field too. So, the decision to pursue law came in. As for Humans of Surat, I had always noticed this attitude in people where they would presume to know each and everyone in Surat, except they didn’t really know people or their actual stories. I wanted to bring out the human aspect where I could show how there are multiple sides to a person. I love writing as well as photography. But, there’s a part of me that also loves human connections, where I like to know people on a deeper level, understand their struggles and dreams. Hence, I decided to put this all together and that’s how this page started; where I interview people and depict their personal stories in the form of a write-up.

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I feel one of my biggest struggles is believing that I’m capable and good enough. I was a big-time nerd back in school. I always had my nose in a novel or was busy preparing for some or the other academic event. Then, when I decided to pursue law, I had to cope up with my school curriculum as well as my CLAT (Common Law Admission Test) preparation together. During my exam time, I used to give my IB boards on weekdays and law exams on weekends. I was mentally exhausted shuffling between current academics and preparing for future academics. Once I finally got done with all my exams, that’s when I decided to go forward with my page. The more I interview people, the more I realize that maybe my struggles aren’t that notable and that I can do this without complaining. Now, whenever a situation or a crisis turns up, instead of uselessly pondering about it and exhausting my mind over it, I go for a run or engage in some sort of physical exercise. You can say that maybe that’s my way of coping with it all. Sports have always been an integral part of my life. It’s a kind escape for me, especially football and running. Back in school, I used to aspire to be a footballer looking at my seniors and when we played nationals, I knew I loved this sport. Whenever I’m down or feeling low, going for a run, or playing football cheers me up no matter what.

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There hasn’t been a turning point as such since I’m still working on myself. It’s a long process and I feel like there’s so much to do and I’m still lagging. One of the turning points maybe when I got accepted to one of the most prestigious law schools in India and especially when I saw people responding to the page and that too, positively. It felt like I could actually do this. It felt great to realize that I could do it all, my law studies, football, and managing this page. Suddenly, it didn’t feel so overwhelming and unattainable.

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Honestly, my biggest motivation is the fear of missing out or the fear that I’m not good enough. I look at my mom playing it out so well. She manages family work as well as her firm and it’s amazing. There are times when I feel intimidated, or whether or not I’ll be able to meet up to her expectations, but I know that she’s a major part of my motivation. Take my dad as well, even when he’s been through so much, he remains kind to others. He has taught me to mind my business and keep smiling. So that’s what my motto is, to give my best in whatever I do with a smile.

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For now, I just wish to try my best every day because I’m not sure whether I want to practice law or go into journalism. At the end of the day, whatever I do, my parents should be proud. That’s the end goal.

I’ve learned a lot during these couple of years. I’m a very jumpy person and that often leads me to make decisions without proper introspection.

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After a couple of failed attempts, I’ve learned to take my time with ideas and think it through before putting it into action. I’ve started to believe that, 

“As long as you remain calm, you’ll do good”

I just wish people would take out time to listen to other people and be kind towards one another. There were times when people have thanked me for merely listening to their journey and it touches my heart. Maybe at the end of the day, everyone just wants to be heard. So, why not lend that helping ear, because a helping hand might not always be enough.

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To drop in a message to Nandita, or check out her page Humans of Surat, and read all the inspiring stories of people she has written about so far, you can follow the link below:

Humans of Surat Instagram handle

Features and mentions:

Fountainhead School, Surat

Other personal and professional social media handles:

LinkedIn profile of Nandita

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Instagram personal handle
Twitter personal handle

 

When You Focus on Improving Yourself Everyday ~ A Blogger & An Independent Artist Shares Her Story

Marc Chagall said,

“If I create from the heart, nearly everything works: if from the head, almost nothing.”

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In today’s #MondayMotivation blog focusing on the #WonderWomen segment we bring to you a woman who dabs in multiple works of creation and does it all from the heart. Meet, Amrita Ghosh, an Ex-Digital Marketer and currently a Blogger and an Independent Artist. She runs a blog by the name of Weekend Trivia and humbly admits that she is no professional artist, while insisting on being referred to as a Struggling/ Learning/ Exploring Artist who is trying to learn more about this wonderful field and grow every day. What made her jump from digital marketing to blogging and artistry, and how does she manage time between these two creative fields alongside her personal responsibilities? Let’s find out in her own words.

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“Ever since childhood I have had an inclination towards the finer skills in life. I never had any vocational training in arts but have always practiced different forms of artworks in my own way. My parents never discouraged me for it for which I am grateful. Then life happened and I moved cities for higher education, job etc.

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Once I got married, the daily pressure of maintaining the balance between work and life somehow shelved the artist inside me for quite a few years. Then we moved to Canada and I decided to take a break from my hectic schedule and breathe.

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I started drawing randomly and posting these artworks on Instagram leisurely while exploring a new country and geography. Slowly, I discovered a wonderful community of artists who dedicated their page only to showcase their artworks. I felt excited and decided to give it a shot. Thus, taking a leap of faith, I started drawing regularly.

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I am into acrylics, watercolors, gouache, mandalas, zentangles, quilling etc. I enjoy doing a lot of pen artworks. So, you can call me a Mixed Media artist. I have been doing it for the past one year and hopefully, I won’t look back from this. It is a constant learning process and I am enjoying every bit of it.

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I don’t know what to call a struggle. I call myself a learner who is trying to build a profile as an artist. I have miles to go before I sleep. But still I would say that for someone just starting off their career in art, it takes a long time to get noticed. There are of course many platforms where you can showcase your work, but whatever it might be, there is overcrowding. So I would say, the greatest struggle is to monetize one’s artwork and get their art noticed. A lot of effort goes into PR.

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A page called @99DaysofSketching on Instagram started a challenge of drawing straight for 99 days in 2019. That I consider to be my turning point because it got me to revive my art and get into a regular habit of drawing. Also quitting my job and moving countries helped me somehow focus on my love for art. For the major part I am self-motivated. I find inspiration from my surroundings, nature, current affairs etc. I would like to specially thank my husband, for supporting me in every situation with his best. Most of my achievements and personal growth wouldn’t have been possible without him.

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The journey so far has been surprisingly and pleasantly good. I am not fiercely competitive. I don’t believe in any rat race. Everyone grows at their own pace. My art has been appreciated, I have won a few art contests and have been featured on multiple platforms for my artworks. I have made good friends in the community. All these make me feel extremely blessed. I don’t plan too much for the future because I’m happy with whatever is happening. Along with running an art page and drawing regularly, I run a WordPress blog with my cousin. This blog is called Weekend Trivia and we have been running it for over two years. From then till now, it has grown significantly.

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I am also greatly fascinated by makeup and beauty and think it is a great form of art too. Hence I also practice makeup skills from time to time on my personal account – @amritac.ghosh . I am a huge crazy big Potterhead. One thing which has remained constant with me throughout my life is reading books. I read a lot and whatever happens, that is one thing which I would never like to change.

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In my journey as an artist and blogger, I have come across some very inspiring individuals who have helped me in my professional and personal growth. Though I have not met them personally (at least not yet), here’ s a shoutout to these people whom I find to be very motivational and inspirational.

Karishma Srivastava 
Neha Sharma
Visoth Kakvei
Joyeeta Ghosh
Feliks K 
Tara Jane 
Jake Parker
Kirsty Partridge 
Sumouli

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My biggest learning has been about the virtual world we rely so much on these days. So, my advice to all social media fans and addicts is,

“Don’t take things too personally on Social media or don’t get attached too much. Social media is a virtual world and it’s better to stick to reality.”

I would strongly say that,

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“Believe in organic growth because only that will stick in the long run and focus only on improving yourself every day.”

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To drop in a message to Amrita, to check out her blog+ blog posts, or her artworks and to inquire about her commissioned services in both these creative fields, follow the links below:

Blogging

Weekend Trivia blog
Weekend Trivia Instagram
Weekend Trivia Facebook
Weekend Trivia YouTube
Weekend Trivia Twitter
Weekend Trivia Amazon

Artwork

Amrita’s artwork Instagram handle
Amrita’s artwork Facebook page

Features & Mentions

Feature on Entrepreneur.com

Other personal and professional social media handles

Personal Instagram handle
Personal Twitter handle

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The Art Of Being Grateful & Other Stories

My third solo book, The Art of Being Grateful & Other Stories is now live and available on Amazon.in and Amazon.com.

Here’s a look at the gorgeous cover of this book:

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A closer and detailed look at the front cover

[image error]A closer and detailed look at the back cover

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I launched the book through a live session on Instagram and Facebook, where I answered a few questions related to the book, revealed the cover and read a few paragraphs from two stories which are a part of this book.

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You can have a look at the book launch video on my YouTube channel below:

Within less than few hours of being live on Amazon, the book is already on the number one spot of Amazon bestsellers list.

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Would you like to know more about the book? Then please have a look at the trailers of all the eight stories which are a part of this compilation.

Warned in Love
Unlike in The Movies
The Art of Being Grateful
Self Happiness Above All
As You Please
Love in The Air
A Fairy Tale Christmas
No Witnesses

Here’s where you can check out (and buy the book)

Amazon. in
Amazon.com

The Art of Being Grateful

Presenting the trailer to the eight and final story titled ‘The Art of Being Grateful’ from my upcoming book.

Here’s a little blurb of this story:

Sakshi has a habit of over analyzing things rather than living in the moment, or enjoying and appreciating the small things in life. All those around her, provide their insights on how she can change this attitude and perspective. Will she turn a new leaf or continue being the same?

Before releasing the trailer, I did a fun ‘Guess The Title’ game on my social media pages (Facebook and Instagram). Have a look at the post below.

[image error]You can check out the post on my Instagram handle

With this comes the end of my posts and videos around my third book.

You can check out the trailers of the other stories below:

Warned in Love
Unlike in The Movies
Self-Happiness Above All
As You Please
A Fairy Tale Christmas 
Love In The Air
No Witnesses

Want to know about the book’s release and other details? I will be doing the book launch and book cover reveal through a live session on below social media pages:

A Rustic Mind Instagram page
Booked4Books Facebook page

When and at what time:

15th July, 5pm IST 

I will answer all and any questions you have about this book and will also be reading out a few paragraphs from one of the stories.

Come join me as I share some interesting tidbits about how this book came to be!