Damyanti Biswas


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Damyanti Biswas

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February 2011

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Damyanti Biswas is an author, blogger, animal-lover, spiritualist.

Her Indian debut literary crime novel You Beneath Your Skin was an Amazon bestseller, and optioned for the screens by Endemol Shine. Her next, The Blue Bar was a #1 new release on Amazon and a #1 Bestseller on Amazon USA. Publisher's Weekly, in their Starred review called it 'an unforgettable, searing portrait of marginalized people struggling for survival'.

Her work has been published in Smokelong Quarterly, Ambit, Pembroke Review, Griffith review, Flash Fiction Online, among many others in the US, UK, and Australia. She also serves as one of the editors of the The Forge literary magazine.

Be sure to follow Damyanti on Bookbub for the latest on sales and giveaways.

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Popular Answered Questions

Damyanti Biswas You can write any time, anywhere. You do not have to be dressed up to do it, you don't need to depend on others in order to get your words on the page…moreYou can write any time, anywhere. You do not have to be dressed up to do it, you don't need to depend on others in order to get your words on the page, and there is no age to start or stop being a writer.(less)
Damyanti Biswas I'm very wary of doling out advice, because there's no one-size-fits-all in this regard.

We all come from different places into our writing, have varie…more
I'm very wary of doling out advice, because there's no one-size-fits-all in this regard.

We all come from different places into our writing, have varied backgrounds and different histories of reading. So what's good advice for me could be absolutely bad advice for you. The entire goal, to me, is to figure out what works for you, through trial and error.

You might be a writer who needs to add to the word count every day, or not. You might write what you know, or you might write what you're interested in. You might outline all your stories, or you might never write with an outline. You might write a draft without editing it, or you might edit as you write.
You might show, not tell, or you might show and tell.

No advice works without the context of the story or the author.

That said, it might help new writers to figure out at the very outset why they want to embark on a life of writing, and what are their definitions of writing success.

Some authors achieve fame and money, others are appreciated by their peers, some manage to derive work satisfaction. Not all authors achieve all of these: it is rare to achieve two, and almost no writer achieves all three in their lifetime. So if you go into writing knowing what your expectations are, you can work towards your goals, and are less likely to be bitter.

A few things that have helped me:

1. Setting aside time between drafts.
2. Learning how to give and receive feedback
3. Staying entirely vulnerable and honest while writing
4. Reading widely, and critically
5. Reading work aloud to myself to improve it at the sentence level
6. Respecting my writing time, my readers and my characters
7. Accepting rejection (from agents, editors, readers) as part of the process
8. Being a good literary citizen: always supporting other writers
9. Letting writing be its own reward

There's a lot of writing advice out there. At the end of the day, if you know what sort of writer you'd like to become, you can pick and choose the advice you need to follow.
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Average rating: 3.83 · 6,451 ratings · 1,259 reviews · 13 distinct worksSimilar authors
The Blue Bar (Blue Mumbai, #1)

3.71 avg rating — 4,812 ratings — published 2023 — 5 editions
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The Blue Monsoon (Blue Mumb...

4.23 avg rating — 761 ratings — published 2023 — 5 editions
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You Beneath Your Skin

4.24 avg rating — 643 ratings — published 2019 — 6 editions
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Singapore Love Stories

by
3.64 avg rating — 112 ratings — published 2016 — 3 editions
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Blue Mumbai Stories: A Mumb...

3.89 avg rating — 47 ratings
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Flesh: A Southeast Asian Ur...

by
3.38 avg rating — 48 ratings — published 2016 — 2 editions
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A to Z Stories of Life and ...

4.13 avg rating — 32 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions
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Tree of Life: audiomachine

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4.62 avg rating — 13 ratings — published 2014 — 2 editions
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Crime Scene Asia: Volume 1

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2.94 avg rating — 16 ratings — published 2013 — 4 editions
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Cotton, Grass and Rain

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings
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More books by Damyanti Biswas…

Dear Writer, What Did You Imagine Author Life to be Like? #IWSG

Author life is a cliche: many outside the publishing world imagine authors making gazillions of dollars at super short notice. I blame movies, especially romcoms but also thrillers, where a...

The post Dear Writer, What Did You Imagine Author Life to be Like? #IWSG appeared first on Damyanti Biswas.

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Published on November 05, 2025 05:59
The Blue Bar The Blue Monsoon Blue Mumbai Stories: A Mumb...
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Never Saw Me Coming
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Cat and Mouse
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Damyanti’s Recent Updates

Damyanti Biswas wrote a new blog post

Does Unfettered Reader Access Make Authors Feel Exposed?

In reading circles, reader access to authors is at a level unsurpassed in history. Even a few decades ago, not many authors were known faces. Readers Read more of this blog post »
Damyanti Biswas rated a book it was amazing
The Swimming Group by Bella Ellwood-Clayton
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This psychologically acute oceanside mystery with a smidge of summer romance deftly examines human foibles and the price of family loyalty. Take it with you to the beach: it will keep you glued from the first page to its riveting, visceral finale.
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Maryneal 1962 by Abigail F Taylor
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Not Your Child by Lis Angus
Not Your Child
by Lis Angus (Goodreads Author)
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Not What She Seems by Yasmin Angoe
Not What She Seems
by Yasmin Angoe (Goodreads Author)
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Not What She Seems can be said of several characters in the novel, and this unreliability gives it its suspense and unexpected twists, with certain secrets revealed at the explosive, wonderfully mind-bending end.

The flawed characters have my heart, e
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Damyanti Biswas rated a book it was amazing
Murder Outside the Box by Saralyn Richard
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This book, the latest in the Detective Parrott series has been on my to-be-read pile for a while.

I took it with me on a quick beach vacation and forgot my sunscreen and snacks once I started reading.

Following Detective Parrott over the series has b
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Damyanti Biswas and 4 other people liked Dawn's review of The Family Home:
The Family Home by Lorraine Mace
"This is the second Lorraine Mace book I have read and all I can say is wow! I loved this book from start to finish. I was totally hooked. I couldn’t put it down.

Sally is in an abusive relationship. Her husband Gordon is extremely charming and kind to" Read more of this review »
Damyanti Biswas rated a book it was amazing
Fall by Tracy    Clark
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Detective Harriet Foster is back again, and not a moment too soon. If you've read Hide, you must have been waiting for this installment, like I was. Foster is determined, courageous, smart--everything you want a detective and woman to be. Loved the a ...more
Damyanti Biswas rated a book it was amazing
A Lovely Lie by Jaime Lynn Hendricks
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When you read a Hendricks book, you can expect to be hooked by one twist after another, a relentless pace, and smart writing. In ‘A Lovely Lie’, Hendricks combines wit, plotting and pace into an irresistible, fresh, tangy cocktail of high-wire tensio ...more
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Quotes by Damyanti Biswas  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“Love enters later in life through the cracks left by the first heartbreak.”
D. Biswas, A to Z Stories of Life and Death

“When you close yourself off from people because they might end up hurting you, you shut out not only the hurt, but life itself. You have no control over what will happen to you, but you can choose whether to risk it all, or retreat.”
Damyanti Biswas, The Blue Bar

“Like who, Ms. Virani? Does Mr. Taneja make the rules? You are a woman yourself. Aren’t you curious why we found three dead, decomposing women on a site where your fiancé’s company is running a project?”
Damyanti Biswas, The Blue Bar

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“People fall in love without reason, without even wanting to. You can't predict it. That's love.”
Haruki Murakami, Dance Dance Dance
tags: love

“Cheshire Puss,' she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name: however, it only grinned a little wider. 'Come, it's pleased so far,' thought Alice, and she went on. 'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'

'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.

'I don't much care where—' said Alice.

'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.

'—so long as I get SOMEWHERE,' Alice added as an explanation.

'Oh, you're sure to do that,' said the Cat, 'if you only walk long enough.”
Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass

“Rather free than rich”
Maj Sjöwall

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Robert Thanks for the friend request, D.


Harlequin Books Hi Damyanti, thanks for being a friend. I’m looking forward to getting to know you. I want you to know that if you ever have any questions about the books on my shelves or about eHarlequin.com, I would be delighted to answer them. Also, I list as much eHarlequin news and author news as I can so be sure to watch for my updates.

Happy reading,
Kim S., Harlequin Books ambassador


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