Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's Blog, page 5

Goodreads Author Chat Today, 5/30, on Oleander Girl

I'm the Goodreads Featured Authortoday, Thursday 5/30, on the Authors/Readers site. They have posted an
interview Goodreads has done with me about my new novel, Oleander Girl. You can type
in questions all day, and I will answer them throughout the day.

Please go to this link to sign up for the group and the chat. You can
then also participate in any of their future chats with authors. http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/26989-goodreads-authors-readers

Featured Author Chat Tomorrow, May 15, on Goodreads

I'm a Goodreads Featured Author on Wednesday, May 15, a big honor. That means
I've been asked to do a Goodreads chat on their site that day. The chat will go on all day. I'll be checking in throughout the day.

Details for joining the chat are here. http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/101911-ask-chitra-banerjee-divakaruni---wednesday-may-15th

I love connecting to readers and friends through author chats. I've done a few on my FB page, and am hoping many people will join me tomorrow. It's your chance to Ask Chitra Anything (well, almost anything).

I'm especially looking forward to discussing my new novel, Oleander Girl.

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Featured Author Chat Tomorrow, May 15, on Goodreads

I'm a Goodreads Featured Author on Wednesday, May 15, a big honor. That meansI've been asked to do a Goodreads chat on their site that day. The chat will go on all day. I'll be checking in throughout the day.

Details for joining the chat are here. http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/101911-ask-chitra-banerjee-divakaruni---wednesday-may-15th

I love connecting to readers and friends through author chats. I've done a few on my FB page, and am hoping many people will join me tomorrow. It's your chance to Ask Chitra Anything (well, almost anything).

I'm especially looking forward to discussing my new novel, Oleander Girl.

Mothers in My Fiction

Mother's Day, coming up soon, reminds me of how important my
mother, who pretty much brought us up as a single parent, has been in my life. Perhaps
the many mothers that I depict in my books--though they have little similarity
to the biographical facts of her life-- are my attempt to understand the
loving, stern, mysterious woman she was. (She passed away a few years ago. Here is one of the last photos I have of her, at my niece Neela's wedding.)

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Some instances of mothers in my books: In the
final story in my collection Arranged Marriage, there is the mother who must,
in the wake of her failed marriage, establish a new kind of bond with her
teenage son. In Sister of My Heart, there are three strong mother figures that
bring up the protagonists Sudha and Anju, each focusing on a different aspect
she considers crucial: physical beauty, studies, and mythological stories. And
in my newest novel, Oleander Girl, Korobi's mother Anu, who died at childbirth,
naming her daughter after a beautiful but poisonous flower, is an enigma who
haunts Korobi until she must put off her marriage and travels from Kolkata to
New York to discover the secret that lies at the heart of Anu's life.

I don't think I'm done writing about mothers--my next novel will feature
Sita (heroine of the epic The Ramayana), one of literature's first
single mothers. [image error]

Photo Essay 3 Oleander Girl Tour: Book Warriors

A wonderful part of the book
tour for my new novel Oleander Girl
(http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/books/oleander_girl) has been coming
across people who love books, who tell people about them, who showcase
them, who encourage reading, and who support authors by inviting them to
speak at events that they organize. I thank them all for what they do each day for
writers like me and our books. They are the book warriors!

Some of these are: John Evans of Diesel Books (LA and Oakland).

Elaine Petrocelli of Book Passage (Corte Madera, CA--Photo below)
[image error] and her wonderful booksellers Alison Bildsoe and Karen West.

Geraldine Hills, Phoenix Public Library.

Chris Skaugset, Longview Library, OR.(photo below)

[image error]

Adrian Newell of Warwicks Books, La Jolla, CA, along with wonderful bookseller Julie Slavinsky.

Joel Sheldon, Jennifer and Connie at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, CA.
(Store photo below)

[image error] Will, Michael and Jeffrey of Annie Bloom's, Portland.

And Rick Simonson of Elliott Bay Books, Seattle, seen below next to the beloved castle in the children's section of the bookstore. 

[image error]

Photo Essay 3 Oleander Girl Tour: Book Warriors

A wonderful part of the book
tour for my new novel Oleander Girl
(http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/books/oleander_girl) has been coming
across people who love books, who tell people about them, who showcase
them, who encourage reading, and who support authors by inviting them to
speak at events that they organize. I thank them all for what they do each day for
writers like me and our books. They are the book warriors!

Some of these are: John Evans of Diesel Books (LA and Oakland).

Elaine Petrocelli of Book Passage (Corte Madera, CA--Photo below)

and her wonderful booksellers Alison Bildsoe and Karen West.

Geraldine Hills, Phoenix Public Library.

Chris Skaugset, Longview Library, OR.(photo below)

Adrian Newell of Warwicks Books, La Jolla, CA, along with wonderful bookseller Julie Slavinsky.

Joel Sheldon, Jennifer and Connie at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, CA.
(Store photo below)

Will, Michael and Jeffrey of Annie Bloom's, Portland.

And Rick Simonson of Elliott Bay Books, Seattle, seen below next to the beloved castle in the children's section of the bookstore. 

Author Chat on my Facebook Page Today, April 5, 2:30 pm EST

Author chats are a lot of fun! They give me an opportunity to interact live with readers who are physically far away, in other states or even other countries. I have to think on my feet as people are throwing questions at me!

AN AUTHOR CHAT IS COMING UP ON MY FB PAGE TODAY, APRIL 5, 2:30 PM EST. CLICK ON "APR 5 CHAT" BUTTON. https://www.facebook.com/chitradivaka...

I WILL POST ABOUT HOW IT WENT AFTER THE CHAT!

Author Chat on my Facebook Page Today, April 5, 2:30 pm EST

Author chats are a lot of fun! They give me an opportunity to interact live with readers who are physically far away, in other states or even other countries. I have to think on my feet as people are throwing questions at me!

AN AUTHOR CHAT IS COMING UP ON MY FB PAGE TODAY, APRIL 5, 2:30 PM EST. CLICK ON "APR 5 CHAT" BUTTON. https://www.facebook.com/chitradivaka...

I WILL POST ABOUT HOW IT WENT AFTER THE CHAT!

Travel Tips, Based on a Recent Visit to an Indian Elephant Sanctuary

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Travel Tips, Based on a Recent Visit to an Indian Elephant Sanctuary

Here's the article: