Adite Banerjie's Blog, page 11
August 10, 2013
Romancing Bollywood
Bollywood is known for its mushy romances and now it is inspiring authors of Mills & Boon romances. Ruchi Vasudeva, fellow-winner of Harlequin India’s Passions Aspiring Authors contest 2012, who debuted with her novel Bollywood Fiancé for a Day in August, talks about her writing journey as a romance author.
Congrats, Ruchi, on the release of your debut Mills & Boon. You must be so excited. So how does it feel to be a Published Author?
Exhilarating! It’s an incomparable sense of accomplishment....
August 6, 2013
Developing the Story
Countdown to Book Release (#2)
As the Krish-Maya love story developed my jittery nerves did an anxious dance.
The love story had to be balanced with Maya’s quest for revenge. After all, she wasn’t looking for love. And especially not with the son of her Enemy No. 1.
There was plenty of potential conflict in that premise and it had to be mined just right. If it was heavily skewed towards the revenge plotline the book wouldn’t qualify to be a romance. So there had to enough power in the inner conflict as a result of their attraction for each other.
That was enough to freeze me up. The more I went into analysis mode, the tougher it became to type up the words.
I needed to switch off my analyst self and look at the whole thing from a new angle.
That’s when Snapshot Moment #2 happened. Read more here
As the Krish-Maya love story developed my jittery nerves did an anxious dance.
The love story had to be balanced with Maya’s quest for revenge. After all, she wasn’t looking for love. And especially not with the son of her Enemy No. 1.
There was plenty of potential conflict in that premise and it had to be mined just right. If it was heavily skewed towards the revenge plotline the book wouldn’t qualify to be a romance. So there had to enough power in the inner conflict as a result of their attraction for each other.
That was enough to freeze me up. The more I went into analysis mode, the tougher it became to type up the words.
I needed to switch off my analyst self and look at the whole thing from a new angle.
That’s when Snapshot Moment #2 happened. Read more here
July 28, 2013
Snapshot Moments
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” -- Ernest Hemingway
The countdown has begun. In a little more than a month my debut Harlequin Mills & Boon romance, "The Indian Tycoon's Marriage Deal", will be released! Of course I'm super excited! It's like finally arriving at your destination after a long journey. Exhausted but exhilarated.
And what a journey it has been.
Every creative venture is a journey in itself. Some of them are hard, others easy but each one is unique and has its own snapshot moments. As I count down to the release of my first novel I revisit some of those milestones... just as you would while looking at the pictures in a photo album of one of your favourite trips. Read more...
The countdown has begun. In a little more than a month my debut Harlequin Mills & Boon romance, "The Indian Tycoon's Marriage Deal", will be released! Of course I'm super excited! It's like finally arriving at your destination after a long journey. Exhausted but exhilarated.
And what a journey it has been.
Every creative venture is a journey in itself. Some of them are hard, others easy but each one is unique and has its own snapshot moments. As I count down to the release of my first novel I revisit some of those milestones... just as you would while looking at the pictures in a photo album of one of your favourite trips. Read more...
July 11, 2013
What Not to Do When Looking for a Publisher or Agent
A recent blog post sparked a lot of interest among visitors and pingbacks from writer-bloggers who offered their own take on the question that is never far away from the thoughts of every wannabe author: How does one find a literary agent and/or a publisher? Renita D'Silva whose debut novel Monsoon Memories has garnered a lot of rave reviews has hit the jackpot twice -- first by landing a publisher and second by finding a literary agent! Here she shares her experience.
What Not to Do When Looking for a Publisher or Agent
A recent blog post sparked a lot of interest among visitors and pingbacks from writer-bloggers who offered their own take on the question that is never far away from the thoughts of every wannabe author: How does one find a literary agent and/or a publisher? Renita D’Silva whose debut novel Monsoon Memories has garnered a lot of rave reviews has hit the jackpot twice — first by landing a publisher and second by finding a literary agent! Here she shares her experience.
They say it is more diffi...
July 5, 2013
An interview with Author Sonali Dev
Sonali Dev is a writer who combines her love for words and Bollywood to conjure up stories that make a crazy tangle with her life as wannabe supermom and domestic goddess, and disgruntled corporate minion. Sonali lives in the Chicago suburbs with her very patient and often amused husband and two children who demand both patience and humour, and of course her characters who can’t stop doing Bollywood dances inside her head. She is a Golden Hearts (2013) finalist and her debut novel, The Bollywood Bride, will be available from Kensington in November 2014.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how long you have been writing.
Hi Adite! Thanks so much for having me. It’s been a year since I’ve visited home and I’m going to pretend this is my India visit for the year. A little about myself… hmm. I was born and raised in India and I’ve lived my entire adult life in America. So, I’m your quintessential first generation immigrant mom living the desi American dream and globe-hopping for leisure every chance I get. I think I’m essentially a nomad who fancies herself as someone who puts the mad in nomad. As for writing, I’ve written for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest memories, in fact, is of my mother sitting me down at the dining table in first grade to do math homework when the illustrations on the cover of the text book (those little + and – symbols) started dancing around and I had to, just had to write a little poem about them. And no, I didn’t get in trouble, which explains why I’m here writing books instead of designing buildings after spending five years in architecture school. If my mother hadn’t broken the mould and let me follow my heart back then and encouraged my crazy little passion for capturing everything in little ditties, who knows what I’d be doing today. Read more here: http://aditebanerjie.com/2013/07/05/s...
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how long you have been writing.
Hi Adite! Thanks so much for having me. It’s been a year since I’ve visited home and I’m going to pretend this is my India visit for the year. A little about myself… hmm. I was born and raised in India and I’ve lived my entire adult life in America. So, I’m your quintessential first generation immigrant mom living the desi American dream and globe-hopping for leisure every chance I get. I think I’m essentially a nomad who fancies herself as someone who puts the mad in nomad. As for writing, I’ve written for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest memories, in fact, is of my mother sitting me down at the dining table in first grade to do math homework when the illustrations on the cover of the text book (those little + and – symbols) started dancing around and I had to, just had to write a little poem about them. And no, I didn’t get in trouble, which explains why I’m here writing books instead of designing buildings after spending five years in architecture school. If my mother hadn’t broken the mould and let me follow my heart back then and encouraged my crazy little passion for capturing everything in little ditties, who knows what I’d be doing today. Read more here: http://aditebanerjie.com/2013/07/05/s...
Sonali Dev – Her heart beats for words and Bollywood!
Sonali Dev is a writer who combines her love for words and Bollywood to conjure up stories that make a crazy tangle with her life as wannabe supermom and domestic goddess, and disgruntled corporate minion. Sonali lives in the Chicago suburbs with her very patient and often amused husband and two children who demand both patience and humour, and of course her characters who can’t stop doing Bollywood dances inside her head. She is a Golden Hearts (2013) finalist and her debut novel, The Bollyw...
June 29, 2013
Breaking Through
There is a pattern to writing. And much like the tides, it is all about ebb and flow.
There are those days when stringing a single sentence feels like pulling teeth. You're wracked by self-doubt--you're tearing your hair out and are truly amazed that you were delusional enough to think that you could finish a 50K draft!
And then there are those days when everything is tickety-boo. You're in the groove and your fingers are flying over the keyboard. You love every moment of it--those are the blessed days when you know that writing is your destiny!
But when you're stuck and nothing seems to work, it's truly a writer's worst-nightmare-come-true scenario. That's exactly what happened to me after I reached the mid-way point in my current WIP. Chapter Eight had me in a tizzy. I revisited the outline, tweaked it, went back to rewriting the chapter. But it just wasn't working. I was trying too hard and it was stressing me out. Fed up, I shut off my laptop and for the next couple of days didn't even look at it--well, the times I checked my email and hung out at Facebook don't count!
Read more here
There are those days when stringing a single sentence feels like pulling teeth. You're wracked by self-doubt--you're tearing your hair out and are truly amazed that you were delusional enough to think that you could finish a 50K draft!
And then there are those days when everything is tickety-boo. You're in the groove and your fingers are flying over the keyboard. You love every moment of it--those are the blessed days when you know that writing is your destiny!
But when you're stuck and nothing seems to work, it's truly a writer's worst-nightmare-come-true scenario. That's exactly what happened to me after I reached the mid-way point in my current WIP. Chapter Eight had me in a tizzy. I revisited the outline, tweaked it, went back to rewriting the chapter. But it just wasn't working. I was trying too hard and it was stressing me out. Fed up, I shut off my laptop and for the next couple of days didn't even look at it--well, the times I checked my email and hung out at Facebook don't count!
Read more here
June 8, 2013
Review of Escape from Harem
Tanushree Podder’s historical fiction set in the Mughal times is the first book in this genre that I have read by an Indian author. It gave me great pleasure to know that Indians are exploring this genre. While mythological fiction (such as the Shiva Trilogy, etc.) have become hugely popular, those are in the realm of fantasy and are not truly historical. However, Indian history is replete with events that provide ample material for an imaginative writer who can mould them to any genre — be it thriller, romance, suspense or mainstream fiction.
Amazingly enough, Mughal history had at one time been a source for a number of films way back in the 1940s and 1950s. Sohrab Mody was one of the great exponents of film in this genre and then there is Mughal-e-Azam, the love story of a prince and a court dancer that is still considered the greatest Indian film of all times. The story of how Prince Salim (who went on to become Emperor Jahangir) falls in love with Anarkali and defies his father, emperor Akbar, leading to a battle between father and son has become so embedded in popular culture that many still believe that the story is a part of history, not just a piece of excellent historical fiction. Read the full post here: http://aditebanerjie.com/indian-book-...
Amazingly enough, Mughal history had at one time been a source for a number of films way back in the 1940s and 1950s. Sohrab Mody was one of the great exponents of film in this genre and then there is Mughal-e-Azam, the love story of a prince and a court dancer that is still considered the greatest Indian film of all times. The story of how Prince Salim (who went on to become Emperor Jahangir) falls in love with Anarkali and defies his father, emperor Akbar, leading to a battle between father and son has become so embedded in popular culture that many still believe that the story is a part of history, not just a piece of excellent historical fiction. Read the full post here: http://aditebanerjie.com/indian-book-...
May 21, 2013
No Country for Dark Skinned Women
Rasana Atreya’s debut novel, Tell a Thousand Lies, is a hard hitting tale that focuses on the curse of being born a woman in India. Pullamma, the protagonist, she is doubly cursed as she neither has the much sought after fair skin nor the handsome dowry that could have helped in procuring a good match for her. After all, as the saying goes, to arrange a good marriage for a girl, you have to tell a thousand lies.
Read the full review here...
http://aditebanerjie.com/indian-book-...Tell a Thousand Lies
Read the full review here...
http://aditebanerjie.com/indian-book-...Tell a Thousand Lies
