Madhuri Pavamani's Blog, page 20
July 1, 2015
Brotherhood of the World Award
I love how sometimes the universe just knows what is the what and takes tiny steps to work little feats of magic, sprinkle some fairy dust here and there, and make you forget the bad shit
at least for a few minutes.
That’s what happened to me earlier this week when in two days I was nominated twice for the Brotherhood of the World Award, first by Keya Shah at Prose Over Bros – how can you not love a blog with a name like that? – and then by Shohini at Treacherous Bliss. Girls, y’all made my day with your surprise gestures and enthusiasm for the written word. I love both of your blogs, so thanks for the nominations.
And now onto the fun stuff.
Oh wait, first the rules:
1) Thank and link back to the person who nominated you for the award.
2) List the Rules and Display the Brotherhood of the world Award logo to your post and/or blog.
3) Answer the questions sent to you and then create your set of questions for your nominees.
4) Nominate bloggers and let them know about the award.
Since some of the questions overlap, I’ve combined them so I don’t get all repetitive and bore the shit out of everyone – here goes:
1) What are you the most passionate about? Writing and my characters and writing their stories really fucking well because they’re amazing and rich and dynamic and diverse and so very deserving of the best telling I can give them.
2) If you were granted one wish, what would you wish for? On a macro level, I would want an immediate and permanent end to child hunger, a world where no child lacks for nourishment and sustenance. On a micro level, which is another way of saying on a very self-serving level, I would wish for my books to be successful so I could quit lawyering. But that’s silly and I know this Indie game takes hard work and requires about a gallon of my blood, ten pints of my tears, and my soul for eternity.
3) What book would be your first choice to recommend for a good read? One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez for its magical beauty, the epic tale of the Buendia clan, and the most perfect opening sentence ever written:
Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.
4) Would you rather lie to avoid upsetting somebody or tell the truth to be morally right? Girl please, lie. Moral righteousness fucking drives me nuts.
5) Name three movies that place in your Must Watch list – for the record, this is so tough:
Do the Right Thing, Spike Lee
Thelma & Louise, Ridley Scott
Star Wars, George Lucas
6) If you could have any career choice, what would you wish to be? A writer, which I already am, but I would love it to be my only career, not the career I do on the side.
7) Are you a foodie? To a certain extent, yes, absolutely. I love good food and drink and going out to dinner or to dinner parties, but my interest in cooking anything at all these days has dwindled almost down to nothing. What I wouldn’t do for a personal chef…
8) Are you more of a summer person or a winter one? If I’m forced to choose, then I’m picking Winter. And this is coming out of the mouth of a girl who despises snow. But I also despise temperatures above 84 degrees and soupy humidity and needing to ceaselessly run the air conditioning. So yeah, Winter wins. Ideally, I would love to live in 82 degree weather year-round.
9) what’s your craziest dream or fantasy? It’s too dirty to divulge to the world.
10) your favourite quote or dialogue? I have a few so you’ll have to suffer through them
11) define yourself in one word. Badass motherfucker – two words, I know, but I couldn’t resist
12) If you could change one thing about you, what would it be? I want to be taller, at least 5′ 10″, then I would truly be a badass motherfucker.
13) your idea of vacation? a beach, a strong drink, The Husband, The StepDaughter, The Kid, and some friends, my laptop, loads of laughter and all kinds of hijinx. Or a day by myself, somewhere no one knows me, no one asks things of me, and I’m allowed to luxuriate in all kinds of epic feats of utter selfishness. With my laptop in tow. Of course.
Here are my nominations:
Head in the Clouds, Heart in the Books
And here are my questions:
Why?
Describe your morning routine
Share one of your favorite childhood memories
Five books you cherish
Name your three favorite literary villians
Do you cry?
Do you have siblings? Where do you fall in the birth order?
What’s your zodiac sign?
Five items travelling with you to a deserted island
Have fun with these but puh-leez do not feel obligated.
And thanks again, Keya and Shohini, you girls rock
June 30, 2015
Getting Proustian With…TATIANA KING JONES – The Interview Series
A couple of years ago a photographer friend of mine
suggested I check out
Fanbros Show
and especially
Tatiana King Jones
He felt they would be a great platform for me and my books
Little did he know I would have much more fun listening to their podcasts
and stalking Tatiana
mostly because she’s pretty fucking fierce
Of course she is
would you expect anything less from the
Grand Duchess of Tech
As I’m wont to do
I never got around to mentioning my books to her
or my blog
or really anything pertaining to promoting me and my writing
but I did ask her for an interview
and she did say yes
Fuck Yeah!
Check out the Grand Duchess getting a little Proustian wIth it
Getting Proustian With…
TATIANA KING JONES
1. What is your greatest fear? Not being there for those who need me most. Fear of failure
2. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Procrastination
3. What is the trait you most deplore in others? Being indecisive grind my gears.
4. What is your current state of mind? At a crossroads…
5. On what occasion do you lie? I always tell the truth—even when I lie….
6. What is the quality you most like in a man? Being action/execution-oriented/ a “go-getter”
7. Which words or phrases do you most overuse? “…You know”
8. What or who is the greatest love of your life? In the “what” category–technology
9. When and where were you happiest? In Costa Rica in March 2015
10. Which talent would you most like to have? It would fill me with such joy if I only knew how to sing.
11. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I would make myself taller!
12. What do you consider your greatest achievement? Not sure I’ve got to that point yet—my greatest personal achievement SO FAR? Speaking on a panel at SXSW 2014.
13. Where would you most like to live? I’d prefer to have several dwellings so I can choose where to hang out depending upon season.
14. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Being completely unable to be yourself and having to follow other people’s rules without recourse.
15. What is your most marked characteristic? I’m extremely protective of things (or people) I think are important in my life.
16. What do you most value in your friends? Honesty and being responsible with my friendship (i.e. being there when I need them the most)
17. Who are your favorite writers? They change as I discover new work but two mainstays are: Isaac Asimov and Octavia Butler
18. Who are your heroes in real life? Diana Ross, Nichelle Nichols, Eartha Kitt, and any Black woman in tech/engineering
19. What are your favorite names? Favorite names for myself? Like nicknames? King or Tati
20. What is it that you most dislike? I can’t stand inaction…standing still in the proverbial sense. If you have the power to progress—do it. DO IT!
21. How would you like to die? Vampires don’t die…. [BEST ANSWER YET!!]
22. What is your motto? “When you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready”
Tatiana G. King-Jones, the self-proclaimed “Grand Duchess of Tech”, has served the social media and Internet community as a thought leader, tech advocate, and opinionated “nerd” personality. Mrs. King-Jones levies a large audience on various social media services to share and disseminate information on a variety of topics in the realm of “nerdom”. Mrs. King-Jones’ passion for general nerdery includes: emerging technologies, consumer electronics, mobile devices, sci-fi, anime, video games, movies, and other related topics.
From the 56k dial up era to the broadband/4G, mobile device revolution, Mrs. King-Jones has continued to grow incredibly knowledgeable in the tech industry. She’s remained current in the field and continues to absorb interesting and helpful information. Tatiana’s eclectic array of interests has her often functioning as a guide for those seeking advice on everything from gadgets to fashion.
Mrs. King-Jones owns and operates the tech blog LoveAt1stByte.com and is a co-host on the Fan Bros Show podcast; the premiere podcast of geek culture via people of color. She has participated in various speaking engagements and appearances including: as a panelist at SXSW 2014 for the session “How the Black Twitterverse is Changing Pop Culture”, “GTA V and Violence in Video Games” segment on Arise360TV, and a guest lecturer at Howard University Law School for the course “Social Media and The Law”.
You can reach the Grand Duchess on her personal twitter account: @TatianaKing, email her at: tatiana[at]loveat1stbyte[dot]com.
#TeaserTuesday – THE NINE DEATHS
The Nine Deaths of Dutch Mathew
raunch with a touch of magic
COMING SOON
Click HERE to add to your Goodreads “to read” shelf
June 26, 2015
#WednesdayPrompt – THE LIE I BELIEVED
THE LIE I BELIEVED
The lie I believed was fed to me by my mother and her sisters and their mother and my alma mater – all of these fierce, brilliant women who claimed I could have it all. As a child I distinctly remember my mother telling me not to listen to those fools who said I must get married, to ignore the idiots who claimed the only way to be a real woman was to have a child, and that it was okay if I wanted a kid without a man, I didn’t have to be married to have the kid. Because you know what – I could do anything, could have it all, could be whatever I wanted to be – nothing mattered. I took that shield of mighty female empowerment and my little Southern ass and stomped up to Barnard, ready to light the world on fire, rage with my woman power, be the mighty girl I was meant to be. And holy shit, Barnard fueled that fire. Don’t call yourself a girl, you’re a woman. And you can do anything. Look at all those women around you, these basasses with tits and pussies, you all fucking rock. You are wondrous and mighty and men will tremble when your name is called. You are stellar examples of womanhood and all it can be. You are Barnard women – now go forth and do you. Ha! Fucking liars. Here’s what I know – yes, I am a badass bitch, do not fuck with me, I will cut you and it will bleed. I am also soft and cuddly and I like to laugh, I love my man, and yes, I even have a kid. I have a job that pays the bills and another that fuels my passion and makes me feel whole, but couldn’t cover any of my bills…yet. And sadly, I cannot have it all. At least not at the same time. It comes in stages, spurts, fits and starts and I just need to be aware and alive and on my shit to catch it and enjoy it because once it’s passed, that chance to do that one aspect of the many that make up “having it all”, it might take a really, really long ass time to come back around.
Just so everyone knows, my #WednesdayPrompt series is based on what I write during the 10 minutes allotted for my writing group’s Wednesday Prompt. So for this prompt, I didn’t have time to explain that my mom and aunts and grandmother are total badasses or that I love my college and the woman it helped create or that in the long run, although it’s hard as hell, I’m happy I believed the lie because that belief fuels the woman I am today. So now you know. Cheers motherfuckers.
June 25, 2015
Kill The Monsters
I managed to get my grubby hands on a copy of Kayti Nika Raet’s MONSTER a little early and let me tell you, it is ALL kinds of amazing. Like you’re going to curl up with it and never move until you read the last word, it’s that good. So get ready because as soon as it drops, you’re going to want a copy. #thankmelater
Originally posted on Write Bitches:
*happy dance*
If you’re follower of my main blog, you may have already seen my super excited extra special announcement. If you’re not… well then you should be. But in any case, I’m happy to tell you guys that I’m finally finished with Monster, the fourth book in The Outsider Chronicles. It’s set to be released on July 18th and I’m so, so, SO EXCITED.
It’s going to be awesome.
In a world full of flesh eating creatures,
sometimes humans are the more terrifying monsters.
It’s been three months since revolution swept through the city of Cherai and ousted Councilwoman King. Banished, the city now has a chance to recover from decades of injustice and oppression. With the help of Ben, Songhay, and the Gemini Gang, Niko works towards building a more egalitarian society.
But someone is murdering Slither hunters.
And coupled with the councilwoman’s reappearance, all of Niko’s…
View original 79 more words
June 24, 2015
Miss Jackson If You’re Nasty
Oh man, did you listen to “No Sleep”?
It’s so Janet and so 90s and so freaking good. Girlfriend can slow jam it with the best of them when she wants and “No Sleep” is another one of those bangers that gets your hips moving just so, nice and slow, all up in your partner’s space, working it.
It’s sex for the ears – so good and so nasty – and you know my dancing ass has it on a slow repeat rotation.
#ThankMeLater
June 23, 2015
#TeaserTuesday – The Nine Deaths
Dutch Mathews is a lethal killer for The Gate.
Juma Landry has nine lives.
He is tasked with ending each and every one of them.
She isn’t going to make that easy.
The Nine Death of Dutch Mathews
coming soon
In honor of #Teaser Tuesday, here’s a snippet from my upcoming urban fantasy, The Nine Deaths of Dutch Mathew. If you love your raunch with a twist of romance, then make sure to add Dutch + Juma to your Goodreads “to read” shelf by clicking HERE
DUTCH
“I know you’re not leaving without telling me what’s in that envelope.”
I paused and closed my eyes, pressing my hands to my lids and releasing a long, slow hiss.
“You should just let me go,” I turned back to her and leaned against the door.
“But that’s no fun,” she came from behind the bar, drying her hands on her jeans.
“Nothing about me is fun.”
“Oh, I doubt that, drunk boy,” she stated without a smile, a certainty in her tone as if she knew me.
“Don’t,” I warned as she neared.
“Don’t what,” she stopped about a foot away, leaving enough space between us for me to almost breathe easy.
“Engage me.”
She laughed, low and sexy and deep.
“Who said anything about engaging you? I just want to fuck you.”
Don’t forget
Goodeads
TBR shelf
Click HERE
June 18, 2015
The Craziest Thing Happened Today
For all of you Jacks and Kellys and Chads and Michelles, things like this happen everyday. You see your name everywhere – in newspapers, on buses, in magazines, on television.
But for me,
a brown girl named Madhuri
with parents from the other side of the globe
and uncles and aunts and grandparents living anywhere but the US
this NEVER happens.
On my way home tonight I was reading Thelonious Legend’s SINS OF THE FATHER and lo and behold, one of the characters is named Madhuri.
Wh-wh-what??
First I froze, then I re-read the passage to make sure I wasn’t imagining things, then I got all stupid and silly and started tweeting mad foolishness about seeing my name for the first. time. ever. in a non-Indian, US author’s book.
I get a bit ridiculous when I get excited and seeing my name like that had me ALL kinds of thrilled. It made up for all those times the store didn’t sell a Madhuri cup or a Madhuri bookmark or a Madhuri keychain and on some microcosmic level that I’m not even going to begin analyzing in this post, I felt like I counted, like I was there and someone noticed. It might sound silly, but try living your entire life, never once seeing your name somewhere in a book…
like i said, I’m not even going to really go there in this post. Mostly because it’s 1:08 in the morning and I’m tired and after the epic sadness of the Charleston terror attack – because come on people, that was a fucking terrorist attack, I don’t care how you try and spin it – I just can’t right now.
What I will say is that after a day like today, full of tragedy and grim realities, reading this passage was my little ray of light.
Thanks for that, Thelonious, I needed it.
(Doesn’t mean you’re off the hook – you still better learn to say my name!)
