Ekta R. Garg's Blog, page 26

Book review now up!

Hello, Write Edge readers! I’ve got my latest book review for you. Today I’m sharing my thoughts on Late Bloomers by Deepa Varadarajan. Here’s the opening to my post:

A newly-divorced couple try to navigate dating and other life challenges after decades of marriage. Their adult children alternate between wringing their hands over their parents’ missteps and their own hardships. Debut author Deepa Varadarajan gives readers a small taste of life as a member of an Indian American family with a narrative that, at times, can’t decide who it’s target audience is in her first book Late Bloomers.

Read the whole review now on The Write Edge Bookshelf!

Have a fantastic day, readers!

E.R.G.

Happy mid-May!

A very good evening to you, Write Edge readers! I’m so excited, because I have some exciting news to share with all of you: The Truth About Elves won first place in the 2023 Next Generation Indie Book Awards for Best Novella!! The awards reception is this June and it’s in Chicago, which means I’ll get to go collect my medal in person. I’m so honored and thrilled — I’m now officially an award-winning author! (It’s going to take a few days for me to update my author website and The Write Edge, because the official press release hasn’t come out yet, but the winner and finalist list came this morning.)

Haven’t checked out The Truth About Elves yet? You can go now to my author website and get your own copy.

In the meantime, we march on with our regular posts here. First up is this week’s short story. Here’s an excerpt:

Beads of sweat began rolling down the side of my face. I moved to yank the IV out of my arm—clearly me giving up my secrets was the effect of some sort of serum. My wrists, though, had been bound to the guardrails of the bed.

Read the whole story now on The Write Edge Writing Workshop!

On Wednesday, I’ll share my thoughts on debut author Deepa Varadarajan’s new book Late Bloomers. Check that out in the middle of the week on The Write Edge Bookshelf. And on Friday we go back to Instagram! Hopefully I’ll have more fun awards stuff to share and show as well as other posts from my writing/non-writing life.

Have a fantastic week, readers, and remember: if you have a dream to do something, don’t let anyone or anything stop you. Keep at it!

E.R.G.

Let’s pretend…

Hello, Write Edge readers! Let’s pretend today is Monday. Wait, if your Monday was terrible, I don’t want to put you through that all over again. Let’s pretend we’re breaking time and say it’s Monday and Friday simultaneously. (That way, even if Monday was terrible, you still get your weekend at the end of the day.)

This was one of those weeks, but I’m bound and determined to stick to my posting schedule whatever way I can. The result is that you get an entire week’s worth of content today!

First up, this week’s short story. It’s the second Monday of the month, which means my flash fiction in second person. Here’s an excerpt:

One of the many complications of celebrityhood, and, my friend, believe me, there are many, is that I do have the evidence. I have actual proof. I have recordings and photos and a paper trail no one knew I was keeping. But if I give it all up, that means my time is finished. Because I may not have been involved, but I’m not exactly innocent either.

Read the whole short story now on The Write Edge Writing Workshop!

Next up is this week’s book review. I read and reviewed Grounded co-authored by Aisha Saeed, S. K. Ali;, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, and Huda Al-Marashi. Here’s the opening to my review:

After all of the flights at an airport have been canceled, four tweens band together to solve a mystery. As the evening progresses, their new friendships will find common ground as they try to help one another with the mystery and their personal problems. Authors Aisha Saeed, S. K. Ali, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, and Huda Al-Marashi come together like their plucky protagonists to write a novel that is full of heart and incredibly likeable characters in the sweet book Grounded.

Read the whole review now on The Write Edge Bookshelf!

Lastly, Instagram! Find out what I’m reading for next week’s review, a fun gift I got, and more! Check out all of those posts and previous ones on Insta with my handle, @EktaRGarg, or on my Facebook author page.

And that’s the whole week, readers, in a nutshell for you! Thank you for reading and your support. Have a fantastic weekend!

E.R.G.

Book review now up!

Hello, Write Edge readers! I’ve posted my latest book review for you. Today I share my thoughts on Tress of the Emerald Sea by acclaimed author Brandon Sanderson. Here’s the opening to my post:

A young woman on an island goes on a sailing adventure to rescue the boy she loves. Along the way, she’ll have to become a pirate and learn how to conquer her fears. Author Brandon Sanderson offers the first of his famous multi-million dollar Kickstarter projects with the delightfully charming although occasionally odd book Tress of the Emerald Sea.

Read the whole review now on The Write Edge Bookshelf!

Have a great night, readers!

E.R.G.

Welcome to May!

Hello, Write Edge readers! It’s the month of May, although around here in Central Illinois it still kind of feels like late winter. We do see the sun occasionally, but, oh, those blustery winds! Even with the hot temperatures, I’m looking forward to summer.

In the meantime, I’ve got this week’s content lined up for you. In 2023 I’ve assigned all of the Mondays for my creative writing different prompts. Today’s is an original haiku (I know, me, poetry! Just proves that anything is possible. :D) Go now to The Write Edge Writing Workshop to read my poem.

This past Friday I did my #bookreviewpreview of this week’s book. On Wednesday I’ll share my thoughts on Brandon Sanderson’s newest novel (and the first in his Secret Projects for Kickstarter.) Check out my review of Tress of the Emerald Sea in the middle of the week on The Write Edge Bookshelf!

Speaking of the The Bookshelf, for the past couple of years I’ve been posting Thursday R.E.A.D.s once a quarter. That technically means the month of May. However, I’ve been doing some thinking about how I want that feature to connect to other reading/writing/editing pursuits of mine. I’ll continue mulling over that this week and make an announcement on Thursday morning on whether I’ll keep R.E.A.D.s in its current format or allow it to morph into something else. Stay tuned for that!

Then, of course, we go back to Instagram posts on Friday. Get a look at previous posts using my handle, @EktaRGarg, or check out my Facebook author page.

Have a fantastic week, readers!

E.R.G.

Instagram posts now up!

Hello, Write Edge readers! I hope you’re having a lovely week. Are you ready for May? I’m not sure I am yet!

However, regardless of what month it is, I’m marching forward with reading and writing. Check out what exactly is happening for me in both on Instagram. Use my handle, @EktaRGarg, to see the most recent posts. You can find older posts there as well as on my Facebook author page.

Also, if you haven’t gotten your copy yet, please do consider getting my newest book, In the Heart of the Linden Wood, which is my fairy tale for grownups. Find out more about the book and read reviews by going to my author website now.

Have a wonderful weekend, readers!

E.R.G.

New book review now up!

Hello, Write Edge readers! It’s Wednesday, which means a brand new book review for you. Today I’m sharing my thoughts on the recent release The Lie by Kathryn Croft. Here’s the opening to my post:

When a teen goes missing, suspicion falls on her boyfriend. His mother fights to protect him from the police as the missing girl’s mother takes steps to get justice. Both mothers begin leaning on half-truths to find out what actually happened. Author Kathryn Croft returns with her latest thriller in the somewhat intriguing but mostly predictable book The Lie.

Read the whole book review now on The Write Edge Bookshelf!

Have a great evening, readers!

E.R.G.

Look at me, posting on time for once :D

Good morning, Write Edge readers! It’s such a treat to write those words. Been quite a while since I’ve posted on time, hasn’t it?

In any case, here I am! It’s the last Monday of the month, which means our monthly writers’ showcase. Today I’ve got a little bit of everything for you — poetry, creative nonfiction, micro fiction, and more. Check it all out now on The Write Edge Writing Workshop.

This past Friday on Instagram, I shared the book I’ll be reviewing on Wednesday. The Lie by Kathryn Croft released last Thursday. Come back in the middle of the week to find out what I thought of the novel on The Write Edge Bookshelf!

And, of course, this Friday we go back to Instagram for more posts on my writing life and outside of it. Check out previous posts with my handle, @EktaRGarg, or by going to my Facebook author page.

If you’re a grownup looking for a fairy tale to read, and you loved books like The Chronicles of Narnia or The Princess Bride when you were younger, make sure to check out my latest release from Atmosphere Press. In the Heart of the Linden Wood is about a grieving king who goes on a quest to save his kingdom from an imminent threat. Along the way, he’ll have to rescue some hostages and mend another broken heart piece by piece, all while asking himself whether he deserves his crown.

Get your signed author copy now on my author website!

Have a fantastic day, readers!

E.R.G.

Instagram posts now up!

Hello, Write Edge readers! Curious what I’ve been up to this week in my writing and non-writing life? Get a little peek now on Instagram. You’ll see what book I’m reviewing next week with my #bookreviewpreview and find out what I had for dinner tonight.

Use my handle, @EktaRGarg, to find me, or just check out my Facebook author page. See you there, and have a great weekend, readers!

E.R.G.

When Wednesdays and Mondays collide

Hello, Write Edge readers! It seems like my Wednesdays and Mondays are colliding more and more these days. But I’m here, posting for you and staying the course.

Because it is Wednesday, I’ll start with my latest book review first. Today I’m sharing my thoughts on the literary fiction novel Life and Other Love Songs by Anissa Gray. Here’s the opening to my review:

On his birthday, a man disappears and leaves his family wondering about his whereabouts. His wife and daughter fight through life’s challenges together and alone, even as they try to figure out what happened to him and whether his presence would have made any difference to their circumstances. Author Anissa Gray takes a sharp look into the secrets family members keep from one another and how the keeping of those secrets can be a person’s undoing in her newest book Life and Other Love Songs.

Read the whole review now on The Write Edge Bookshelf!

I’m also sharing with you the short story I (should have) posted this past Monday. Admittedly this is a very rough cut. I don’t often do this, but today I wrote the story and am sharing it with you in its very first draft. No edits, no revisions. I don’t think I even read it for typos. So this is the rawest version of my writing self that you’ll get. Here’s an excerpt:

This time Cat Eyes pulled the glasses down and took a good hard look at me up and down.

“You’d be surprised,” she said, pushing her glasses up again, “how many people insist on contacting the people they knew in Life. They don’t understand that Death is the one final, the one absolute that they can’t cross.”

Read the whole story now on The Write Edge Writing Workshop!

I’ll be back on Friday with Instagram posts from writing and non-writing stuff in my week. Have a great couple of days until then!

E.R.G.