Goodreads Contest and Bonus Material!

Hi Everyone,



Thanks to all who joined me in my first ever live chat last night on Ustream.  It was so fun.  As you can see I am perfectly comfortable talking to my computer. =) I prefer chatting when I can see all your faces but this is the next best thing I suppose especially for those of you who live too far away for me to see when I'm out on tour.  If you missed it, you can still watch the whole chat but sadly you'll have to put up with commercial interruptions.  How you access it is by clicking on the Ustream tab on the left of the Facebook page and then clicking on the picture of me frozen in a very unflattering pose.



In other news, I promised some bonus material if we hit 2500 FB followers and 1000 twitter followers.  So scroll down below to find out what happened the first time Nilima met Mr. Kadam.



Our next contest will be on Goodreads.  I will be giving away an advanced reading copy of Tiger's Voyage to someone who either posts a review of Tiger's Curse or Tiger's Quest or who votes for any of my books on a Goodreads list or for those who become fans.  If you are new to Goodreads you'll have to sign up for an account then search for either my name or the name of one of my books.  Your odds of winning are better the more times you vote.  While you're there you can "friend" me as well.  To vote on a Goodreads list, find a book page like for Tiger's Curse then scroll down until you see the tab that says Lists With This Book.  Click on the list you want to vote for (you can do more than one).  The next page will take you to the list at the exact point where the book is ranked and you can vote for it.  (I think Ren and Kishan deserve to be a little higher on the rankings for swoothworthy romantic heroes, don't you?)



This Goodreads contest will last for two weeks and I'll announce the winner the first week of August.  Vote Vote Vote!



While you are on Goodreads you might notice that there is an exclusive edition of Tiger's Voyage.  This is not a typo.  Barnes and Noble will be releasing a special edition of Tiger's Voyage with a bonus chapter that I just finished writing.  It's called "A Dream Forgotten" and it's a special scene from Tiger's Quest showing when and how Ren lost his memory.  I'm very excited about this bonus chapter and hope you enjoy reading about what happened when Ren was a prisoner.



Also I wanted to remind you to join me on my website on Aug 1 for the YA Scavenger Hunt.  The hunt will be going live all day long so if you work you should still be able to access it but everything will be taken down by August 2 so if you miss it you'll be out of luck!  I'm so excited to work with these other authors who are participating and I hope you enjoy the Hunt!  I'm very much looking forward to it and its something I hope to be able to do a few times a year.



I will post directions for the hunt next week so make sure you are following me so you know what to do.



I also wanted to share with you a bit about my writing process since I get so many letters seeking for writing advice.  I rely heavily on visuals and so from now on, on every blog I want to show you a picture that influenced me when writing.  We'll start with Tiger's Curse.  When I first began writing I created 3 x 5 cards with information on all my characters, then I searched for images that I thought reflected those characters.  One of the first I found is an Indian actor named Amitabh Bachchan.  For me Mr. Kadam is half Mr. Roarke from Fantasy Island and half Mr. Spock. I've seen Mr. Bachchan in a few Bollywood movies and I really like him. I even cried in one of his movies when he was giving advice to a young teenage girl and told my husband, "It's him!"  Mr. Kadam's physical description is based on this picture.





 







And....without further ado.  Here is my bonus piece.  It's called...

A New Boss
 

Pipes. She tapped the eraser of her pencil on her notepad as she stared at the small trophy perched on the corner of her desk. She'd received it the night before at the Ali Exports yearly awards night. Formed to look like one of the company's double jointed pipes, the award had an attached plaque which said, "Nilima Mehta—In appreciation for outstanding service in Human Resources." Attached had been a short note signed by the President. Since she'd been commissioned to write all the notes, she had the message memorized.

 

"Employees are the joint that binds our corporation. Congratulations!"

Dev Kumar Ali

 

Sighing, she shifted in her chair and hoped the twinge in her back would go away. Sitting behind a desk all day and working for a company that specialized in the manufacture of state-of-the-art pipes was not her dream job. She raised her eyes to the window. At least I have a good view, she thought.  She worked in an office on the tenth floor that overlooked the Godavari River, but in the five years she'd been with the company she'd been overlooked for promotion three times.

Her supervisor said she was passed over because she was simply too good at her job. He claimed that moving her into upper management would mean too big of a loss for the HR team. Being penalized for efficiency was almost worse than getting demerits. Inwardly, she despaired of ever achieving the career she wished for.

Cracking open the file on new hires, she skimmed through their experience and education mentally comparing her own, as she angrily punched computer keys. She'd graduated second in her class at the Institute of Management in Bhubaneswar getting a Post Graduate Diploma in Management, and then a Ph.D. in Management Science.

She'd originally applied for a job as a junior manager with the company but they selected another applicant. As a consolation prize they offered her a job in Human Resources promising that the moment a management position opened, it was hers. She'd accepted, hoping she'd move up quickly.

Her mother fussed about her attending school so far from home and now that she was working in a distant city and living in an apartment by herself, she refused to live with a distant aunt who lived nearby; she had to put up with nagging weekly phone calls. No phone call this week though, instead she was going home for the weekend. Her mother had set her up again.

She wasn't opposed to marriage but none of the men she met interested her. It seemed that once a man decided to marry he didn't care who he ended up with as long as she had the proper education, career, and political views.

That was not the type of man she dreamed of. She wanted someone…charming—a man comfortable with himself and others, who wasn't ruled by his mother, and was genuinely interested in her and not her wifely qualifications. Settling down and staying in one place for the rest of her life held little interest for her. She wanted to travel, to see the world, to have great adventures. Doing that with a cultured, handsome, exciting man was her definition of perfect.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock. "Come in," she called.

A man she'd never met entered. "Would you be Miss Mehta?"

"I am. Won't you sit down?"

While he made himself comfortable she pulled out the new hire file. He crossed one leg over the other and clasped his hands over his knee.

"Your name?" she asked.

"Kadam. Anik Kadam."

"Right, I don't see your name on the list. When were you hired?" She glanced up and studied his short white beard and hair. Retiree returned to the work force, she wondered?

He laughed softly. "I am not an employee of this organization."

"No?" she replied, puzzled. "Then what can I do for you?"

"I would like to invite you to come and work for me."

Shocked, she sat back in her chair. "Do you make it a habit to enter places of work and nick their employees?"

"Not at all. You are a very rare exception. I've spoken to the company president and he was willing to allow me to make a proposal."

"You spoke to the…who are you?"

"As I said, Anik Kadam."

"Yes, but who do you work for?"

"I work for myself. My company is called Rajaram Industries. Perhaps you've heard of it?"

Nilima wet her suddenly dry lips. Rajaram Industries was the largest conglomerate of companies based out of India. They were notoriously selective about hiring new employees and often only took on new people based on the highest of internal company recommendations.

"What…what is the position?" she asked.

"My personal assistant."

"And you said you're the owner of the company?"

"Yes."

"The elusive CEO of the fortune 500 business? The man TIME magazine featured with a giant question mark on the cover? The person no one has ever been able to interview?"

"Yes."

"And you want me to be your personal assistant?"

"That is correct, Miss Mehta."

"Nilima," she murmured.

He leaned forward. "Nilima. This job involves extensive travel, constant training, and requires the delicate handling of corporate secrets. Daily contact with your family would be difficult, but I will pay you whatever wage you require. You would be expected to remain in residence where I am, but your every comfort would be provided for." He smiled and there was something there for a moment—a hint of fatigue, or perhaps loneliness.

He continued, "I have sought for someone competent and trustworthy to care for the day to day business of managing Rajaram Industries, a person to serve as my proxy in certain situations, for some time. Here is my card. Perhaps you will consider my offer and call when you've made your decision?"

She took his card. It was blank except for his name and number. As he turned to leave, she blurted out, "Why me?"

He paused, hand on the open door. "Because, Nilima, you're perfect for the job." He inclined his head slightly, said, "Until we meet again," and closed the door softly behind him.

She sat, stunned for a time, then a slow grin spread across her face. She'd been wishing to have great adventures with a cultured, handsome man and though Mr. Kadam was much older than the man she'd been thinking of, he was still a dream come true.





Everyone have a great week!



Colleen