“Only Men Please”

“Only Men Please” is an anthology of 35 short stories written by 35 writers, and they are all men. The anthology is edited by Meenakshi Varma and published by Unisun Publications. In her introduction, Meenakshi writes, ” The stories are extremely vivid and varied, perhaps because of the fact that the writers themselves come from varied backgrounds.with regard to occupation and nationality. I don’t know if it is a co-incidence, but in all the stories the protagonist is a male.”

“Lucky For Some,Thirteen”

“Lucky For Some, Thirteen” is the title of my to be published thriller. It came out of my participating successfully in NaNoWriMo 2010. This will be the second thriller that I have written, the first being my debut novel, “It Can’t Be You.”

I wrote recently about back cover copy. I would like to share the back cover copy that I wrote for “Lucky For Some, Thirteen.”

“Is the only good terrorist a dead one? When she captures two fanatic fidayeen after their sensational terror strike in Goa in January 2010, little does Major Mohini Nair, of India’s elite counter terrorism force, the National Security Guard, realize that they will come back to haunt her and the nation later that year.

In September 2010, in another audacious, chilling attack, some of Bangalore’s rich and famous are taken hostage in “Opulence” that last word in luxurious living, in a place and at a time they least expect. Clearly, the best of technology has crashed before base human emotions of greed and fanaticism. Ransom money is not what the mysterious terrorists want. They want the release of their two comrades and safe passage in exchange for the hostages. The blood-curling brutality of the perpetrators, who include the beautiful Alice Hatchman, petrifies the hostages driving the story to a fever pitch.

Relishing the gruesome to show her power is easy for Alice as she loves no one. Rescuing the hostages is made more difficult for Mohini, as amongst them is the man she loves. Can the 13^th floor penthouse of “Opulence” prove to be lucky for some?”

I would welcome your comments. This book is likely to be published around May 2012. To follow its progress, do see its Facebook Page.

Ignore The Back Cover At Your Peril

Today, I thought I would share my views on that important part of the book, which some authors ignore at their own peril. I, of  course, speak of the back cover. Many authors, particularly first-timers, feel their job is done once they have written the book and handed it over to the publisher. I submit that you the author have a huge role to play in making the best use of the back cover.

“A Toast To Plum- Celebrating P.G.Wodehouse”

Having been a huge fan of Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse for over 45 years, it’s not surprising that I chose to write about his works for my first foray into non-fiction. Let me explain what I have in mind. There have been many biographies about him. The ones by Frances Donaldson and Robert Crum come readily to mind. I decided to follow another route, the one taken by renowned experts like Jaggard, Garrison and Hill, which is to compile a compendium of his works.

Writing A Book Proposal

Till now I have written fiction and the process generally followed to get your manuscript finally published as a book is one I am familiar with. Key points here are to write a strong query, a succinct but interesting synopsis and of course have some top quality writing in the first few chapters. Without these, I am afraid, you may not succeed in your efforts to get your book published. But hang on a moment, is the submission process the same for non-fiction?

Year End Stock Take As A Writer

I began as a writer of fiction. Like many others, I started with short stories and it was in 2009 that I took the plunge and dived in deep into fiction with a full-fledged 80,000 + words novel called ” It Can’t Be You.” ‘This was a psychological thriller, first published in November 2010. Most people who knew me were initially surprised that with a background and experience in management, I had opted to write fiction. They expected I would write a treatise on people management or even some kind of  collection of my experiences as a human resources professional for over three and a half decades.

Punctuating Dialogue

While writing a novel, it is important for an author to focus on aspects of writing, other than the plot or developing the characters. The value of correct punctuation need hardly be emphasized. Incorrect punctuation while writing dialogue confuses the reader.

On Writing

Today I decided to share some thoughts on a subject that interests me vastly, on writing. When I became a corporate executive, I remember at the start of my career, I was told that I had to forget all that I had been taught about writing. The demands of writing in the world of business were quite different from writing in literature or fiction, I was told. It took me some time to get used to the idea.

Tips on Editing A Novel

I have always maintained that it is relatively easy to write a novel. It’s far more difficult to edit one! I wonder if you agree with me on this. Editing is not restricted to correcting the typos and checking the punctuation. It’s a time-consuming, concentrated effort to make the book a better, more absorbing  read for your readers. After all, the book is meant for them, right?

NaNoWriMo 2011

It’s been signed, sealed and delivered, as they say! I completed NaNoWriMo 2011 for which I wrote 54, 919 words in November for my thriller “ Let The Dead Stay Dead.” I have been a great fan of NaNoWriMo ever since I did it for the first time in 2009.