J.D.R. Hawkins

One bullet can make a man a hero… or a casualty.

Archive for the tag “b00k r3vi3w Tours”

25 May 2023

Release Blitz – Flawed

Why would anyone want perfection when they could have Vaani Jaishankar instead?

Aditya Khamankar was a chartered accountant who built his life on a bedrock of numbers. For no matter what happened, numbers and math never let you down. They stayed the same. And that fundamental fact defined many of his choices. He was the obedient son, the diligent student, the overachieving employee, the reliable friend. All he wanted in his life was routine and sensible discourse. All he craved in that same life was peace and quiet. And then his senior partner’s flighty daughter came home. And life as he knew it was never the same again…

Reality television villain and tabloid fodder, Vaani Jaishankar lived for the arclights. The notoriety, the glamour, the larger than life noise that came with it held her in thrall. Until the industry she loved and the people she trusted used and abandoned her. And now, she was back home. Darkening the doorstep of her childhood home, something she’d sworn she’d never do and working in her father’s accountancy firm…Could God just take her now already? And then there was her father’s business partner…

What happens when Perfection meets Flawed? Do the cracks beneath his façade show? Or is it as well hidden as the foundation of grit and ambition her shiny polish conceals?

When attraction wars with common sense and love burns a fiery rope that ties them together, Aditya and Vaani need to decide if this is enough…If they are enough for each other? For the world doesn’t believe they are and the world isn’t done with them yet…

Book Links:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/131128586-flawed
Amazon India: https://amzn.to/434aing

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/436lyzl

Read an excerpt from Flawed

The bloody suitcase’s gimpy wheel broke off and the whole thing listed to one side. With a tiny scream of frustration, Vaani righted the now muddy suitcase and straightened. She took a deep breath as she stared at the house in front of her. 

Her childhood home. The home she’d grown up in, the one where she’d learned to walk, to talk, to do pretty much everything including curling her eyelashes. It looked the same, exactly the same. A bougainvillea plant bloomed along the circumference of the compound wall, the pop of colour painfully bright in her current mood of gloom and doom.

The roof tiles seemed to have been recently replaced, she thought absently as her gaze took in the brick red tiles that gave a cottagey kind of look to the otherwise cream coloured bungalow. 

She stood there, her useless suitcase by her side and stared at her past. Memories of banging doors and screaming ‘I’ll never set foot in this house again’ rose up in front of her practically taking on corporeal form. 

“I hate you all,” she whispered the words she’d screamed years before. It was the last thing she’d shouted at her family before she’d stormed out of the house, dragging this same suitcase with her. She’d been so sure, so confident, so stupid…

A loud car horn had her startling and her suitcase fell over again. The lid flew open from impact and the overstuffed suitcase disgorged its contents. Vaani stared in dismay as her clothes littered the driveway of her parents otherwise neat-as-a-pin compound. 

It was only as her gaze tracked her hot pink bra did she realise that it was draped over a perfectly polished black shoe. The car honking at her! Oh no, her bra was dangling off her father or brother’s shoe. Kill her now. A strike of lightning maybe? But nope, the clear blue skies meant that wasn’t an option.

Slowly, ever so slowly, she looked up at the man standing in front of her. Not her father or brother. Her heart soared in relief at the realisation before sinking like a stone at the sight of his forbidding expression. Angry glower, clenched jaw, nasty scar, and dramatic frown. Yes, whoever this was, he wasn’t impressed by Vaani. All six feet plus of taut muscles and frozen disapproval. Which was a new experience for her. Vaani usually had men falling at her feet in a haze of lust, not tapping an angry foot draped in a hot pink bra at her.

“Who the hell are you and what do you think you are doing here?” the man bit out. 

“Who the hell are you?” Vaani tossed back, genuinely bewildered. Had her parents sold the house or something? Even if they had, Rahul Anna would have told her. He was the only family member who still kept in touch with her. Despite being in the Navy and off on a ship most of the time. Which said a lot for her estrangement from the rest of her family. 

But that wasn’t a problem for now. Her problem for now looked to be the mountain of muscles who didn’t seem to realise he was wearing her bra on his foot. 

“Aditya Khamankar,” he said grimly like that was supposed to mean something to her. 

“Okay then Mr. Khamankar,” Vaani replied crouching and grabbing an armful of distressed jeans. “Don’t just stand there. Help me clear up the mess you made.” 

“I made??” 

“Yes, you!” She stuffed clothes back in her suitcase haphazardly. She would figure out how to fit everything later. “You honked at me and broke my suitcase.”

“I honked at you because you were standing in the middle of the driveway and staring into space. But how exactly do you manage to blame me for your suitcase disaster?” 

She noticed he hadn’t moved an inch as she scrambled around on the ground collecting her fashion debris. 

“May I have my bra please?” she asked politely, pointing at his shoe and hoping to shame him into being a gentleman.

He glanced down at his shoe, one eyebrow slowly rising at the sight of her bra still elegantly draped over its tip. 

“Stop gaping and give it to me,” she ordered, losing patience with the whole drama. She had to still deal with family drama once she entered the house. She wasn’t interested in driveway drama with random strangers.

“You look familiar,” he said slowly, as he removed the bra from his shoe and held it out to her.

Oh God. Here they went again. Honestly, Vaani was so tired of the fans and their constant requests for selfies and autographs. 

“Look, now is not the time, okay?” She made a vague shooing motion with her hand. “I’ll pose for a selfie some other day. Right now, I am here for quality time with my family and don’t want to be disturbed.”

Now, both his eyebrows shot up. She reached for the bra, but he tightened his grip on it and she found herself engaged in a weird tug of war with Muscle Man for her own underwear.

“You’re Shravan Uncle’s daughter.” 

Yuck. He knew her father. If that didn’t put him on her shitlist, she didn’t know what would. She pulled at her bra again, but, again, he didn’t let go. He just kept staring at her with that frown on his stupid face. 

Okay. It wasn’t a stupid face. It was actually a nice face. All manly and craggy and, she was pretty certain, it was a hundred percent natural. She was sure this man had never injected his face with anything or had any other work done on it. If he had, he would have first fixed that nasty scar on the right side of his face. It extended from his temple to halfway down his cheek, jagged and slightly raised. 

She wondered how he’d got it. Maybe he’d held someone else’s lingerie hostage and she’d been attached enough to it to attack him with a knife. Vaani didn’t care quite that much about hers. But, it was the principle of the thing. It was her bra after all. 

“Look.” She flashed her trademark pouty smile. “I realise keeping a celebrity’s personal stuff as a souvenir is a thing and I’m sure you’d love to keep this bra for, you know, private bedroom stuff, but-“

He dropped it like it had turned into a live flame in his hand. And then, to add insult to injury, he rubbed his hand on his pant like he was trying to rid himself of the feel of her bra.

Annoyed, Vaani opened her mouth to say something biting and sarcastic, she didn’t know what, but she knew she would think of something good. And then she heard his voice.

“Vaani?”

Of course, he would be the one to find her like this. 

Two years ago, when he’d told her she brought nothing but shame and embarrassment to the family and the family name, she’d stormed out of the house vowing to never return until she proved him wrong.

And here she was, standing in his driveway, with a broken suitcase, nothing to her name but the clothes stuffed into it, and a pink bra in her hand in lieu of the white flag of surrender she should actually be waving. 

She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and turned to face the man who’d sired her and deserted her. 

“Hi Appa. I’m home.” 

About the Author:

A published author with Harlequin India – Mills & Boon India Collection and Juggernaut, Shilpa Suraj’s books have hit both the Hot New Releases and Bestseller lists on Amazon. Her next novel, tentatively titled ‘Wrong,’ has been contracted by Rupa Publications and will release later this year. She is also part of the Flipped Anthology by Harper Collins and had an audiobook book Insta Reddy release with Storytel.

She is, amongst other things, currently working on ‘Frazzled and Fabulous,’ a humorous, true-to-life parenting story that is part memoir and part nonfiction.

An avid reader with a passion for creative writing and storytelling saw her participating in writing competitions at school and dabbling in copy writing for an ad agency as a teenager. Twenty years in the corporate space, including a stint in Corporate Communications for Google, India, and a spell at entrepreneurship all hold her in good stead for her multiple current roles of author, mother and Head of Human Resources & Public Relations at an architecture and interior design firm.

Contact the Author:
Website: http://shilpasuraj.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shilpasuraj/
Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/shilpasuraj/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shilpa.suraj/
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dt-Br9

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07 Mar 2023

Book Blitz – Eden on Earth

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After setbacks one after the other at a young age, Dhaval Sonsoil accidentally stumbles upon a glimpse of enlightenment. In his childhood dreams, he sees visions of what he calls the void, the place of nothingness but, conversely, all-knowing. Challenged by a domineering father and pulled by emotions for a young peasant girl he is forbidden to see, Dhaval quickly learns that, enlightened or not, we can’t always get what we want. Ever persevering, Dhaval embarks on a quest for illumination in the modern world. But in doing so, he embarks on something much more profound: a search for paradise on Earth with coming-of-age philosophy to celebrate life in every moment for everyone in this majestic world.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon India | Amazon US

Read an Excerpt from Eden on Earth

I always thought enlightenment was no more than a fairy tale. I assumed that to achieve it, one had to grow old in a mountain cave, meditate under a Bodhi tree, or be delirious enough to hear the sound of one hand clapping. Now I have come to realize that it’s something much simpler. Enlightenment is just another word for love, true and selfless love that enables people to experience joy in all situations in every moment of their life.

And yet, love has become a dirty word. Many will tell you it’s complicated and messy, that it gets sticky, that it distracts you from purity, that it can be done right, and it can be done wrong. Others will tell you that love is a chemical process in the brain and nothing more. And if you search for it any more profound than that, you’ll be waiting for a long like a person waiting to hear the sound of a tree falling in a forest that makes no sound.

And, yet, if you ask any two random lovers—I’m talking about the true lovers, not the Hollywood or Bollywood version, but two lovers that eat at each other’s snot and scent each other’s breath, who want to be in each other’s skin, not just be with each other—about enlightenment. They’ll tell you they don’t care. As far as they’re concerned, they’ve already found the answer, and it’s this: all you need is true and selfless love. That kind of love makes lovers feel content to stay with each other in every moment of their life, run through deserts and sail oceans, and climb mountains, because what else is there worth finding? They’ve experienced what they’ve been looking for, the joy of living, experiencing the depth of love, the catalyst, the glue that binds all creation from time immemorial, now and forever.  

If I sound like a guru, I’m not. I was confused not just by love, but by life itself for most of my life. Sure, I read about enlightenment in books and saw it mentioned in films. Sometimes it was called moksha, illumination, and other times an ecstasy pill. Some others called it living joyfully every day without any worries for tomorrow! But either way, it was always something cryptic, an abstract idea people threw about at meditation retreats, seminars, and in ‘spirituality’ or ‘austerity’ or ‘postmodern art’ workshops, but inevitably made at least one person feel uneasy because big words meant significant opinions. 

Would enlightenment mean having an encyclopedia inside your head? Or was it more a case of being able to project the past and the future like a film reel of dinosaurs and nebulas upon the back of one’s mind? Or, then again, was it more an aesthetic thing? A glowing halo and a white tunic? Was that all it was? Just an image? A pretense?  Or knowing and understanding how to live a joyful life at all times in all circumstances? Is it an idea of something that didn’t exist but people clung on to because of sheer fear, fear of being a conscious presence in a universe that is nothing more than a black vacuum of black holes and giant spinning orbs, one of which we found ourselves stuck to, thanks to that miraculous and very convenient force we call gravity?

But I was never interested in what others wanted to tell me about enlightenment. I wanted to see it for myself. You know, I’ve always only ever wanted the truth. Absolute, not relative truth. Black coffee, no sugar truth, truth beyond illusion. Release from insanity. Release from chaos. Freedom from daily pain, struggles, and disappointments of life—release from greed for power and wealth. Escape from intolerance, violence, and desires of the world.

Did I find it? I’ll let you be the judge. Because who am I to tell you what you should think anyway? Who am I to tell you what the meaning and purpose of your life are? Too many people in this world are convinced they have theanswers. The world has become too loud, too distorted to hear gentle and absolute truths. I don’t think you’ll believe what I have to say even if I do tell you. You have to see it for yourself. You have to experience it for yourself! And isn’t that the whole idea of the one hand clapping and the tree falling in the forest, making no sound? 

The answer is simple. As soon as you try to explain enlightenment or the joyful living in every situation in every moment of life, you have lost it, just like you try to clap with one hand, but you will not make a sound.

All I can tell you is my story.

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28 Feb 2023

Release Day Blitz – Bad Girl Gone Wicked

Everyone knew that when she stepped up to the crease, she always came out swinging…

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Tara Wadhwa, Captain of the Indian Women’s Cricket team, was living the dream. She got to play the sport she loved and to live close to her friends, the family of her heart. But when her friends start to fall in love, a sliver of loneliness works its way into her heart pushing her to make a reckless mistake.
Nikhil Upadhyay, owner of a pristine reputation and the nation’s best fixer, is called in to save the day. Fix Tara’s reputation and babysit her till she brings home the World Cup. A dream assignment for a man who otherwise spent way too much time cleaning up far messier situations. Until he met his newest client and the dream turned into a nightmare…
Can Tara work past her childhood grooming to see that there could be a life beyond the game? Can Nikhil see the value of the girl behind the polished façade he was working on presenting to the world? And will the two of them ever stop fighting long enough to allow their simmering attraction a chance to come out and play?

For when the Bad Girl met the Good Boy, she realised, that just this once, she wanted to let her inner ‘wicked’ out to play. And we all know what happens when Tara Wadhwa steps up to the crease…

Book Links:
Goodreads | Amazon.in | Amazon.com

Reads an Excerpt from Bad Girl Gone Wicked

“Tara, this is beyond damage control. For the next few months, you will do whatever Nikhil asks you to do. No arguments, no semantics.”
The weight of what they were asking of me started to press down on my shoulders, but I just squared them and tried to act unaffected by it all. Like I always did. Like I always would. No one needed to know what it cost me. Not because I was ashamed of it but because they didn’t care.
“Okay,” I murmured, letting my public persona slide back into place. My tiny spurt of rebellion had been duly squashed. Now it was time to make amends. My entire future, my entire life was at stake. Because I was nothing without this game. “When do we begin?”
“Now.” Manisha said, moving towards the door.
“Now?” Panic flared inside me as I stared at the door. “I haven’t even changed out of the clothes from last night’s fiasco or had a chance to wash up or-”
“Tara.” Manisha’s firm voice cut off my rising hysteria. “He doesn’t care if you look a mess. That’s what he’s here for. This is his job. To clean up the mess. All of it.”
Like I was what a puppy had pooped out in the middle of the living room rug. And this nerdy looking guy was going to clean it up and hide the evidence. Temper was starting to spark again eating into my resolve to be well behaved. Wonderful. I’d lasted all of five minutes and I hadn’t even met this fixer guy yet. How was I going to keep this up for months?
“Now,” Manisha said. “I’m not going to say it again. Behave.”
When had she said it before, I wondered, as the door opened almost in slow motion. And Black Suit walked in.
My gaze travelled from his perfectly polished black shoes to his perfectly pressed black suit. Was he wearing the same outfit as his resume picture, or did he just own replicas of one outfit which he wore every day? God, this guy gave new meaning to the definition of nerd.
And then my gaze rose further and met amused chocolate brown eyes set in a face that devoid of life had been ordinary but lit up with spark and laughter like it was right now…
Hot nerd. Black Suit was a very hot nerd.  

About the Author:

Shilpa Suraj.jpeg

A published author with Harlequin India – Mills & Boon India Collection and Juggernaut, Shilpa Suraj’s books have hit both the Hot New Releases and Bestseller lists on Amazon. Her next novel, tentatively titled ‘Wrong,’ has been contracted by Rupa Publications and will release later this year. She is also part of the Flipped Anthology by Harper Collins and had an audiobook book Insta Reddy release with Storytel.

She is, amongst other things, currently working on ‘Frazzled and Fabulous,’ a humorous, true-to-life parenting story that is part memoir and part nonfiction.

An avid reader with a passion for creative writing and storytelling saw her participating in writing competitions at school and dabbling in copy writing for an ad agency as a teenager. Twenty years in the corporate space, including a stint in Corporate Communications for Google, India, and a spell at entrepreneurship all hold her in good stead for her multiple current roles of author, mother and Head of Human Resources & Public Relations at an architecture and interior design firm.

Contact the Author:
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Newsletter

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13 Feb 2023

Release Day Blitz – The American Outsider

“A charming read with characters who come to life on the page—and who live for a cause whose urgency shines through the story.” – Booklife Review

Tessa Walker is a veterinarian with a strong, emotional connection to animals. As a teen, she witnessed the brutal slaughter of dolphins, and as an adult, she decides to do something about it. She leaves her home in Los Angeles and travels to Japan to speak out for them, but little does she know that she is embarking on an adventure that will change her life forever. From the urban metropolis of Tokyo to the historic Kyoto to the culinary city of Osaka, and the seaside town of Taiji, Tessa is determined to help Japanese activists stand up for her beloved mammals.

Along the way, the friendships and bonds that she builds with people in Japan, and the unconditional love of a stranger named Toshiro, open her eyes to a complicated society of conventions and traditions. Yet, her limited knowledge of the language and customs doesn’t deter her from taking on a dangerous mission that could land her in jail.

Book Links:
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88079111-the-american-outsider
amazon.in – https://amzn.to/3HWpjhm
amazon.com – https://amzn.to/3YAPW2o

Read an Excerpt from The American Outsider

At the Japanese garden, Tessa watched butterflies drink the nectar of flowers. She fed the fish in the koi pond and stood on a bridge to take several shots of the picturesque scenery. Less shaken, she headed to the French garden she had heard so much about and began sauntering down a sycamore-lined path. She sat on a bench and pulled out her beautifully wrapped bento box, chopsticks, and jasmine tea. Inside, the box cradled an artistically arranged mini-feast of multigrain rice, white rice, marinated tofu, and colorful vegetables. It almost looked much too pretty to eat. As she enjoyed her meal and drank her fragrant tea, Tessa took in her surroundings. A mother pushed a toddler in a stroller and carried her younger child in a strap wrapped around her. An elderly man sat at a bench and sketched the landscape. Two trendy-looking girls wearing miniskirts and hats chatted and sniggered. A group of middle-aged women used fanciful umbrellas to keep the sun from aging their flawless complexions. Showing off one’s legs by wearing miniskirts was common in Japan, but showing one’s shoulders and cleavage was taboo. Wearing hats and using umbrellas was favored because having a fair complexion was important and desirable for many Japanese women. Tessa, on the other hand, loved the sun and a good tan. Funny, how everyone’s perspective is so different, she thought. When she finished eating, Tessa placed her trash in a plastic bag and put it in her handbag. In Japan, it was rare to see public trash cans. People carried around small plastic bags to put their trash in until they could discard it at home. To outsiders, Japan’s trash etiquette is complex and one of the reasons why landlords do not like to rent apartments to foreigners.

Homa Pourasgari spent hours in her father’s home office, writing, reading and letting her imagination carry her to unseen worlds. She moved to Los Angeles, California, at a young age. After graduating from Loyola Marymount University with a degree in business, she went to Paris for a year to study literature at the Sorbonne. Before becoming a full-time writer, she ran her own boutique, worked at a bank and a CPA firm, was a personal trainer and even taught spinning and cardio kickboxing. When she is not writing, she is stumbling, miming and pointing to find her way in a foreign country. Her latest novel, The American Outsider, is based on her travels in Japan.

Homa on the Web:

Website – https://www.homapourasgari.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088472221231
Twitter – https://twitter.com/homapourasgari

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30 Jan 2023

Release Day – Bad Girl Gone Rogue

When Inaya Khan is told she’s meeting a boy for marriage, the last thing she expects is for beetroot juice to play spoilsport. As CEO of Ixora Skincare, Inaya has achieved money, fame and power all at the age of twenty-seven. But to her mother, the only labels that apply to her are overweight and unmarried.

A CEO himself, but of a struggling startup, Ayaz Ahmed has no time or energy to even think of marriage. Until his mother shows him Inaya’s picture and he’s instantly smitten. Despite a disastrous start that included beetroot juice spewage, multiple suitors for Inaya’s hand and judgy onlookers, Inaya and Ayaz are instinctively drawn to each other.

Until Ayaz finds out that his company is being taken over by none other than his prospective bride-to-be. Ayaz may be smitten but he isn’t stupid. And he most certainly isn’t letting Inaya take his precious company from him.

Can love find a way to survive in the heart of business deals, mergers and acquisitions? Or will this bad girl have to go rogue to bring her own ‘Ranveer Singh’ home? 

Book Links:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/82432097-bad-girl-gone-rogue
IN – https://amzn.to/3WG5fW4
US – https://amzn.to/3Dm76bw 

Read an Excerpt from Bad Girl Gone Rogue

Keeping my face as blank as possible, I sat down and tried my best not to sit too close to him. He sat down as well, a smile on his face, looking sheepish because my mother and his family were looking at us keenly.

‘Sameena, there’s someone I wanted you to meet,’ Ammi said to his mother and taking the hint, both his parents got up and walked away with Ammi, leaving the two of us alone at the table. We weren’t alone per se, because there were so many people around but I still felt my stomach tie up in knots.

Whenever I was in Bangalore, a part of me forgot that I was the CEO of a successful company and not just my parents’ daughter. I had spoken to thousands of men probably, men who worked for me, men whom I had interviewed for jobs at my company, vendors and marketers, and other CEOs. But here, all that was swept away as I became Naseem and Aftab Khan’s younger daughter. Their younger unmarried daughter.

Straightening my back, I turned to him, really hoping there wouldn’t be another disaster like the one that had nearly ruined my dress. I briefly wondered where Ayaz was. Maybe he’d been embarrassed enough to leave.

I put him out of my mind and turned to the man I was sitting with. He looked at me appraisingly, his eyes resting on my shoulders and then glancing down my bare arms. Women were wearing short, strapless dresses here at the party. This was nothing compared to that. I gritted my teeth, thinking that if he was going to shame me for my outfit, I was going to throw this…this…I picked up the glass of juice on the table and sniffed it slightly and then nearly gagged. It was beetroot juice.

About the Author:

Andaleeb Wajid is a hybrid author, having published 40 novels in the past 14 years. Andaleeb enjoys writing in a number of different genres such as young adult, romance, and horror. Andaleeb’s recent novels All Drama No Queen and Mirror, Mirror were published by Penguin Random House and Duckbill respectively in 2021. Andaleeb’s romance trilogy Jasmine Villa Series is being published by Westland in February 2023. She has an upcoming YA horror novel with Harper Collins later in 2023.

Andaleeb on the Web:

https://www.facebook.com/AndaleebWajid/

https://www.instagram.com/andaleebwajid/

https://andaleebwajid.substack.com/

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12 Jan 2023

Release Blitz – Once Upon a Kiss

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“Kissing you means I’m beyond redemption.”

Orphaned at a young age, scraping together a life below the poverty line, Karam Bakshi has only ever wanted one thing. Success. With unrelenting focus and backbreaking effort, he has carved out the life of his dreams. And then he saw her and forgot that he had goals or a plan or even something as basic as ideas.

Shikha Sachdev, only daughter to a mining magnate and jilted fiancée to one of the most powerful men in the country, has never wanted for anything. And then she met him and realised that until that moment, she never had wanted anything. Not like she wanted him.

When passion collides with reason, when the heart goes to war with the brain, and old scabs rip open under the onslaught of new wounds, there is nowhere to hide, nowhere to run, and only one option left; gamble with everything you’ve got. Win and reach for a lifetime of happiness or lose and you lose everything, including your very sense of self.

Can Karam and Shikha ever find common ground? Or are they destined to orbit each other like the most tortured star-crossed lovers of eternity?

Book Links:

Goodreads * Amazon.in * Amazon.com

Read an Excerpt from Once Upon a Kiss

Karam stiffened at the sweet voice and the even sweeter sentiment it oozed. He didn’t do sweet. He turned slowly to face her. 

“Slumming again, Princess?”

Anger flared on those perfect features, but she composed herself a second later. You had to admire that level of control. She would have made the perfect politician’s wife. Kanak, on the other hand…a reluctant laugh huffed out of him. 

“Why are you like this?” she asked now, her tone bored but her eyes alive with something he recognised all too well. The same emotion thrummed through his veins, heating his blood and kickstarting his heart. 

He took a sip from his flask, a deliberately long one. He wanted to smack his lips, the gesture as pointed as it was obscene, when she stepped closer to him.

“You didn’t reply to my last message.” The soft words only stoked the heat.

“Didn’t have time.” The words were a low snarl in response. 

She cocked her head, those pretty hazel eyes seeing right through him and to the lonely, angry, always hungry boy he’d been and apparently, never outgrown. The boy who’d longed for a better life, for a full stomach, for a night without being whipped or beaten, for an affectionate touch, for someone, anyone really, to love him. 

A boy who’d thought he’d deserved better. A boy who’d wanted something pretty, something special in his life. A boy who’d dirtied and ruined everything he’d held in his hands. Including this woman.

He’d kissed her. And she’d lost everything. Her rich, powerful fiancé had ended their engagement, her family had shunned her, humiliated by her actions and her business had lost investors. Apparently, they’d been backing the woman who was going to marry Aakash Thakkar. Not someone who’d kiss an alley rat like him. 

“Go inside,” he told her softly.

But when did she ever listen to him?

“No,” she said, equally softly, stepping forward and into his space. 

“You really need to find a rich, pretty boy to practice this shit with, Princess.” The words were hoarse, his chest starting to heave. 

“But I don’t want to,” she murmured, her fingers pushing the hair back from his forehead, running through the strands. She gripped the back of his neck, the contact feeling like a brand on his skin.

“What do you want?” His hand fisted around his flask even as the other one gripped her hip, the skin soft and satiny under his callused palm. Her saree pallu whispered down one shoulder and slipped to the ground but neither of them noticed, their eyes only on each other.

“What. Do. You. Want?” The words were dragged from him. 

“You, Karam. Always you.” 

This time when she kissed him, he didn’t just go up in flames. He swore he’d burn the world down for a chance to do this again. And again.

About the Author:

A published author with Harlequin India – Mills & Boon India Collection and Juggernaut, Shilpa Suraj’s books have hit both the Hot New Releases and Bestseller lists on Amazon. Her next novel, tentatively titled ‘Wrong,’ has been contracted by Rupa Publications and will release later this year. She is also part of the Flipped Anthology by Harper Collins and had an audiobook book Insta Reddy release with Storytel.

She is, amongst other things, currently working on ‘Frazzled and Fabulous,’ a humorous, true-to-life parenting story that is part memoir and part nonfiction.

An avid reader with a passion for creative writing and storytelling saw her participating in writing competitions at school and dabbling in copy writing for an ad agency as a teenager. Twenty years in the corporate space, including a stint in Corporate Communications for Google, India, and a spell at entrepreneurship all hold her in good stead for her multiple current roles of author, mother and Head of Human Resources & Public Relations at an architecture and interior design firm.

Contact the Author:
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26 Dec 2022

Book Blitz – Wrong

One wrong choice on the eve of her wedding has left Ananya married to one brother and in love with THE OTHER…

Ananya Saxena is the good girl who has always done the right thing. She is a dutiful wife, faithful daughter-in-law, fierce champion of the law. Except, in her heart was another phrase—reckless lover. An impossible choice for a good Indian girl. Duty had Ananya marry her best friend only to end up with a bitter, vengeful husband. Arvin Saxena is now a cripple, both physically and emotionally, after his wife’s confession the day before they were to be married. So, Arvin’s never-ending pain finds release only in hurting her. What he doesn’t know is that her secret sin was loving Arnav Saxena.

Arnav turned his back on all of them when she discarded him and married his younger brother.

When he is forced to return, it sets Ananya on a collision course with fate and she chooses desire over duty to embark on an affair with Arnav. For a brief glorious time, they have it all.

But soon, Ananya is faced with yet another life-changing decision when adultery, bankruptcy and a web of lies bring her to a crossroads. The dutiful wife or the defiant lover… who does she choose to be? And does she really even have a choice?

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon.in | Amazon.com

Read an Excerpt from Wrong

There was a special place in hell for men who were in love with another man’s wife. Arnav contemplated the fifteen-year-old scotch in the crystal glass in front of him. It helped fan the

flames of the hellfire in his gut. It didn’t stop his gaze from being drawn to the back of her dress. The outfit shimmered like silver smoke over her lithe body. He could see her husband’s hand resting possessively on her exposed back, a thumb gently gliding over her creamy, unblemished skin.

He clenched his glass and gulped down almost half of its contents, savouring the burning trail it left inside him. It did nothing for the guilt that was his constant companion, but it numbed the pain that clawed through him, be it only for a moment.

She laughed. It was a tinkling burst of sound that cut through the quiet murmur of the sophisticated, high society crowd that had gathered for the charity event. A few tendrils of her hair escaped the complicated hairdo her glorious waist-length mane was caught up in and flirted with the

nape of her neck.

Cursing, he pushed back from the table. He needed a smoke and he didn’t care if the world thought it was rude of him to walk out right now. As he made his way through the throng, a part of him registered the way she leaned against her husband and murmured something into his ear. Turning towards her, he

gave her an indulgent smile that spoke volumes about their relationship.

Oh yes, there was a special place in hell for men who loved another man’s wife. He breathed, crawled and existed in that abyss, for he didn’t just love another man’s wife, he loved his brother’s wife. Amidst the scum that grew in the filthy gutter of the deepest, darkest bowels of hell, he was the slime you scraped off the bottom of your shoe. He lived and breathed guilt, remorse and gut-searing pain. She was his friend, his passion, his endless torment, his curse. And yet, he loved her.

About the Author:

Shilpa Suraj wears many hats – corporate drone, homemaker, mother to a fabulous toddler and author.

An avid reader with an overactive imagination, Shilpa has weaved stories in her head since she was a child. Her previous stints at Google, in an ad agency and as an entrepreneur provide colour to her present day stories, both fiction and non-fiction.

Contact the Author:
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22 Dec 2022

Book Blitz – Love Bait

Pranay Oza is excited about his life’s new phase – COLLEGE. And soon enough, life offers him much more than he imagined. Falling in live with a college senior and the love being reciprocated through anonymous love notes was like a dreamy sequence from a romantic movie come true.

But then was this love or bait?

It is college election time too and stakes are high for all the aspirants for the President’s post. It is the last chance for all of them to prove themselves capable of moving into pro- fessional politics.

But can a fresher Pranay Oza be critical to the elections?

At this age, decisions are driven by passion and consequences can be life changing 

Book Links:

Amazon.in | Amazon.com

Read an Excerpt from Love Bait

Prologue

It was four minutes to midnight. Pranay climbed up the wall with the support of the tree trunk and took a pause to look around. There was no one to be seen, it was all silent and so he jumped on the other side as quietly as he could. He steadied himself and looked around again. Finding no sign of any movement, he quickly rushed towards the narrow pathway leading to the stairs, the one he had seen Amrita take the other night.

He quietly started climbing up the stairs. For once, he was happy the hostels rarely replaced a fused bulb on the stairways. It was not a dark night and the half-moon brightened the stairs enough for a cautious climb. His heart was racing fast, not knowing what to expect. He wanted to be quick but silent. “Why am I here? What do I want? Well, it’s a bit too late to think about it now.” But he firmly believed he was expected to be here at this hour.

As he reached the foyer, half way up to the first floor, he heard a creak. He froze in fear and almost stopped breathing to maintain absolute silence. The creak sounded like a door or window closed or maybe opened. He waited and tried to listen hard. But it was all very quiet apart from his drumming heart and his soft breath. The music from the common room remained faint. He concluded it should be one of the windows moving due to the wind.

He climbed up further and reached another small foyer.

There are two doors now, one to his left and one to his right. “It should be the one on the left,” he thought. It was a guess based on what he had seen the other night. He looked for room number but there was none, neither on the other door.

‘Left it is’ he decided. He took a deep breath and steadied himself. Still not sure what to expect, he took a step forward to lightly knock on the door. But as his knuckle touched the door for the first tap, the door creaked.

The door was open. Indeed! He was expected! His breath was still shallow, his anxiety level still high and his heart still pounding. He slowly pushed the door open. It was dark inside and his eyes took a few moments to adjust. The window on the wall to his right was open, the curtains were drawn and the moonlight was filtering in from the borders. There was another glass window on the opposite wall the room which was closed. The light coming in from this window was just enough to create an outline of the bed underneath. It seemed there was no one on the bed. The rest of the room was dark.

He took a step into the room and straightened himself up.

The room was eerily quiet and he could not see Amrita around. Was she shy and hiding from him? On second thoughts he wondered ‘Am I even in the correct room?’

Varun holds a Bachelors degree in Engineering from MS university, Baroda. Additionally, he holds double Masters in Business from Symbiosis, Pune and HEC Paris.

After working in India & France, Varun currently lives in Bahrain with his wife and two daughters. He loves reading and this is his first rendezvous with writing.

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20 Dec 2022

Release Day Blitz – Bad Girl Gone Good

When Aisha Rajput, the queen of raves and celebrity after-parties, is asked to plan a hospital fundraiser, she’s convinced the sun finally rose from the west. And yet, she is determined to blow this brief out of the water for it is her one chance at redemption.

Seven years ago, she shattered Dr Kabir Pradhan’s heart with a deliberate, conscious act of betrayal. The least she can do to make up for it is to save his hospital.

Aisha is the woman who loved him and broke him. The last thing Kabir needs is for her to do it all over again with his hospital. He doesn’t want her, he doesn’t need her, and he certainly won’t tolerate her. Or so he tells himself.

When the hospital board leaves them with no choice but to work together, the stage is set for fireworks.

When the heartache of the past collides with the irresistible desire of the present, the future looks to be in jeopardy. Unless the Bad Girl goes Good and saves the day.

But can she?

And does Kabir even want her to, for like it or not, his heart has always belonged to the Bad Girl, hasn’t it?

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon.in | Amazon.com

Read an Excerpt from Bad Girl Gone Good

KABIR

The Rajmata of Bannor looked positively hunted as she stared at me.

“She said she’s on her way, beta. I’m sure she will be here soon.”

My brow creased in confusion.

“Who is on her way? I thought we were meeting to discuss how to raise money for the new NICU.”

“We are! But you can’t raise funds without a proper fundraiser. And if anyone can organise a superhit, blockbuster event for you, it is she,” declared Her Highness.

What was the old lady smoking? We weren’t a Bollywood production house. Usha Kiran was a hospital with a reputation for quality healthcare. The manic gleam in her eyes made me very nervous, especially when she started throwing around words like superhit and blockbuster.

“She?” I asked carefully.

“Kabir, you can’t pull off such a big event all by yourself. You need an event manager.”

No. What I needed was for these old farts to get their heads out of their asses and come up with a plan to counter Her Highness’s schemes.

“Your Highness, we’re trying to collect funds, and I’m not sure how blowing up a huge chunk of money on a grand party is going to help us do that.”

The other members of the board nodded in agreement. The very thought of wasting money on a fundraiser made them turn ashen.

She shook her head in disappointment.

“Beta, sometimes you have to spend money to earn more.”

“Well, we don’t have much, to begin with, and I don’t think I can authorise such an expense when I could use the money to buy new ventilators,” I said apologetically.

I knew she meant well, but she needed a dose of reality. There was nothing glamorous about what we were trying to do here. We needed state-of-the-art incubators, ventilators with CPAP machines, as well as a well-trained NICU staff, all of which cost money.

“What if the board doesn’t have to spend a single penny? I will donate the money you need to organise the event,” she replied craftily.

“With due respect, Your Highness, why would you do that?”

She banged on the floor with the end of her walking stick.

“Because it is time to try something new. The world is full of people who have more money than they can spend in this lifetime. And some of them are even willing to share that wealth. You just need to know how to approach them. As for the ones that don’t want to part with their wealth, you need to know exactly how to lure and skin them,” said Her Highness, with relish.

Were we still talking about raising money? I had a feeling there was a ruthless serial killer lurking under that silk-clad grandmotherly exterior. I sighed as I resigned myself to an uncomfortable meeting with the event manager. But I would hear her out before I showed her the door. It was the least I could do.

I looked at my watch pointedly and nodded.

“Fine. Let’s see what this wizard of yours has in mind.”

There was a sharp knock at the door, and it swung open.

“I hope I’m not too old for one of your lollipops, Doctor Uncle,” called a voice that I hadn’t heard for years.

And yet, it hit me with the same force as it had seven years ago.

Her Highness rose to welcome her, but I stayed frozen in my seat, unable to do anything but stare at that familiar face. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! What the fuck was Aisha Rajput doing here?

She walked into the room and greeted Her Highness with a warm hug.

“Now, where’s my favourite man?” she cooed, pulling away from the Rajmata of Bannor.

I clenched my jaw and stood up slowly to my full height as she turned towards me. When she spotted me, she swayed in place as if she had been dealt a body blow. I shot her a frosty smile that made her turn pale.

“Well, if it isn’t the OG Bad Girl,” I drawled.”

About the Author:

Alisha Kay writes funny, exciting and steamy stories, with spunky heroines who can rescue themselves, and hot, woke heroes who find such independence irresistible.

The first book in The Devgarh Royals series, The Maharaja’s Fake Fiancée, won the grand prize at the Amazon KDP Pen to Publish Contest 2020.

Alisha on the Web:
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03 Nov 2022

Boo Blitz – Art of Self-Maximization

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Do you look forward to wake up each morning ready to face a new day and new challenges? Or does the fear of failure keep you from reaching your true potential? Do you feel you are stuck in life and not progressing? Do you want to leave your comfort zone, but are not sure how to do it? Only when you are clear about what you want to achieve in your life and your goals can you work toward it.

In his book, “ART OF SELF-MAXIMIZATION” the author, Dr. Sanjeevv Khanna, gives you the recipe to live a fulfilling life. This book will help you identify the areas in your life where you need to make a change to realize your true potential.

Reading this book will help you…

Discover what you are passionate about

Visualize your life goals

Overcome fear of failure

Live a balanced and full life

Get back the joy of living

Dr. Sanjeevv Khanna, a renowned Ikigai, Life, Relationship & Leadership Coach, has provided the blueprint to successful living in this book. It is sure to help anyone looking to maximize their life experiences and come out of the daily rut. Read this book to learn the important hacks to manifest your desires and attain success.

Book Links:

Amazon.in * Amazon.com

Read an Excerpt from Art of Self-Maximization

“We are kept away from our goal not by obstacles, but by a clear path to a lesser goal.”- Robert Brault. 

The universe controls our actions. Have you ever been told this? Have you not heard people talking about the sheer significance of luck in one’s life? 

The answer is categorically affirmative. You often come across people blaming their luck for not getting a job or a good score or for being yelled at by a superior, and the list goes on and on. Why don’t you take a minute and ponder upon the concept of luck? Think about Rajesh, a young man, who is just out of college and is looking for a job. A year passes by, and Rajesh has miserably failed in his attempts to secure a job. 

Now, whenever he is asked about being unemployed, he blames his luck. The truth is, Rajesh only applied for the jobs that his connections referred him to. Although this is a good way of job hunting, Rajesh had neither updated his resume nor enhanced his professional skills. He assumed his luck would put things in place somehow. Let me tell you this. The recipe for success is 99 percent hard work and 1 percent luck. Look around you. The world is brimming with opportunities. 

The ones who have succeeded grabbed those chances and worked really hard to accomplish their goals. This is the story of all successful people. 

“Opportunity does not knock; it presents itself when you beat down the door.”- Kyle Chandler 

We all want to succeed, and we all know that it is easier said than done. One can dream, but turning your dreams into reality is the actual task at hand. We are aware of many rags to riches real-life stories. Consider Narayan Murthy, Indira Nooyi, Karsanbhai Patel, Shah Rukh Khan, Rajnikanth, or even late Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam; none of them were born with a golden spoon. How did they reach their current stature? 

Well, simple. All of them were open to opportunities, and they worked hard. They explored the path to board a purpose-driven life. Go ahead and look up a few stories yourself. And then, ask yourself this: What makes them who they are? How are they so ahead of the pack? 

You need some crucial elements to fill your life with a purpose. Have you heard of consistent behavior? A consistent behavior motivates you, lets you overcome hurdles, and helps you move closer to your focus. 

As you adhere to consistent behavior, you dig an option to change the conditions in the surrounding environment. Anyone who lives a life filled with purpose instills consistent behavior in their outer and inner circles. 

The next crucial element is to be psychologically resilient. You need to be flexible and make adjustments wherever necessary to meet your goal, no matter what obstacles and demands you might face. 

By avoiding adversities and managing the environment dynamically, both physical and psychological, you can reduce your problems, especially if your life does not have a purpose. 

Additionally, having a purpose in life enables you to effectively allocate available resources like energy and time. These resources allow you to pursue the purpose. Other actions with zero worth are kept to the least. Besides, the resources they could have used up are redirected to purpose-driven actions. Such components are deemed important elements to pursue a life filled with purpose. In their absence, it’s almost impossible to find and achieve one’s life purpose. 

About the Author:

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Dr. Sanjeevv Khanna is  India’s 1st Licensed IKIGAI coach and also he is ICF & NLP Certified Life Coach. Dr. Sanjeevv Khanna  is also Founder & CEO of Academy for Self Maximization, Director – CBO, Startup Lanes Strategic Partner & Executive Director –  Noble Manhattan Ltd., U.K. Global Leader – Artemes, Mentor of Change -ATAL, Niti Aayog. He is also the author of Ikigai is Ikigai & Art of Self-Maximisation.

Author on the Web:

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