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The Appetizer When You're Not His Main Course
Ni'cola Mitchell - 2010
Enjoying her life as a stay at home wifey, the couple is expecting a set of twins. Their life could not have been any more picture perfect, until the day that Yazmin was involved in a hit and run accident. Scared for the life of her babies, Yazmin damn near goes into shock after she attempts to call Trey only to be greeted by his wife of the past ten years……Monae and Malik have had a drama free long distance relationship for the last two years. Malik is a Marine, and is stationed in San Diego. They both have an understanding that once Monae graduates from UCLA, they will have their dream wedding. Planning an intimate surprise party just for two in his apartment, Monae discovers that she is not the only woman waiting for “her” man to come home……Knowing that Devaugn is in a relationship, Nia simply don’t care. He is the ideal man, and Nia is convinced that if she works hard enough, she can show him that she is all the woman that he needs. Stephanie will be a thing of the past and Devaugn can start taking care of Nia and her three children full time. Or will he…….These three friends all have one thing in common; they are really their man’s chick on the side. What happens when a woman find’s out that she is not her man’s main course, she is only the appetizer…..
Confused Bastards
Manav Vigg - 2016
Strugglingwith their own inner conflicts as well as the cruel world outside, they decide toshow the world their true potential. To make it big. But how?They become the voice of the nation by starting up an online platform wherepeople can upload unabashed, unapologetic videos, venting out their angstagainst people, politics, bosses, lovers, taboos, or just about anything. Even thefounders themselves.The platform spreads like wild fire. But when has fire doused without burning afew!Confused Bastards is not just a witty, gritty, fast-paced journey of three friends,it’s also an intolerant story for a tolerant country!
Ambiguity Machines and Other Stories
Vandana Singh - 2018
In “Requiem”, a woman goes to Alaska to try and make sense of her aunt’s disappearance. An eleventh century poet wakes to find he is as an artificially intelligent companion on a starship. A woman of no account has the ability to look into the past.Singh's work dives into the vast strangeness of the universe without and within, and she unblinkingly explores the ways we move through space and time: together, yet always apart.Contents:- With Fate Conspire (2013)- A Handful of Rice (2012)- Peripeteia (2013)- Lifepod (2007)- Oblivion: A Journey (2008)- Somadeva: A Sky River Sutra (2010)- Are You Sannata3159? (2010)- Indra's Web (2011)- Ruminations in an Alien Tongue (2012)- Sailing the Antarsa (2013)- Cry of the Kharchal (2013)- Wake-Rider (2014)- Ambiguity Machines: An Examination (2015)- Requiem (2018)
Untruly Yours
Smita Shetty - 2012
However, behind closed doors, cracks are beginning to appear in her seemingly comfortable relationship with her professionally consumed husband, Rakesh. Although Rakesh seems content with his alpha neatness-fetish-melodramatic wife and bright son; Natasha yearns for romance, passion and excitement. Ironically, the Psychologist husband fails to read between the lines and Natasha is left to her own devices to deal with her unresolved emotions. An unexpected call from India takes her through a journey of self-discovery with her devastatingly handsome work colleague, Steve. She uncovers in some aspects urban India has changed considerably but equally, deep-rooted social issues still prevail in the so called modern, educated, changing society. A chance encounter with her 'blast from the past' - Veer, adds to the emotional rollercoaster ride. Her one-man-woman status of many years has failed to equip her with vital tools to deal with the unanticipated surge of attention from Steve and Veer. As she attempts to master the finer points of courtship, flirtation and seduction; her life spirals out of control. Natasha is compelled to make tough decisions about her love, friendship, marriage and parenthood.
Justice at Christmas 2
M.A. Comley - 2019
Or is he? DI Lorne Simpkins investigates the murder of a man wearing a Santa suit in the week leading up to Christmas. Why was he inside Jilly Cartwright’s home? Ho...Ho...How did he die and who killed him?This is a Justice short story of 15000 words.
Ladies Coupé
Anita Nair - 2001
In the intimate atmosphere of the all-women sleeping car - the 'Ladies Coupe' - Akhila asks the five women the question that has been haunting her all her adult life: can a woman stay single and be happy, or does she need a man to feel complete?This wonderfully atmospheric, deliciously warm novel takes the reader into the heart of women's lives in contemporary India, revealing how the dilemmas that women face in their relationships with hunsbands, mothers, friends, employers and children are the same world over.
How About A Sin Tonight?
Novoneel Chakraborty - 2012
As their intimately intertwined personal stories take centre stage, the industry’s underbelly is left exposed for all to see. By the time the curtain draws to a close, the gossip-hungry media has enough fodder on its plate to last a lifetime.Novoneel Chakraborty, bestselling author of A Thing beyond Forever and That Kiss in the Rain, unveils the grime behind the glitz, the insecurities and compromises, in a world where aspirants come prepared to strike a Faustian bargain. A beguiling tale of love, ambition, jealousy, and betrayal, How About a Sin Tonight? will leave you asking for more.
Servants of India
R.K. Laxman - 2000
Laxman profiles ten hilariously idiosyncratic people, who are among the countless men and women who run the lives of the middle class in India. The tales are put together by Ganesh, a freelance journalist trying to write a feature article on servants he has known. As his chronicle progresses, what emerges is a richly embellished narrative starring unforgettable characters. There is Swami, the cook, who finds his true vocation as a godman; Kumar, who deserts his household duties to pursue his tinsel-town dreams; Anthony, the driver, who makes money on the side by giving lifts to strangers; the maid Shanti, whose lift is thrown into turmoil by the neighbour's servant who is besotted with her; and Ramaswami, a trusted retainer who reappears mysteriously, much to the consternation of his employer, long after he has been presumed drowned. Marked by Laxman's trademark wit, and including pencil sketches drawn especially for this edition, Servants of India is a delightful read.
A Breath of Fresh Air
Amulya Malladi - 2002
In an instant, her world changes forever. Her anger at his being late turns to horror when a catastrophic gas leak poisons the city air. Anjali miraculously survives. Her marriage does not.A smart, successful schoolteacher, Anjali is now remarried to Sandeep, a loving and stable professor. Their lives would be nearly perfect, if not for their young son’s declining health. But when Anjali’s first husband suddenly reappears in her life, she is thrown back to the troubling days of their marriage with a force that impacts everyone around her.Her first husband’s return brings back all the uncertainty Anjali thought time and conviction had healed–about her decision to divorce, and about her place in a society that views her as scandalous for having walked away from her arranged marriage. As events unfold, feelings she had guarded like gold begin to leak away from her, spreading out into the world and challenging her once firm beliefs. Rich in insight into Indian culture and psychology, A Breath of Fresh Air resonates with meaning and the abiding power of love. In a landscape as intriguing as it is unfamiliar, Anjali’s struggles to reconcile the roles of wife and ex-wife, working woman and mother, illuminate both the fascinating duality of the modern Indian woman and the difficult choices all women must make.From the Hardcover edition.
One Life, One Love
Rochak Bhatnagar - 2012
Nevertheless, it is also the most complex and yet to be understood emotion. Ask anyone what love is? And the most common answer you would get is,"it is a feeling which cannot be completely defined". Strange but true. An emotion which in the history of mankind has changed destinies and shaped millions of lives is still not fully comprehended.But, if you ask this question to 'Rishi Sinha' the only answer you will get is 'Ananya Tripathi'. Life has completely changed since the day he confessed his love for her. Romantic dates, late night phone calls and never ending SMS's. A 'happy go lucky couple', madly and completely in love.Everything was going on smooth until one day, when Rishi is put into a National Level competition with 'Pragya'… his screwed up past and the biggest mistake of his life. He has no choice but to represent his college with Pragya and of course win the title too.Rishi tells Ananya about the competition, who, like a mature girl understands his condition and has no objection in his working with her. But, fate has something else in store for him. Now Rishi is in a dilemma. On one side is 'Ananya', the love of his life and on the other side is 'Pragya', a dying and needy friend. On one side is his most ruined past, while on the other his present, his future. He has to choose between the two. Whom will he choose?'One Life, One Love' is a tale of 'Love' and 'Friendship' along with some social issues like 'Prostitution', 'Mafia', 'Live in' and 'Gambling' which we talk and read about daily but never realise how intense they are. Will Rishi be able to take the right decision and save his relationship?What has Rishi's fate in store for him? All your answers lie here, in this emotional yet witty tale by Rochak Bhatnagar…
The Quilt & Other Stories
Ismat Chughtai - 1994
The narrator of this story, a precocious nine-year old child, is sent to visit an aunt. This aunt, ignored by a husband whose only interest seems to lie in entertaining slim-waisted young boys, suffers from a relentless bodily itch, an itch, her niece discovers, no doctor can cure and only her maidservant can relieve. Frank and often wickedly comic, Chughtai's stories were the imaginative core of her life's work, drawn from memories of the sprawling Muslim household of her childhood. With her mastery of the spoken language, economy of form, and her fine eye for the details of the intricate and hidden world of women's experience, Chughtai captured the evolving conflicts of Muslim India. Her exploration of the myriad and subtle tyrannies of middle-class gentility, and, equally, of those unexpected moments of sexual liberation and spirit, is unrivalled in contemporary Urdu literature.
I Do! Do I?
Ruchita Misra - 2014
Time to stop doing silly things and start living happily ever after, right? Well, then maybe someone should tell Kasturi that.This irrepressibly irreverent and not-quite-beaming bride-to-be fumbles through a messy engagement and in a moment of indecision, steps across a line that she should never have been near. To make things worse, her best friends are now nauseatingly mushy star-crossed lovers, her future mother-in-law thinks the kitchen-phobic Kasturi is a fabulous cook, her colleague Padma hates her for no reason, her boss wants medical intervention for her imaginary deafness and her mother has become a cyber-celebrity. This was not the way things were meant to go.Smart, hilarious and utterly unpredictable, I do! do I? will have you at the edge of your seat-unless youve already fallen off it laughing.
Life over Two Beers and other stories
Sanjeev Sanyal - 2018
Written with Sanjeev's trademark flair, the stories crackle with irreverence and wit. In 'The Troll', a presumptuous blogger faces his undoing when he sets out to expose an Internet phenomenon. In the title story, a young man loses his job in the financial crisis and tries to reset his life over two beers. In 'The Intellectuals', a foreign researcher spends some memorable hours with Kolkata's ageing intellectuals. From the vicious politics of a Mumbai housing society to the snobberies of Delhi's cocktail circuit, the stories in Life over Two Beers get under the skin of a rapidly changing India-and leave you chuckling.
Korean Road
Brian Scutt - 2017
Tortured by the ghost of a fallen Marine, he is faced with the truth, it may be too late for the ones he loves. Hell is cold, and Death stands at the end of his road, the Korean Road.
The Madras Affair
Sundari Venkatraman - 2015
When Sangita catches the eye of Gautam Sinclair she is a simple, homely girl; utterly unaware of her charms & capabilities. She has the devil’s own time in overcoming her inhibitions, hesitation, and her family’s orthodox and outdated rules before recognising her love for Gautam. Will Gautam be able to solve Sangita’s Dilemma or will she be forever trapped in her past?NOTE: This extensive edition comes with two extra chapters (10000 words)