Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Coinman: An Untold Conspiracy by Pawan Mishra

Coinman: An Untold Conspiracy by Pawan Mishra

Coinman: An Untold Conspiracy by Pawan Mishra

Coinman: An Untold Conspiracy is a humorous account of a man with a quirk--and the extraordinary measures his colleagues take to combat it!

Set in a small town in northern India, this story follows Coinman, his peculiar habit, and the incredible animosity it provokes in everyone around him. He just wants to do his clerk's job with colleagues who'll treat him fairly. He just wants a wife who'll treat him like a husband. He just wants a happy home life. Instead, what does he get?

His colleagues are planning his complete destruction.
His wife is an obsessed actress more than a little "off plumb."
And there are enough shadows and secrets in his home for two lifetimes.

Can Coinman ever get what he wants? Or will that cost him his sanity?

BUY ON AMAZON

Guest Post from Pawan Mishra


India and the US have very different cultures, social structure, and issues that a common man undergoes--and living though the diversity has definitely influenced my thingking and my writing.

I spent my first twenty years living in very small towns in India. While fulfilment of basic needs is a wide challenge for a large population in the small cities in India, the beareucracy in the admistrative offices makes it tougher for the ordinary working class to make the ends meet. The perennial struggle very often causes very raw human reactions and behaviors to surface, manifesting a spectrum of human psyche not typically found in an affluent society. Spritual connection of the culture, as well as collectivism, work well as people work through their struggles; providing mental strength to endure hardship and allowing courage to laugh on their own myseries. My experience in the narrow alleys of small cities in India has resulted in a very rich world inside me, filled with vivid colors, that comes as almost surreal to the outside world.   

The influence of living in the US culture came primarily from individualistic culture: of one being oriented around oneself instead of identifying with a collective mentality, in typical social interactions, caused me to probe more in the areas which I would otherwise have left unexplained for the high context nature of the Indian culture where a lot of responsibility would have remained on the shoulders of the readers to interpret "the obvious". As a result, my writings have become more low-context: more precise and more eloquent. 

In combination, the writing has become more challenging. Explaining aspects of happenings that are surreal in more precise manner, without leaving a lot for a reader's interpretation--for a global reader has not seen much of the setting that is being talked about!



Praise for Coinman

COINMAN, a thoroughly modern Indian folktale, presents a humorous portrait of a nonconformist who triumphs without trying.
~IndieReader.t

Quotes from Coinman

https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/47483150-coinman-an-untold-conspiracy

Sample Chapter

http://www.lunespark.com/sites/coinman/samplechapter.html

About Pawan Mishra:

Pawan Mishra is a leader in the technology and finance industries. He completed his education, including postgraduate work, at Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT Kanpur), India, in 1999. He discovered his passion for storytelling, reading, and creative writing during his early childhood. Originally from Aligarh, India, Pawan now lives in Morrisville, North Carolina, with his wife Ritu and two daughters, Mitali and Myra. To learn more about Pawan and his writing, visit: www.pawanmishra.com.

Follow Pawan Mishra online: 

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Spotlight: Latina Authors and their Muses

Latina Authors and their Muses


BLURB
An inspirational, entertaining, and informative book focusing on the craft of writing and the practical business of publishing, one that provides aspiring authors with the nuts and bolts of the business. A book that not only showcases prominent figures but emerging voices as well, writers working on a wide range of genres from the literary to the commercial. 

In spite of their different backgrounds, education levels, and jobs, two factors more than any others bind these writers together: their passion and commitment to their craft and to sharing their stories with the world in spite of the odds. 

Latina Authors and Their Muses is a celebration of creativity, the writer’s life, the passionate quest for spiritual and artistic freedom. 

From the Foreword by Leticia Gomez

Latina Authors and Their Muses is a celebration of creativity and the creative writing process, but it also offers savvy information about the industry itself, as well as agents and publishers. It also provides helpful hints and strategies regarding promotion and marketing, whether you are a fledgling Latina writer just getting started or a multi-published, seasoned author who has been around the publishing block once or twice.”

PURCHASE



ABOUT THE EDITOR


Award-winning author Mayra Calvani has penned over ten books for children and adults in genres ranging from picture books to nonfiction to paranormal fantasy novels. She’s had over 300 articles, short stories, interviews and reviews published in magazines such as The Writer, Writer's Journal and Bloomsbury Review, among others. A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, she now resides in Brussels, Belgium. 
Connect with Mayra on the Web:


Book info:

Title: Latina Authors and Their Muses
Author: Mayra Calvani, Editor
Author web site: 
http://www.mayracalvani.com/
Publisher: Twilight Times Books
url: 
http://twilighttimesbooks.com/
Genre: Reference/Writing Skills
*Print ISBN: 978-1-60619-063-0
    Format: 6x9 trade paperback; 340 pages; $19.95 USD
Distributors: Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Brodart, Follett, etc.
*eBook ISBN: 978-1-60619-062-3; $6.50 USD
    Format: ebook in pdf, ePub, Kindle, Mobi, PRC, etc.
Distributors: Amazon Kindle; Apple iBookstore; BN.com Nook; Kobo Books; OmniLit; OverDrive, etc
Release date: September 25, 2015 ebook; December 15, 2015 print
LCCN: 2015952662
Chapter excerpt:
http://twilighttimesbooks.com/LatinaAuthors_ch1.html 

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

EXCERPT: The Feline Fix by Caroline Bell Foster @cbellfoster #sweetromance

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EXCERPT – The Feline Fix by Caroline Bell Foster

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Next time? He didn’t want her going out by herself which was a bizarre thought, with not even ten full minutes in her company.


 Make sure that you do.” He ordered, in a voice he usually reserved for delinquent yobs.
I’m sorry.” She said and to her horror felt the sting of tears. It had been a horrible day and had ended even worse. This was New Years, she should be happy, looking forward to the year ahead, but instead she was sat in a police car, unmarked, but still a police car, with the cutest policeman she had ever seen in her life, but he was telling her off and treating her like a criminal. This day was officially the worse day of her life. Oh what a way to end the year and start a new one, she sniffed.

 I’m sorry,” Callum rushed, seeing the sheen of tears. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

 It’s okay. You’re right,” she admitted, blinking rapidly to get rid of the tears. “I don’t usually go out at night and I didn't think. It makes sense,” she went on bravely, reaching for the door handle. “Thank you for the lift and Happy New Year.” She said brightly, as she scrambled out of the car.
 Callum got out looking over the roof of the car waiting for her to open her front door. Ever the protector, he watched as she fished her keys out of her bag and fumbled with the latch. She dropped the keys.

 Need any help?”

 No it’s okay. I’m just a clutz as you already know. Petri dish? Keys?” Wendy shrugged, putting her hands out, palms up as though they were scales. “Same thing.”

 Callum heard the wobble in her voice. She was trying so hard to be brave in front of him and he wanted to wrap her up in his arms and tell her everything would be okay.

 He walked towards her. “Here,” he offered softly, taking the keys from her and smiling at the red plastic key ring shaped like an atom. “Let me.” He unlocked the white pvc door, similar to his and let it swing open.

 Thanks.” She mumbled, stepping into the hallway and turning to him.

 Callum spied the small rectangular box on the wall, the green light steady, when it should have been blinking on their entry. “Why didn’t you program the alarm?”

 The cat.”

 The cat?” He repeated faintly.

 Mr. Snuggles,” she explained. “He comes and goes through the cat flap and sets off the alarm when he jumps onto the kitchen counter. I’ve tried to make him stop, cats on counters is so unhygienic.” She flicked her hands around. “But he won’t stop. He never listens to me. He’s such a cat.” Then she smiled softly. “But I love him.” 

Callum could not believe what he was hearing. She lived alone at the end of a street where her garden ran parallel to a road busy with foot traffic. There was a field at the back and she didn’t use the alarm? He was incensed.

 Let me get this straight,” he said, folding his arms over his chest, unable to hide his irritation. “You have an alarm but you don't use it because of the cat?”

 Uh uh.” She bit the corner of her lip. He was not happy.
 





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