Carthick’s Unfairy Tales – TBC Cover Reveal

 

Book Cover for Carthick’s Unfairy Tales:

A damsel in distress. An evil dragon. A concerned father seeking a saviour to rescue his daughter. A hero galloping off to the rescue – a knight in shining armour. Now THAT is the stuff of fairy tales.

But what if the father’s real concern is for the dragon’s hoard? What if the damsel’s reason of distress is the marriage proposal of her pompous and vicious saviour?  And what if the story is told by the horse who bears not only the overweight knight,  but also his heavy, shining armour all the way to the dragon’s lair and back, facing certain death in the process?

What if there was more – much more – to all your favourite fairy tales than met the eye?

This book chronicles not one, but seven such unfairy tales – tales told by undead horsemen and living cities. Tales of mistreated hobgoblins and misunderstood magicians. Tales of disagreeable frogs and distressed rats and bears baring their souls. Once you read these stories, you will never be able to look at a fairy tale the same way ever again.

 

 

About Carthick – The Author

 

 

T F Carthick is a Bangalore-based writer and blogger, who has been blogging since 2008. He is an avid reader of children’s fiction, science fiction and fantasy. Enid Blyton, J K Rowling, Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbert, Neil Gaiman and Douglas Adams are some of his favourite authors. His paranormal thriller ‘Bellary’ was one of the three stories in the book Sirens Spell Danger, published in 2013. Six of his stories have featured in multi-author anthologies and literary magazines. He has written over 50 short stories, many of which can be read for free on www.karthikl.com.

He is an Engineer and MBA from India’s premier institutes IIT, Madras and IIM, Ahmedabad and currently works as an Analytics and Artificial Intelligence Consultant at one of the world’s leading Consulting Firms.

 

 

You can stalk him @

        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Darkness There But Something More – A TBC Book Blitz

 

 

Print Length: 182 pages

Publisher: The Blue Pencil

Publication Date: June 30, 2017

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Language: English

Genre: Paranormal

 

 

 

 

DARKNESS THERE – BUT SOMETHING MORE – About This Book:

Who has not been intrigued and enthralled by the spirit world, ghosts and other other-worldly beings?  Or to say it in a simpler way, the paranormal? Ambiguous presences surround us. Whether they are in the form of stories narrated by our grandparents,  or in the form of haunting, riveting supernatural stories in books and movies, they have held us under their spell.  They continue to engage and allure us from our youngest days and even until the present. In fact, the prominence of paranormal investigators, Ghostbusters and others documenting the supernatural world in today’s age, which is overpowered by science and technology, shows that we crave to push our boundaries as rational beings and delve into the phenomena which we cannot define or explain tangibly.

This anthology of 30 selected ghost stories by an international group of authors celebrates the spine-chilling thrills and sense of awe and bewilderment which we feel in the presence of this inexplicable world. A world which is inhabited by supernatural beings.  Pick up a copy of DARKNESS THERE – BUT SOMETHING MORE  and experience the cataclysmic, weird, and at times, the benevolent spirit world. You will never experience a dull moment in this roller-coaster ride!

It would be great if you can add this book to your TBR list

 

The Author/Editors

 

 

 

Dr Santosh Bakaya

Dr Santosh Bakaya is the recipient of various international awards. We’ll mention some of them right now.

1. She won the Reuel Award for literature  in2014 for her long poem, Oh Hark!, 
2. The Poet Laureate Award for Ballad of Bapu, Oh Hark! And Where Are The Lilacs? [2016 Poetry Society of India, Gurugram, Haryana, India]
3. The Universal Inspirational Poet Award [2016]   
4. Incredible woman of the Year Award, 2015 [Incredible Women of India blog]

Santosh Bakaya, an academician. poet . essayist and novelist, has made her mark both in prose and in poetry. Her three mystery novels, [The mystery of the Relic, The Mystery of the Jhalana Fort, The mystery of the Pine cottage] for young adults (YA genre), were very well received in the 1990s

‘Flights from my Terrace’, her e-book of 58 essays, published on Smashwords in 2014, now has a printed version [Authorspress, Delhi, 2017]. Ballad Of Bapu, [a poetic biography of Mahatma Gandhi, Vitasta publishers, Delhi, 2015], and Where Are The lilacs? [Authorspress, Delhi, 2016] have received international notice and recognition.

Her poems have figured in the highly commendable category and Poem Of The Month category in Destiny Poets, a UK based poetry website. Her poetry has also appeared in various ezines in throughout the English speaking world.

She has co-edited UMBILICAL CHORDS: AN ANTHOLOGY OF PARENTS REMEMBERED, published by Global Fraternity of Poets, Gurugram, Haryana. And now, she brings us DARKNESS a collection of ghost stories. [Blue Pencil] Under the Apple Boughs, her second compilation of poems, is her most recent book [Authorspress, 2017]. In July, 2017, an Award for Literary Excellence was conferred on her by Bharat Nirman, an international NGO.

You can stalk her @

 

 

Lopamudra Banerjee

Lopamudra Banerjee is a writer, poet, editor and translator, currently based in Dallas, USA. She has a Masters’ degree with thesis in creative nonfiction writing from the Department of English, University of Nebraska, at Omaha. Thwarted Escape: An Immigrant’s Wayward Journey, her debut memoir/nonfiction work, (Authorspress, 2016) has received Honorable Mention at Los Angeles Book Festival 2017. The manuscript has also been First Place Category Winner at the Journey Awards 2014 hosted by Chanticleer Reviews and Media LLC, USA. Her literary works have appeared in numerous journals, anthologies and ezines.

Her fiction has been featured in Silhouette I & II anthology (Authorspress), among other places. She has received the Reuel International Award 2017 for Poetry and also Reuel International Award 2016 for her English translation of Rabindranath Tagore’s novella Nastanirh (translated as The Broken Home) instituted byThe Significant League, a renowned literature group in Facebook, and the book is available in Amazon Kindle. Her debut poetry collection ‘Let The Night Sing’ has recently been published by Global Fraternity of Poets. Also, her collection of selected stories by Rabindranath Tagore in English translation, ‘The Broken Home and Other Stories’ has recently been published by Authorspress.

You can stalk her @

       

 

Grab Your Copy From

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VENGEANCE – A STING IN EVERY TALE edited by Sonia Rao

Designed by Neil D’Silva

Vengeance –A Sting in Every Tale 

A WRIMO INDIA anthology

Edited by

Sonia Rao 

Disclaimer : Every Cent from this novel goes to Wrimo India to encourage all future aspiring writers. 

Designed by Sujata Patnaik

Blurb 

A reply to a perceived injustice can take many forms one of which is vengeance. An eye for an eye can only end up making the whole world blind, is what Mahatma Gandhi once said. And it seems to be coming quite true, if latest events world-wide are an indication.

Is there any hope or are we hurtling towards extinction?

Hopefully, the stories will explore some of these questions. But that is on the macro level. It might be easy to look at things objectively, in black and white, when it is other nations involved. Or even other people. We are able to be more forgiving of transgressions when they don’t involve us personally.

But how would one react if they found themselves in the maelstrom of situations that do fall somewhere in the grey area of life? With no definite black and white answers?

How would a jilted lover react in face of infidelity? Or how would a friend avenge the murder of her best friend? Or, is it fair to be punished for a crime that you were not brave enough to prevent?

These and many more questions connected to vengeance have been grappled with in this anthology.

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created by Archana Sarat 

EXCERPT OF FIRST CHAPTER

Bus number 131 whirred away, pulling its own weight unwillingly. It was one of the many buses to pass through the Relief road, a busy road in the old part of Ahmedabad. Shazia had an option, the crowed 88 or the overcrowded 131. She preferred to be 30 minutes before time to board 131. Her choice was motivated by her love for the palindromic 1-3-1. Her undying infatuation with prime numbers was inexplicable. Nineteen year old Shazia loved numbers, and to be more precise, she adored Mathematics in all its form. She also loved the rules, the principles, the working theorems, the equations which tried to make sense of the majestic menagerie of numbers. She was fascinated even by the mere shape of numbers. She did not remember when or even how her romance with Maths began. But in her earliest memories, she preferred practicing her numbers over the alphabet, she remembered that she recited tables better than her nursery rhymes. She was short and a bit stocky. Also, a couple of shades darker than was acceptable in the marriage market. However, her looks never bothered her, nor did she ever yearn for fairer skin, or thinner body. What she craved was a disheveled mass of hair, for some uncanny resemblance to Einstein, the only pop icon modern science managed to have produced. But her mother plaited her hair, dashing her hopes to ground. She also longed for a pair of spectacles with glasses so thick that it blurred her eyeballs, indicating the wearer’s brilliance. But she, despite getting checked for vision from her mother’s ophthalmologist, was denied the hallowed implement. Thrice. Shazia valued her bus ride a lot. She had to convince Papa to allow her to commute to her college on her own. She had concealed her indignation about needing her father’s permission for every little trifle, even after being categorised as an adult by the Government of India. Papa consented only after he was told that Noor too would start using the bus if Shazia were to give her company.

Buy @

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ABOUT THE EDITOR SONIA RAO

The editor of the Anthology, Sonia Rao (writer-editor-awardwinningblogger) is the NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaison for All-India region. The stories which are part of the anthology are written by Wrimos homed in to Asia::India region. Most of them are also published writers of short fiction and novels.She blogs @ https://soniaraowrites.wordpress.com/ 

Find out more about Wrimo India @

Wrimo India on FB:  https://www.facebook.com/NaNoWriMo.India/

Wrimo India on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/wrimosindia 

Wrimo India blog: https://wrimoindiawrites.wordpress.com/ 

NaNoWriMo:  http://nanowrimo.org/

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RUKHSAT – NEW RELEASE FROM SUJIT BANERJEE

RUKHSAT THE DEPARTURE 

BY 

SUJIT BANERJEE

Blurb 

Where a story stops, another one begins. The thing with them is, they never walk alone. They always walk with a group of friends. Each reaches its own climax. Then with a final gasp of mortality and despair, fade away. No, they never die, they multiply. To the extent that the original gets lost and new ones are born. Over and over again. Yes, they get lost. No, they never die. They live on, permanently etched in the book of time. And from there, we borrow them and bring them alive. Again. And again. Here are twenty six of them, some standing alone and some chatting up with their long lost friends. When they depart, they leave a lingering fragrance of nostalgia and curiosity. What happened then?

Twenty-six alphabets, twenty-six names, and twenty-six short stories. Each exploring one unique emotion, taking you into the dark recess of the mind. Some frothy and most of them dark. Most standing alone and some facing a mirror, where the same story comes alive in two different ways, through two different protagonist . Meet myriad characters – from the single-minded prostitute to the man on the railways station bereft of any memory; a woman desperate for a biological child to a dead man’s trial. Meet a jealous lover with a twisted brain and a gay man’s memory of a one-night encounter. Meet twenty-six such characters arrested and sentenced for life inside the pages of a book. Each one leaving an indelible mark on your soul.

Buy @

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Born to Bengali parents in Lucknow, I grew up in Patna where I finished my post-graduation in Psychology and ended up becoming a tour operator instead of a Psychologist! Which was 

good since a Bengali born in UP and reared in Bihar does not make a great Psychologist! Am I now glad to be in tourism? It has taken me all over the world including places you would have never heard of. Eh? How about Tlacotalpan? It’s in Mexico.

Destiny had other plans as well so I became a reluctant healer. A crazy Shaman in Mexico set the ball rolling and it has rolled all the way to Delhi. Today I both heal as well as read Tarot cards. My wife thinks I am mad. My friends think I am weird. I guess I am both. 

My first story was published in a magazine when I was seventeen. The Editor made such a hash of it that I stopped sending out my stories but I continued writing. Then I broke my heart and started writing poems; first in Hindi and then in English. All personal collection. They still remain personal. I do shudder when I read some of them! Then the short stories came back and written over two years – now is a collection.

You can contact him @ Facebook 

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BOOK BLOGGER TURNS AUTHOR – VOICES OLD AND NEW – AN INDIREADS ANTHOLOGY

Today, I’m proud and happy to introduce a book of my own on MBB.  VOICES OLD AND NEW is an anthology of south Asian writing gathered and published by Indireads, a digital publishing company dedicated to south Asian fiction in English and moving it forward and bringing it to the widest possible audience.  Although not native to  this region, I’ve lived here in southern Asia for twenty years and it is a great honour to have my story included in this collection.  VOICES OLD AND NEW has a number of stories in four different genres – romance, crime, paranormal and drama.  My story, MEETING BY ARRANGEMENT, was the popular pick in the romance category of the Indireads short story competition in 2014.  My thanks are due to

Naheed Hassan and Sabahat Muhammad at Indireads for their vision in bringing this project forward.  Many thanks also to my fellow writers – together, we’ve made an incredible book, with something for everyone to enjoy.  Congratulations to all involved in the production of this book.

VOICES OLD AND NEW

An anthology of the best short stories, both winners and finalists from Indireads’ 2nd Short Story Competition 2014. 

Indireads’ 2nd Short Story Competition 2014 yielded some extraordinary talent, including Ruchi Singh with Boomerang, Ada Wiam with Within, Komal Singh with How Does It Make You Feel, Roshan Radhakrishnan with The Ballet Lesson, Sid Balachandran with The Message, Dola Basu Singh

with Where Darkness Reigns, Maria Perry Mohan with Meeting by Arrangement and Aniesha Brahma with The Difference. We have compiled the winners, and the very best of the entries into one compelling anthology, highlighting the immense creativity and potential talent that exists in South Asia. 

Get this ebook here:  Amazon, Amazon UK, Indireads

A New Short Story Collection from Karen Clarke

Author Karen Clarke has a new short story collection out, featuring fifty five of her short stories.  As short reads are considered very suitable for the busy life we lead to day, I can highly recommend this writer.  Her short stories are superb reads.    I took the opportunity to have a chat with Karen about her writing and to ask her to tell us some more about herself……

KAREN CLARKE ON THE WEB:

Website    Blog   Twitter

Are short stories easier to write than novels?

Short stories are easier in that they’re much quicker to write, and I like the fast turnaround after the much longer time-span involved in writing a novel, but it’s a very different discipline fitting a satisfying story into a thousand words or so and making it exciting/interesting/emotional and satisfying.

What made you want to be a writer?

Our family didn’t have a television growing up, so reading was our entertainment and escapsim and my love of writing sprang from that – I wanted to do what my favourite authors were doing.

Before becoming a full-time writer, what did you work at?

I had many jobs before becoming a writer – and still work part-time in a library – including secretarial work, being a pub manager, a wedding photographer and running a small supermarket.  All good fodder for story-writing!

What inspires you?

Lots of things – stories in the media, overheard conversations, story prompts, and if all else fails I think of a first line and take the story from there – it usually works.

 

It’s so hard to make it in short fiction – what’s the secret of your success?

Some of my early efforts weren’t that good looking back, but writing improves with practise so I try to write everyday, and submit at least one story a week.  I don’t think I’d ever have got the confidence to start sending them out if I hadn’t joined on online writing group, as the feedback and support is invaluable. Perseverance is key, so (in the style of a certain dance show host)… keeeeep writing :o) 

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS … AND OTHER TALES WITH A TWIST

A lively collection of fifty-five short stories where nothing is quite as it seems…

A couple on holiday in Italy realise their marriage is over
An ambulance races a pregnant woman to hospital
A passenger on a train rethinks becoming a parent
An uninvited guest causes ripples at a wedding
A woman steps into the spotlight to dance her first tango
A man is followed to the florist’s by his…wife?

Stories of love, loss, hope, betrayal, and the occasional ghost – all with the ending you least expect. 

 

Get it here:  Amazon   Amazon UK

Guest Post from Patsy Collins, Novelist and Short Story Writer

It’s my absolute pleasure to welcome novelist and short story writer Patsy Collins back to MBB today to give us some information on her new short story collection, UP THE GARDEN PATH.  She’s also sharing her thoughts through this guest post on the relevance of the short story in the digital age.

PATSY COLLINS ON THE WEB:

Blog/Website  Amazon   Twitter   Facebook  Goodreads

THE RELEVANCE OF THE SHORT STORY TODAY

It’s quick, easy and inexpensive to download ebooks. If you’re reading this then you’re halfway there. You can grab a free app and have one on your computer in seconds. You can invest in a snazzy ereader with backlit screen, or you can access it on your phone (unless it’s as old and basic as mine) We need never be without something new to read.

What to read though? Often we want something to relieve the boredom of commuting, but that won’t make us miss our stop so often we get plenty of time to read but no pay cheque. We might not have the time or patience to ‘get into’ a novel. Maybe we just want a change. Short stories are ideal for anyone short of time, or who reads in short bursts, but that’s not their only advantage.

They’re a great way of ‘trying’ a new genre or author. You don’t have to commit much time or money to know if they’re for you. They’re great escapism, without cutting you off from the real world for hours (please tell me I’m not the only one who’s unreachable once they’re a couple of pages in)

I’m sure our increasing use of technology will see an increase in the numbers of people reading short stories. Previously perhaps they were associated with bedtime reading and considered by some as childish. Plenty of short stories are very adult! (er, so I’ve been told) 

Electronic short stories are good news for writers too. They open us up to a wide range of styles and ideas and are brilliant for clearing our minds of our own projects before starting work on the next one. They allow us to support a large number of fellow writers by buying and reading some of their work and of course they provide outlets for our own stories.

Alfie Dog Fiction publishes a huge number of short stories, mostly priced at 39p each. You can search by genre or by your favourite author. Mine are here and include this free collection.

Earlier this year Alfie Dog published another collection of my stories. Up the Garden Path contains 24 plant related short stories and is available from Amazon and the publisher. It’s also available as a paperback.

I hope I’ve convinced you to try short stories, but if I haven’t maybe I can tempt you to read my 101,000 word novel? 


UP THE GARDEN PATH

Eleanor has a traditional garden her grandchildren will love; won’t they? Mrs Dalrymple’s country home seems the perfect refuge for Daryl and there’s no reason Emma can’t call the big house home, is there?

Homes and gardens aren’t always peaceful havens though. Ted’s tranquility is under threat from a BBQ for teenage twins, Penny the Jack Russell is called upon to protect her mistress from a terrifying intruder, avoiding Frances’s annoying neighbour was almost the death of her and Rachel can’t bring herself to step out the back door.

A walk in the countryside might be less traumatic, unless your beloved tree has been damaged as badly as your heart or Mrs Bishop is lurking to find fault with all you do. Even the simple act of arranging flowers causes problems if your boss is as mean as Brenda’s.

Valerie managed to dig herself out of depression on her allotment but Sally was faced with the perils of half an hour in the potting shed with the attractive yet infuriating Jim.

Gardens, plants and people all have their story. Let me lead you up the garden path and tell you a few.

Get this book here:   Amazon      Amazon UK

Patsy has a copy of this lovely collection of short stories for one lucky reader, so please leave a comment before you go to get a chance to win a copy of this  ebook.