Author of the Month - Laxmi Hariharan Sunday Feature: Blogger interview + Giveaway!
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"Author of the Month" is a new feature that I have recently created to honour my favourite authors who have written some of the best books I have ever read.
This feature will:
- Run for the entire month.
- On every Sunday of the month (excluding the first week where I will have a blog post introducing and interviewing the author), there will be a blog post dedicated to the author. The content of the blog post is entirely up to the author's choice.
For the entire month of February, I am proud to feature Laxmi Hariharan, author of the best-selling The Destiny of Shaitan (Bombay Chronicles #1) as Dreamland Teenage Fantasy's author of the month! Laxmi has been a wonderful and humble person to talk with and I am honoured to have the chance to interview her personally besides reading and reviewing her book - Many Lives of Ruby Iyer (link to review)
Without further ado,
A near life experience told Laxmi Hariharan to write. She never stopped. Laxmi is the creator of Ruby Iyer, and the Amazon bestselling, eLit Gold winner The Destiny of Shaitan (Bombay Chronicles, 1). She has been a journalist with the Independent, and a global marketer with NBCU and MTV. Laxmi also blogs for Huffington Post, among others. London is where she writes. Bombay is what fires her imagination.
Reach her @laxmi | Facebook | blog
Reach her @laxmi | Facebook | blog
The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer is published by Amazon White Glove, through Jacaranda Literary Agency, and paperback is distributed in India through Read Out Loud.
I am fortunate enough to be interviewed by Laxmi Hariharan on why I love the YA genre! All these questions were proposed by the author herself and I had loads of fun answering them. Stay tuned for a last chance to enter the giveaway!
Why do you read YA ?
I love the YA genre because it possesses a characteristic that makes it stand out from the rest. I really liked the element of naivety and innocence that YA conveys in their plot, plus most of the best stories I’ve read was categorized under YA.
Which sub genre of YA do you prefer ( fantasy, dystopian?) and why ?
Which sub genre of YA do you prefer ( fantasy, dystopian?) and why ?
Well it is really hard to choose, but I have to go with paranormal romance. I love dystopia as well but I’ve read a great deal of paranormal romance, so that must have said something!
What are the top 3 things you look for in a YA novel?
Refreshing, heart wrenching and full of adrenaline! I love a good old vampire story, but for every vampire books I’ve read I will go in search for a new element, I also love to cry over a sappy romance story and have my heart racing for an action packed scene!
What do you look for in the lead character of a YA novel?
A good personality. I really dislike lead characters who
are a snob, or a playgirl/playboy. I’ve met characters who have no
consideration for other people and appear to be selfish and self-centered,
furthermore they are not loyal to the person they commits to which put off my
interest in pursuing the rest of the series.
Bombay on High Alert after Bomb Threat
High alert has been sounded in Bombay after police received a call of bomb threat at railway stations. The bomb scare call led to tension and panicked railway police, who immediately brought into service all emergency units and bomb squads. The caller threatened to blow up one of the railway stations on the Western Line. Security has been beefed up at Dadar, Bandra and Churchgate railway
stations following a threat call received by the police control room.
Since the call, police and the railway protection force have thoroughly checked all platforms for any suspicious objects …
When finally I hear someone slide into the booth opposite I am engrossed by the story. Without looking up, I say, “What kept you Mr Fashionable Blogger? Run into someone you know? By the way, I’ve ordered us beers—”
“Personally, I prefer Jameson.” A high-pitched voice sends shudders down my spine. I jerk. When I see the features of the new arrival, the blood drains from my face. It’s not Panky. It’s as if my thinking about the Hand has conjured him in flesh and blood in front of me.
Then, thud-thud-thud, my heartbeat speeds up. I can’t breathe.
The newspaper I am holding in my hand trembles, giving away my nervousness. I raise the paper over my face and hide behind it. If I can’t see him, he’s not there, right? How childish.
It’s the best I can do.
Why does this creep hold such power over me?
The words on the sheet blur in front of my eyes.
“Damned shame about the girl, but hey, I have a weakness for feisty young things, as you have perhaps noticed. Nothing like marring a thing of beauty to get a perverse thrill, don’t you think?” His voice feels like a cold, slimy snake slithering over my skin. My flesh crawls.
Can I run away from here?
I lower the paper, looking the creep squarely in the face. It’s disgusting to see him at such close quarters. The hair on my forearms stands on end, taut with repulsion. “Now, now, don’t be angry with me.” The Hand holds out his palms, face up. My eyes can’t help but fix on the tattoo-like barcode at the base of his right wrist. “Interesting, right? I got it in Hong young Australian, beautiful, fresh and lovely, she drew it on me.” He grinned suddenly. “Well, come on, don’t you want to know
what it means?”
A sickening inevitability gripped me. “What did you do to her?”
He couldn’t. He wouldn’t … He must have. This just-emerging from-his-teens man: he is capable of anything.
I wince.
A look of hurt comes into his eyes. “Don’t you trust me? After all, I did for you …”
Has he just confessed to pushing me in front of the train? Yet, here I am, sitting around, chatting to him as if he is a casual acquaintance rather than—I throw the contents of glass I am holding at him,
satisfied to see the ice cubes hit him on the face before falling off.
“You really shouldn’t have done that.” He wipes the fluid running down his face. “But I forgive you. You are the most surprising of my creations so far.”
He bends close, his forehead almost touching mine so I can see the pupils of his eyes, slightly dilated as if he is excited, turned on by our conversation.
Yeesh! What kind of a monster is this? I am beyond being grossed out now. I am so disgusted I am unable to think straight anymore.
“Don’t be scared, lovely—isn’t that what Panky calls you?” His peppermint-scented breath brushes over my cheeks and I turn my head away in disgust. “But you are already dead, so I can’t hurt you;
not anymore.”
I spring to my feet, and lunge at him over the table, my hands around his throat. This time there is no slow build-up of the violet ice inside; instead, a flash flood of fury surges through my veins. Everything around me fades; the noise of the pub slams shut.
The lightning tree glows. It’s lit up like a neon Christmas tree.
The rage shoots through me, demanding a physical release. I taste the blood on my tongue from where I have bitten it earlier. Rolling my legs to the side, I hit the floor without letting go of him. Lifting him by his collar, I pull him out of his seat so he hangs suspended, the tips of his feet brushing the ground.
I draw back my right hand, determined to take his face off with a single blow when he gurgles, “Don’t you want to know what’s happening to you?” It makes me pause midway to connecting my knuckles with his jaw.
“If you hit me, you’ll never find out,” he gasps out, his eyes bulging, fear dilating his pupils to a pale grey.
To show her support for the feature, Laxmi has agreed to giveaway 3 ebook copies of The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer to 3 lucky winners! Thank you for the generosity and humbleness!
2 comments
Thank you for the giveaway, Natasha! I just read the Goodreads summary and a few reviews for The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer and it sounds awesome! (:
ReplyDeletePearl @ AsteriskPearl's Book Blog
Thank you for commenting! I love the plot to be honest and hope you will like it too! :)
DeleteHi! Thank you for stopping by and commenting on my blog. Wishing you a dreamy day!