Adventures of a Writer

Welcome to Week O of Authors' Tips: A to Z of Writing. If this is the first time you are visiting this series, here's a quick recap. Authors share their tips on writing fiction - and each week we talk about various aspects of writing. This week it's time to take a closer look at   Opening Lines. A great opening line grabs the reader and doesn't let go. That's what every fiction writer aims for. The opening needs to be compelling enough to pull the reader into your story and keep turning the pages. However coming up with the perfect first line is easier said than done. The good news is that you can work on it after you have finished a draft and revise it after you are done writing the story. Here are some points to keep in mind while writing the opening lines of your book. Set the tone of your book . If you're writing a romantic comedy it should come through in the opening lines. If you're writing a suspense novel, there should be a hint

I recently met Malika Gandhi on an online forum and had an opportunity to talk to her about her books. She writes in the paranormal and historical fiction genres which I think makes for a very interesting combination. A mother of two, she lives in the UK and loves to "escape into the world of words and images". Read on to find out more about Malika.... Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your journey as a writer?  I began to write at a very young age but became serious when I was in my twenties. My debut Freedom of the Monsoon took me four years to write and then a year more in editing. I remember when I held the proof copy in my hand and I felt grateful and so happy to have achieved this! Since then, I have written two more books, Where the Secret Lies , and Lost in the Haveli . Apart from writing, I am also an artist and I love to learn. I am doing A Level English & Literature and I hope to do an A Level in psychology afterwards. I l

Welcome to Week N of Authors' Tips: A to Z of Writing. If this is the first time you are visiting this series, here's a quick recap. Authors share their tips on writing fiction - and each week we talk about various aspects of writing. This week it's time to take a closer look at Niche Markets  A few weeks ago I'd posted about the importance of knowing your Genre as it helps readers to discover your books. A genre like Romance -- which incidentally is the top selling category -- has more than 100-plus sub-categories. These are often called 'niches', a marketing jargon for specialist sub-categories. While some of the more popular ones like romantic suspense, chicklit, paranormal romance, historical romance, etc. are evergreen favourites, as reading preferences evolve, new niches emerge from time to time. For instance, a few years back the super-duper success of E.L. James' Fifty Shades of Grey sparked off a new niche of BDSM within the sub-genre

Devika Fernando is a prolific Indie author whose romances are a delight to read. She has written more than 10 romance novels. You can check out her books here. She is also one of the authors who contributes to the ongoing #AtoZAuthorsTips series which you may have read on this blog.  Today, it gives me immense pleasure to share the cover of  her upcoming romance novel, The Indian Prince's Scandalous Bride... Over to Devika to introduce her new book. Ever since I started writing royal romances, I wanted to set one of the stories in India. Now I’ve made this dream come true. “The Indian Prince’s Scandalous Bride” is the 4 th book in the Romancing the Royals series, and I can’t wait to share it with you all. Here’s the cover and blurb. The book is due for release next month. BLURB Wedding planner Ashley Davies has left England behind to organize a royal wedding in India. She’s expected a cultural shock and lots of unforgettable memories – but never in a million

Welcome to Week L of Authors' Tips: A to Z of Writing. If this is the first time you are visiting this series, here's a quick recap. Authors share their tips on writing fiction - and each week we talk about various aspects of writing. This week I talk about getting Lucky and whether that is a factor or not in your writing career.  This post was originally written for the Pink Heart Society and you can read it here... Luck is the “force that causes things, especially good things, to happen to you by chance and not as a result of your own efforts or abilities”. That’s the definition of luck in the Cambridge dictionary.  We all do get it that talent without hard work will lead us down the path to failure and eternal damnation. Yet, whenever there is news of ‘something good’ coming our way, we inadvertently hope for a bit of good luck. I wonder what it would be like to have our well-wishers bless us with plenty of ‘good efforts’ or ‘good abilities’. Perhaps someo