Adventures of a Writer

Most of my stories are feel good love stories. This time I have chosen to write something a little sinister, a little dark. It's an ultra-short love story titled Shelly: A Promise is Forever .  A couple of years ago, as part of a screenwriting challenge--where one is given a few prompts to come up with a short script--I had written this story. It has stayed with me and when I told a friend about this script, she said, 'Why don't you turn it into a short story?'  Though I had thought that fleshing out a six page screenplay would be difficult, as it turned out, once I started writing, the words flowed. Since the storyline was already in place it took me just a couple of days to finish a draft of about 2500 words. A couple of revisions and edits later, it was good to go. This is the first time I have turned one of my scripts into a book--and it has been an experience that I would not mind repeating.  The story revolves around two brothers. When a reluctant Anand Khalap agr...

On the occasion of Father’s Day Jaideep Sen pens a heartfelt piece for Salim Saab who is more than a father figure to him. Read on…   I don’t remember the context in which I made this particular call to Salim Saab one evening during the interval of a Film that I was watching at PVR Citi Mall, Mumbai. But as usual it was enriching because in the course of the conversation when I mentioned to him that in my understanding, a Love Story comprises of the relationship between a boy and girl, he stopped me and said that it’s a misconception that a Love Story is only between a boy and girl. Now that was a first for me and I immediately felt that some life altering knowledge was going to be imparted by the gifted Salim Saab. He said that a love story can be between a master and servant, between an animal and his master and mentioned Haathi Mere Saathi in that context.  In that very moment my already immense respect for Salim Saab shot up uncountable folds and went...

Five years ago, my first book was published by Harlequin/Mills & Boon with the title "The Indian Tycoon's Marriage Deal". It was an exciting moment for me as a writer and I will always cherish that memory. Strange thing is that I get to do a re-run of that moment. But this time as a self-published author. I am hugely excited at the opportunity to revisit Krish and Maya's story and bring it to my readers with a new cover and title. There could be no other month more appropriate for the re-launch of a romance than the Month of Love -- February! The story is now called Destiny's Girl . And it has a brilliant new cover... I am sure you will agree with me! I did wonder if I should update Krish & Maya's story. But as I went through the manuscript, I realized that my protagonists are now not merely characters in my book, but they have their own fictional lives within the pages of the book. Who am I to change that? So, their story is presented as is,...