"Coming Out" of An Author - #BlogchatterEBook #BlogChatterEbookCarnival

"I am neither the first, nor the last, and definitely not the only one, to have checked this off my bucket list, but I, for one, am here to stay !"

But, before I start, first things first...

"I take on the Baton of #BlogchatterEbookCarnival from Sneha Saikumar whose Ebook "Potpourri of Emotions & Moods" is also a part of the mix.

About Sneha's Ebook: "Every living creature goes through a roller coaster of emotions in their lifetime, some that lift up your mood, some that make you happy, some that makes you sulk and feel bad about yourself. From being affectionate to happy, from being in rage to simply feel nothing there is at least twenty six emotions that we human beings for sure experience. Potpourri of Emotions & Moods is one such book which makes you experience these emotions as you travel through the pages one by one. Experience emotions through stories and experiences and many more such surprises."

Fir Milenge - http://bit.ly/2rAoaXN

"Coming Out" of an Author

(A)

The best thing about writing is that it lets one be, free and fearless. It is expression without notions and prejudices as it does not fall in the defined realms and norms. It is an individual victory amongst the collective loss, that is this world.

While writing made me connect with a world of people, and took me to a deeper level of self awareness, there was still a group with which I was not open about this side of me -

my family !

I cannot pinpoint to a reason why, but in 8 years of blogging, I barely ever shared anything with them. May be subconsciously,  I liked to keep my author self cocooned to a separate entity from the being who was raised by my family.They knew I liked to write and I have a blog, but that was all of it. The only time I shared something that I wrote with them was when I gifted this poem to both my grandfathers in 2014. The launch of my Facebook page was the first time I had my family's attention to my writing. 

But the ebook release was a monumental shift in that relationship. I openly shared the launch across social media platforms and encouraged my close and extended family to read, download and share. My poems became the discussion point in my family and I received the praise and adulation like never before. Everybody, including my parents, and my in-laws, shared it proudly among their circles. Some of the reviews that I received catapulted me to Cloud 9! 

Stories like how my father sang Madhushala in his college's cultural fest and how my uncle regularly (yes, regularly) published Hindi stories in his school and college publications were discussed and it seemed "this creative gene" was in the system all along! Even suggestions to where should I submit my work were seriously given and noted. From a writer's perspective, it was quite literally, a blissful weekend.

It's out  now. Mathur saab ka beta is a writer, on the sides of being, whatever he does as his day job! It's relieving and rewarding.

This coming out, is the biggest contribution of my eBook to my life, thus far. 

(B)

Phew! I have a published #ebook now and, finally, I officially can call myself, published!

Writing for me became a passion, from just a hobby, for one and only one reason - that I found it the best mode of expression. What my pen could say, I couldn't have otherwise.

With the desire of expression, comes the need to increase the outreach. I have, and still do, desperately sought mediums and outlets to get my work out. In self analysis, I would give myself a B+ grade in that pursuit as the reasons (excuses?) of work and personal life got the better of me more than I would have liked. Regardless, I have carefully and intentionally tried to cultivate a path for me that finally leads to getting published, elevating that level in my mind as the pinnacle.

This #ebook is the biggest and the most successful attempt in my writing career towards seeing my work in a publication. This is a new reality and I am here to enjoy it and move only forward from here! 

I am neither the first, nor the last, and definitely not the only one, to have checked this off my bucket list, but I, for one, am here to stay !

UPDATE (June 10, 2017): The ebook is now listed on Goodreads. Please read and review here:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35378933

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"I pass on the Baton of Blogchatter Ebook Carnival to Bushra whose Ebook "A To Z Of Pregnancy" is also a part of the mix.

About Bushra's Ebook: " A to Z of Pregnancy is the Complete Guide to a healthy Pregnancy and Childbirth. After a lot of research, I found that the Pregnancy reads available are so heavy that readers believe to be learning medical books. My motto behind writing this book is to give you knowledge in entertaining, light way. This is the handy book that covers all topics of pregnancy. In this book, I've tried to transform all the information about pregnancy and childbirth in easy to understand language. I've tried my best to keep it very accurate, to the point and added interesting facts that will increase your interest and enthusiasm as your reading progress. I've tried my best to cover the important topics and hope this book will solve all your queries, myths, confusion and nervousness about the Pregnancy and the Child Birth. The book A to Z of Pregnancy is divided into five sections according to the different phases of pregnancy. I've included many questions that come to your mind while being pregnant and after pregnancy. This book is written from my experience that I've learned from my patients. Read now to know more about this book."

#GuestPost - The Story Behind "Cantilevered Tales" by Jayant Kriplani

The Story Behind Cantilevered Tales

Why Jayant Kripalani wrote this book?

Why did I start writing this set of short stories that became one long story? I don’t really know.

I was on way my back from somewhere by train and at Howrah Station a group of taxi drivers tried to extort a higher fare from me.  This was before the time of pre paid taxi booths.  Rather than shell out five times the fare I thought I’d take a bus. It was peak hour in the morning and though I did get a seat since the bus started from there, I hadn’t calculated the length of time I’d be sitting in the bus on the bridge. Forty five minutes of inching along later I heard a voice behind me say, “AitakiHaora Bridge na Laora Bridge?”

I knew exactly what he meant.

I knew then that I had the beginning of a story.

“Where are you getting off?” I turned around and asked.

“High Court,” he replied.

By now we had reached the East end of the bridge. It still looked like we’d be on the bus for another 45 minutes.

“Walk?” I asked him.

“Let’s,” he said.

And that as they say was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

His name was Khokon. He lived in Santragachhi. And because of that immortal first line, I called the protagonist of my story Khokon. In the book though, the line belongs to his colleague Ashutosh.

Some time later, I overheard a group of people talking about saving a water body from some unscrupulous builder. ArunLal the cricket player might have been a part of the group but I’m not sure.  I started keeping tabs on them. Not because I was interested in saving the environment or even that small little lake.

I am not a crusader. I hate getting involved with issues.

But if you live in Calcutta, even for a short while, trust me, you’ll get involved.

More power to the builder I thought after I first saw the lake if you can call brackish acres of sludge a lake.

What did interest me were the disparate lot of people, and some desperate ones among them, who were determined they were going to save a stagnant water body from becoming an office complex.Frankly in my opinion that lake had outlived its usefulness to be anything at all.

 I didn’t give a damn what happened to the lake.

But over a period of time I did start worrying about the people. And of course fell hopelessly in love with them. Their wellbeing and their good health became a matter of great concern to me especially since I saw the array of ‘villains’ lined up against them.

So rather than concentrate on Builder v Helpless Citizen – enough stories had been written about them, I concentrated on their stories and their histories.

This is their story or should I say these are their stories.  Some of the people are real; some of the people who come to their assistance are thinly disguised caricatures of people I admire; some are just people I met on buses and trams in my journeys across the bridge who wormed their way into the book.

 And that is how this book got wrote.

Book Blurb

 CANTILEVERED TALES IS A STORY ABOUT PEOPLE, THEIR QUIRKS AND WHY THEY BECOME WHO THEY BECOME. AND LOTS OF LAUGHTER!

I overheard a group of people talking about saving a water body from some unscrupulous builder and started keeping tabs on them. Not because I was interested in saving the environment or even that small little lake. What did interest me were the disparate lot of people, and some desperate ones among them, who were determined that they were going to save a stagnant water body, which in my opinion had outlived its usefulness as anything at all, from becoming an office complex.

 This is NOT a Builder v Helpless citizen epic. In fact that is the least important part of the book. This is about a group of inept people who you want to reach out and protect but you discover are more than capable of taking care of not just themselves, but of you too.

Author Bio

Jayant Kripalani is an Indian film, television and stage actor, writer and director. Known for his work in TV series like Khandaan, Mr Ya Mrs and Ji Mantriji, he graduated

from Jadavpur University with a degree in English Literature.

He has played character roles in movies like Heat and Dust, Rockford,

Jaane Tu. . .Ya Jaane Na, 3 Idiots and, most recently, Hawaizaade and The Hunger. He has directed and produced a number of films and is actively involved with theatre. He wrote the screenplay for Shyam Benegal’s film Well Done Abba.

He is the author of the heartwarming and nostalgic New Market Tales, set in the historic New Market area of Kolkata in the 1960s and 1970s. His recent foray into writing performance poetry has brought him acclaim in poetic circles around the country. When he is not in Calcutta, he is either fishing in Himachal, pfaffing in Bombay or being a beach bum in Goa.