Last minute quick update

If you are in Jaipur tomorrow, let's hang out together for a while under the winter sky and a bonfire night with beautiful poetry to keep us warm and cozy.

It will be like our own little version of dead poets society.
________

xx

My first book is out and I cannot keep calm!

After months and months of burning the midnight oil, I'm super stoked to share that Udaari is now available worldwide on Amazon. 

It is almost unbelievable, something which started as a hobby, an outlet for a deranged teenager turned out to be a whole new level of life. I'm so soo grateful for every blessing I've received. There are not enough words to share my ecstasy and gratitude for everything that has happened to me.

I'm just glad I did not stop.

So here I am, with my first collection of poems Udaari. You can buy your copy from http://writingsofvinati.com/shop/. I'm sending out limited signed copies from Amazon India. Get yours before they are sold out.

There are so many things that have changed over the years but this comfort that I feel every time I open my dashboard is still the same. I hope you continue to support me and be my backbone. 

Vinati

xx

Udaari - Book launch

*okay, breathe*

It is happening!!!

The launch of my maiden collection of poetry, Udaari is scheduled at a beautiful event organized by Level Shoes at their in-store Cafe Vogue on October 12, 2017.

If you’re in Dubai and chilling nearby, drop in to say hello. The launch will be followed by poetry reading and book signing session. We’ll be having limited copies of Udaari and a special little gift for you all.

The event is open for everyone. No pre booking, just come, meet me there and be my backbone guyssss.

eeeeep.

________

xox

pssst.

I've got a big news to share and it's been a while since we talked or I blabbered and you listened patiently. I know you missed me (say yes) and I missed this place too. But no wasting of time in telling that to each other because we know that we mean it.

So the news is. ohmygodicant'tbreathe.

I AM PUBLISHING A BOOK!!!

see the flock of birds? they remind me of this place.

My first collection of poems, Udaari is coming out soon, most probably by the end of next month and I am absolutely thrilled and excited and ecstatic and hyperventilating a little too much.

I've been doing so many things, like gazillion things simultaneously. But not complaining at all because however daunting this process may be, I'm thoroughly enjoying this super crazy ride.

Udaari is a word taken from my native language Punjabi. Udaari means to fly, to spread the wings and take a leap, a quiet soar against the wind. Let me know what you think about the name and the cover design. I'd be happy to hear some reviews.

And talking of reviews, if any of my blogger friend who still reads me, loves me and would like to write a review of my first book, let me know and I'd be happy to send you an advance reader copy. Spread the word friends and help me get famous.

In other news, I've also designed a whole new website because I'm trying my best to learn how to be a professional author and many more important things in between. That's a lot of work too by the way. Check out www.writingsofvinati.com and join my mailing list, okay.

Also, I think many of you don't know that I'm super active on my Instagram page and Facebook page. Drop by sometime.

And that's that.

I'll be sharing more updates about this project soon. A book launch is also scheduled but more on that later. For now, let's just allow this news to sink in, that it is all happening. Udaari is happening, for real.

eeeep!

Okay bye.

Book Review: The Wedding Trousseau and Other Short Stories

Author: Ankita Sharma

Publisher: Humming Word Publishers

Price: Rs.180

Pages: 130

About the book:

A plethora of emotions strewn across eleven short stories that are so different from each other yet concocted together with a single thread of simplicity, a trait which is attributed to the beautiful author Ankita Sharma herself. 

The first thing that came to my mind after finishing The Wedding Trousseau was that the author did not give in to the pressure of writing with the sole purpose of selling. She did not unnecessarily attempt to give readers spicy pieces of fiction just for the heck of it. There is no mind throbbing drama or intense climax at the end of every story which is usually seen as the only way to keep the interest of the reader intact. Instead, the book gives regard to everyday emotions with which you and I can connect. It gives regard to the fact that stories are everywhere, at every nook and cranny of our life, we just have to keep our minds open.

The Wedding Trousseau encompasses stories written in an unconventional manner, with no particular beginning or ending and that makes them quite real and believable. They are more like small episodes in the lives of characters coming from diverse backgrounds. Stories ranging from pet love to motherhood, from aliens to adoption, stories that will move you from within or will make you empathize with the protagonist dealing with the monotony of life, all in all, this book has a lot to offer.

As a first time author, I truly believe that Ankita has done an incredible job with this book. She has shown courage to try something different and I applaud her for giving the readers so many interesting stories in just 130 pages. Her writing is simple, easy to read and there is no compromise on the quality of work. You don't need a lot of time from your busy schedule for this book because it is perfect if you want something to read over a weekend or if you're traveling.

I recommend this book to those who need a break from heavy fiction novels or those who are not avid readers, try this book. It will help you delve deeper in the field of literature. 

You can purchase this book from the following websites:

1. Amazon
2. Buy Books India
3. Flipkart

Ankita writes regularly on her blog Humming Words, and you should definitely give her blog a visit if you want to see how beautiful and amazing writer she is. Go see yourself. And while you're visiting her blog, it would be nice of you to like her Facebook page as well. Show some love, pretty people!

__________

Note to the author:

Thank you so much Ankita for having faith in me to review your book (I've never done a review before, therefore it's a big deal) and for sending me a signed copy. A signed copy! (I've never owned a signed copy before, therefore it's a big deal too.) I was elated when I read the sweet little note that you had left for me. It is so cool to personally know the author. *show off*

You have done a great job. I wish loads of success with this book and hope that you will soon become a regular name in the world of literature.

Hello twenty fifteen.

Less than an hour to new year.

Peppy party music reverberates somewhere in the distance, in an otherwise calm night. I am tucked in my blanket, hunched over the laptop screen with cold fingers on the keyboard, thinking of words, syllables, sentences to define what 2014 was to me. This ritual to reminisce what a year brought to us and what we gave in return, it is therapeutic and it gets even better when you prepare to bid goodbye to another set of memories, to put a final full stop at the end of another chapter, in the most peaceful manner.

But this time, instead of looking back, I plan to look ahead.

Sure, I had a lot of exceptionally awesome moments this year, but what is gone is gone. They have been placed neatly in my head. It is time to welcome a whole new bunch of memories that are waiting for their turn to treat us with love and hate.

So a very happy new year to you dear reader. Thank you for sticking with me through various dramas of life.

Oh and one last thing, ever since I stepped into law college, I barely got time to sit down and binge read at a stretch. But now as my college is almost over, I have decided that I will read a lot!!! No excuses, nothing.

yes, it's my resolution.

My dear friend Raaji from Writings For Life asked me to share a list of books I read this year. Pretty less, I know. But let the new year come!

__________

P.S: Feel free to share your list of books you read in 2014.

The movie that made me cry.

You know how they say that change is the only constant thing in our lives. That this moment, right here is going to pass as quickly as it came yet it will leave a mark in someone's life before vanishing into oblivion. That time changes everything, every person. But it becomes all the more miraculous when you actually identify the gradual change in yourself.

After waiting for months, I finally got a chance to watch The Fault in Our Stars on the big screen today. For those of you who are still unaware, the movie is based on the bestselling novel written by John Green. A novel which breathed life into my heart with every word, every line and every page. A novel which moved me to tears in one chapter and comforted me warmly in another.

I knew I would cry while watching the movie too. It was as natural as the sun rising from the east and setting in the west. But what I had not expected of myself is that I would hate to see many people sitting in the hall watching the movie for which I'd waited so long. The moment I entered, my heart was awash by extreme possessiveness. I felt angry and sad as I had to share it with those many people. The novel was something I loved wholeheartedly, like something personal, only to be felt by me, only to be loved by me. I felt that my personal space was being trespassed by those who were there just because they had nothing else to do on a weekend, who could not even keep their stupid cell phones on silent for two hours. For me, it was a lot more than that. It was like giving countenance to the characters I fell in love with months ago. It was like meeting Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters personally.

It's silly, I know! But I don't want to make sense right now.

The bottom line is that I have changed. From a girl who used to wonder why her mom cries while watching soppy movies to being a girl who has subconsciously started doing the same. I never felt like this before, never cursed people around me for intruding one of my favorite stories and never felt too possessive for fictitious characters. Sometimes you are unsure whether you've changed for the better and this is one such time.

Also, this is the reason why I hate to share my copy of novels with anyone.

_________

P.S: 1. The movie is excellent.

2. During the interval, I ran into one of my batch mates from college and she said she was not enjoying the movie at all. -_-

Okay? Okay.

Sleepy eyes, late night reading, a gripping novel whose end is feared, incessantly turning of pages, biting nails, getting deeper into the life of characters, reminding yourself, time and again that it is just fiction and then like a snap, facing the end only to survive the book hangover, all by yourself. How terribly I had missed this routine!

The Fault in our Stars by John Green was a small package of incredible life wrapped inside an adorable blue cover. Though just for two days, it gave me my most favorite routine back. This book is not just a reader's delight..it is an unparalleled treasure which I am glad to have found. To say the least, I cried my eyes out when I finished this amazing piece of fiction.

You know, it is probably going to be the only book ever, whose climax was known to me before I ordered my copy and yet it did not affect my experience, at all. Of course I was really angry and disturbed when the main part was disclosed to me. (People should learn when to write 'Spoiler Alert' while reviewing a book or a movie. It is NEVER written after spoiling the plot. Please..show some mercy!)

Anyway, the news is that a movie based on this novel is going to hit the cinemas in early June this year...somewhere near my birthday. I don't know whether I'm ready to handle this story on the big screen but I'm sure as hell, excited to watch it.
I know I would have to carry a big box of tissues to the theater. Gosh! What have you done to me John Green.

________

P.S: The heading of the post is from the novel.

"I suspect the truth is that we are waiting, all of us, against insurmountable odds for something extraordinary to happen to us."

- Khaled Hosseini
And The Mountains Echoed.