adventures – soniasmusings

Diary, Deceit and Death travels the country with its author

2024 is the year when I visited Purulia, Ayodhya Hills, Lucknow, Agra, Vizag, and Gopalpur in the last 3 months.

Since Diary, Deceit and Death released in September 2024, the book has travelled with me to all these places.

Here’s my father holding the book at a picturesque location chosen by my husband while my son clicked the picture. They along with my in-laws are the reason I shifted careers to pursue what I always loved doing – writing. It’s overwhelming to see them feel happy and proud of me.

For the next couple of days, there will be some major announcements – the year end surprises I have planned for my readers and friends.

Until then, if you haven’t placed an order for the book, it’s time you do it as a year end gift to yourself or your loved ones. Here’s the link –

Amazon link

The first review and rating of ‘Diary, Deceit, and Death’ – A Raya Ray adventure

There’s always something special about the ‘firsts’ in our lives. So, it’s quite natural that I’m on cloud nine with this wonderful and detailed review of my book ‘Diary, deceit, and Death’ which captures the essence of the story quite meticulously.

The first rating

Thank you reader for such a balanced perspective on the story.

Have you ordered a copy yet? Link to purchase –

Unboxing video after receiving the author’s copies of my book ‘Diary, deceit, and Death’

The author’s copies of ‘Diary, Deceit, and Death’ arrived last evening. It feels surreal to hold the book, an outcome of my passion turned into a profession. Coincidentally, 7 years ago on the same day(13th Sep), I started my writing journey with the blog soniasmusings.com

An active blog, innumerable articles, a handful of research write-ups, and two Raya Ray adventures later, I can look back and say I’m glad I took the plunge.

While I was both excited and emotional looking at the set, the child behind the camera couldn’t wait for me to stop speaking because he had something to say about the book as well. So, don’t miss the ending for he has a message for all my readers.

The unboxing video

And I must mention Suhail from The Book Bakers for designing a gorgeous cover and finding one of the best publishing houses, Vishwakarma Publications for my book. Vishal Soni Sir and his team are a delight to work with.

And if you haven’t ordered the book yet, I think you should immediately click on the link below to get your copy of this past-paced thriller –

Link to purchase

Breakfast meetings at the Club De Golf near Ecopark, Kolkata

Breakfast meetings at Club De Golf, New Town

Weekend football fun

Hello April! A month full of birthdays, new session at school & new beginnings at the football grounds

Celebrating the kid's stupendous performance in final assessment at Pizza Hut

Breakfast at Trincas (restarted after 60 years)

Exploring North Goa in Oct’22

Early morning food adventures in the city of joy

Exploring the world through blind dates over the years #SayYesToTheWorld #TheBlindList

I grew up as a single child in a small town in Bengal called Berhampore. Every year my Professor father ensured that we had two vacations. The first one was always planned and it took us to Kolkata, then Calcutta. My mother had her parents staying in that city and I was amazed at how different a metro city was from my town. But what I would look forward to was the unplanned vacation to a new destination during summer holidays. My parents would keep me guessing until we reached the spot. As I grew up, I would try to open the bags to see if winter clothes were packed because that would mean a vacation in the hills. Every year that I went back home, I took back fond memories of places I have visited and left a part of me in those places.

Much later, when I asked them about this game of suspense, my Dad had disclosed that he wanted me to feel the thrill of exploring the world without any preset ideas. He believed in striking a balance between bucket list, which helped tick off items after fulfilling of wishes and #TheBlindList which taught me to keep my heart and mind open to experiencing new things. This is how began my journey of travel to explore new destinations. Darjeeling, which was one of the first ever vacation spot for me is a personal favorite even today.

As I grew up, I moved to Kolkata for higher studies. This was my first date with the world. An eighteen-year-old was trusted by her parents and Permitted to stay on her own so that she could pursue her dreams. There were deterrents in the form of discriminatory behavior in college, heart breaks in the form of relationships gone wrong, harassment by random men that led to cringeworthy moments but I didn’t let the negativity ruin my journey.