There couldn’t have been a better month than August (Ma’s birthday month) to announce the second book in the Detective Raya Ray series – Diary, Deceit, and Death. I received the first copy last evening from my publisher Vishwakarma Publications for proofing. The amazing cover is by The Book Baker, also my literary agent.
This is a thriller of greed, betrayal and masked identities of 2 families spanning 3 generations in 4 cities over 5 decades. Will Raya be able to race against time to deliver justice?
Well, that’s for you to find out once the book is released in the coming weeks. It would be available on Amazon, Flipkart, and in all major bookstores across the country.
Now time for me to get back to give the finishing touch to this fast-paced Detective thriller.
I have been missing from the blogging world for over a few weeks. When I started this blog, it was my conscious choice to never let a month pass without any post. I’m glad I could do it though the frequency of posts has been on the lower side.
However, it’s not like I have not been writing. In fact, I have been only writing and editing chasing a crazy deadline. So, the second book of Detective Raya Ray has been polished well enough by the editor and last evening, I sent the last of the final drafts (fingers crossed!) to my publisher.
Hopefully, the book will be out soon in the world for everyone to read and relish. But today, I decided to keep everything away, put up a personal post here, and spend the day listening to music and reading the latest thriller from one of my favorite authors. Relax, until the kid returns from school in the afternoon.
The boy has been unbelievably supportive and understanding during this stressful period. I’ll surprise him with some homemade cheese burst pizza this evening. Let’s see how it turns out to be. But that is a post for another day.
Sending some good music and positive vibes to everyone reading this post. Hope you have a wonderful week!
Diving into the last proofreading session for my upcoming novel in the Detective Raya Ray series before the manuscript goes for publishing. Launch expected between May end-mid June’24. Fingers crossed. Hope things go as per plan.
A couple of years have passed since I released my debut thriller introducing Detective Raya Ray. While I started writing the next in the series soon after and was signed on by one of India’s leading literary agencies, The Book Bakers, I wanted to create a puzzle to challenge Raya and also the reader’s crime-solving skills. Dissatisfied with two manuscripts, I decided to move away from the book and enrolled for my third master’s, MFA in creative writing, in Nov 2019. Post-completion of the course, I had a fresh perspective of looking at a new Raya Ray story.
With Suhail from The Book Bakers
‘Diary, Deceit, and Death – Raya Ray Returns’ took shape in the form of a manuscript, which The Book Bakers successfully placed to one of the country’s top publishers Vishwakarma Publications.
I could wrap up 2022 with joy and satisfaction as I hit the send button for book no. 2 (the second in the Detective Raya Ray series) to my publisher. Unfortunately, 2023 began with a shock as my father-in-law had a nasty fall. He underwent surgery for a broken bone. By God’s grace, he’s better now and recovering well. In January, we celebrated Saraswati puja and explored some delectable cuisines at different restaurants.
Breakfast at Maharaja, Desapriya Park
A month into 2023, I was chasing the deadline for book no. 3, my first commissioned project for a true crime story from the past. It was also the month my seven-and-a-half-year-old was due for his final assessment. Kolkata was under the grip of a deadly virus, and almost everyone I know, including me, was grappling with a weird kind of flu that just refused to go away.
Brainstorming before editing book no.3
By the beginning of March, things started looking better as I delivered the manuscript within the deadline, and we showed signs of recovery from the flu. The son finished his exams on the 6th of March, and we took off for a mini vacation to Mandarmani the next day.
Holi at Anutri resort, Mandarmani
Since the 7th of March was Holi, we played with colors before diving into the Mandarmani sea. Three days of a beach holiday rejuvenated our minds and bodies as we explored Tajpur Beach and Mohana near Digha Beach, experimented with local cuisine, and spent hours at Mandarmani beach. Of course, we didn’t want to return as the break got over.
Walk on the beach
The kid has his session break; I have taken another week off to spend time and play various indoor games with him. After three years of working non-stop on both books, writing and editing them, I decided to take time off before getting involved in the prepublication stages of my upcoming books. So, here we are, watching children’s movies like Sonar Kella, reading story books, playing puzzles and brain games, and squeezing out every minute to enjoy to the fullest.
Mohona, Digha Beach
I hope you had a great start to 2023 and that the year is treating you kindly so far.
Hope you are doing well and staying safe. This is a quick post to let everyone know that Maya Bhat from Bookshot YouTube channel was kind enough to reread ‘Deal of Death’ and do a video review on her channel. Maya is one of the early readers of the book. Listen to her speak about the reason she recommends my debut detective thriller and why she’s is excited for the soon-to-release second novel in Detective Raya Ray series.
After three months of writing and editing my second Detective Raya Ray novel, I was finally ready to take the next step. So, on Tuesday afternoon, I initiated the process of mailing a document set related to the book to my literary agent. While there are many steps before the final version is published both in paperback and e-book format, I’m glad that I could give Raya a challenging case to crack. Coincidentally, it is also my birthday month.
The second Raya Ray novel (tentative title)
Since March’21, the doctor husband is back to his erratic schedule. I’m left with no choice but to raise the kid single-handedly once again. Shuttling between anxiety and helplessness, writing this book was my survival strategy. It also helped that I had my strongest support system in my brave five-and-a-half-year-old, who has barely met his father six times in sixty days. His interest in my project is beyond inspiring.
But I must also confess that the kid is a tough taskmaster. No reporting authority in my erstwhile corporate career has ever sought a status update of my work at a frequency of every half-an-hour, like this child. Phew! I’m quite glad that he has decided to shift his focus to Enid Blyton’s Mr. Noddy for the time being.
Mr. Noddy saves the day
It is a tough time to live in. In the last couple of weeks, I’ve heard close friends lose their loved ones. I wasn’t even sure if I should put up an update on the book, especially when we are struggling to survive. But, art is a great survival strategy as well. It takes away our grief, worries, and hopelessness momentarily and gives us reason to dream of a better world. With a ray of hope in my heart that this too shall pass, I go back to balancing my role as a mother and a writer. Someday, I wish to write a book on what it means to be the wife of a frontline warrior.
Stay safe, stay home (if possible), take care, and wear a mask. We need to break the chain. Stay tuned for more updates related to Raya’s latest case.
Thank you, for loving my book ‘Deal of Death.’ In the last couple of days, I have seen some more encouraging reviews from authors, who are also known for their literary skills. Sonia Dogra, Radhika Acharya, and Vartika Mehrotra rave about this past-faced detective thriller in their reviews on Goodreads and Amazon.
Review by Vartika
If you have still not read the book, you can get a copy HERE.
Review by Radhika Acharya
Review by Sonia Dogra
On the personal front, I was interviewed by Naveen from blogabout.blog about my journey as a blogger/author and I had a great time answering his thought-provoking questions.
My debut detective thriller ‘ Deal of Death’ completes 6 months of getting published on Amazon and it is a delight to discover two wonderful reviews by two writers par excellence, Piyusha Vir (who’s also a best-selling author) and Esha Chakraborty.
If you have not read this fast-paced detective thriller introducing private investigator Raya Ray, you must grab a copy HERE. It is sure to make your weekend more interesting.
Review by Esha Chakraborty
The pandemic has become a difficult time for us as a family. I have a bunch of classes lined up in the MFA course this month, the kid is trying to cope up with the pace of the online classes while my husband is tied up in delivering his duties as a doctor. The situation makes it tough for me to balance blogging with mandatory writing and personal responsibilities. I haven’t been able to publish more than 2/3 posts after April (my apologies for that!) but I am hoping for better progress in the coming months.
The copyright notice
Last month, a fellow blogger brought to my notice that the site cryptocitynews.com has been blatantly republishing the same content as my website without seeking any permission from me. Despite the copyright notice clearly mentioned on my website and my warning comments on the posts there, they haven’t taken down my posts. So, if you see any of my posts on their site, please feel free to call them out. A lot of effort goes into creating, editing, and publishing posts on my site and it is unethical to republish my work for their vested interests.
I hope all of you are staying safe and following adequate precautions for us to collectively overcome this crisis. Take care and I will see you again with a new topic very soon.
On Saturday 8th Feb, I traveled with my debut book ‘Deal of Death’ to The Saturday Club, Kolkata for an insightful discussion about women writing thrillers. The panel was moderated by Baishali Chatterjee Dutt and had prolific authors like Kiran Manral, Sharmistha Gooptu, and Damyanti Biswas along with me speaking on how ‘thriller’ was an umbrella genre comprising of various sub-categories. We focussed on the stereotyping that women writers face while writing books in a genre predominantly occupied by writers of the opposite gender. In an engaging and thought-provoking session, we shared our experiences of becoming writers in this genre and the way forward.
Sharing a couple of pictures and bits of my opinion recorded live.
The Thriller writers’ panel
Meeting Anupriya, Damyanti, Paromita and Kiran Manral
The media coverage in the form of an article on the event is available here.
The full recording of the event is available on the FB page of Shethepeople.tv here.
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