Tag: Author Talk

What is Anna writing?

I’m thrilled to share an exclusive sneak peek of my latest Historical Romance novel with you! My protagonists, Suri and Giri, are royalty by birth but a poet and a playwright at heart. Writing the poetry for this novel has been both an absolute joy and a delightful challenge! I’m currently at 55k words and aiming to complete the first draft by the end of this year.

The actor’s voice broke as he crooned the last line, holding the hand of the dead girl on the floor. Since all the performers were male, the actor trying to hold in his breath was also one. Though Suri knew this was a play, the music emanating from the lone flute pushed all her anguish into her throat and tears misted her eyes. The dark act took place in front of a colorful mural of a spring garden, flowers spilling everywhere. The contrast between the bright blooms and the fading lives could not be missed. A sob escaped his throat as the actor plunged a dagger into his chest and dropped on his lover’s chest. 

She had dreaded coming here, worried about how the audience would react to the pourings from her mind. The night was dreadfully silent, no chatter from the crowd. She assumed that was a welcome sign.

“Is that your poem?” her cousin, Kanika whispered, breaking her out of her revere.

She nodded slowly, still stunned from hearing her words. Her own words. It felt like being in a rain shower on a hot day.

The Caretaker: Book Review

The Caretaker is A.X. Ahmad’s debut novel, though I read it more than a decade after its release. Ranjit Singh, a disgraced ex-military officer from India, is living in Martha’s Vineyard during a cold winter, struggling to make ends meet while taking care of his wife and daughter. He works as the caretaker for a senator’s house. When the heater in his own home breaks down, he moves his family into the senator’s empty house, without his permission. They are attacked in the middle of the night, and so begins the adventure.

I love how the author intersperses Ranjit’s past on the Siachen Glacier with his present circumstances. Ranjit’s Sikh faith keeps him grounded as his life falls apart. The African American senator and his wife are written well; you can almost imagine reading about their lives in the newspaper.

The disabled veteran is another wonderfully fleshed-out character. My only nitpick with the story is regarding Ranjit’s wife, Preetham. I wish we saw more of her to better understand her depression and loneliness.

All in all, it’s a great debut thriller.

Title Reveal

Thanks to your votes, I’ve chosen the title Broken King! I appreciate everyone who participated and shared their thoughts. Your input has been invaluable, and I’m excited to share this story with you.

Remember King Dushyant, my protagonist from King in Hiding? Broken King is a novella about his parents, and I’m excited to share it with you later this year.

Princess Neela faces the unbearable prospect of marrying a man old enough to be her father. Desperate to escape her fate, she turns to the only person who can help—King Bhodar, a ruler drowning in sorrow and toddy. Initially repulsed by his drunken conduct, Neela discovers a kind heart beneath his troubled exterior and slowly begins to see the man he could be. As they draw closer, Neela becomes determined to heal his wounds and help him reclaim his strength. But time is running out, and she must discover if love can truly conquer all and set them both free before it’s too late.

Will Neela and Bhodar find salvation in each other, or will their pasts forever bind them to lives they never wanted?

While waiting for this story, please read the first romance novel in this series. It is a stand-alone happily ever after tale, featuring a king who has captured an enemy on the battlefield and allows his heart to be captured by the daughter of his prisoner.

Read King in hiding

Audiobook Coming This November!

I have some thrilling news that I just couldn’t wait to share with you! The journey through the enchanting world of Child of the River is about to get even more immersive. I am excited to announce that the audiobook version, narrated by the incredible duo Nikita Mirpuri and Shawn Jain, is coming this November!

Stay tuned for more updates as we approach the release date. Thank you for being such a passionate part of my reader community!

What am I writing?

I have started working on book two of my historical romance series.

My protagonist, Prince Giridhar, is masquerading as a playwright. He falls in love with the poems of a local poet and uses them in his play.

Princess Suryavati has a secret. She loves to write poems, and until recently, she had no audience for her work. Can you imagine her thrill when Giridhar builds a play around her poems? But she lets him think the poet is a man.

Their love of words brings them together, each unaware of the other’s true identity. Is there a happily ever after for them? Only after I make them suffer for three-quarters of the book.

Read King of Hiding while waiting for this novel.

Kindle Unlimited Subscribers can borrow this novel as part of their subscription.

Did I tell you about my short story?

Child of the River is not my only book coming out in 2024. I also have a short story in an anthology: ‘Queens in Wonderland’—an LGBTQ+ Alice in Wonderland themed collection.

My short story is set in contemporary California. Don’t worry, though; Medieval India makes a guest appearance. I am looking forward to sharing this story with you next month.

Cover Reveal

I am excited to share the cover of Book 1 in the Prophesied Prince series: Child of the River. I love this cover. From the tree motif in the crown to the golden-tipped feather swan, this art brings together the elements in my novel in a beautiful way. Please let me know your thoughts on this cover.

Child of the River:

When an exiled prince seeks refuge in their land, Malla dispatches emissaries to Kashgar. In a declaration of war, the men they had sent as envoys to Kashgar returned as corpses on a ship. 

Prince Atul travels to Kashgar to route out the rebels and seat the exiled prince on the throne. When he arrives, Prince Atul is prepared to wage war against men. What he encounters are curses and spells. How does he defeat what he does not understand? Especially when he hears voices urging him to protect a girl he has never met. A girl named Sugandha.

Kindle Vella:

I will be publishing this novel in serialized form on Kindle Vella. This will offer an interactive experience for my readers because you will get to read my notes for each episode and comment on them.


For busy readers, Kindle Vella allows you to access stories conveniently, reading episodes in bite-sized portions, perfect for breaks or commutes.


You can provide immediate feedback on each episode, helping me shape the story. You can read the first three episodes for free. Please follow the story so you can get notified when I post the next episodes.

Book review: Such a Fun Age

Kudos to the author for tackling the hard subject of race. Her light-hearted novel appears to be the perfect vehicle for introspection.

Emira is a black nanny for a white family. The story starts with an urgent call from her employer. The wife, Alix, wants Emira to babysit Briar late at night. Emira leaves the party she is at to take the toddler to a grocery store. At the store, a security guard detains Emira, concerned for the child. While Emira explains her side, Kelley, a white guy, films the encounter.

After setting the stage with this brilliant start, the book explores Emira and Alix’s story through the lens of race and class differences. I appreciate that there are several women of color in this tale, all with distinct characteristics.

Emira is content to babysit Bri, whom she adores. Bri, likewise, is attached to Emira. But Emira is fast approaching the age where she will lose health insurance through her parents, so she is worried about finding another job. However, Emira is not doing much beyond worrying. Tamra, a black superwoman with perfect children, is a perfect foil for our laid-back protagonist.

Alix, missing her life in NY as a self-help guru, decides to help Emira, though Emira never asks for it. Their dynamics is a great read.

Kelley befriends Emira and becomes her boyfriend. Nothing black and white about his motivations.

All the little moments in this story paint a vivid portrait of life in America.

The story is about our hidden prejudices and biases. Though we all have them, the biases of people in power affect us the most. I would definitely recommend this debut novel by Kiley Reid.

Book Review – The Vibrant Years

This book is a story of three generations of women supporting each other as life throws them a curveball. The book starts at a slow pace and picks up speed in the second half when the twist and turns come fast and furious at you.

Bindu, the grandmother in her sixties, is a study of conflicts. A housewife, a mother, and a grandmother, who puts her family before herself as an atonement for her deeds as a teenager, discovers freedom in a retirement community. Her modern attire and outward appearance are in constant conflict with the traditional values she unconsciously holds.

Alisha, whose relationship with her mother-in-law is a highlight of the book, is putting her career ahead of her marriage and paying the price for it.

Cullie, the genius daughter, does not want to deal with the vulnerability that comes with opening one’s heart.

You cannot read a Sonali Dev book hungry because her vivid food descriptions will assault all your five senses.

As in her other books, family plays a central role in this novel. Their love and support for each other is the life vest that keeps them from floating in this ocean of unpredictability. Recommend this book for readers who love reading about women of all ages struggling with understanding their desires.

My virtual bookshelf

I use Goodreads as my virtual bookshelf. A good book recommended by a trusted source goes into my TBR pile. I use Goodreads to track the books I have read, and I am doing great against my 2023 Reading Challenge. Reading brings me joy, so I don’t see these Reading Challenges as a competition. I see it more as an accomplishment.

I have several fiction and non-fiction categories to shelve a book into. I find this organization useful to find books I have read, especially when friends ask for book recommendations. I create new shelves when I read a book that does not quite fit on my existing shelves, and I decide it needs its own space. I recently made a new shelf called women-in-stem for novels that featured female protagonists working in the stem field. I have three books filed under this, and I am sure I will be adding many more.

My newest novel, King in Hiding, can be shelved under Historical Romance, Medieval Romance, and Romance. If you have more create shelves for a novel like this, please let me know in the comments.