An interaction with 'Creative Bro' aka Shriya Gupta - the Bohemian of Love; A Sweet Poison 2

1. Introduce yourself to the audience.

Hey! I am Shriya Gupta a.k.a Bro. My story ‘Sacrifices’ published in Love - A Sweet Poison 2 is my second anthology.

An engineer by fate but a writer by choice. I am studying Automobile Engineering from VNRVJIET, Hyderabad. Art is my love and storytelling is my passion. I aspire to become a writer and a director. I have started a creative organization called The Nation's Rock Beat to bring about an artistic creative revolution.

2. Define yourself in one word.

Creative.

3. At what stage of your life you started writing?

I never knew that I had a knack for writing till my 9th grade.

It came into my life as a fortunate accident and the scars from it are to stay forever.

4. What motivates you to write?

You earn money, you top your exams or you become extremely famous and then you create a piece of an art, the amount of happiness you experience is surreal in the last case.

So, for me each day without any creative work is a day wasted.

5. What interests you most; fiction, nonfiction, travelogue, biography, horror, adult or young adult?

Every piece is unique in its own way. You get to learn something new from the above mentioned genre. So, I can go with any genre as long as the piece has a strong and grasping writing style.

6.To you, which is a better medium to express; prose, poetry, art, film, play or any other and why?

For a storyteller, the story is the hero and the medium is just the spot boy. So, every storyteller just hopes that their stories reach out to the maximum audience no matter what medium it is.

7. What would you like to be reborn as?

I am tomboy by nature so would like to be reborn as a boy.

8. Which is more important to you; money or fame?

An adequate mixture of both will work fine for me as long as I am creatively satisfied and being able to bring a change for art in this world.

9. How do you react when rejected by the publishers?

Any kind of rejection means it's time to reanalyze. To sit back and think where have I been going wrong and how should I get back on track.

10. Your valuable suggestions to the prospective writers?

I was and am still scolded by all my English teachers that I don't write as soon as an idea hits me.

I am still trying to work on it. So, to all the new writers, just write without any hesitation. Write your heart out at that very moment. Read that and write again. Keep writing and writing forever.

*****

Interaction with ostentatious and optimist Sagar Garg contributory author Love; A Sweet Poison 2

1. Introduce yourself to the audience.

Hey, I am Sagar Garg. I have been born and bought up in New Delhi, India. My days have nothing more than managing our long established business where I work for ten-twelve hours a day, if that counts. At nights I used to scribble and read. For me, a day without reading is a day less lived. Writing in my life has been adopted from minor infraction of over-thinking which I best shot to turn down in words and make people believe in it. To know more you can visit my Facebook page here’s the link:  https://www.facebook.com/iamsagargarg

2. Define yourself in one word.

Optimistic. I believe in accepting the things the way they are and changing them rather than taking terror and complaining.

3. At what stage of your life you started writing?

To be honest I am yet to start with my professional writing for what I do now is just a side-effect of my over-thinking and insomniac disability combined which I discovered when I turned thirteen.

4. What motivates you to write?

It’s you! I’ve been inspired by the world around me, by people or lives to be precise like how differently amazing things happen in life. I believe every life has a story that too, a different one, so why left it untold.

5. What interests you most; fiction, nonfiction, travelogue, biography, horror, adult or young adult?

Biographies interest me the most, though literature always came interesting to me. I also read fictions, especially young adult a lot but biographies because flavor of reading the reality can’t be compared with something else.

6. To you, which is a better medium to express; prose, poetry, art, film, play or any other and why?

That’s a tricky one, for me its prose and poetry for the obvious reason that I love writing. Not that others can’t do justice, they are pretty much equally artistic but I go with it because it gives me better chance to come out as what I really am.

7. What would you like to be reborn as?

As I mentioned earlier, I am a positive personality, I love whatever I have been gifted with so, there’s nothing I know to be reborn as other than what I am today.

8. Which is more important to you; money or fame?

Happiness would have been my answer had there not been two options already. From above I will choose the latter.

9. How do you react when rejected by the publishers?  

Probably disappointed from my own self perhaps there will be a sigh of relief if they reject my bad work before reaching it to readers.   

10. Your valuable suggestions to the prospective writers?

I hope none of you are forcing yourself to write.

*****

Interview with ostentatious optimistic Sagar Garg, contributory author Love; A Sweet Poison 2

Introduce yourself to the audience.

Hey, I am Sagar Garg. I have been born and bought up in Delhi. My days have nothing more than managing our pre-owned business where I work for ten-twelve hours a day, if that counts. At nights I used to scribble and read. For me, a day without reading is a day less lived. Writing in my life has been adopted from minor infraction of over-thinking which I best shot to turn down in words and make people believe in it. To know more you can visit my fb page here’s the link:  https://www.facebook.com/iamsagargarg

               Define yourself in one word.

Optimistic. I believe in accepting the things and changing them rather than taking terror and complaining.

At what stage of your life you started writing?

To be honest I am yet to start with my professional writing for what I do now is just a side-effect of my over-thinking and insomnious disability combined which I discovered when I turned thirteen.

What motivates you to write?

It’s You! I’ve been inspired by the world around me, by people or lives to be precise like how differently amazing things happen in life. I believe every life has a story that too, a different one, so why left it untold.

What interests you most; fiction, nonfiction, travelogue, biography, horror, adult or young adult?

       Biographies interests me the most, though literature always came interesting to me. I also read fictions, especially young adult a lot but biographies because flavor of reading the reality can’t compare with something else.

                                                                        

            To you, which is a better medium to express; prose, poetry, art, film, play or any other and                   why?

           That’s a tricky one, for me its prose and poetry for the obvious reason that I love writing. Not              that other medium are bad but I go with prose and poetry because it gives me better chance to              come out as what I really am.

What would you like to be reborn as?

As I mentioned earlier, I am a positive personality, I love whatever I have been gifted with and there’s nothing I know to be reborn as other than what I am today.

Which is more important to you; money or fame?

Happiness would have been my answer had there not been two options already. From above I will choose the latter.

 How do you react when rejected by the publishers?

Probably disappointed from my own self perhaps there will be a sigh of relief if they reject my bad work before reaching it to readers.  

Your valuable suggestions to the prospective writers?

I hope none of you are forcing yourself to write.

Review of Adam, Eve And The Apple : Story by Priyajit Ghosh in Love; A Sweet Poison 2

Story:

The day I read this story, I was moved by its theme and my heart selected it for the anthology immediately. This is the story of an Apple tree planted by Adam and Eve. On the very day of their marriage anniversary  when it bears its first apple, a devil plays a dirty game and tries to spoil everything by conspiring to kill them. The tree feels, observes and tries to save them. Whether the tree succeeds in saving the lives of Adam and Eve, read this compelling heart touching story by Priyajit Ghosh.

Merits:
The way the feelings of a tree for Adam, Eve and their son George has been described is commendable. You get mesmerized when you read that tree also loves them as its parents and brother and its pain for them due to the premonition it has about the ill designs of the devil and how helpless it feels in saving their lives. Wonderful! Keep it up with more such different and offbeat stories. The literary world needs a writer like you.

Demerits:
I don't remember if there're any. Yes, a few readers will find a tad difficult to understand the gist of the story in first go. Nothing more.

Quotes I liked:

"That's perhaps the ultimate aim of life - to give back more lives in return."

"Maybe that's what happens when your every bit of soul is happy - you see the world through your soul."

Ratings :
Story: 5/5
Language: 4/5
Literature: 4/5
Overall : 4.5/5

Best of luck and all the best for future.

Rajeev Pundir

Review : ‘Dawn At Dusk’ By Gaurav Sharma Published By Petal Publisher

Story: 

This is a story; albeit I would say a different one, of a boy named Aradhaya. He’s compelled to return to India from Oxford, where he is studying, due to sudden demise of his millionaire parents in a car accident. By nature and by age, he’s naïve, not-so-mature, quite emotional, and vulnerable. Tricked by a game played by one of his relative, he gets married to Devyani, a crook, who manages to escape taking all his cash and jewelry in acquaintance with her leman/husband. Saddened by this betrayal, he tries to seek solace and crave for motherly-love. Circumstances lead him to a woman; Sambhavi Rajgopalan, thirteen years senior to his age and driven by his craving, he falls for her. Then a different story begins.

Merits:

The book can be divided into two parts – First; Language and the literature. Second; the story and the plot.

Taking the first part first, I would say that Gaurav Sharma has an absolute mastery over English language. In this novel also he’s used his best narrating the story inculcating almost everything – emotions of love, crush, infatuation, betrayal and sacrifice by using adequate and proper metaphors, adjectives etc. Inclusion of heart touching poetry at different intervals has made the book quite different in terms of language and literature. Kudos to him.

Now the second part – the story and the plot. The story is different, distinctive and unconventional. Dealing with such a subject is difficult and I congratulate him to dare in taking up such an offbeat tale.

Demerits and areas of improvement:

The story is also plotted into two distinctive parts. Whereas the first half deals with Aradhaya’s search for love in Sambhavi and in Meera both, the second half is dedicated to his project he’s taken to prove his mettle as challenged by Sambhavi. Since there’s no mention of Sambhavi and Meera in later half but last two chapters, the story seems to lag behind from its course and this is where a disinterest develops in the reader.

The protagonist is yet to mature mentally, as his feelings swing between Sambhavi and Meera, who’s supposed to be the adopted daughter of Sambhavi. Falling for an older woman is fine but falling for her daughter at the same time is somewhat I found awkward (Page No.52).

Aradhaya joins the college at Pune to do research in English literature under Sambhavi where she’s HOD in English department. Taking the subject of Meghdoota written by Kalidasa for research in English literature didn’t fit well into the plot. Had he taken Sanskrit subject for research and had she been HOD of Sanskrit department would have been appropriate. The writer has not clarified whether he completes his research or moves from there without it.

When challenged by Sambhavi to prove himself on his own, Aradhaya goes to Shyamal Taal where he decides to do something for the welfare of local poor people. And, he does that by investing the money earned and left by his father. He almost does nothing to earn even a single penny by putting his own efforts. His contribution is limited to taking a decision to invest his inherited money. Subjecting him to vigorous daunting tasks showing him starting from a scratch would have justified the theme.

The cover of the book needs to be reworked. The body language of the boy looking at the lady doesn’t express that he’s in love with her. On the contrary he seems annoyed and to attack her anytime.

Quotes I liked:

‘The ceiling was neat but I was toiling to recognize figures in the marks left by brush strokes.’

‘The sunshine is invisible. It can only be felt. You can’t grab it. Love is like sunshine. Just feel it. Attempting to capture it will only sadden you.’

‘Sex is not evil until it remains under the reins of love.’        

My take:

The subject of love and sacrifice in love has been unfolded well in this book. Keeping in view that no book is perfect, I recommend this book for upgrading one’s vocabulary and English as a subject. It’s an unconventional story and not a cup of everyone. Only serious readers will enjoy it. I, certainly would like to read more from Gaurav Sharma’s pen.

Rating:

Story : 2.5/5

Plotting: 2.5/5

Language:  5/5

Literature: 5/5

Overall : 3/5

All the best Gaurav for your future endeavors.

Rajeev Pundir

Interview with an ebullient eclectic writer Bhumika Khatri from Love; A Sweet Poison 2

1. Introduce yourself to the audience.

     Hello readers. I am Bhumika, a journalist at 21, and work for a news website in Delhi. My heart and  soul is in a small town of MP, but my career keeps moving, hopefully soon across the globe. I have  been writing across different platforms for a few years now, and this was my second venture of  getting published. I am an ambivert with knack for words. I say words because I listen to music which  speaks to me through the words, I read books over movie and I write over talking. I am gladly a weird  girl, fun girl, talk-to-in-emergency girl, and what not, because tags stopped bothering me long back. 

 2. Define yourself in one word.

    Eclectic

3. At what stage of your life you started writing?

     I was more of a scribbler since the time I lost my first best friend and I was just 16 then. It was a  way to let out things I didn't realize I had in me, and even today what I write comes as a surprise to  even me. 

4. What motivates you to write?

   Emotions, Thoughts, Actions, People, actually anything and everything motivate me to jot down. In  complete honesty, my thoughts are in a whirlwind most of the times, and I write. Truly speaking,  anything that crosses me, finds a way in my words. 

5. What interests you most; fiction, nonfiction, travelogue, biography, horror, adult or young adult?   

    I enjoy fiction as well as travelogue the most. But in the past year with my career choice nonfiction is  my way of life, and therefore, biographies help me find perspectives to things.

6.To you, which is a better medium to express; prose, poetry, art, film, play or any other and why?

     Every medium of art is an amazing way to express, but to me prose is my haven.  There are so many  amazing works which have been reiterated in different ways, but to me the originality of words out  there on pages is the only way I feel everything in my bones.  

7. What would you like to be reborn as?

    When I was a kid, my answer would have always been as a boy, but since I'm old enough to  understand gender issues, I have never thought about this. 

 8. Which is more important to you; money or fame?     

     This is tough. I would be stupid to just deny the importance of money or even fame, because both  keep you moving to achieve higher, be better. And, I believe both complement each other fairly good,  but what’s fame in rags or what’s money in defamation? So, these can’t be supplements to me, but always complimentary.

9. How do you react when rejected by the publishers? 

   Honestly speaking, I don’t know about this because this is just my second try which was successful,  but I have written some bad stories or works and of course, I felt bad. But I have this sense of taking up  my accountability, so usually I go after the person to explain my errors and work on it. Be it criticism  or review, I need to understand the reason to improve it and that’s my way to deal with rejection.  

10. Your valuable suggestions to the prospective writers?

    Even though I am fairly new to this field, I can speak only on the basis of my experience. Open your  ears, eyes, mind and of course, your heart. Keep the doors for ideas open, and jot down your idea as  soon as possible. And always write in the flow. Write rubbish, but write at the moment. And always  and I emphasize ‘always’ edit, re-edit and re-re-edit your work. Plus, what my teacher has always advised, Read-Read-Read.

*****

Interview with the gem of a writer the Jimmy : Komal Raichandani

1. Introduce yourself to the audience.

Hello, myself  Komal Raichandani, an M.phil in English literature, working  as a writer in Kutch. Have authored a book named ‘Literary Riaz!’ along with ‘Let There Be You!’ and various other stories. I’m an ardent reader, interacting, and deeply in love with life and  its beings.  Love to travel, write, surf and watch movies. Cult cinema and food interests me. I barely skip a movie. My area of study is post modern literature. Love to watch and read interviews leading to learn something new everyday. I wish to be a cinema maker very soon. Love to love people.

2. Define yourself in one word.
Jimmy.

3. At what stage of your life you started writing?
I started scribbling at a very tender age of 4, but I started poetry at an age of 10.

4. What motivates you to write?
I feel writing is a very personal process, one takes everything from life and its beings, but while writing I always prefer sitting in a locked room and reproduce whatever has remained with me with utmost intricacy and simplicity. Love of all kinds motivates me to write and be at my creative best.

5. What interests you most; fiction, nonfiction, travelogue, biography, horror, adult or young adult?
Yes, I have a taste for aesthetics, ecstasy and sublimity, all weaved into one, hence adult or young adult genuinely interests me the most.

6.To you, which is a better medium to express; prose, poetry, art, film, play or any other and why?
Personally I prefer poetry and words with taste, belonging to any genre, but I also feel that words are perhaps the hardest medium of all the material art. One must simultaneously express visual beauty, beauty of sound, which I feel films are the greatest medium to transform and encapsulate the whole idea of expression into one.

7. What would you like to be reborn as?
Once a film-maker with one’s spouse, always a film-maker with one’s spouse.

8. Which is more important to you; money or fame?
Both. It’s a rare combination, but yes I aspire for both.
9. How do you react when rejected by the publishers?

Yes, rejections are something no one would like to have in their baskets of destiny, but I feel there is always some force or magical power which is aware of my being, who knows me better personally and helps me taking the right decisions . Also, somehow I’m blessed with a fearless persona and have this innate inner faith that something or the other always works in my favor, yielding me the best results, letting me do and actualize whatever I have always dreamt of doing. 

10. Your valuable suggestions to the prospective writers?
Keep writing and expressing, be it in any medium or genre. Even if they are two lines, one must write, everyday, and strive for finer self, with every passing creative work, an artist not only raises up the scale for oneself but also pushes the general audience’s acceptability limits. Importantly, stick to your conviction of articulating a point or an emotion which maybe not so well received initially, but, if true and seasoned with love, it will be accepted and loved by all. J

*****

Review of 'Sacrifices' -- story by Shriya Gupta

I happened to read this story by Shriya as a part of submission material for the anthology Love: A Sweet Poison 2 of which I'm the editor. Selection of the story speaks itself that it's the story of substance and merit.

'Sacrifices' is the story of a married couple Vipin and Meera. Where Vipin is highly ambitious, Meera is quite submissive and tries to compromise with the situations prevailing between them due to Vipin's overindulgence in his job to the extent that Meera has to bear solitude for a long time quite often. When the things go beyond her endurance, she takes a bold decision and breaches the threshold to fulfill her own dreams. What does she do and what transpires between them due to her agitation, read the full story in the anthology.

Merits: The story is written with so much clarity that the tension between the husband and wife overwhelms the reader right from its tagline. The story tells everything so beautifully -- like the life of the couple has become so tense and mechanical that they hesitate to share their achievements and happiness with each other and they had to sleep without almost congratulating each other by heart. Really amazing!

Demerits: I tried to find some flaws in the story and read it a couple of times. The biggest flaw of this story is that it has none.

 Punchlines: 1. "I have succeeded as a husband but I have failed as a soulmate."
                   2. "We talk but we don't speak. We smile but we don't laugh. We do sex but we don't                                  love..."

Shriya, I congratulate you to write such a wonderful story with such a mature mind that the reader will find hard to believe that you're an undergraduate student. I think you have an amazing talent of seeing life as it is truthfully. Keep it up! I look forward to read more and more from your heart and pen, and to learn a lot from you my friend.

Rating: 5/5 which is first time from me given to a writer.

I hope you'll not spoil my hopes in future.

Best of luck!

An interview with a perfectionist : Rashi Shrivastava

Introduce yourself to the audience.
My name is Rashi Shrivastava, 23 years old and a student of English Literature at the University of Delhi, currently pursuing a Masters degree from Hans Raj College. Reared in a convent school, I have always been an avid reader and writer by default. Writing fiction is something that came naturally to me, and I hope to make it big as a bestselling novelist one day. For now I am waiting for the pen to coincide with my thoughts and animate them into a beautiful book. I am also a regular blogger and write about numerous aspects of life ranging from Books, Love, Writing and Beliefs. My blog address is as follows: www.temptationofwords.wordpress.com Besides, I also run pages on Facebook and Instagram  Temptations of Words.

Define yourself in one word.
Perfectionist. Without sounding over the top, let me clear that it pertains only to the fact that I like being perfect in everything I do and I also know that I have a long way to go.
At what stage of your life you started writing?
As far as I remember, and that memory is intact because I still have that first piece of my writing in my possession. It was when I was in 7th grade and I wrote a poem for my school magazine. I named it The Element and it was about how each one of us are unique in certain ways and that each one us have an element inside us which makes us special.  There has been no looking back after that.
What motivates you to write?
Well, that's a tough one to tackle because I don't believe in motivation for writing, for me its more of an instinct. I feel every writer has an instinct to write and that is the only motivation, if you would like to call it.
What interests you most; fiction, nonfiction, travelogue, biography, horror, adult or young adult?
For me, the bias shall always be towards Romance, be it fiction or non-fiction. Though I read all sorts of books, being in a Literature course I have to deal with all genres but Romance shall be my favourite.
To you, which is a better medium to express: prose, poetry, art, film, play or any other and why? 
Prose has a wider range of amalgamating emotions and that is why I think it is more preferred but poetry is I think is a better medium, though it requires an elevated sense of intellect in order to be understood. Its hard to decide on any one, each genre has its own attributes and something that can be expressed explicitly in poetry may not enjoy the same in a film and likewise.

What would you like to be reborn as?
Maybe a Panda! That's because inherently I am a very lazy person.
Which is more important to you: money or fame? 
Fame. Money shall follow thereafter.
How do you react when rejected by the publishers?
I won't say that I don't feel bad about facing rejections in this profession but then I also believe in a simple rule of life; the universe is the best judge and one gets what one deserves. Though at first a rejection does incite a tinge of sadness in me, it is easily overcome as well.
Your valuable suggestions to the prospective writers? 
Barely a writer myself, I am nobody to suggest anything to others because I don't have that kind of experience as of now. But because it is asked and from what I have learned, I think all writers must try and write about what lies inside them. Writing about what is in fashion or what will appeal to the readers is, I think, artificial writing. This act must be natural and what you spill on paper must come straight from your heart. For me the rule is simple, when you write something the pen must not stop and the point when it does, you must not strive further.
                                                                 
                                                                             *****