"Law is my career, but in my heart, I am a story weaver and storyteller." ~ Binendri Perera
Binendri Perera is Author of 7 books.
She won the award for Best Novel Contribution of the Year in 2009 for her book Nuwanakkari.
"I live and breathe with the characters." ~ Binendri Perera
INTERVIEW
Author Binendri Perera |
1. Please introduce yourself to our readers!
Binendri: I am from Colombo, Sri Lanka. I am a lecturer teaching at the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo.
I am currently on study leave reading for my D.Phil. at the University of Oxford.
I have written six books in Sinhala, my mother tongue, and they are published in Sri Lanka.
Her Truth is my seventh novel and my first English novel.
2. What inspired you to write the story of "Her Truth"?
Binendri: I was reading about pro-democracy movements for my academic writings in 2018-2019, and the pro-democracy movements fascinated me.
People came together from within and across countries through social media and street protests for a common cause; they challenged authoritarian regimes armed with police and military powers simply with their unity, bravery, and creativity.
I wanted to write about the generation that is shaping these movements. I wanted to highlight how women in particular experience and contribute to such movements.
Also, I was writing this book at the beginning of the pandemic, when the lockdowns and COVID restrictions were seeming to threaten the democratic institutions in my country and across the world.
So I wanted to reiterate my own commitment to democracy in this book.
3. Writers mostly write the characters that work well with every other person. But as per the story, Shreya's unconventional tactics do not sit well with her peers.
Why have you decided to give a unique twist to the character Shreya?
Binendri: I have noticed how women are under societal expectation to be ‘nice’ and ‘likable.’
Women with strong personalities I have met in my life have always not been universally liked, but they have been amazing in their own ways.
I have admired them and looked up to them, so I wrote Shreya to be strong and authentic in her own way.
I also wanted to highlight the bitterness that develops in people who have suffered injustice and when the system is against them.
I also wanted to show how people can use that bitterness to change their situation and say ‘never again’ to injustice.
4. Kindly tell our readers something more about your book title, "Her Truth."
Binendri: I want to highlight that the ‘truth’ in society is often not one thing but a matter of perspective.
‘Her Truth’ was to spotlight women’s perspectives and women’s experiences. There are two main female characters in the novel, Shreya and Natharie.
‘Her Truth’ applies to both their stories. The title invites the readers to appreciate their stories and how their stories interact and shape the broader story.
Her Truth by Binendri Perera |
5. Writing a book on a sensitive controversial theme containing politics, law, and unconventional tactics is harder as it contains lots of time to draft the plots and polish the content so that readers don't get offended. How did you manage to finish it?
Binendri: I think my career as an academic is helpful here. I write academic articles on similar themes I have written in my novel, and I present them at conferences to my colleagues. As a lecturer, I also have to facilitate discussions on similar topics.
In my lectures, I am constantly mindful that I have representation from all of Sri Lanka in my classroom. I aim to challenge my audiences without offending them.
In my story writing also, I write with similar sentiments. After writing the novel, I shared the first draft with my closest friends, who gave me very helpful comments. I finalized the draft for my agent, the Book Bakers, considering these comments as well.
6. From where did you start your research and get the data to maintain accuracy while keeping it gentle and readable?
Binendri: During the period I was writing the book, I had done research on pro-democracy movements for my academic articles.
I used those source materials to create Tarusti (the fictional county in which my story is based) and its political complexities.
7. How long does it take to finish your book, "Her Truth"?
Binendri: About four months. I wrote this book in the latter part of 2020, making use of the lockdowns. When I write the book, I am consumed by the book’s world.
I live and breathe with the characters. So I am able to write regularly once I start a novel.
8. Please share something about the character "Shreya" that is not in the book blurb.
Binendri: Shreya has a crush on a senior at her police academy, whom she thinks is her enemy.
9. Law and writing are totally two different things.
You're a lawyer and teach at the Department of Public and International Law of the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo. And you're also doing other great things.
So how did you manage to start writing a book?
Binendri: Since my career is demanding, I do struggle to find time for story writing.
Since my career is demanding, I do struggle to find time for story writing. Especially these days, I find that I don’t have the energy for story writing after working hard on my Ph.D. thesis.
But I am always on the lookout for new story ideas, even while I am reading law books and cases.
Any new experience could also be an inspiration for a new story. So I am plotting storylines at the most random moments and building momentum to write the next novel.
Law is my career, but in my heart, I am a story weaver and storyteller.
10. As a lawyer, often lawyers write about crimes, murder mysteries, or laws. But you write extensively on people's pro-democracy movements.
So what inspired you to write about it?
Binendri: Because constitutional law and human rights are my favorite subjects in law. I constantly read about these subjects and draw inspiration from them for my stories.
11. From where can readers buy your book?
Binendri: My book is available in bookstores in India. It is also available in Amazon Kindle worldwide
If you’re based in India, you can also order the book directly from Alcove Publishers
IG: @binendri X (Twitter) : @binendrip
How Emotion, People, and Success Fooled You by Monika Singh
How Emotion, People, and Success Fooled You |
Every author doesn’t get a chance to make their book an international bestseller.
But I’m feeling the luckier one.
I’m on cloud nine while expressing this about my book, How Emotion, People, and Success Fooled You.
I am happy to announce that my book is an Amazon Best Seller now! ❣️🌞
— Monika Singh (@moniread) April 9, 2024
This post might not be like any other to showcase my writing skills.
But it’s about sharing my happiness over an incredible achievement many authors dream about.
I want to share this with my loyal readers and book lovers who have supported me since day 1 and before or after the book launch.
My book, ‘How Emotion, People, and Success Fooled You: 7 Empathetic Threads with 21 Key Lessons,’ has become an international Amazon bestseller twice since its launch, in April and May.
Thanks to people who have decided to get or gift my book on Mother's Day. It became a #2 international Amazon bestseller! 💝 GM! 🌞 pic.twitter.com/cqqYcpeGx0
— Monika Singh (@moniread) May 13, 2024
This is something to celebrate for me, as I’m an independent author.
I didn’t reach out to traditional publishers and couldn’t rely on self-publishers for any service.
I wrote it, edited it, proofread it, and published it all by myself as a hobby and passion.
Before becoming an author, I was a book lover too.
Still, I am a book lover!
I started book blogging and even reviewed 120+ books to understand most of the ins and outs of writing.
It also helped me to understand the bookish industry, ground reality, and how several things work.
I’m grateful to God that he saved me from all the scammers and scam opportunities that seem too tempting.
The book title, ‘How Emotion, People, and Success Fooled You: 7 Empathetic Threads with 21 Key Lessons,’ itself has lots of seriousness.
It increases my responsibility to stay honest and transparent with my readers.
This is something I learned about education and awareness via books in the past 7 years while interacting with people online and understanding more about authors, readers, and books.
This incredible achievement reflects a deeper effect on many readers.
It also reflects the relevancy of my book’s theme in today’s emotionally complex and fast-paced world.
I’m grateful to my readers who decided to buy or download my book, How Emotion, People, and Success Fooled You.
As per the feedback I have received from many people, now I’m sure that many people and readers will resonate with the book.
If you still didn’t get a chance to read it, get it from here or from my website in different formats.
And Kindle Unlimited users can utilize the short-term offer and read the ebook for free.
Be in Touch!
The woman who loves you can enhance your creativity, can inspire you to heights you have never dreamed of. And she asks nothing. She simply wants your love, which is her basic right. ~ Osho.
Love Month is here, and so is this special post about women and relationships. This post is part 2 of the previous post realities you should know about women, which you can read after reading this.
Basic understanding is the foundation of good relations more than capability, right or wrong things. Whether it’s toward a family member, your parents, siblings, spouse, or other loved ones.
So here are some powerful lines by Osho to help you understand more about the Women, from The Book —
The Book of Women: a celebration of women and the female spirit.
32 quotes about women — The Book Of Woman
1. The woman is always more like a child, more full of wonder than man.
2. Whenever a woman listens, she hears more deeply, more intimately, more lovingly. But a man is very resistant, alert, afraid that he may be influenced, and hurt if his knowledge is not supported.
3. This has been my experience all over the world — that the woman listens, and you can see the glitter of wonder in her eyes. It is not superficial, its roots are deep into her heart.
4. Nine months she suffers, the birth of the child she suffers — and what does the man do? He is not concerned at all about what the consequence will be for the woman.
5. She is constantly living in one season — pain and pain. The seasons don’t change from summer to winter, or to rain. The woman’s life is really hard.
6. Because the woman has been dominated, tortured, and reduced to a nonentity, she has become ugly.
7. The woman that you find in the world is not a true woman either, because she has been corrupted for centuries.
8. When the woman is corrupted, man cannot remain natural either, because after all, the woman gives birth to the man.
9. If she is not natural, her children will not be natural. If she is not natural — she is going to mother the child, male or female — those children naturally will be affected by the mother.
10. Women certainly need a great liberation, but what is happening in the name of liberation is stupid. It is imitation, it is not liberation.
11. Real liberation will make the woman authentically a woman, not an imitation of man.
12. I would like the woman to become really a woman, because much depends on her.
13. She is far more important than man because she carries in her womb both the woman and the man.
14. She mothers both, the boy and the girl; she nourishes both.
15. If she is poisoned, then her milk is poisoned, then her ways of bringing up children are poisoned.
16. The freedom of woman is a must for the freedom of man; it is more fundamental than man’s freedom.
17. If the woman is a slave — as she has been for centuries — she will make a slave of man too, in very subtle ways.
18. She will not fight with you directly; her fight will be indirect, it will be feminine. She will cry and weep. She will not hit you, she will hit herself.
19. A very thin, weak woman can dominate a very strong man.
20. The woman needs total freedom so that she can give freedom to man too.
21. Do you know? The first persons who started talking about equality between men and women were men, not women. The first persons who started talking about it, that they should have equal freedom, were men, not women.
22. The male mind is a cunning mind. The woman is more innocent; she cannot be so strategic, so political. She has always believed the man.
23. She cannot forgive the man for using her.
24. And if you have to compete in the world and prove that you are as strong as men, you have to somehow become more like men. And this will be a loss.
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels |
25. The only hope for humanity is the softness of woman, not the hardness of man.
26. What is needed is that man should become more like woman, rather than woman becoming more like man.
27. Men and women are not equal, because man is missing that womb. They are so different — how can they be equal? They are polar opposites. They are so different, they cannot be compared in terms of equality or inequality.
28. There are women who are not women, who are wolves; and there are men who are not wolves, who are cats.
29. The woman, to be really a woman, has to be more and more feminine, has to touch the heights of softness and vulnerability. And the man, to be really a man, has to move into his masculinity as deeply as possible.
30. When a real man comes in contact with a real woman, they are polar opposites, extremes. But only extremes can fall in love, and only extremes can enjoy intimacy. Only extremes attract each other.
31. The woman can be of immense help in creating an organic society. She is different from man, but not unequal.
32. The truth is that the pain and suffering that women of the world have gone through is a thousandfold more than man has ever known.
If the woman is not free to be really a woman, man will never be free to be really a man either. ~ Osho
For many, loved ones and family are still important. But several differences become the reason for love-hate relations. Basic understanding is the foundation of good relations more than capability, right or wrong things. Whether it’s toward a family member, your parents, siblings, spouse, or other loved ones.
Life keeps going, and sometimes we only need a little understanding of the basics.
So here are some powerful lines by Osho to help you understand more about the Women, from The Book —
The Book of Women: a celebration of women and the female spirit.
Photo by Moose Photos from Pexels |
Author Rrashima Swaarup Verma is a senior corporate analyst with over 20 years of experience in the corporate world. She is currently Senior Director with a leading US-based business research and consulting organization. Her organization works for most of the Fortune 500 companies on a global basis.
Rrashima has worked across a very diverse range of industry and functional segments, and has tremendous experience in strategic research. She is also Chief Editor for her organization’s global newsletter, a multi-cultural publication, featuring news and human interest articles from across the globe. She is the Author of the book "The Royal Scandal". She has also written two bestselling books.
INTERVIEW
Conversation spotlight(Rrashima Swaarup & Monika Singh)
Author Rrashima Swaarup Verma |
1. Author Rrashima, please introduce yourself to our readers. They would love to know more about you.
Rrashima: Hi friends! I’ve been writing since the age of 7. I’ve written articles, poetry, stories and opinion pieces for leading national and international publications. I live in Gurgaon, love traveling around the world and absolutely adore Latin and Jazz music.
2. Your book cover - "The Royal Scandal," is interesting and says a lot. How did you get the idea about this cover?
Rrashima: Yes, I agree with you about the cover. It is mesmerising. So, the cover has been designed by my literary agency, The Book Bakers. My literary agent Suhail Mathur, my publisher Arup Bose, editor Stuti Sharma Gupta and I brainstormed for weeks before we finalized the cover design. We’re all perfectionists and wanted a cover that would effectively capture the heart and soul of the story. And then Suhail’s team truly did justice by successfully implementing what we had in mind.
3. I am curious about the main reason behind the inspiration for writing this book - The Royal Scandal.
Rrashima: I am a self-confessed romantic. While there is some wonderful fiction out there in the romance genre, there is also a lot of romance and passion in real life.
My literary agent Suhail watched a documentary film on the 10 greatest love stories from Indian history. The true love story of Lt Col James Achilles Kirkpatrick and Begum Khair-un-Nissa was one of them. He has an eye for stories that can be made into great books, and he discussed it with me. As soon as I heard the story I was instantly intrigued by the pathos and passion, and I decided to write this book. I have to say that it was one of the best decisions of my life. The Royal Scandal is a piece of my heart and writing it was a privilege for me.
4. When reading, I came across a thought-provoking insight about the Hyderabadi Wedding, where Kirkpatrick sees Princess Khai-un-Nissa. Please share something about these characters.
Rrashima: The two protagonists are from different backgrounds, religions and countries. Kirkpatrick was a Lt Col in the East India Company and Khair-un-Nissa was a princess from the ruling family of Hyderabad. But they had one thing in common. They had the ability to give up everything for love. They knew how much was at stake and how tumultuous the path ahead was, but they believed in love and stood by their decision.
That chance encounter at the royal wedding was truly serendipitous. It was how they met for the very first time and both of them were oblivious to the fact that a single encounter can sometimes change the course of one’s life and destiny forever.
5. Researching or even collecting so much from history is challenging. So, how did you collect the data you included in the book related to historical facts and characters?
Rrashima: The research was as challenging as it was rewarding. I come from a professional research background, and I firmly believe that if the information is there, it can be attained. I spoke to noted historians with a specialization in that period of Indian history.
I dug into archives both in India as well as in London. I managed to procure rare documents from London, old newspapers which contained vital information and spoke to Persian scholars and archaeologists.
The Royal Scandal |
6. How did you write the book as a Senior Director with a leading US-based business research and consulting organization, which is already a busy profession?
Rrashima: As I mentioned before, I have been writing since the age of 7. Writing is an integral part of who I am, and I simply cannot live without it. It is my means to express and emote. I try to maintain a structure which allows at least 2 hours of writing every day. If that means giving up on my social time, so be it. And yes, I do tend to write more at night which means that I get relatively less sleep.
7. Please highlight the three most important characters in your book.
Rrashima: It's difficult to choose since I always believe that every character in a book plays his or her own extremely significant role. Every character brings to the story a unique hue and pattern and the kaleidoscope that forms is what makes the story beautifully layered.
8. Since you are an ardent fitness enthusiast, do you think the trend of going to the gym and doing a workout in a closed room is good for health and creativity?
Rrashima: Fitness for me is a state of mind. I believe in variation. Some days I enjoy working out in a gym. The high energy atmosphere puts me in an upbeat mood and relieves me of any lethargy. Other days, when the weather permits, I enjoy going for a walk or run in the outdoors. Any passion is great for creativity and I’m definitely passionate about fitness and health.
9. What are the key challenges you faced while writing this book?
Rrashima: I think it was the emotional quotient of the story. There were several instances when even while writing, I couldn’t hold my tears back. Khair’s relationship with her children, the heartbreak, the struggles that the protagonists had to face, it was all extremely poignant and had a deep impact on me. So much so that I put my heart and soul completely into the process of writing this, because I truly wanted to do justice to this beautiful true tale of love.
10. Since it's been a year, how this book has impacted your life? Did you feel something different as compared to your previous books?
Rrashima: Absolutely. Even though I’ve been writing for many, many years, I can say that I have realized my true potential as a writer because of The Royal Scandal. A tremendous amount of hard work, patience and dedication has gone into writing this. The research was extremely intense and took a lot of perseverance. And yes, my readers have loved the story immensely. The reviews have been so gratifying. I am truly grateful to Suhail for bringing this story to me and giving me an opportunity to write this book.
11. Can you share something about the book that isn't in the blurb?
Rrashima: Well, then I would be giving things away. I would much prefer you and our readers to read the book because I know that you will love every character, every sub plot and every layer. But yes, there is one thing that I can tell you. The description of 18th century Hyderabad is so vivid in the book that readers will be able to easily visualize and imagine everything. You will feel one with the story, almost as though it is unfolding in front of your eyes.
12. From where can the readers buy your books? (Like online platform links or some big bookstore names). Are you on social media, and can your readers interact with you?
Rrashima: The Royal Scandal is available on major online platforms like Amazon, EBay and Flipkart as well as some of the biggest bookstores in the country like Bahrisons, Kunzum Books, W.H. Smith, Relay, Crossword.
I am on social media and I love connecting with my readers. They can connect with me on Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram or drop me a message on my website. After all, the love, support and appreciation of readers is the most precious gift for an author.
Author Snehashree Mandal is an Indian. She has a Masters in Human Physiology and she has worked in the healthcare sector for a decade. She finally gave wings to her imaginations in the form of writing.
INTERVIEW
Conversation spotlight
(Snehashree and Monika Singh)
1. Author Snehashree, please introduce yourself to our readers. They would love to know more about you.
Snehashree: I am mostly a vagabond by nature, as people see me, but in here, inside me, my attempt is to move towards the force or light source. I am trying to do it in every condition and through every situation that life throws at me.
To get to know myself better physiologically, I read Human Physiology after school.
To understand how the world of modern and primitive medicines works, I took up a job with healthcare and became a part of a few clinical trials. I always wanted to know which medicine was good medicine, and an idea of the side effects of drugs is the best way to approach it.
Now I write full-time for everybody and everything, as I am an innately curious person and believe in knowledge. I write my books to better understand the world around me. Wisdom rarely comes from knowledge and takes its own sweet time to grow within us. But knowledge too serves you well often.
2. I am also fond of animals. I am curious to know the main reason for your kind journey!
Snehashree: Since I was three, animals have attracted me more than men. They are smart, intelligent, and high in IQ and EQ. It is often their wisdom and their power to embrace this world in the most undecorated way that show their true power.
They have only one weakness and one reason why men can abuse and kill them—their belief in this natural arrangement where men are put above all. When you see how men behave towards their own fellow beings, I have always felt they are better.
I have great respect for countries that don't treat animals wrongly and have the right rules in place. We too should assign stricter codes to ensure they are not abused. Even marine laws need to be reformed. But I know that men would consider it a petty matter.
However, the faster we lose harmony with the nature around us, the faster we will be doomed. Our energies are recyclable, and every single energy remains and gets circulated every now and then. We should know it, and we should stop acting stupidly.
Look at the animals! They are allowing us to commit the sin of killing them, knowing very well how humans would be doomed in the end if they didn't stop now. They teach us wisdom if only we have time from our minds and its thousand mazes.
3. Your book title, “From Chaos and Confusion to Confucius,” says a lot. How did you get the idea about this particular title?
Snehashree: Chaos and confusion have been the center of my life. Things that surround me immediately are always chaotic. But as I kept growing up, I kept choosing between my actions. This choice and its execution from time to time showed me the way.
Often, I have failed to take up and perform the right action. But these wrong thoughts have brought me to the right paths, as I have hobbled and struggled to stay put.
Meeting people along the way who can transform not just your beliefs but also prove to you why the right way is right has happened to me, and I was inspired. I also learned why certain previous lineages have been able to achieve so much and why we call them and worship them as gods even now. Hence, I have named the book Chaos: Confusion to Confucius.
4. When reading the story overview, I learned about two strong characters in your book, Tahiti and Deecem. Please share how you have selected these characters—from real life or your imagination.
Snehashree: I would like to point out that no fiction is entirely a fiction.It is always inspired by something we see or meet around us.
Similarly, these are also inspired characters. None of the characters are entirely the same in real life. These women are no dame and manage or live within this world for the sake of living and managing it every day like it is. They are not renowned or well-off people, but they manage to support the path and the path of light and the people traveling in that direction in the truest sense of the word.
5. Your education is in the health field; meanwhile, spirituality is poles apart. How did you manage to write the book while keeping a balance between your logical mind and your creative mind?
Snehashree: I think if we don't know ourselves, we cannot know anybody around us. The temple of Delphi, Greece, has an inscription that reads, "Homo Nosce Te Ipsum," meaning "know yourself to know the world."
Our knowing starts with knowing how we perform physically, and once you know it, we can only get deeper into ourselves.
Spirituality begins where the physical self comes to a close, and we need to know where we can safely close to begin our spiritual journey. To know the switches inside us, you have to know your body. That's how I perceive it, and hence the connection that I have used to move within.
6. Please highlight the three most important characters in your book.
Snehashree: Deecem, Tahiti, and Meru would stay in the book for a long time. They will make you cry, laugh, and live as we proceed with the books.
7. Since you have talked about novel drugs in your book, is it related to the health industry or is it about real knowledge?
Snehashree: It is what is happening and how some people are trying to change the world—through drugs and disease. It is about real knowledge.
8. What inspired you more to start spreading messages to the masses?
Snehashree: I feel people must know their bodies more than ever now as the world is becoming a more difficult place to live in with the spread of wars, global warming, and other obvious threats, and as people become more intolerant towards their own race based on some mere divisions created by the mind.
Often, what we choose to do is what actually chooses us. So I would say spreading the word about the mighty lineages like Shri Ram's and their family, some Celtic lineages, and some who lived and worshipped the stars and nature and struggled through this world to reach its end has chosen me. As long as the higher self would want it, it would make me work towards it, and only the higher self knows how much they would do with my path, and I want to keep it that way.
How I gained this knowledge is written in the book, and audiences need to read each and every book to see the world in a new light.
9. What are the key challenges you faced while starting to write this book?
Snehashree: The path itself was not easy. As I began writing, all hell broke loose. People around me became more challenging to handle. Life throws me into situations, which I have to figure out by living them every day. Sometimes I don't even know what I have in front of me, and only after moving around could I fix it enough to live it and keep writing.
Collecting and conveying the information in the right order was also a challenge. I had to wait a long time to acquire information from my sources. It was a tough and long period to even present the prologue.
10. Since you are a human physiology student and have served the healthcare sector for nine years, what do you think is the main reason behind the continuous degradation of human health, especially physical health?
Snehashree: I would blame humans' continuous separation from nature as the primary reason. We are trying to create an artificial world around us. It is what is killing us.
The next thing that is killing us is this random chaos where every clan and small group of people are using different guiding laws.
We have constant strife, and we are using force to prove who is better than whom and why we should follow a certain set of laws.
This chaos is killing humans, and the lack of uniformity is the perfect breeding ground for those who want to be written off as the destroyers of this world, only to usher in newer stories and the right people. Since the nature of this entire universe is to balance everything, people cannot be sitting and breeding a newer history. The equation for the universe is fixed, and no one can change it. It's not in the power of men.
11. Can you share something about the book that isn't in the blurb?
Snehashree: The book would describe the end of Kali Yuga, which is the world of opposites. If you have noticed, what is written in the texts is the exact opposite of what we live with now.
So the fourth yuga is always designed to bring balance. People and orders that suffered in any form in the first three Yuga would find their space and voice in this Yuga.
Thus, understanding this problem was essential for the races that would rule the world in the coming years. They would again be the old clans as the universe tried to balance what they had faced in this Yuga.
But this time they don't want to follow the previous ways. They want to create the world in such a way that all voices find their way; hence, a lot of things are being considered, as you'll find through the story.