World of Books and Travel

Happy Onam to all my Malayali friends. Onam is the harvest festival of Kerala, India. It is also the State festival and all the people, irrespective of the religion, celebrate Onam and welcome King Mahabali, for the remembrance of the good old days. Keralites, wherever they live, usually celebrate this festival. More details can be found here and on this site.

My book - The Second Choice - is featured in http://wonderword-variety.blogspot.in. Please take a look at this. The print copy of this heartwarming story is available in several online shops in India, including juglee.com. Ebook is also available on several places like amazon, smashwords, B&N, Kobos, etc and can be read on ipad, ibooks, Nook, Sonyreader, and most e-reading apps including Stanza, Aldiko, Adobe Digital Editions, others. Those who do not have an ebook reader can be read on computer. For more instructions please check smashwords.com and amazon.com. http://wonderworld-variety.blogspot.in/2012/08/featured-ebook-second-choice-by-lakshmi.html

When you take a lot of trouble in writing a book and getting it published you may think that your work is over. No. You can't just sit and relax and wait for your royalty cheque. All this time you worked quietly writing and polishing your book, and you didn't want much distraction. But once it is published you will have to work very hard to see your book selling more copies, by interacting with other writers and readers. It is all the more in the case of an ebook, which is also self-published. If you don't promote your book no one is going to see your book. I know there are several social media platforms where you can promote. In addition, you can promote your book through some of these popular sites too. 1. Goodreads.com Goodreads is a great platform for writers and readers to meet. This site draws millions of visitors every month, and has a membership of more than 1 Million. As an author you can even get an author's page and a blog, all for free. Another imp...

Whispering Paths is a new book just out in the online market. It is a collection of poems and 6 short stories, as her debut to the literary world, by Sneha Subramanian Kanta. I’ve just finished reading this amazing book which I got through flipkart, one of the popular online shops in India. I felt that her poems are ripe with meaning and fervor, and will touch your heart and soul. Sneha has experimented with different styles in the poems, as stated in her Preface, but I really enjoyed this style for a change. Some poems are long and some are short, but everything has a distinguished flavor. Like her poems, her short stories are also fascinating and touching, written from the heart. Once you start reading this book it is difficult to put down. All I can say is that Whispering Paths is an amazing book, that everyone would probably like to see in their bookshelf. Those who want to buy this it is available at flipkart, and here is the link. (Sorry, I think at present...

Magic Land of Zanzibar is a mini-guide written from a personal experience. This mini-guide also contains some photographs which were taken during my trip. What distinguishes this guidebook from others, is that it simplifies information already available and only provide you with relevant and important information, with a personal touch, that will make the planning of your trip, as well as your stay in Zanzibar, easier, safer and more pleasant. Check it out here and enjoy reading.

1. A smile you sent, will always return. 2. The most beautiful things in the universe are the starry heavens above us and the feeling of duty within us. 3. The cobra will bite you whether you call it cobra or Mr. Cobra. 4. When a camel is at the foot of a mountain then judge of his height. 5. A man laughs at others and weeps for himself. 6. A harvest of peace grows from seeds of contentment. 7. Great anger is more destructive than the sword. 8. When we take one step toward God, He takes seven steps towards us. 9. You can often find in rivers what you cannot find in oceans. 10. The way to overcome the angry man is with gentleness, the evil man with goodness, the miser with generosity and the liar with truth.

From today for 3 days, my short story book (ebook) A Difficult Decision is free on KDP. Please check it out. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00722ZOGY Even if you don't have an eReader you can read it on the computer. It is a small book of just 3 Indian short stories and can be finished fast. Please don't miss it.