World of Books and Travel

Cherished - the new novel about a girl's pursuit for parental love, is now free to download in the kindle store. Just few more hours left. Grab your free copy now. The giveaway at Goodreads is also ending soon. Please check it out. Check out the reviews at Goodreadsw - http://debasishray19.blogspot.in/2013/09/cherished-by-lakshmi-menon.html http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18403945-cherished http://www.induswomanwriting.com/lakshmi-menon-cherished.html Remember to check out the comment page.

Just three days back (23rd Sept) my new book Cherished was released and had a book reading at Bookstop, Koramangala, Bangalore. The book store was a small place and I had invited just a couple of friends. Since it was a working day some of them who had promised to come, couldn't reach on time. Still it went off well. Dr. Jennifer introduced me to the audience and then the book was released. Two of them read some of the pages from the book. Dr. Eva Bell, who had already read the book, asked me some thought provoking questions about the book. Then another person from the audience also asked me some questions about my journey of writing. On the whole, We had a very active discussion about the book. The next session was book signing. The audience asked for autographed copies of the book. Almost all of them bought the book. They were also readers of my earlier book, The Second Choice. Next was my turn. I thanked them for taking the trouble of coming from far,...

Are you looking for information about how to reduce your Non-US tax withholding issue as a self published author? I happened to see the following blog which helped me solve this problem. Hence, I decided to post it here for the use of other people who need this information. Reblogged from Catherineryanhoward blog

Wish you all a Happy Onam. Those who want to know more about this most important festival of Kerala, India, read here.

RIP, Elmore Leonard: The Beloved Author’s 10 Rules of Writing : Elmore Leonard (October 11, 1925–August 20, 2013) says: " These are rules I’ve picked up along the way to help me remain invisible when I’m writing a book, to help me show rather than tell what’s taking place in the story. If you have a facility for language and imagery and the sound of your voice pleases you, invisibility is not what you are after, and you can skip the rules. Still, you might look them over." 1. Never open a book with weather. If it’s only to create atmosphere, and not a character’s reaction to the weather, you don’t want to go on too long. The reader is apt to leaf ahead looking for people. There are exceptions. If you happen to be Barry Lopez, who has more ways to describe ice and snow than an Eskimo, you can do all the weather reporting you want. 2. Avoid prologues. They can be annoying, especially a prologue following an introduction that comes after a foreword. But these are o...

I'm posting a series of tips from famous writers, that I found very informative and useful to become better writers. David Ogilvy says - Never write more than two pages on any subject. "People who think well, write well. Woolly minded people write woolly memos, woolly letters and woolly speeches. Good writing is not a natural gift. You have to learn to write well. Here are 10 hints: 1. Read the Roman-Raphaelson book on writing. Read it three times. 2. Write the way you talk. Naturally. 3. Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs. 4. Never use jargon words like reconceptualize, demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass. 5. Never write more than two pages on any subject. 6. Check your quotations. 7. Never send a letter or a memo on the day you write it. Read it aloud the next morning — and then edit it. 8. If it is something important, get a colleague to improve it. 9. Before you send your letter or your memo,...

My new novel Cherished which will be released at the end of September, is listed for a giveaway at goodreads, If you are a book enthusiast please check it out and enter the giveaway . Since the postage is too expensive it is available only to the people in India. For my blog readers, I am giving away five ebook copies of Cherished , from a random pick, which can be sent anywhere. The last date for entry is 5th October 2013. Those who are interested please enter here posting a comment. Those who are interested to write a review for this book may also please write in the comment. Story - Grishma, accompanied by her father and four month old baby, boards the train to Delhi to join her husband Praveen. She decides to give him a surprise visit. Little does she know that her journey will end in havoc to her life. 19 years later, Grishma's daughter Jyothi, longing for her father's love and support, determines to search for him, despite her mother's strong pr...

It is great news that smashwords have tied up with flipkarts for the sale of ebooks, and soon the smashwords ebooks will be available to buy in India. It gives a better opportunity for the locals to write for the local community. Flipkart is the largest online market in India, especially for books. Click here to read more about this from http://blog.smashwords.com .