IN ALL ITS FAIRNESS - MY BLOGCHATTER ANTHOLOGY EXPERIENCE

I am immensely honoured and elated to be a part of the Blogchatter anthology yet another time, the genre this time being around love. After getting my name on a book I coauthored last year (The Blogchatter Book of Thrillers), I was eagerly looking forward to the next instalment. I was slightly desponded that the genre was about love because I am neither a romance reader nor a writer. I was dejected and almost gave up until the team announced that the story could be about any or all shades of love and that it need not necessarily only be romantic. My happiness knew no bounds, and I grabbed my pen and diary the same day. Yes, I am old school, and I still write my first draft on paper before typing! 

When the selection list came for the anthology, I was surprised to find my name among the 18 writers out of the 90 submissions because it made me realise that if I could write on love, then I may be able to write on everything else, too. It was no less feeling than the first time this happened in 2023 with the thriller genre. 

Working with the Blogchatter team

The last time I got selected, I was on cloud nine because it was my first ever experience of getting published, let alone being a single-story contributor. But this time, when the selection came, I was happier than the first time because this story was written from my emotional perspective. As always, the team was so prompt in getting back to us with the editing and feedback. They were terrific and the entire process was so seamless. It's like - you just have to write, the rest will be taken care of. 

Their efforts to conduct workshops on editing, writing and marketing with published writers were instrumental. Though I missed a lot of live sessions, the links were shared for viewing later. It's a wonderful feeling to work with Blogchatter because they make getting published seem very easy and bear everything else that needs to be done. 

Why did I choose to write what I wrote?

I knew I couldn't write romance even if I wanted to because I had never learned to get a gist of that. And I knew I couldn't outsmart my fellow community writers who had already aced the game of writing romance novels. But then, it's about love and all its shades. I looked around and within me and realised how much love I was surrounded with to write about. Unlike the last time, I wanted to write something close to my heart and dedicate the story to the people I love. And voila! Sisterhood - that's what I always believed in and what made me who I am today. I have two amazing sisters who mean the world to me and are my backbone. So, I spun a tale, keeping them as the core of my story. The story is definitely fictional and doesn't have any resemblance to my real life. Yet the love shared between the two main characters in this book is written from the love I share with people in my life. 

I want the readers to see themselves through the story and realise how beautiful and strong their sisterhood is. I want them to take a moment to appreciate the amazing sisters (own and found) in their lives and relish their bond. I hope it touches the readers' hearts, and I would be happy even if they could relate to it in the slightest.

BLURB

What if love isn't just a single, defined emotion? What if it's a spectrum of feelings that transcends borders and defies societal expectations? This is where the magic of romance lies, and our journey begins.

A woman who had to leave her motherland behind but passes on the legacy to her granddaughter, a sister who has to prove her love and worth on an impossible mission to save their kingdom, a husband obsessed with his wife's dreams, a woman navigating motherhood in the times of AI, star-crossed lovers with love blossoming anew among books—be prepared to traverse different worlds in these pages.

Love beyond marital ties, borders, acceptable gender norms, social structures, age, beyond distance, or the realms as we know them; dive into 18 stories from Blogchatter's community writers that celebrate the many hues of love and life.

Authors: Lalitha Ramanathan, Harshita Nanda, Varunika Rajput, Careena Mesharam, Supriya Bansal, Don Joe Martin, Chandra Sundeep, Arpita Sharma, Inderpreet Kaur Uppal, Nithya Sashi, Felicia Nazareth, Mayuri Sharrma, Prisha Lalwani, Ojas Jain, Ambica Gulati, Dr Rehana Sultana, Aarti Punjabi, Swarnali Nath

You can buy the book here: 

Readomania website : https://www.readomania.com/shop/book/the-blogchatter-book-of-romance

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0DJFZPVRX

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