A little piece of Heaven in India

I was lucky enough to visit what is commonly known as the British Capital of India during the time of British rule in my magnificent country.

It’s also often referred to as the Paris of India but to me this would suggest that Paris is the epitome of perfection and beauty which I don’t think is true (though Paris is a stunning city in its own right).

It’s just that this world is full to the brim with breath-taking places and Shimla is one of them for me.

So I like to see this abode in the Himalayan range as one of these beautiful places, where my grandmother was born and where my parents fell in love – where my sister and I became a possibility 🙂

The Power of Faith

As a writer, I’m ashamed to admit that I rarely allow others a glimpse into my psyche and though I will often joke about my warped brain, the fact is I have always been a thinker.

Some consider this a boon but in all honesty I find that thinking too much is more painful than peaceful and wisdom can sometimes be, well, overrated.

Why?

Because there is a certain type of profound solace in simplicity and when it comes down to it, when I reminisce about knowledge, I picture a calming, peaceful, bright hue.

Not many people know this but some years ago I hurt my back, not exactly in a debilitating way (at least from a scientific perspective) but one that nevertheless paralysed me in living a life full of happiness and positivity through my late teens and into my early twenties.

During the time, I had begun to read a book called Living with the Himalayan Masters by Swami Rama and Autobiography of a Yogi by Sri Paramahansa Yogananda.

Now, I am a Hindu but I have been very fortunate to have been reared by parents who always pressed the importance of spirituality over any religion on my sister and I and for this, I will always be grateful.

So I really do hope that you see that the faith I am talking about is not attached to any particular religion or version of “God” but rather as a testament to the supremacy of faith and belief and Creative Life Force (as Sri Yukteswar Giri defines it) that we all have within us.

I haven’t had back pain for many years now, strongly believing that I had received a miracle of my own after a kind-hearted, gentle swami of my father’s told me with complete assurance that it had been fixed. Viewing it as my own version of a miracle that mirrored an event in the Autobiography of a Yogi, my mind, heart and soul completely believed his words and soon my back pain became a thing of the past.

Late last year however, it returned. I had nagging thoughts on how I couldn’t possibly deal with the pain all over again and how maybe I hadn’t received my miracle. In one short phrase – I had been infected with doubt.

One of the worst possible human emotions and weaknesses that any of us can let creep into our lives – doubt.

My parents have my whole life really, been my very own personal “God” in many ways and even their words of reassurance had little effect on the virus of doubt that was infiltrating my pores.

About two weeks ago I got a CT scan and the results were, to me at least, devastating. The problem had gotten worst according to my radiologist, and my doctor (who can’t read x-rays) made it appear to be even worse than my radiologist’s report.

After days of depression and heart-wrenching panic, I was in pain, plagued with mental and physical agony so I did some soul searching and sifted through my Autobiography of a Yogi copy and just opened random pages to “see the light”.

By utter chance, I landed on an excerpt where a disciple of Sri Yukteswar was beside himself because all the doctors he had seen had declared that he had a maximum of three months to live. The disciple had ran to his guru to beg for help and Sri Yukteswar has laughingly chided him for believing doctors who knew nothing about the Creative Force of all Beings and had proclaimed that he would be healed regardless of what any medical practitioners or experts stated.

The disciple had asked if he should continue with the medication to which his guru had replied – it’s up to you, take them or throw them, they will have no consequence on your health. The disciple got worse and worse by every passing hour but his faith remained steadfast, after all, his Guru had said he would be fine. Just when it looked like he had no hope, the next morning the disciple was completely healed – as if a miracle had just occurred before everyone’s eyes!

Though I am not comparing my situation with the dire one of this disciple, I decided last week, after reading this passage, that I too would have complete faith on my own miracle.

I didn’t care how it would happen, but all I knew is that it would happen – regardless of what anyone said or anything I saw.

Today, I went to my physiotherapist and though I had some trepidation, my faith remained steadfast. My Creative Life Force is unbreakable, undefeatable – omnipresent.

My CT scan had been misread and misdiagnosed by the radiologist; in fact, my back has one of the most beautiful curves (my physio’s words, not mine!).

I have my miracle and it’s one of the most beautiful feelings ever.

I have learnt two lessons from this:

1 – Positive thinking is absolutely the BEST medicine out there and it’s completely free and you don’t need a prescription.

2 – If you believe, I mean, truly believe no matter what, you WILL have your miracle, I promise it!

I know this is a long piece but for those of you who are down and in despair please know you are your very own version of “God” or a superpower. It’s all you, you just have to realise, experience and celebrate it.

Once you embrace the power we all are, you will quickly come to realise that YOU are omnipresent in every way!

Do you ever just stop?

To take a look around yourselves? To witness the wonder and beauty this amazing planet we’re all renting out at the moment has to offer?

Every so often Mother Nature takes my breath away. Literally.

I live about 15 minutes away from this amazing Apple Orchard and it feels like I’ve stepped back in time. Hot Cider and Freshly Baked Homemade Apple Pies in the freezing cold winter, can it get any better? Unlikely.

Just thought I’d share some of the beauty we have this way for you to feast your eyes on while I feast my taste buds on some apple. What? It’s fruit and doesn’t an apple a day keep the doctor away? Or maybe 2 or 3?

Quit your snickering, I’m keeping the calories to myself! 😀 Enjoy!!!

Photos taken from mayunkasharmaphotography.wordpress.com

“Mallika is screwed. Absolutely bonkers in all the aspects that make her up – mentally, physically, emotionally – the lot…”

The superbly, amazingly, mind numbingly, stupendously, all-pervading, omnipresent (I know that those two last words are tautological, but that’s how great this blogger is) Herminia Chow a.k.a. AspiringWriter22 invited me to partake in this exercise and I hope to be at least 27.9826348592749% as interesting as her version, so here goes. Bottom’s Up 😉

What is the name of your character? Is he/she fictional or a historic person?

Mallika, which means Queen in my language and seeing as she’s the Vampire Queen, let’s just say I didn’t get any brownie points for alternative, unique ways of character development, which reminds me – I miss Brownies.

My protagonist is most definitely fictional unless you believe that Dracula may be rooted in reality somewhere, in which case I’d like to never meet you in person. Unless you look like Johnny Depp or John Abraham AND you believe you’re a vampire frantically searching for your one true immortal soul mate. Then I’d consider it, but only if you’re into a commitment and not the “bleed & feed” type of guy, but enough about me.

When and where is the story set?

Because I don’t like simplicity (my brain isn’t wired that way), my story ranges from the 1700s to present times in a wide juxtaposition of places, Delhi, India to Boston, USA. I try and confuse my reader as much as I can, as I sincerely believe that keeping them on their toes at all times, will maybe, perhaps, kind of, sort-of steer them clear of the fact that I may believe I am a slightly competent writer without any factual textual proof underpinning that theory.

What should we know about him/her?

Mallika is screwed. Absolutely bonkers in all the aspects that make her up – mentally, physically, emotionally – the lot. Naturally, she is nothing like her creator, which is me by the way, just in case that hasn’t been made clear.

The Vampire Queen is loyal, ethical, moralistic and devastatingly lonely, her isolation is only a further testament to this fact as she has few, if any friends, but you’ll still like her, I promise. Please read about her, pretty please!

What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?

This may be a long shot, but I would assume that Dracula ripping her neck apart and sucking her dry has had a slightly profound effect on Mallika’s life, but who knows, some people may actually be into that type of stuff?

Plus, the fact that she has had a pretty uninspiring, standard life for close to 500 years has seriously made our Mallika quite boring, that is until she realises she may have to do something about her brothers wiping out the human race and meet a Werewolf along the way. What? It’s in the YA genre already! 😉

What is the personal goal of the character?

To die, which come to think of it sounds a tad depressing but seriously, for Mallika, immortality bites, in more ways than one. Please note that this blog does not promote suicidal behaviour or thoughts in any way, okay?

At least that’s how it starts, but similar to all characters, Mallika grows as a person and along with her, her goals and purpose in life also evolve into one that introduces her to the simple things in life that matter the most, plus the fact that the gift of living, even if “un-dead” is immeasurably beautiful.

Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it?

The title is set so there’s no going back, inked in blood and all (no pun intended). It’s called The Last True Blood (The LTB), and if you’ve visited my Blog, Facebook, Twitter & You Tube Social Media accounts, I’m sure you can’t wait till I shut up about it!

When can we expect the book to be published?

Published already & can be found at the links located at the top right hand corner of this blog.

Okay, now for my expert opinion on who I think should do this. Hmm, everyone who wants to showcase their wonderful inventions & characters! I am following a lot of magnificently talented poets & film script writers so I would love to see their twist on this, such as Euphonos! John Guillen has already been nominated so I can’t twist his arm any further unfortunately  😦

See you guys later 🙂

Sex, Money and more Sex

One of the first lessons that my Journalism lecturer taught us bright eyed, news hungry students at University was that all stories only ever came down to two things, and two things only:

Sex and Money.

The more you probed, the higher the bet that at the core of all news worthy stories, it was likely to have been caused by a raunchy sexual encounter somewhere down the murky line of the very first remnants of when the story evolved.

I read a blog post here a couple of weeks ago (by The Journal) about how enticing people to read your work involved reeling potential readers in with a catchy headline that was most imperatively, sexy. This made me think about my lecturer along with that very first lesson and as I took a trip down memory lane, I made a mental note about how many stories I had written, investigated and/or read since that time that involved the three main vices on our planet – sex, drugs and money.

I’ll be the first to admit that though I would like to at least represent a little of Einstein’s brain activity, he has made his firm and staunch negatory position painfully clear to me in terms of my maths skills, but even I could see that stories that boiled down to drugs, naturally gave way to money which was often lost pathetically or more aptly, downright stupidly due to some poor bugger being unable to, well (excuse my lack of eloquence), being unable to keep it in his/her pants!

It’s funnily (and a little depressingly) ironic that the human race has, after all these centuries of being slaughtered, murdered and idiotically perishing, still not quite grasped what more often than not does us in, something that is at the core of our being, a basic human need and genetic requirement – sex!

It’s a little like that great, mouth-watering present we’ve all had menacingly tucked away flimsily under our Christmas tree for thirty days or so before we can claw it apart with our hungry fingernails. The one that keeps us up at nights leading up to D-Day, the cause of our many tosses and turns before the big day until we can finally reveal what we expect to be amazing, the Holy Grail of all presents out there, ready for us to devour in all its grandeur and splendour. And then we open it, and before you’re able to mask your stomach guttering disappointment at the contents of your façade like package, everyone already knows what you’re thinking. This sux.

I always tend to feel the same levels of jumbled disenchantment when I follow a story for months only to find out how the tell-tale is brought down to its knees at the very end, by sex. It’s almost brutally tormenting to have to inflict that sort of dumb explanation on my brain every time I sit down to watch how another one of the world’s “greatest mysteries” has been cracked open.

Why are human beings still so cruelly stupid? I get it, the allure and all its associated bling, but really, seriously? Is it worth all the shaming, ridiculing, money and face losing?

Why can’t we have our cake and eat it too? We can, it would just involve using all the muscles in our body, not just one. You know the one I’m speaking about; the brain as well! I ponder on how many clicks my title is going to get because it has the three letters of s-e-x in the order it does, even though the pesky phrase tells me nothing of relevance really (not that I’m complaining). What I do bet on though, is the disappointment many of my readers will have once they get through this article, that is if they do at all.

So, I apologise in advance for including no porn, dramatic sexual encounters and any 18+ related material, though I have absolutely no problem in pimping my blog out.

What? A girl’s got to make her living somehow, and often whoring out your writing is the only way to go. Sorry, apparently this blog post has had absolutely no impact on the author itself. Eh, you know how it goes – if you can’t beat them then you got to go join them! What can I say? It’s a cruel world folks. 😉

Sometimes life just can’t be put into words, no matter how hard you try

I think most of you by now are fully aware of my absolutely obsessive passionate lustful love for words, but I am, at times, stumped when I look at the wonder all around me, which is what brings me to this post.

This piece of writing is a little different because today I am going to be talking about how words just can’t cut it sometimes, and this is where I take my hat off to all of you wonderful photographers out there!

As some of you may have noticed, I’ve added a page to this blog today titled “Photographer Extraordinaire” (just in case you missed it) directing those of you who are interested, to my amazingly superbly talented sister’s blog – mayunkasharmaphotography.wordpress.com.

I am sure all of you would have caught on pretty soon after you checked it out (because I have like the smartest bunch of followers’ eva!) considering our scary family resemblance. My condolences by the way, just when you thought you could barely cope with one of us, I give you another.

Mayunka is mind-blowingly, mind-bogglingly, awe inspiringly talented when it comes to clicking photos. Now I know what most of you are thinking – “sure she has to say that, I mean she’s her sister”. Am I biased? In all honesty, most likely, but I am willing to put my buck where my mouth is, so go ahead and check out her work and see for yourself.

Mayunka has taken all of my photos here (including my book cover) and is marvellous at natural landscapes and profiles. Plus she is heaps nicer than me, so feel free to contact her for any work you may be interested in, or even just for a chat (she’s a motor-mouth!).

Or, you can contact me (if you’re shy) and I’ll pass it onto her when we’re on talking terms, which is 99.94 1/4% of the year – just in case you’re wondering 😉

Enjoy!

Anyone up for interviewing their character? Because I am! Take it over Adrinius (from The Last True Blood) …

Behold Adrinius; I am Dracula’s only true dark successor! After I was sired, the old man got sloppy, and the lineage has been going downhill ever since.

I fail to understand the fascination with mortality in the first place, when you look at me, it’s easy to see why someone, anyone, would want to keep this forever. I find it ridiculously bizarre to have to introduce myself, or answer any questions because the entire vampire world knows and fears me, and those mortals who have had the good fortune of meeting me have never lived long enough to share their tales of being one with their saviour, but I’m in a good mood, so I’ll oblige …

Does living as a vampire have the same appeal as prior to being turned (if you’re that type of vampire)? If you had to do it over, would you?

Life as a human is so very painfully mundane; I can hardly bear the thought of having to live with a beating heart again. I was by far then, as I am now to the vampire clan in this form, the perfect specimen of mortality anyone had ever laid their eyes on, but even then, it was b-o-r-i-n-g! Why anyone would ever want to go back is beyond me, but then I have never been able to vouch for the concept of human common sense.

What aspect of humanity or being human have you lost or used less – or has diminished the most?

Haven’t we been over this already? Didn’t I just explain that humans have nothing to offer? Okay, allow me to explain this in simple terms you may be able to grasp with your underdeveloped cranium. Humans would have to possess something worthwhile in the first place for me to have used it at all after I was turned, which they don’t. Just so we’re clear – If anything, becoming a vampire has made me smarter, faster, better, and well, hotter than any mortal could ever be, let alone ever dream of becoming. Got it?

Are there any female vampires around?

Huh, too many for my liking if you ask me. If you think mortal females nag, just imagine having one around you that never ever stops, plus her bite is definitely worse than her bark. Don’t get me wrong, I am an equal opportunist, by that I mean I definitely want you when I do, but my desire for you is also as powerful at the time when I am finished with you and want you to leave, well, forever. I can’t stand clingy vampyresses and I wish they’d get that, but then again, who can blame them? Once you’ve tasted Adrinius, there is no going back, it’s an unfortunate undeniable simple fact – for them.

Can you have sex the ‘traditional’ way? Do you have any desire for sex?

I don’t know; let’s find out together, I’m game if you are. As for the desire bit, I am still a man, but I can see you get that from the way your eyes haven’t left my body since you first got a glimpse of this splendour.

What happens if you suck your own blood?

What kind of a question is that? What happens if you eat your own arm? Why would anyone want to do that unless they have serious suicide issues, which is a moot point in the case of vampires anyway, so why bother thinking about it? Have I mentioned I’m bored yet, and tedious activities more often than not lead to thirst, just saying …

With the success of vampires in the mainstream, do you find it harder in this day and age to survive?

Humans are stupid creatures, are they not? You would think that with an increased awareness of our, well, culinary requirements, it would get harder to find sources of nourishment, but if anything, life is getting easier, it’s almost no fun anymore. Not when you have pretty little things offering their necks up left, right and center to sustain you. Apparently, ripping your fangs into tender, ripe flesh has never been more alluring to mortals before, go figure!

What significance, if any, does gender identity and sexual (etc.) orientation have for vampires?

My mind stopped working at sexual; does that answer your question? Look, I’m a guy; it’s as simple as that, I’ll tell a girl anything she wants to hear as long as it gets me what I want. In the end, I guess us vampires aren’t much different to our mortal primates when it comes to gender equality and that other bunch of stuff you were harping on about.

Do you find the idea of being undead – ‘living’ forever, sleeping in a coffin, and so on – as horrifying as I do?

Um, stereotypical much? Ask yourself, why anyone would want to sleep in a coffin, really? These malicious rumours are just another one of your kind’s mind-numbing ways of singling us out as being the barbaric ones, when you’d rather point the finger at someone else other than your pathetic kind. I mean seriously, why would vampires, with all the money they have, sleep in a 6 by 6 wooden box? I know it’s a tall ask, but can I at least request that you use your brain when asking me these pointless questions?

How much is a pint of blood?

I’ll be damned if I know. For me a pint of blood is when my thirst has been quenched. It’s just a measurement I use for willingly nervous feeds, it seems to do better than “Come ‘ere lass and let me suck you dry”, but only just.

Would you date a werewolf?

Ugh, you are kidding, right? Have you been speaking to my sister, and if yes, what on earth would possess you to interact with that stickler for rules? Absolutely not, I mean, each to their own, but I don’t condone bestiality.

What is the most important thing to you?

Well that’s another dumb question; did you come armed with a truckload? You’re looking at it. What could possibly be more important to anyone or anything in this entire universe than the Great Adrinius?

Just because you promised me some entertainment, which I am still waiting for by the way, here is Adrinius’ Awesomeness distilled into 11 facts (hardly possible, but here goes)…

Fact 1: My mortal body is from Ireland, and I have black hair, cobalt blue eyes and killer dimples to go with my chiseled six packs.
Fact 2: I am Dracula’s sired first born, his only true successor and pretty much the only right move he has made his entire life, which doesn’t say much seeing as the guy is old, and I mean, really old.
Fact 3: Girls have always squealed around me, I was good looking as a human, but I am positively ravishingly irresistible as a vamp. I have plump, free necks at my beck and call whenever and wherever.
Fact 4: Can we please get one thing straight? My sisters and brothers are NOT really my sisters and brothers, so if I do it with them, it’s not incest. Got it?
Fact 5: There is no one better, hotter, more intelligent, and basically, more superior to me. This is not my ego speaking, a fact is just that – a fact, no sugar coating required.
Fact 6: You know that saying, “though I’m rough around the edges, I’m actually quite soft on the inside”? Yeah, that doesn’t hold true for me. What you see is what you get – pure good looking evil!
Fact 7: How many different facts do you need to get that I’m the best already?
Fact 8: Mallika can deny it as much as she wants, but she wants me. I mean, who could blame her, but I’m not used to chasing my food or my women, so she’ll just have to come to her senses on her own one day.
Fact 9: The author I chose to tell my story thinks she has me down pat, but man is she wrong. I own AND rule her whether she accepts it or not, hence these facts being about me instead of her. A book can’t constrain me; there aren’t enough trees or computer screens in the world to do me justice.
Fact 10: I’m all for out with the old and in with the new. Dracula is so yesterday, the era of Adrinius has begun.
Fact 11: I bore easily, and when I am bored, I’m hungry. That’s it, no more questions, care to be my dinner?

Thank you Francis at the Alina Meridon blog for sending this my way!

I have had so much fun conducting this interview as Adrinius, apologies in advance for any possible offences he may have committed, but that’s Adrinius! 

As per the rules, I would like to nominate two very cool paranormal authors for this award (sorry, can’t think of a 3rd one at this stage, but when I do, I will definitely update this post!):

A.S. Leon
Renea Mason

If you’d like to play, please have a look at the rules below, and for some more information, please visit the Vampire Lover Blog Award page!

The Rules
1. You must be a vampire.
2. Link back to the one who nominated you.
3. Display the Vampire Lover Blog Award image.
4. State 11 facts about yourself.
5. Answer 11 questions from the list at
http://vampireloverblogaward.wordpress.com/about/
6. State these rules.
7. Nominate (and notify) at least 3 fellow bloggers.

See you around guys!

Why India & Vampires are such a sexy combo …

When I was asked to contribute to a guest blog on how Indian cultural perspectives have influenced my debut vampire novel, I jumped at the idea. As a journalist, getting to write on something that truly means something to you is a rarity and even more unexpected, so the far and few opportunities that do come your way are exciting and nerve wracking all at once.

A few days ago, I wrote about the insecurities I face writing fiction, a debilitating aspect of my endeavours as a fiction writer. The crux of my editorial fear has reached its peak with the availability of my book at major online retailers last week.

This guest contribution has been cathartic in many ways for me because it forced me to uncover old wounds on why I went down the self-publishing path in the first place, and more pertinently, my motives for telling a story I strongly believed I had to let loose.

The Last True Blood (LTB) Series is close to my heart for many reasons; firstly, I have been absolutely obsessed with vampires since I was (gratefully) subjected to Bram Stoker’s Dracula in my first year of Journalism studies at University. Secondly, as a proud Indian often classified as an “International citizen”, having being born in the United Kingdom and having grown up in the Middle East, Australia & sporadically in India, it has been difficult (dare I say it – nearly impossible) finding literature with a strong, albeit, any sort of, Indian presence.

My preliminary discussions with Literary Agents internationally tended to resonate one skimpily cloaked, yet obvious fact, Mallika (my main protagonist) just wasn’t stereotypically Indian enough! As an Indian female, I myself was perplexed at this notion, which led me to ponder, what exactly is an Indian?

After bashing my head against a brick wall for the better half of a weekend, and a few bruises later, I realised that the very notion of a stereotypical anything is bizarre in itself …

For the rest of this blog, please visit the amazingly fantastical, Alina Meridon Blog here!