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Kensington
September 2009
On Sale: September 1, 2009
Featuring: Anjali Kapadia; Rishi Shah
352 pages
ISBN: 0758232020
EAN: 9780758232021
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Romance Contemporary
Pungent curry…sweet fried onions…incense…colorful beads…
lush fabrics. Shobhan Bantwal's compelling new novel is
set on the streets of Edison, New Jersey's Little India,
where a young businesswoman rediscovers the magic of love
and family… Since becoming a widow at age twenty-seven,
Anjali Kapadia has devoted herself to transforming her
parents' sari shop into a chic boutique, brimming with
exquisite jewelry and clothing. Now, ten years later, it
stands out like a proud maharani amid Edison's bustling
Little India. But when Anjali learns the shop is on the
brink of bankruptcy, she feels her world unraveling… To
the rescue comes Anjali's wealthy, dictatorial Uncle
Jeevan and his business partner, Rishi Shah--a mysterious
Londoner, complete with British accent, cool gray eyes,
and skin so fair it makes it hard to believe he's Indian.
Rishi's cool, foreign demeanor triggers distrust in Anjali
and her mother. But for Anjali, he also stirs something
else, a powerful attraction she hasn't felt in a decade.
And the feeling is mutual… Love disappointed Anjali once
before and she's vowed to live without it...though Rishi is
slowly melting her resolve and, as the shop regains its
footing, gaining her trust. But when a secret from Rishi's
past is revealed, Anjali must turn to her family and her
strong cultural upbringing to guide her in finding the
truth...
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Comments
18 comments posted.
Re: The Sari Shop Widow
I like how you finally started writing in your second half century. India and other cultures outside the USA give me a new set of morals; rules of the land, adhered to by expectation and anchored solidly by tradition.
(Alyson Widen 2:19pm September 1, 2009)
I think your books sound interesting. I like to read about woman who seem submissive but have a hidden backbone and overpowering men who can have a hidden soft side. Good Luck!
(Theresa Buckholtz 2:28pm September 1, 2009)
I recently read more about you and your books after you participated in Sue's clues. I would love to read some of your books and intend to suggest that our library in London, Ontario acquire some. I also have some friends from India, Sikhs who were our former neighbors. We learned quite a bit from them about their customs, food, and religion and I would definitely like to learn more about the Hindu way of life. I think it's also brave of you to point out the devaluation of women as you attempt to give them simple human rights. Thanks so much for sharing.
(Sigrun Schulz 2:28pm September 1, 2009)
They say you have to watch out for the quiet ones. they will always surprise you. Your book sounds like a good book.
(Jeanette Bowman 8:12pm September 1, 2009)
Thank you for your books. They enlighten and entertain which is a gift. They show romance with different moral values and cultural influence.
(Rosemary Krejsa 10:16pm September 1, 2009)
Cultural traits add a wonderful
dimension to a story. The same
situation will play out very differently
depending on the backgrounds of
those involved.
Good luck with your books. More
power to you for starting writing at an
"older age", and doing such a good
job of it.
(Patricia Barraclough 11:26pm September 1, 2009)
Thank you so much for all your kind comments and good wishes. I sincerely hope you have a chance to read THE SARI SHOP WIDOW.
(Shobhan Bantwal 5:26am September 2, 2009)
Shobhan Bantwal: Thank you for your post.
William Faulkner had a great way of handling critics. When one wrote a particularly nasty review, Faulkner replied, "This is a free country. You have the right to say what you want about me, and I have the right to ignore you."
Keep up the good work, and like the ancient Romans used to say, "Non illegitimati carborundum." Don't let the bastards grind you down!
(Mary Anne Landers 12:41pm November 17, 2009)
I always tell myself that not everyone will like everything that I write and so I accept those bad reviews as just part of the process. But it is hard to deal with reviewers who are malicious in their comments. That said, I think Faulkner's advice is timely - just ignore them. As for well-constructed critiques, I try to listen to what they didn't like and if it as merit, improve on those points for next time.
(Caridad Pineiro 8:40am November 17, 2009)
I'm a veteran of online contests, two where people could comment on the entries. My advice - don't heckle the hecklers. Say, "thanks for taking a look" and move on - if you're going to respond at all. The nasty reviewers have other things going on in their world; it's best not to feed into it. Your job is to write the best book you can; focus on that.
(Judi Fennell 9:27am November 17, 2009)
We can only learn more about human nature from these comments. Consider using these writers and their comments in a future book! "Criticism is as inevitable as breathing, and that we should be none the worse for articulating what passes in our minds when we read a book and feel an emotion about it, for criticizing our own minds in their work of criticism," wrote TS Eliot in Tradition and the Individual Talent.
In the end, shrug and move on ... no book is for all people.
(S Froetschel 9:36am November 17, 2009)
It depends on what's being said. Your average sour grapes review is easily shrugged off. But, I encountered a nutcase who accused I'd plagiarized from two NY Times bestsellers. I hadn't, and the punch line is that they are both friends of mine from way back and have seen my work. The only comparison you can make is that we all write vampires.
A case like that takes extra steps.
I contacted the other two authors, who both laughed it off.
I had his reviews removed from several sites, and he kept reposting them, so the sites locked down the reviews for a while and deleted his accounts. Mind you, according to them, there's no proof he's ever read one of my books at all, since he hadn't purchased them where he was logging the reviews. Just one of those.
Then he tried taking the accusations to the Yahoo lists and was publicly trounced and had his accounts there deleted.
It was a long hard road, but it's one I'd only take in a case like that...where I'm being libeled and accused of a crime I didn't commit.
(Brenna Lyons 10:01am November 17, 2009)
Stick to your guns. I agree with Faulkner - ignore it when you can. When it becomes libelous then you need to take action.
(Karin Tillotson 4:01pm November 17, 2009)
As one of your followers, I beleive in you and your works. It is a long hard road walked by many of your fellow authors, but will prevail. Everyone start out with baby steps before they could walk or even run down that road!
(Lisa Glidewell 5:37pm November 17, 2009)
Pointing out great and weak areas in critiques is key to my Writers Group. Readers search for viewpoints outside the norm to better understand relationships. My first writing critique was embarassing, yet I stuck with it. The professor said he only read my mystery manuscript because it was a workshop. It remained a mystery to everybody because it was so distant and nobody could identify with it, except they were encouraging and wanted to know more. So, keep writing was the advice.
(Alyson Widen 5:44pm November 17, 2009)
I think that some people get
off on putting out nasty
reviews. This is the only way
they can feel important. They
are probably the same naysayer
in person. It takes making
someone else feel bad to make
themselves feel good.
Different people like
different books thank
goodness. Can you imagine if
all of us read and wrote the
exact same type of book. If I
write a less than glowing
review, I always offer up the
possibility that it's just me.
Putting down someone's sweat
and tears is like telling them
their child is ugly. There's
just a better way to say it.
(Lisa Richards 7:35pm November 17, 2009)
Thanks to all of you who took the time to read my guest blog and posted your comments, advice, and tips on handling nasty reviews. Yes indeed, growing a hard and thick alligator skin is one of the requirements of becoming a published author. And thank goodness for the human brain that manages to forget the negative experiences quite easily.
Shobhan Bantwal
(Shobhan Bantwal 5:51am November 18, 2009)
I don't believe anyone has to be nasty!
dancealert at aol dot com
(Brenda Rupp 10:45pm November 18, 2009)
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