Author: Reet Singh

Reet is a surgeon with a romantic soul. When not doctoring, she devours romantic fiction, wields a creative crochet hook, or solves the daily crossword. Occasionally, she can be found in the kitchen concocting her 'world-famous' one-pot meals. Married for three decades, her tall, handsome, sensitive hero-husband still makes her heart skip a beat. It's no wonder she writes about love and happy endings.

Spotlight: ‘Draupadi – The tale of an empress’ by Saiswaroopa Iyer

Posted on by Reet Singh

The Blurb :
Being born a princess, and raised by a loving father and three doting brothers would make life seem like a bed of roses to any woman. Born out of the sacred fire, Draupadi is no ordinary woman, and her destiny cannot be to walk the beaten path. Witnessing estrangement and betrayal within her own family makes her perceptive and intuitive beyond her years. Complicated marital relationships, a meteoric rise and a fateful loss, humiliation unheard of and a pledge of revenge, all culminating in a bloody war—her ordeal seemed never-ending. Yet she stands up to it all—never succumbing, never breaking. One of the most unforgettable characters of the Mahabharata, Draupadi shows what a woman is capable of. Told with great sensitivity and passion, this book brings alive a character of epic proportions that resonates with every reader across space and time.

It’s a New Year – 2019

Posted on by Reet Singh

Everything’s new– it’s always so –for this moment’s already gone. It was sparkly and fresh – but so ephemeral –that it’s virtually a memory now. Live for the moment– not for later –make the most of now… …while it’s sparkly and fresh, new and beguiling, make now the end of your rainbow. May your now… Continue reading

Google Play Books for self-publishing authors

Posted on by Reet Singh

This week I’m going to talk about publishing on Google Play Books.

I’ve used Amazon KDP and Smashwords, and have always wondered about Google play Books so I thought I’d read up a bit about it.

In the words of a writer for the Independent Publishing Magazine:
“What more could a self-published author want? The world’s largest search engine combined with the world’s largest e-bookstore.”

Um…my research threw up
some interesting findings and the chief one is that it isn’t as easy
as all that.

Is your writing clichéd to the hilt?

Posted on by Reet Singh

A cliché is a phrase that is symbolic or figurative rather than literal; for example: I am over the moon. Really? Clearly not, unless you are in a space ship, in which case it is a literal situation and therefore not a cliché.

A cliché can be an idiom, as in the example above; a metaphor [it was the final straw]; a simile [she sank like a stone]; or a proverb [knowledge is power].

At one time, eons ago, it was considered natty to use such phrases in speech and in writing. The concept was still new and they sounded clever.

B is for Burnout

Posted on by Reet Singh

This week, the letter is B, and I’m going to talk about Writer’s Block and Burnout.

Let’s first distinguish Writer Burnout from Writer’s Block.
I read an interesting take on the topic at Litreactor.com:
When the voices in your head refuse to speak to you, it is Writer’s Block, but when they’re shouting at you to put pen to paper, and you simply cannot, that’s Burnout.

A is for Anti-heroes

Posted on by Reet Singh

Welcome to “Authors’ Tips – A to Z of Writing”

This is a new series of blog posts where eight of us – Devika Fernando, Preethi Venugopala, Paromita Goswami, Adite Banerjie, Ruchi Singh, Sudesna Ghosh, Saiswaroopa Iyer and I – will post on a myriad of writing-related topics with the topic corresponding to the Alphabet of the Week.

We are starting with the letter A, a very good place to start, and Adite has set the ball rolling with her post on Authenticity in Writing. I am writing on A is for Antiheroes

When Mita meets Tanay: featured by Ruchi Singh

Posted on by Reet Singh

Excerpt: Tanay and Mita’s first meeting

Mita took an appreciative sip of the wine and looked up, over the rim of her goblet, straight into a pair of sardonic eyes. The eyes, in a dark, bearded face, stared her down from across the room, one eyebrow arched in amusement; or was it disdain?
Irked for some reason, she raised her own eyebrow at him, although she was more in the mood to frown and turn away. The stranger held up a glass of amber liquid in a toast, and something in his expression wasn’t very polite. He made no move towards her and that in itself was rude, almost insolent.
Mita’s chin went up and it was unfortunate that she had a generous quantity of

Meet Tanay from ‘Take One Fake Fiancé’ – featured by Paromita Goswami

Posted on by Reet Singh

Introducing Tanay – the irresistible hero of ‘Take One Fake Fiancé’

If the car was any indication, detectives must make a lot of money. Mita couldn’t help but admire the comfortable and tasteful interior, but then Tanay changed a gear, his hand brushing her thigh, and she got distracted by the man – by his sheer physical presence.

He looked quite the demigod – the casual outfit showed off tanned skin, and the tight t-shirt highlighted well-toned muscles. Damp, ebony black hair curled about his ears – locks of it falling over a prominent brow made him look boyish and affable; however, an aquiline nose, the thick arching brows, and a firm, square, bearded jaw all totaled up to dangerous.

Character Development in ‘Take One Fake Fiancé’ – featured by Sudesna Ghosh

Posted on by Reet Singh

Tanay Devkumar, who can be seen in all his splendid glory on the cover of Take One Fake Fiance (TOFF), was a difficult man to create. He was to be ruthless and arrogant, suspicious and cynical, but then had to transform into a dream-boat – a sentimental lover craving a happy-ever-after with Mita, the woman he (once-upon-a-time) used to abhor.

Tall order – but here’s what I did:

I started by giving him a double barreled surname, hoping it would convince Mita, my feisty heroine – and also my readers – that he was not an ordinary man, and certainly not one to be toyed with. Then, recognizing how important the physical appearance is, I made sure he was

Stolen kisses – Tanay and Mita feature on Preethi Venugopala’s blog

Posted on by Reet Singh

A stolen kiss – from ‘Take One Fake Fiancé’ – featured on Preethi Venugopala’s Blog

And snake that he was, Mita’s fake fiancé bent over to smoothly capture shocked lips in a goodbye kiss that fried her brain. Mita, hypnotized by the musky scent