To cheer up my Monday – and yours, too, hopefully – I’ve taken to sharing a short moment from one of my books.
Today, it is a scene from Mita and Tanay’s first meeting. Their story starts in Mauritius, but it takes them to India where a lot of the dramatic action takes place.
Introducing Mita – the spirited female lead in Reet Singh’s “Take One Fake Fiancé”
‘I won’t do it, Mama.’ Mita glared at her mother through eyes as black as thunder clouds. ‘You’ll have to be the one to tell Uncle Raja. I refuse to speak to your interfering brother.’
She fled the room before her mother could get a word in, and left behind a faint bouquet of jasmine, a strong whiff of displeasure, and a distraught mother. The front door banged loudly, its old timber creaking in protest at such ill-treatment and Radhika sank into the nearest chair.
Would her only child shun marriage forever? It wasn’t fair to blame Mita’s father, Deepak, but if he…
Ever wondered what would happen if two characters from your two favourite books were to meet?
Read this lively conversation between two of my protagonists – Mita from ‘Take One Fake Fiancé’ and Mohini from ‘No Escape from Love’.
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
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.
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
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
