This is the second in the series of characters in “It Can’t Be You”. The stunningly beautiful Dinaz Dastur made many heads turn when aged 18 she attended a Ball at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. One of the many who was taken in by her beauty that evening was Gentleman Cadet Belliappa. When he first saw her , he had no idea who she was. But he did know one thing! He had to make her his!! He had fallen head over heels in love.
Author: Prem Rao
Author, Blogger, Book Reviewer, Coach, and Podcaster
63 years after the ruler signed an accession treaty to join India, militancy in Kashmir continues to be in the news. Yesterday, separatist leaders from Kashmir took the battle to the capital by having a meeting in Delhi with the agenda of “Azadi -The Only Way”. They want Kashmir to break away from the Indian state.
Have you had to change the name of your novel? Once? Several times? When I first wrote ” It Can’t Be You” my soon to be published (December 2010) debut novel, I had only one name in my mind. The name stems from a note left by a person who dies! I thought it quite appropriate.
Time to introduce to you the main characters of “It Can’t Be You”. The story centers around one family, the Belliappas of Roseneath Estate in Coorg, which is located in Karnataka in the South of India. The climax of the story is in the year 2000. Lt.Col. K.S.Belliappa, Indian Army (Retd.) is 54 and now a prominent arms dealer.
There she comes! NaNo 2010 is around the corner- just a little more than 10 days before we burst out of our starting blocks in the National Novel Writing Month, beginning November 1. I thoroughly enjoyed my first experience of NaNo last year. This post is useful to me as a reminder of things to do and not do. It could perhaps, be of help to others attempting NaNo too- especially those making their debut runs.
I was delighted to see the cover design made by the design team at Cedar Books for “It Can’t Be You”. It captures the essence of the story. Like any image, this too is open to interpretation. You and I may see different things in the same image!
If you were asked to synthesize your learnings about writing in the form of Ten Commandments, what would you say? I am sure you will find it a bit of a struggle! There is so much to say. This makes it tough to condense the essence of your experience in the form of Ten Commandments! Have a shot at it, nevertheless.
I wonder what your opinion is but I don’t like clear distinctions between protagonists and antagonists. I say so because like in many other aspects of life, these are not clearly demarcated in black and white.
Just completed Susmita Bagchi’s “Children of A Better God” published by Penguin. I had the pleasure of attending the book launch for which the distinguished author and actor, Girish Karnad was the Chief Guest. A few extracts of the book were read by eminent theatre personality, Arundathi Nag, which made us all the more eager to get home and read the novel. The book is a very good read. It touches your heart and has moments of great poignancy.
Prem Rao : Stories from a Story Teller 