A Fool's Tale

A book about hope.

​https://drive.google.com/file/d/14RgwF-d2LI47CMAMaQtkvyaRhzts4CQX/view
Table For One
Taara Maheshwari, a single woman in her thirties and a successful lawyer, is tough on the outside but a die-hard fan of romantic movies on the inside.

She grew up seeking her 'happily ever after' but amid various heartbreaks and the culture of modern age short-term relationships, her belief in 'true connections' got replaced by the comfort of being 'emotionally disconnected'.

After she turned 31, her parents persuaded her into meeting a guy for marriage who sounded just perfect for her. Acting on impulse, she told her parents that she would only meet him if they let her go on a trip to Europe.

As Taara went on to explore the world, she experienced what actually happens when a single Indian girl travels to Europe all by herself. Is it only about dancing, singing or falling in love? What happens after you fall in love? Does love conquer all? Only her story will tell.
From Everest, With Love
In May 2016, Neil became the first woman from Andhra Pradesh to attempt to climb Mt. Everest. The way she owned and worked towards her dreams since childhood, she looked unstoppable. After every visit to the Mountains, she would excitedly share the stories and wisdom her Mountain Gods taught her. 

But she was not prepared for the Greatest Lesson that was awaiting her. As she inched closer to her dreams, in a fateful turn of events, she took a decision to return just 200 meters short of the Summit to save her sherpa's life. It was a non-negotiable decision, prioritizing life before everything else. In the year following that fateful day, she learnt forgiveness, humbleness and rising through pain even as she was at the centre of mountaineering politics and public attention. She silently learnt the greatest lesson of life and garnered the courage to face her sherpa - the one who taught her the value of life and family. As she heals herself through this book, she finds strength through the very same Sherpa community who have been an integral part of her mountaineeing journey.

This is a story of values, friendship, love and forgiveness.
Checkmate
​The year is 2020.

While New Delhi deliberates on commensurate retaliation to Beijing’s actions, a series of events across the globe pushes the world to the brink of war.

A high-profile assassination in Israel stirs up emotions in the Middle East, and the Arab armies form an alliance united by the rallying calls of jihad: to conquer the holy land, once again. 

The public execution of a CIA agent in North Korea brings the gargantuan navies of US and China to a terrifying stalemate in the Sea of Japan, while the world watches in horror as hopes for human survival and global markets dwindle into oblivion. 

Amidst all this, Lama, the influential leader of Tibet, finds himself in a political pickle, and sways towards Beijing, the mightier side, in the event of an Indo-China conflict. So does Pakistan, China’s all weather friend.

With the possibility of war on both fronts, as the struggle for dominance on Tibet brings the dragon to India’s doorstep, the tiger prepares for yet another showdown with the dragon. 

Six decades after the Indo-China war of 1962, will the tiger be able to turn the tide and douse the dragon’s fire? 

Who shall fire the first shot and who is actually calling the shots? Only time will tell. 

Witness a tale untold and immerse yourself in a world of moves and countermoves, where there’s no distinction between black and white. Where every piece has a role to play but their loyalties are not a function of their colour. Where the only thing that truly matters is who gets to call CHECKMATE.
Wedding Pickle
​Avni is an independent, fun loving girl who loves the idea of being in love and having a happy ever after, only she knows this idea is too good to be true in this world, true love is nothing but a farce. Embroiled in her fears, doubts and her haunting past, does she get past her reluctance toward marriage? Does she find someone she can have a happy ever after with? Or does she actually prove her own point that true love is nothing but a farce in today’s world.
The Last Chai
The year is 2019. The world, as we know today, is not the same anymore. 

Blatant threats of war by ‘world leaders’ is the new normal. Gone are the days when mobilizing armies at borders, or aiming missiles at adversaries, was a rare phenomenon.

With every nation or their allies possessing nuclear weapons, victory through conventional means is no longer possible, paving way for covert warfare to emerge as the preferred weapon. 

New Delhi is an easy target and Doshi, the unassailable supremo of the regime, is on the ‘hit list’. The threat assessment being at an all time high, Ajay Kaamte, the director of SPG (Special Protection Group), is tasked with protecting the PM.

Intelligence claims that the PM is susceptible to cyanide attacks and situation is grim, to say the least. 

Will Doshiji survive to serve another term or will he very soon be having his last chai?
The Girl Child
Growing up as a strong-headed single child with a privileged upbringing in Calcutta, Devi has learnt much from her surroundings. Her childhood memories are filled with mixed emotions – especially as she remains angry with her mother and the hypocrisy of women in India.
On an unexpected journey home, she encounters reality – new stories and experiences of strangers, as well as friends. It has been years since she left Calcutta, yet the city’s untold stories haunt her. 
This time Devi is back in town to solve issues and above all, through some painful and hard revelations, to make peace with those she can.
Coffee Shorts
Jump right in. That’s what each story in this book asks you to do. Ten tales, crafted as light engaging conversations that pull the readers into the thick of the plot.

Some like it bitter some sweet, each story digs into an emotion with characters scripted to touch the inner chord of reality. They are an exploration of the often invisible dark side of human nature that is influenced by life’s sudden twists and turns.

The pain of a judge; an entrepreneur’s quest to raise money; the love life of a geek; an author’s struggle for a perfect story; a married woman living her own fairy tale; reinvention of life by an out-of-work professional; the inner conflict of a soldier; labels in a judgemental society; hidden agendas within relations; and could there be a guilt-free one-night stand?

Written over innumerable cups of coffee, the brew plays a cameo in each of the author’s woven yarns, with an invite to enjoy each one with a cuppa.
​Dancing with Demons
​Karan Pratap Singh is on the brink of winning the Amateur Boxing Championship, when in a moment, he loses it all. His fall from glory seems fuelled by ruthless arrogance and an out-of-control anger management problem. That, however, is just symptomatic of a deeper issue. Buried under layers of his fractured subconscious lies a childhood secret he cannot come to terms with.
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Sonia Kapoor is a beautiful, volatile young woman with a secret that torments her at night but a secret that she feels no guilt for.

​When fate throws Karan and Sonia together in Mumbai, their personal demons and pasts collide and stir up trouble in their fragile and uncertain present. But, is redemption possible without forgiveness?

​Dancing With Demons is a fast-paced action drama of love, loss and resurrection.
​When Hari Met His Saali
​​The only magical thing missing from her life, happened to her sister! Her idea of romance comes from movies and magazines. His idea of romance is that it is unnecessary. Tia was in love with her career and her lifestyle in America and she was madly in love with Hari, but where was the romance she craved? Simi was the young girl left behind in a small town in India who hadn't seen her sister for years. She was a dreamer, but what did she really want out of life? Then there was Hari, straight-forward and uncomplicated. It felt like nothing he did was ever good enough for Tia, but didn't every man want an ambitious and successful wife no matter how demanding they were?

Theirs was a love story that was never going to be conventional, but what happened to Hari and Tia was something that nobody would have predicted.

​Mix two sisters with bad history between them and one clueless man, to form one whacky triangle and you get a cautionary lesson in how you should be careful of what you wish for in the name of love?

​Set in Los Angeles and Nagpur, India, When Hari Met His Saali is a funny, fresh and outrageous look at young people and their dreams, longings, aches and heartbreaks. It is a fascinating take on the grand idea of love and the reality of romance. In a breezy, humorous narrative anchored around a magical twist, the story of Tia, Simi and Hari unfolds from romantic comedy into a climax full of suspense.
​No Safe Zone
​Qiara Rana will do anything to save her mentor and their non-government organization from ruin. Even if it means visiting the city she had vowed never to return to. But within a few hours of landing in New Delhi, she is being chased by a gunman and is a potential suspect in the murder of a high-profile businessman.

The only person she can turn to for help is Kabir Shorey, the man who stood her up ten years ago. Past and present collide in a deadly plot of crime and greed that moves from the cosmopolitan streets of Delhi to the bazaars and villages of Rajasthan.
​Love, Lies and Layoffs
With goofy colleagues, a busy career and juicy gossip to fill her days, feisty columnist Freida doesn't really crave romance. Men are such fools anyway, including 'good friend' Geek, who appears to have fallen for a sneaky co-worker. ​But steamy kisses and a romp in bed turn Freida's with him equation upside down.

​To complicate matters, her treacherous ex and their psycho combine to unleash a wave of layoffs in a bid to take over the media empire. Tension builds as Freida and Geek gird up for the final showdown. ​Can nice guys ever win? Will love carry the day?​

Bring out the cookies and gather your friends. Laugh and gasp your way through this wickedly funny, yet heartwarming tale of romance and life.
Kingdom Come 
Krivi lyer is an embittered former spy and bomb defusal expert with only one regret. That he couldn't catch The Woodpecker, a dangerous, mentally unstable bomber who ended his partner's family. He has a second chance to go after his arch enemy with the arrival of Ziya Maarten, the manager of 'Goonj Business Enterprises' in Srinagar, Kashmir, who is alleged to be The Woodpecker's sister.

Except Ziya is a beautiful distraction and not a terrorist's sister.

When a tragedy in London tears Ziya's life apart, she can only rely on Krivi to give her the absolution and vengeance she needs to move on. Between training to be an anti-terrorist squad member and finding The Woodpecker, Ziya uncovers the secrets of Krivi's tormented past.

But will two tortured souls find the courage to love?

​Set against the serene beauty of Kashmir, Ladakh and Tibet, Kingdom Come is a gripping story of death and loss, vengeance and retribution, love and life.
​Corpokshetra
​The Pandavas have returned home after 13 years of exile. And they are demanding their stake in Hastinapur Inc.

But the Kauravas, led by the haughty Duryodhana, aren’t ready to give them a penny.

The battle lines are drawn, only this war is in the present-day Kurukshetra—the corporate boardroom.
​
As the Kauravas and the Pandavas don their sharpest suits, Krishna—the wily—strategies for peace.

​This is a humorous, modern take on the Mahabharata (with due apologies to Rishi Ved Vyas).

​An epic story retold for the MBA generation.
​A Silver Dawn
​Talented choreographer Clarissa Milagres Silvera is beautiful, young and widowed and intensely mistrustful of men. With a violent marriage behind her, she is now fiercely determined to be independent, both emotionally and financially.

Leon Rodriguez, hotelier tycoon with less than humble beginnings, has been drawn to her since he was a teenager. Now successful, he approaches Clary's family for her hand in marriage. Even as he patiently woos his stoic love, Leon realizes he must protect her from the sadistic mafioso Igor Chekanov, who is eyeing Clary's family estate.

​Will Clary trust Leon enough to accept his love? Will Leon keep her safe regardless? What is Igor's motive? Is time running out for them?
​​Perfect Landing
Calm and collected Captain Sara Jena usually has no problem with her height but when Sam Khanna, the handsome younger scion of the Khanna Conglomerate, makes a joke of it, she is up in arms. Given no choice, she takes on the job of pilot to the Khanna Business House, making it impossible to avoid the charming Sam.

​As Sam triggers a host of unexpected feelings, Sara suddenly finds herself fighting for her equanimity, sense of self and sanity after making a decision that rakes up her past and changes everything.
​Total Siyapaa
​Aasha Singh, fiery and confident, can't wait to get her hands dirty with hard news, uncover scandals and controversies.

A Punjabi desi in London, from India.
 
Aman Ali, smart-aleck and suave, a promising musician, has left the security of a career in finance to follow his passion in music.

A different kind of a Punjabi desi in London, from Pakistan.
 
When Aasha meets Aman during her last assignment at the South Asian Hour before moving onto the news beat, they start off at loggerheads.

Then fate and friends nudge them together. Their sassy banter blossoms into a delicious romance. But will reality manage to keep them together?

​From Edinburg to London and onwards to Udaipur, friendship, love, family and geographical boundaries make their journey a mix of emotions and delight.
​Bubble Wrap
Twelve-year-old Krishna Singh has been married off to Shyam Singh of Rokhagadh, Rajasthan. Before the wedding, Krishna’s grandmother gives her a box filled with exquisite jewellery, telling her to sell it in times of trouble, but otherwise to hide it from her parents and in-laws.
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Accompanied by Gudiya, the fifteen-year-old widow of her cousin, Krishna realises that her cold marital home is a far cry from the loving one she left behind. The world outside has modernized and is beamed via television into her home. But she is not allowed to go to school; instead a female tutor comes home to teach her. A dubious father-in-law, a husband away at boarding school, and a mousey mother-in-law clearly show Krishna what is a woman’s place in this family.

An unfortunate incident leads Krishna and Gudiya headlong into a series of events that change their lives forever. As they deal with one situation after another, the girls discover each other and learn much about the world they live in.

​Bubble Wrap is a story about their fight for survival against impossible odds in a shallow male-dominated society.
​Fashionably Yours
​Maya Kapoor arrived in Mumbai with a glamorous dream, quite literally. Maya wants to be a serious fashion writer for the high-end fashion magazine, Glamorous, but luck is not in her favor. Instead, she lands a job with a local fashion magazine, Style. Maya hates everything about it but for now this is all she has. Despite all the odds, Maya is excited about living an independent, fashionable life in the city of dreams.

​At twenty-five, love has eluded Maya. But when she bumps into the dashing photographer, Aryan Malik, she falls head over heels for his gorgeous smile and charming manner. 

But Maya seems to be stuck in a rut—her credit card bills are sky-high, her melodramatic mother can't stop ranting, the boss is unbearably cruel, her younger sister has decided to tie the knot and she's not sure if Aryan could love a simple, confused girl like her.
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Will Maya get the fairytale life she dreamed about or will she let everything slip through her fingers? Read her diary and find out.
​Music In The Kitchen
​With a musical mix that free ranges from progressive country to rock'n'roll, jazz, Texas swing, Latin, blues, pop, bluegrass, and world music, Austin City Limits inspires and entertains millions of fans around the globe, and is now the longest-running show on PBS, as well as an annual music festival that draws tens of thousands of music lovers to the "Live Music Capital of the World."

Music in the Kitchen offers a unique, highly flavorful way to connect with ACL through the favorite recipes of some 130 artists who've appeared on its stage. Not surprisingly, the recipes reflect the diverse national and international roots of the performers, who tell interesting and flavorful stories of what these dishes mean to them and their families.

​Glenda Facemire introduces the recipes with brief biographies that highlight not only the artists' musical careers and achievements but also their contributions to society beyond music, as well as their favorite charities. Striking color photographs of the performers make this book a feast for the eyes as well as the palate.
Roomies/Foodies​
​The year is 2001. Two young Indian girls arrive in the US for the first time, to attend graduate school and be roommates. One’s a non-cook. The other’s kitchen skills are strictly basic. As luck would have it, both are consummate foodies. And it’s not just advanced Molecular Biology they’ll come to tackle—the daily challenge is to feed their stomachs…and souls…on a thinner-than-spaghetti budget!

Part memoir, part cook-book, Roomies/Foodies compiles the experiments and culinary adventures of Lux and Meg as they stick to their resolve of eating only ​non-boring food! Written in a slick, hip, conversational style, this well-organized handbook bubbles with anecdotes, tips, tricks, cheater’s methods and over 60 lip-smacking recipes. Spanning an easy-to moderate spectrum of skills, Meg and Lux’s “Eureka moments” in their own kitchen will help spare YOU some painful trial and error in yours!

https://www.amazon.in/Roomies-Foodies-Cooking-Students-Abroad-ebook/dp/B0196UDNYE
​Acing Admissions
​Acing Admissions is the only guide you need to help navigate the application process for admission to colleges in the US. From profile building to financial aid information and everything in between, it provides a step-by step guide to help parents and students alike.

Authors Kavita Mehta, MBA, and Kimberly Wright Dixit, PhD, co-founders of The Red Pen, India’s premier admissions advising firm, aim to demystify the US college landscape by providing ​easy-to-understand information and anecdotes that are helpful to Indian applicants.
​​East or West
​This is a book for Indian parents living outside India as well as their children who may or may not define themselves as Indian. It is about identity in a fast-changing world. Are we all global citizens? How alike are we? What makes us desis different from non-Indians? Will these differences narrow over time? It is about the Indian identity amongst people who do not live in India. It is, more specifically, about the role of parenting in shaping this identity. 
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In this self-deprecating book I have examined my own parenting style and whether all immigrant groups had the same goals and methods of achieving them. Was the Chinese Tiger mother different from the Bengal tigress? Were “Indian” children lliving in the US subject to a different set of pressures from Indian children in the UK or Dubai or Singapore?

These and other issues are explored in the following pages. What makes my book different is that it is unapologetically Indian – by and for Indians. It does not purport to be the only way to bring up children abroad. But it was my way. And having produced two children who most people describe as “well brought up”, it is one possible way. 
​​Happiness Is All We Want
Today, we are leading our lives in mindless pursuit, unable even to articulate what we are pursuing. We are unhappy even after achieving what we desire. Happiness is all we want! suggests that the source of peace and happiness is within us, if we know the secret. The book's objective is to help us unlock that secret and attain a high level of overall well-being in order to lead a happy and fulfilling life and be the healthiest we can be, mentally and physically. A wide variety of tools and techniques are explained in simple language. Many real life experiences of the author as well as other people are interspersed through the book. 

Demystifying the spiritual aspect of wellbeing, this book integrates it with your life objectives. You can immensely improve not only the peace and happiness in your life but your beauty and appearance as well.