We're in for a real treat today, because Zee Monodee has dropped by today to talk about her inspiration for her latest release, Light My World. This post couldn't have come at a better time, because I woke up to snow on my car yesterday. In the middle of April. Let's all go on an island vacation, shall we?
I’ve always been a goner for romantic comedies. Be it in books or movies, romcoms are my staple of comfort food for the soul. Love the funny, the over the top, the quirky, and the romance, of course...which more often than not in romcoms, happens when and with who you least expect.
Diya Hemant, the heroine of Light My World, came to me like a rocket-propelled grenade of enthusiasm and good cheer. She suddenly made her appearance known, with a huge bang, in her sister Lara’s story, The Other Side (book 1 in the trilogy).
I have to admit Diya was tiresome, draining, and so bright she could induce a migraine in anyone....
Which led me to thinking – this would probably be the case for any sensible man she meets. We all know we’re on our best behavior when on a date, but those other times in real life? You are who you are, no pretenses and no facades. So the man who met her in real life would be treated to that overwhelming personality.
I thus had the makings of a romantic comedy, but then, too – how to make it funny? Right then, it looked like the premise for a chick lit with a ditzy heroine at the center. So not what I wanted for this book – it should be balanced, comic on both sides.
It’s obvious the other is the last person they want to see/meet/encounter again, and that usually includes intense mutual dislike between them.
I saw Diya and Trent, the hero in the story, as having that kind of second meeting. Simply a question now of making that first meeting totally off the charts in all manner of awful yet funny happenings. And what’s worse than a (thank goodness harmless!) car accident where neither will accept to take the blame?
From there on, it became a journey of “what else other aggravation can I shoot onto them?”. Tons of fun, lots of laughs...that I hope my readers will feel and enjoy, too.
Brown linen trousers covered his long legs, and she craned her neck to take in his tall body and broad chest. He’d rolled the sleeves of his cream-coloured shirt to his elbows, revealing big, powerful-looking hands and strong forearms dusted in dark hairs. A tense, corded neck lay visible beneath the open collar of the shirt, with a slightly pointed chin above it. Strong jaw, and chiselled, taut, handsome features. Deep-set grey eyes, very much like the elder boy’s, squinted at her beneath thick eyebrows the same hue as the neatly trimmed dark hair on his head.
She snorted under her breath. Just her luck, again. He was taken. What is it with this weekend from hell?
The word rolled off the Greek god’s tongue, and the British accent and disbelieving tone dripping with spite jolted her like an electric current.
In doing so, she lost her balance and toppled over onto her arse to lay flat on her back. Pain from hitting the hard marble erupted all along her spine, and she caught herself before the back of her head smashed into the floor. Quick save, and thank goodness most of the broken glass lay in her flat, and not in the lobby. She’d have been in for some major injury, otherwise.
Would this nightmare ever end? She must appear like an undignified heap, and there went all the leverage she could bring to this meeting. Humiliation piled onto her anger at being caught in such a stupid position, in front of him, no less.
He spoke the words softly. The disbelief in them wiped away her feelings of self-pity, and hurt like a stab, in the same go.
Was he rude by nature, or did he always itch for a fight? Either way, she wouldn’t let him off the hook.
Outrage at his insult filled her, but the distaste for him and his cavemen-like ways won the battle. “Same here, mate.”
The Island Girls trilogy follows the 3 Hemant sisters – Lara, Neha, Diya – over the span of the 2000-2010 decade, chronicling the changing face of the Mauritian society over that crucial period. Book 2, Light My World, is Diya’s hilarious quest to find Prince Charming in the sea of frogs that is Mauritius (well, what it is according to her perception!). Follow her on this desperate mission!
This particular position became her favourite when she decided to pursue her lifelong dream of writing – her heroines all sit 'on a fence', whether cultural or societal, in today's world or in times past, and face dilemmas about life and love.
Prince Frederick, MD - Whether you prefer to celebrate the end of the year or the beginning of the new one, there are public events—some with a cost—that you might want to check out.
According to Visit Maryland, New Year’s Eve celebrations in the Old Line State include First Night in Annapolis, midnight fireworks in Ocean City, Baltimore’s “New Year’s Eve Spectacular” plus plenty of revelry at the Gaylord, located in Prince George’s County’s National Harbor, dubbed “Big Night DC.” If you want to really get out of town but stay in Maryland, Havre de Grace has its annual midnight “Duck Drop.”
Here in Southern Maryland, the Town of North Beach is holding its annual “Party on the Pier” from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. on the town pier off Bay Avenue. For $95 revelers can enjoy music spun by a live deejay, a photo booth, dinner and a champagne toast at midnight. The event is BYOB. Just south of that celebration, Chesapeake Beach Resort and Spa has two events—Cosmic Bingo and a New Year’s Eve Party with live music by The NoWhere Men from 8:45 p.m. to 1 a.m.
The following day in Prince Frederick the 10th annual Resolution 5 Kilometer (K) Race will be run. It is sponsored by Southern Maryland Community Network (SMCN). The race begins and ends at SMCN headquarters on Prince Frederick Boulevard. Proceeds benefit SMCN’s mental health programs and the Erica Weems Scholarship. Hot soup will be served after the race, which starts at 8 a.m.
Think it’s cold? How about an invigorating plunge in the Chesapeake Bay? The annual North Beach Polar Bear Plunge is scheduled for 1 p.m. New Year’s Day. The 2018 event is free but if you pay a fee you will receive a commemorative T-shirt. Proceeds this year will benefit the Twin Beach Players. Even if you don’t pay a fee you must sign a waiver.
Set yourself apart while letting your customers know you appreciate them by putting this on catalogs, order forms. Etc.