📖 Book Review ~ The Secret Keeper of Jaipur by Alka Joshi

 

Mira Books
22 June 2021

#2 Jaipur Trilogy

It’s the spring of 1969, and Lakshmi, now married to Dr. Jay Kumar, directs the Healing Garden in Shimla. Malik has finished his private school education. At twenty, he has just met a young woman named Nimmi when he leaves to apprentice at the Facilities Office of the Jaipur Royal Palace. Their latest project: a state-of-the-art cinema.

Malik soon finds that not much has changed as he navigates the Pink City of his childhood. Power and money still move seamlessly among the wealthy class, and favors flow from Jaipur’s Royal Palace, but only if certain secrets remain buried. When the cinema’s balcony tragically collapses on opening night, blame is placed where it is convenient. But Malik suspects something far darker and sets out to uncover the truth. As a former street child, he always knew to keep his own counsel; it’s a lesson that will serve him as he untangles a web of lies.

📖 My Thoughts..

Told in three voices, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur is a continuation of the story which began in The Henna Artist.  It's now twelve years later and Lakshmi is settled in Shimla with Doctor Jay Kumar whilst her young protégé, Malik, now aged twenty, has returned to Jaipur to become an apprentice at the Facilities Office of the Jaipur Royal Palace during an exciting time in the construction of a prestigious cinema for Jaipur. The third voice is that of Nimmi, a young widow, who has left her hill tribe in order to create a new life for herself, and her young children, in Shimla. Her gentle beauty attracts the attention of Malik, only for them to be separated when Malik, on the advise of Lakshmi, makes his move to Jaipur.

The story is clearly told by each of the characters in turn and it is very definitely their distinct voices which come across, however, there are occasions when their stories overlap and this is what makes The Secret Keeper of Jaipur into such an interesting story. It was just as fascinating to be in Shimla with Lakshmi, and Nimmi, as it was to return to the pink city of Jaipur with Malik. The continuous drama and complicated twists and turns in the narrative affect the future for all those characters who we came to know so well in The Henna Artist. 

After the success of The Henna Artist I worried that the The Secret Keeper of Jaipur wouldn't live up to my expectations but I needn't have worried as the story is every bit as enthralling as I wanted it to be and I am already looking forward to the third book in the trilogy. I am equally excited that the TV series of The Henna Artist  is currently in production.

Thanks to the Borrow Box facility from my local library, I have listened to the unabridged audio version of this fascinating story, which is expertly narrated by Sneha Mathan, Ariyan Kassam and Deepa Samuel. Their wonderful interpretation really brings the story alive in the imagination.

About the Author

Alka Joshi was born in India and raised in the U.S. since the age of nine. She has a BA from Stanford University and an MFA from California College of Arts. At age 62, Joshi released her debut novel, The Henna Artist, which immediately became a NYT bestseller, a Reese Witherspoon Book club pick, was Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and is being developed for a TV series. The Secret Keeper of Jaipur is its sequel.

Twitter @alkajoshi

Website

@HQStories

Book Review ~ The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

 

Mira Books
March 2020

Jaipur Trilogy #1

Escaping from an abusive marriage, seventeen-year-old Lakshmi makes her way alone to the vibrant 1950s pink city of Jaipur. There she becomes the most highly requested henna artist—and confidante—to the wealthy women of the upper class. But trusted with the secrets of the wealthy, she can never reveal her own…

Known for her original designs and sage advice, Lakshmi must tread carefully to avoid the jealous gossips who could ruin her reputation and her livelihood. As she pursues her dream of an independent life, she is startled one day when she is confronted by her husband, who has tracked her down these many years later with a high-spirited young girl in tow—a sister Lakshmi never knew she had. Suddenly the caution that she has carefully cultivated as protection is threatened. Still she perseveres, applying her talents and lifting up those that surround her as she does.

My thoughts...

After escaping an abusive marriage, Lakshmi, a gifted henna artist, is building her career amongst the wealthy ladies of Jaipur, where as a guest in their fabulous homes, Lakshmi is privy, not just to their secrets, but also to their hopes and fears. However, as the guardian of their insecurities, Lakshmi leaves her own life open to scrutiny, so when her thirteen year old sister, Radha, suddenly appears in Jaipur, a sister she never knew existed, Lakshmi's settled way of life is suddenly disrupted, and not always in a good way.

The sumptuous descriptions of life in 1950s Jaipur with its mix of wealth, and poverty, comes to vibrant life, and over the course of the story a picture is painted of a colourful world of chattering gossip and, sometimes, sly innuendo, but always with a distinct sense of the importance this society places on social class. Lakshmi is welcomed by the ladies of Jaipur who value her artistry but she is never one of them, and as she discovers, to her cost, this hard earned affability can change very quickly.

The story flows beautifully and the life that Lakshmi lives with her unexpected guest is an interesting one and filled with all the sights, scents and sounds of a teeming city at the height of its success. I especially enjoyed how henna art is explained, from the mixing of the henna paste, to the intricacies of Lakshmi's stunning designs as she seeks to create individual patterns for her clients which have their own special meaning, and which bring her such acclaim. However, success is fickle and Lakshmi has some difficult choices ahead of her before she can find her own true happiness.

The Henna Artist is the first book in a trilogy and I'm so pleased to have finally found the time to listen to the unabridged audio version of this fascinating story, which is so beautifully narrated, over 10 hours, by Sneha Mathan. I'm already looking forward to listening to the second book, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, which is out now.

The Secret Keeper of Jaipur 

Mira Books
24 June 2021

Jaipur Trilogy #2

About the Author

Alka Joshi was born in India and raised in the U.S. since the age of nine. She has a BA from Stanford University and an MFA from California College of Arts. At age 62, Joshi released her debut novel, The Henna Artist, which immediately became a NYT bestseller, a Reese Witherspoon Book club pick, was Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and is being developed for a TV series. The Secret Keeper of Jaipur is its sequel.

Twitter @alkajoshi

Website

@HQStories

Blog Tour ~ The Pagoda Tree by Claire Scobie

Jaffareadstoo is excited to be hosting today's stop on the blog tour for The Pagoda Tree

Tanjore, 1765. Young Maya plays among the towering granite temples of this ancient city in the heart of southern India. Like her mother before her, she is destined to become a devadasi, a dancer for the temple. She is instructed in dance, the mystical arts and lovemaking. It is expected she will be chosen as a courtesan for the prince himself.

But as Maya comes of age, India is on the cusp of change and British dominance has risen to new heights. Far from home the East India Company is acting like a country in its own right and the British troops are more of a rabble than the King’s army. The prince is losing his power and the city is sliding into war. Maya is forced to flee her ancestral home and heads to the bustling port city of Madras, where East and West collide.

In this new home, Maya captivates all who watch her dance, including Thomas Pearce, an ambitious young Englishman who has travelled to India to make his fortune. But their love is forbidden and comes at enormous cost. 

Weaving together the uneasy meeting of two cultures, The Pagoda Tree is a captivating story of love, loss, fate and exile in 18th-century India.

My thoughts..

Eighteenth century India is something of  a mystery to me but I was very quickly drawn into this colourful story which takes us right back in time to the story of Maya who is destined, as her mother before her, to become one of the devadasi, a temple dancer, well trained in the mystical arts.

However, times are changing and with the rise of British dominance, Maya soon finds that everything about her life is set to change. The Pagoda Tree is very much the story of what happens when two cultures clash especially when Maya comes into contact with an ambitious young Englishman who is enthralled by her personality and her way of life.

The author writes well and has clearly done a huge amount of research in order to bring both the place and its people so vividly to life. I enjoyed getting to know Maya and watching her progress from a young girl into a woman and even though her transition into adulthood is often fraught with difficulty, nevertheless she comes across as an interesting character with lots of personality.  Indian culture certainly comes alive in the imagination and its exotic location with all the sights, sounds and colour becomes an integral part of the story.

Overall The Pagoda Tree is an interesting and enlightening story about a time in history when prejudice flourished and cultures clashed, often with devastating consequences.

About the Author

Claire Scobie is an award-winning author and novelist who has lived and worked in the UK, India and Australia. Her travel memoir, Last Seen in Lhasa, won the 2007 Dolman Best Travel Book Award. In 2017, she co-wrote A Baboon in the Bedroom with her mother, Patricia Scobie. Claire writes for numerous publications, including the Daily Telegraph and the Observer; teaches creative writing workshops in Australia, Asia and the UK; and in 2013 completed a Doctorate of Creative Arts at Western Sydney University. The Pagoda Tree is her first novel. 

Website

Twitter @clairescobie #ThePagodaTree

@unbounders

#RandomThingsTours

Review ~ Before the Rains by Dinah Jefferies

Penguin - Viking
January 23rd 2017

What's it all about...

1930, Rajputana, India. Since her husband's death, 28-year-old photojournalist Eliza's only companion has been her camera. When the British Government send her to an Indian princely state to photograph the royal family, she's determined to make a name for herself.

But when Eliza arrives at the palace she meets Jay, the Prince's handsome, brooding brother. While Eliza awakens Jay to the poverty of his people, he awakens her to the injustices of British rule. Soon Jay and Eliza find they have more in common than they think. But their families - and society - think otherwise. Eventually they will have to make a choice between doing what's expected, or following their hearts and doing what's expected.

What did I think about it ...

When photo-journalist Eliza Fraser arrives back in India ostensibly to photograph life as it happens in an Indian palace, she is unprepared for the effect that returning to the India of her childhood will have on her adult life. Old memories are evoked and new awakenings come to the fore in this heart-warming tale of mystery, intrigue and romance.

The golden days of the British Raj in India are on the decline and there is unrest and distrust, not just amongst the local population, but also from those British officials who seek to cling on to rule regardless of the effect that this has on local people, whose established way of life is challenged at every level. Very soon, Eliza finds that she is at the centre of a conspiracy, which will, not just place her in great danger, but which will also take her life in a whole new direction.

The author's vision of 1930s India, with all of its mystique and colour comes alive in vibrant detail. The inside of the Maharajah's palace glitters and shines. Its opulence and faded glory is in direct contrast to life in rural districts where archaic customs still flourish in dark shadows. Throughout the story, Eliza's love affair with India is sympathetically told, and yet, it is in her burgeoning relationship with the Maharajah’s brother, Jayant Singh Rathore, where Before the Rains really starts to come alive. Beautifully evoking time and place, the story is filled with intriguing people. I loved the strong female characters, particularly Jayant’s mother, Laxmi who epitomised all of the grandeur and elegance of a fading empire, and of the delicate beauty of Indi who had secrets of her own.

Dinah Jefferies is fast becoming one of those authors who I know will never let me down, either by her story telling ability, or of my emotional connection to her beautifully written stories. 

Best Read With... A cup  Masala Chai and a spicy lentil fritter..

About the Author 

More about Dinah can be found on her website by clicking here

Or follow on Twitter @DinahJefferies

Visit on Facebook

You an read all about Dinah's research for Before the Rains by clicking here

My thanks to Josie at Penguin for my review copy of Before the Rains.

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By coincidence my crochet work in progress perfectly matched the book cover

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Blog Tour ~ Before the Rains by Dinah Jefferies

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to be part of the 

Before the Rains Blog Tour

 

It is with real pleasure that I welcome back best selling author Dinah Jefferies

Dinah and a very old Ox-cart at Shaphura Bagh farm
Photo by kind permission of the author.

Hi and welcome Dinah, ‘In your research for Before the Rains did you discover anything which surprised you about the country or its people.’

All of Rajasthan was a delight but Jaipur and Jodhpur were both very much on the tourist trail and I found that disappointing. Though most people were smiling and friendly, you had to watch your bag, count your change, and avoid the constant hassle of someone wanting you to eat in their restaurant or visit their shop. But off the main tourist trails in places like Chandelao Garh and Shaphura Bagh we met nothing but friendly open people living a life style little changed for a century or more (although with motorbikes and mobile phones thrown into the mix).

Dinah with local man in Shapura
Photo by kind permission of the author.

Little children would follow us around, villagers would smile and offer us chai, once we were even invited to sample opium tea! I declined. The hosts at both Chandelao Garh and Shahpura Bagh, though from noble or ‘royal’ families, were delightful and treated us like house guests, sitting with us as we poured over their family archives to help with my research. We were lucky that some of the local villagers, who worked for them, accompanied us round the villages and happily asked on our behalf if we could take photographs of some of the interesting characters we met. 

Dinah in Chandelao Village
Photo by kind permission of the author.

And in these more rural areas the wild life was astounding in its abundance. Away from the cities you felt you were in communities still as tightly knit into the land as they always had been. The Bishnoi villages in particular had round houses with conical thatched rooves and small walled yards. There, old men wearing exotic and colourful turbans sat just inside the doorways to shelter in the shade, but were still able to look out across the village as they chewed betel nut. 

Dinah with Bishnoi Villager near Chandelao Garh
Photo by kind permission of the author.

Women adorned with gold bangles and beautiful saris were preparing clay for the potter or mixing mortar for mud bricks, yet still they looked incredibly elegant and, though working at a hard and fast pace, their clothes remained spotless. Humming and singing seemed to accompany every group of workers. Out on the dry lands at the edge of the desert we met a lone ancient woman walking along a dirt track in a beautiful bright sari. We stopped and ‘talked’, each in our own language, neither understanding the other, but with smiles and gestures. The nearest huts or villages were many miles away yet she strode along the track in the midday heat of this desert country. 

Photo by kind permission of the author.

I suffer a lot from migraines and experienced a bad one at Shahpura Bagh. The ‘princess’ of the family was also a migraineur and she told me she knew the best neurologist in India - a friend who was a consultant in Delhi. ‘I’ll get you an appointment to see her,’ she said. Which she did. And the day before we caught the flight home I spent a morning in an absolutely teeming Indian hospital, the only non-Indian there. The neurologist was brilliant calling in another colleague who recommended I go to Queens Square in London to see the foremost world expert on migraine. I did and the good news is I am much better. So perhaps rather strangely that was the most surprising encounter I had while in Rajasthan.

Dinah's rooms at Shapura- Bagh
Photo by kind permission of the author.

Huge thanks to Dinah for sharing her wonderful trip to India with us and for allowing us a glimpse into just how seriously she takes her research. 

Penguin
23 February 2017

1930, Rajputana, India. Since her husband's death, 28-year-old photojournalist Eliza's only companion has been her camera. When the British Government send her to an Indian princely state to photograph the royal family, she's determined to make a name for herself.

But when Eliza arrives at the palace she meets Jay, the Prince's handsome, brooding brother. While Eliza awakens Jay to the poverty of his people, he awakens her to the injustices of British rule. Soon Jay and Eliza find they have more in common than they think. But their families - and society - think otherwise. Eventually they will have to make a choice between doing what's expected, or following their hearts.

More about Dinah can be found on her website by clicking here 

Or follow on Twitter @DinahJefferies

Visit on Facebook

Blog tour runs until the 8th March, so do visit the other stops for more exciting content and you can follow on Twitter using the hashtag  #BeforetheRains.

Big thanks also to Josie at Penguin for her invitation to be part of Before the Rains Blog Tour

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Review ~ Eden Gardens by Louise Brown

Headline Review
April 2016

A bit of blurb

Eden Gardens, Calcutta, the 1940s. In a ramshackle house, streets away from the grand colonial mansions of the British, live Maisy, her Mam and their ayah, Pushpa.

Whiskey-fuelled and poverty-stricken, Mam entertains officers in the night - a disgrace to British India. All hopes are on beautiful Maisy to restore their good fortune.

But Maisy's more at home in the city's forbidden alleyways, eating bazaar food and speaking Bengali with Pushpa, than dancing in glittering ballrooms with potential husbands.

Then one day Maisy's tutor falls ill. His son stands in. Poetic, handsome and ambitious for an independent India, Sunil Banerjee promises Maisy the world.

So begins a love affair that will cast her future, for better and for worse. Just as the Second World War strikes and the empire begins to crumble...

This is the other side of British India. A dizzying, scandalous, dangerous world, where race, class and gender divide and rule

My thoughts:

I was drawn to the book by its cover which I think has a great sense of place and which conjures the golden heat of a country in turmoil and that's exactly what this book is about; it's about a country at odds with itself, about women who are used, and who are bought and sold as commodities, with little regard for them as people, and it’s also about the sights, scents and sounds of India, which come alive in glorious technicolour. Don't be fooled by the cover as this is not a book for the fainthearted, as parts of the story are difficult to read without feeling a huge sense of hopelessness.

Initially, I thought that the book was rather hard going in places and it took me a little time to warm to Maisy, whose interesting and courageous story takes centre stage. But the writing is good, if a little jumpy, and once I had I settled into the story, probably about two thirds of the way in, I became engrossed in the way India was coming alive in my imagination.

The author writes with great passion about a subject she clearly feels passionate about and that comes across in the way she describes the minutiae of daily life and in her relationships with her characters who she describes in such intricate detail. Reading the notes about the inspiration for the novel at the end of the book goes a long way to explain just why the author has such a fascination for India and its people.

I think that this is difficult book to 'enjoy' as it's quite heart wrenching in places, and in a way the cover sort of suggests that the book will be a bit fluffy, which is a bit of a misnomer, as the book is anything but that.

Overall, it’s a good debut novel from an author who is worth watching to see what she comes up with next.

Best Read with....Bowls of Jhal Muri, spicy with chilli and coriander, and delicate cups of Masala Chai...

About the Author

Louise Brown has lived in Nepal and travelled extensively in India, sparking her enduring love of South Asia.

Eden Gardens is her debut novel although she has also written critically acclaimed non fiction books.

My thanks to Headline Review and Bookbridgr for my copy of this book.

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Review ~ Ayah by Thushani Weerasekera...

JMendelBooks
2015

A Tale of Survival, Love and Revenge

The opening chapter of this novel, set  in the port of Calcutta, describes the scene quite perfectly and as the sights ,sounds, smells and a mirage of colours emerge, so does a story that is rich in evocative detail.

Jemima is the Indian Ayah to the Hayward children,. She is a devoted nursemaid but her role in the household is ambiguous and she is often left feeling bereft of support and comfort. When the decision is made for Mrs Hayward and the children to return to England, Jemima is forced to travel with them, but plans for the family in London do not include Jemima, who is left alone and abandoned, with disastrous consequences.

What then follows is a haunting and troubled look at the social and moral differences which were all too rife in Victorian England. Jemima must learn to survive in a country which is very different from the one she has left behind, and with no money or support, she tries to exist as best she can. The underbelly of society becomes all too real for Jemima and even as she yearns for the warmth and colour of home, she quickly realises that to return to India is nothing short of an impossible dream.

I really enjoyed being taken into this world which the author has created so very well. It’s beautifully detailed; with a Dickensian richness which is evident throughout the whole of the story and such is the strength of the writing, that even though you sort of know that Jemima’s new life is going to be made up of heartbreak and broken promises, you really start to hope that eventually fate will intervene and some, hopeful, resolution will occur.

Best read with a cup of spicy Chai Latte and sticky, sweet cubes of Barfi, liberally laced with cardamom.

About the author

Thushani Weerasekera is a British-Asian actress and writer born in London and of Sri Lankan origin. Thushani lives in London.





Find Thushani on Facebook
Follow on Twitter @ThushaniWeeras1

Amazon UK

You can read an interview with the author here

My thanks to the author for sharing her book with me.

The author in my spotlight is...Thushani Weerasekera

I am delighted to welcome Thushani Weerasekera

Author of 

JMendel Books
2015

London, 1866. Beautiful, unworldly Jemima - the Indian ayah of William Hayward's family - is abandoned in a shabby lodging house in Hackney by her once-trusted English memsahib. From that moment forth, she is driven by one goal: to return home to her humble but familiar existence in India. But life for Jemima is far from easy and she finds that she must compromise her morals in order to survive the dark underbelly of Victorian London. Will she remain in England as the low-class, native mistress of a high-class white man? Or will the call of the East take her back to her life in India?

Hi Thushani and welcome to Jaffareadstoo....

Tell us a little about Thushani Weerasekera, author. 

Well, I’ve actually been a professional, jobbing actor for much of my life. I started out in T.I.E (Theatre in Education) productions but I have also acted in shows for television, theatre and radio, as well as independent and short film productions. In 2012, I decided to take a risk by quitting acting temporarily to concentrate my efforts in completing ‘Ayah’, as well as trying to get it published. I took on a ‘normal’ job to pay the bills by working at the V&A Museum in London and then left to work at the Houses of Parliament, all the while, still dreaming, hoping, wishing that ‘Ayah’ would one day be published. I currently still work at Parliament and earlier this year, I was on the verge of giving up on my dream, but the gamble paid off and ‘Ayah’ is finally here, and I am a very relieved little bunny.

How long have you been writing and what got you started? 

From a young age, my school reports always said things like, ‘Thushani is a very good writer,’ or ‘Thushani has a great imagination...her stories are enjoyable and well written.’ However, coming from an Asian background, where I was encouraged to pursue a career in dentistry or medicine, I never really entertained the idea that I could one day be an author. I have always loved reading books and writing stories but I never quite developed enough confidence in my teenage years to pursue a career in that field. I really think that when I stumbled into acting in later life, my imagination was fired up again and I began dabbling into playwriting for community theatre. I then tried my hand at radio play-writing, but nothing solid really came from that. It was only when I thought about learning to write for television in 2003, I realised that everything I wrote seemed to lend itself well to novel writing. It was then that I had an epiphany... to write a novel!

Without revealing too much, what can you tell us about your style of writing?

Gosh, I am not really sure if I know the answer to that after only having written one novel. What I can tell you... and this is where being an actor has helped... is that I think of myself as a traditional ‘story-teller’ first and foremost. I see things very vividly in my head and then I describe the pictures I see as if I am telling the story to someone in front of me. I then write my sentences as if I am writing a musical phrase – sounds odd but I have to balance a sentence out and if a word doesn’t fit the rhythm in my head, I’ll find a similar one that does so my sentence sounds lyrical. Does that make sense? I bet you’re sorry you asked now.

Where did you get the first flash of inspiration for your novel, Ayah?

It was when I was asked by the Museum of London to write and perform a monologue based on an actual figure from the past. The character chosen for me was ‘Jemima’ an Indian ayah abandoned in London by her English memsahib. I would walk around and talk to visitors in character, telling them how I (Jemima) was left stranded in an Ayahs’ Home in East London, and that I was trying to find a way to make it back to India. Yes, ‘Jemima’ actually existed and she was the inspiration for the ‘Jemima’ in my novel. 

What can you tell us about the story which will pique the reader's interest? 

I think people are still attracted to the relationship between India and Britain harking back to colonial times. I am guessing (and hoping) that readers will love the fact that the story is set in Victorian London but it’s about a lowly, Indian servant... not the usual run-of-the mill female protagonist you find in the genre of Victorian Romance. Although ‘ayahs’ have been written about in various ways, they are usually secondary characters or feature in the supporting cast of stories about the British in India. I’d like to think my story is original and unique in that it puts an ayah centre stage in the setting of Victorian London and sees life through her eyes in a period of time that I and hopefully, readers are fascinated by. Also, readers of ‘Ayah’ have been lovely enough to tell me that the first paragraph in the opening chapter, describing the sights, smells and sounds of the port of Calcutta, is what lured them into ‘Jemima’s’ world and I’m thrilled about that. 

In your research for Ayah, did you discover anything which surprised you?

I am a great fan of the period drama, especially BBC productions like Pride & Prejudice, Bleak House, Jane Eyre etc and as an actor I had always wanted to appear in one, but my earlier naivety and ignorance made me believe that there were no roles for Asian actors in such dramas because Asians and Blacks were not around in British society back then. I really thought Asians did not arrive in Britain en masse until the 1940s and 50s, which is why they were not depicted or referred to as much in these types of productions. Imagine my surprise, when I started researching their stories to find that they were, in fact, brought over to this country as far back as the late 17th century. To me it was a huge revelation to know that Asians were around in British society centuries ago; however, they were not deemed worthy enough to be written about in great detail...females in particular...which is why I could not find much in depth information on the ayahs and had to rely heavily on guess work and imagination to write my book. 

When do you find the time to write, and do you have a favourite place to do your writing? 

Whenever I have free time really and nowadays that would be in the evenings after work and at the weekends. I don’t really have a favourite place, but I like to have absolute peace and quiet, and a couple of cups of fresh coffee to start off with. I finished writing the first draft of ‘Ayah’ with no one around but my two cats: Pob and Moomin. Pob would always jump on my lap, demanding cuddles and Moomin would walk all over my laptop keyboard, whilst I was trying to type. It was a bit annoying and disrupting at the time but now I like to think that some of their feline energy and love went into ‘Ayah’ as I wrote it. I also find their presence really comforting and so they are the only living creatures I will allow into my writing space...those cats and I have been through a lot together! 

Can you tell us if you have another novel planned?

Yes, I do. I am working on it at the moment. It’s called ‘The Seventh Child’, and that’s all I can say for now! Thank you!

For more info on ‘Ayah’ with links on how to buy, visit Thushani’s Facebook page

Twitter @ThushaniWeeras1

Amazon UK

Watch a short video describing'Ayah'...

Thushani , thank you so much for being our guest today and for sharing your lovely book with us. Jaffa and I wish you continued success with your writing and look forward to you returning to tell us all about The Seventh Child... 







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