'On the bright side' - Now available on Amazon/Kindle

My third book 'On the bright side' is now available on Amazon/Kindle for a discounted introductory price of Rs. 49 only. 

 

'On the bright side' - Pre-order now on Kindle

Chapter 2:

Sneha was nervous. She had already rejected multiple marriage proposals in the past couple of years and her parents were getting impatient. Her father was going to retire from his job soon and even though Sneha had a job and was in principle independent and settled in her life, she knew that her father would not rest easy until he saw Sneha, his youngest child, married into a respectable family. “Please get married soon and let your father retire in peace,” her mother had pleaded with her on multiple occasions. Sneha didn’t want to cause her parents any grief but somehow she had not been able to say yes to any of the men who had been paraded in front of her.

“Varun’s father is well known to our family and the boy is well educated,” Sneha’s father had announced one day, a few months ago, “In fact, he has a PhD from abroad. He is a scholar and a respectable person. What more could we ask for?”

“But Baba,” Sneha had protested, “how can I move so far away from home? And what will I do there? Will I be able to get a job in America?”

“Don’t be silly,” her mother had interjected, “taking care of a house and a family is also a lot of work and responsibility. At your age, you shouldn’t delay having kids either.”

“Aai!” Sneha had protested, “I’m not even married yet and you’re talking about kids!”

“Just look at his photograph and meet his family next weekend,” her mother had said, “they are going to be in Pune for a family function anyway and they want to meet you.”

 

'On the bright side' - Pre-order now on Kindle

A little before midnight on 28th Oct 2017, I ended up at the hospital in an emergency situation.  I've never seen so much blood in my life. Initially, the doctor thought I was over-reacting but when the nurse explained my situation he came to the hospital as quickly as he could. 

"Are you sure you heard two heartbeats?" I kept asking the nurse.

"Don't worry," she kept saying, "the doctor is on his way"

The last one hour of 28th Oct 2017 was one of the scariest times of my life.

On the bright side, the first one hour of 29th Oct 2017 was one of the most memorable times of my life.

"I'll send them out to meet their father first," the doctor teased me.

"I don't care who they meet first," I said, "I've heard them cry. I know they're okay."

Those two cries in the first hour of 29th Oct 2017 are the two most beautiful sounds in the world for me.

A few days later two birth certificates were issued.

Amish Goyal

Atin Goyal 

My new book 'On the bright side' is dedicated to my twin boys Atin and Amish. 

Pre-order it now on Kindle at a discounted introductory price of Rs. 49 only.  

 

You're stuck with me for life!

Thank you Paromita Mukherjee for the review

 

'On the bright side' - Pre order now on kindle

Varun is a budding scientific researcher from India, trying to make a career for himself in the USA. He just wants to focus on work. The idea of getting married is scary for him. What will he do when his parents simply won't stop bugging him about getting married?

'On the bright side'

Pre-order now on Kindle.

 

Half-century of ratings on Goodreads

I would like to thank those of you who have posted your feedback about my books on Goodreads. I really appreciate it. Especially those of you who have posted reviews and discussed the things that you like about my books. I hope you read my future books and like them too. 

 

'Why not?'

Thank you Tannu Sharma for your insightful review of my book 'Why not'. 

 

On the bright side - Pre-order now on Kindle

Varun is a budding scientific researcher from India, trying to make a career for himself in the USA. He just wants to focus on work. The idea of getting married is scary for him. What will he do when his parents simply won't stop bugging him about getting married?

Find out more about my next short story on Instagram @venuka.goyal 

 

On the bright side - pre-order now on Kindle!

 

You're stuck with me for life

My first novel 'You're stuck with me for life!' is dedicated to my family.

My next short story 'On the bright side' is dedicated to my pre-school going twin boys Atin and Amish. 

 

You're stuck with me for life! - Neeti's past

Here are a few lines from my novel 'You're stuck with me for life!' 

 

'You're stuck with me for life' - the story of an Indori couple!! :)

From one proud Indori to another! Thank you for this review Sheetal Sharma. :)

 

On the bright side

My next short story 'On the bright side' is dedicated to my twin boys Atin and Amish. It will be released on Kindle on their birthday (29th October).

 

You're stuck with me for life! - Dhaba on a highway

 

These are some photographs I have taken of dhabas (eateries) on highways during my road-trips across Central India. These remind me of a few lines from my novel 'You're stuck with me for life!'

Neeti:

"Look out for decent dhabas" Ronit instructs me, "We need to stop somewhere for lunch."

"I see one coming up on the left." I inform him.

"Seems too basic." He says, narrowing his eyes in disapproval, "And there are no cars parked there. Try to spot one where a lot of cars are parked. Cars, not trucks, mind you."

His comment brings back memories from a long time ago. Papa used to joke that some dhaba-walas probably park old cars in front of their establishments to convince people about the quality of their wares. It seems people are more likely to stop at an unknown eatery if they find it somewhat crowded. Of course, people of a similar social strata are the ones that count in this equation, hence Ronit's comments about avoiding the dhabas with too many trucks. 

'Why not?' now available on Kindle

 Just as Preeti was about to walk out into the rain in the interest of reaching home at a sane hour and saving herself from the endless admonishments of her parents, she heard a deep male voice, definitely not that of the watchman, call out to her, “Excuse me. Ummm… Preeti, right?” She turned around and found herself facing Arjun. A few strands of his thick, wavy medium-length hair had fallen on his forehead and the clear skin of his clean shaven face had an ethereal glow about it. Technically, he wasn’t her colleague. They didn’t work for the same company, that is. It’s just that the offices of both their companies happened to be in the same building. But there was no way anyone in the neighbourhood hadn’t heard about Arjun. He looked too good to be ignored.

'Why not?'

now available on Kindle

'You're stuck with me for life!'

As I cooked pav bhaji for dinner tonight I was reminded of these lines from my novel 'You're stuck with me for life!'

Neeti:

Raj is a sweet kid, always ready to help his bhabhi. But he can be really cheeky too.

"Wow! It's like I have two mothers now." Raj said to me one Sunday, peering over my shoulder as I was making his favorite pav-bhaji.

"What?" I said as I turned around to look at him.

"Arre! Haven't you heard that dialogue? Bhabhi maa saman hoti hai!" He said, acting all serious and making sweeping hand gestures.

"Stop with the dialogues and go get pav from the bakery. I'm sure your bhaiyya is still sleeping." I said to him.

He flashed me a grin and said, "Did you keep bhaiyya awake all night or what?", before he vanished from the kitchen.

"Bhaiyya! Bhabhi is calling you to the kitchen to lift the oil canister! I'm off to get pav for lunch!" I could hear Raj yelling at the top of his lungs after a few minutes.

When had I ever said anything about oil? 

When Ronit walked-in a few minutes later he was so annoyed that the oil canister was almost empty and I wouldn't have needed his help with it anyway. 

You're stuck with me for life!

 

Here are a few lines from the novel:

I am standing on the highway, practically in the middle of nowhere, with potato chips in one hand and a bottle of water in the other hand. My car doesn’t work and this woman has suddenly decided to sprout a temper! What a way to celebrate my wedding anniversary! 

‘You’re stuck with me for life’ by Venuka Goyal.   

The story of a modern couple in Central India, stuck in an arranged marriage.    

Now available on Kindle, Amazon and Flipkart

'You're stuck with me for life!'

Some events on my trip to Ranthambore National Park many years ago inspired me to write my first novel ‘You’re stuck with me for life!’

Here are a few lines from the novel:

The canter, an open truck that can carry a little over a dozen tourists into the wildlife reserve, picks us up from the lobby of the hotel at around 6:30 am. There are a few tourists sitting in the vehicle already. As the canter leaves the hotel premises and picks up a bit of speed, I am truly thankful for the beanie-caps Amma made me pack for the trip. The winter morning wind is actually quite chilly. I put my hands inside the pockets of my jacket and take a deep breath.  Today is going to be better than yesterday. All is not lost. I can still go back to hiding behind my work back home. Ronit will forget about this trip soon enough.

 

'You're stuck with me for life!' by Venuka Goyal

Thank you Mr. Kabir Bedi for being so kind as to promote my book 'You're stuck with me for life!' while you were promoting your book 'Stories I must tell'

 

'Why Not?' a short story...