Today I am hosting Laxmi Hariharan in celebration of her new release
The Destiny of Shaitan. Check out
the guest post below and make sure to enter the giveaway at the end of this
post for a chance to win either a $15 Amazon Gift Card or Autographed Paperback
of The Destiny of Shaitan.
My secret: How I gave birth to Tiina
by Laxmi Hariharan
The unerring precision of
being caught in that act by him sends goose pimples up her arms. She plays it
out in her mind, examining it from different angles.
These were the first lines I wrote for The Destiny of Shaitan. It was 2004. Wanderlust had led me to Hong
Kong, where I lived in a tiny four-hundred-square-feet apartment (I kid you
not! If you have seen pictures of the high-rises smothering the Hong Kong
skyline, well I share a secret—they are all apartment blocks. I lived on the
eighteenth floor of one such tower.) “Eighteen—lucky number,” the landlord had
reassured me, as apparently, was the street address—Eight Hollywood Road. The belief in numerology runs deep in the
Orient, with local businessmen shelling out millions of dollars for a car license
plate which bears the number Eight.
But I digress, for I am here to share my secret with you.
One afternoon I was walking down Hollywood Road, wearing my
favourite pair of thin cotton cut-off trousers, and a baby-T-shirt. In that
eighty-degrees-heat the less one wore the better, and I had learnt very quickly
that even wearing jeans felt claustrophobic in that climate. Cotton was best,
to keep the skin ventilated. Rain had started pattering down, and a slight
breeze rising from the sea crept up, enveloping me in its cooling embrace
before fading away. I raised my eyes in delight and put out my hand to catch
the drops of calm in the palm of my hand. “Thank you, one above!” My phone rang
just then, startling me out of my dialogue with the greater force of nature.
“Enjoying your walk?” It was the man I had met last night at the
salsa bar. Hong Kong—believe it or not—is a salsa hotspot, and most nights I
managed to make it to the gym and then onto a salsa class to give myself over
to the rhythm of my heart and the pure enjoyment of becoming one with the
music. I was a novice and he was obviously a seasoned dancer. I was flattered
by his attentions, and for the rest of the evening we twirled, sashayed and
swayed together.
Seemed he was in the bus that had just gone by and seen me. “I saw
you talking to yourself” he told me that night. I blushed, wondering why it
felt like he had caught me in the act of making love to myself. Perhaps because at that very moment I had
been one with the universe, in a very private place, wearing my heart on my
sleeve and he had seen a vulnerable side to me that I had kept to myself so
far?
There are no coincidences. So what was this? All it had been was an emotional exchange, yet
the attraction felt wrong, it felt as if coming from a wellspring of hope which
I had not known existed within me.
A gaze, lust. A touch, sizzle. A beat of music,
caress. A drop in time, like the rain which chattered down while I had looked
up and floated away. Why did it feel so wrong, as if I
was cheating on my boyfriend of that time? When all I had done was look into
his eyes and felt a connection?
About Laxmi Hariharan: I am a
writer, technophile & dare I say, a futurist, with a penchant for chai and
growing eye-catching flowers. Wanderlust drove me out of my home country India
and I travelled across Asia, living in Singapore and Hong Kong before coming
home to London. I am inspired by Indian mythology; I draw strength from the
stories my grandmother narrated to me as a child. It is in acknowledging my
roots that I found my voice. When not writing I love walking in the woods with
my soulmate, and indulging my inner geek.
a
Rafflecopter giveaway
The Destiny of Shaitan by Laxmi Hariharan
Amazon Product Description:
Epic fantasy kindle bestseller, "The Destiny of Shaitan is mind-blowing, dark, humorous, and clever. It took me on a powerful journey inwards, which was a surprise, as I'm not generally drawn to Sci-Fi or Fantasy. I love the scene where the planet is covered with water and Yudi rescues Tiina. It's core message is unity. I believe it will appeal to people across all ages." - Sonia Ducie Dip.CSN.AIN, Numerologist, Author of eleven Numerology books.
Inspired by Indian mythology and partially set in a futuristic Bombay, The Destiny of Shaitan is a coming of age story, painted against the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic world.
When Tiina accompanies Yudi on a mission to save the universe from the ruthless Shaitan, she seeks more than the end of the tyrant; she seeks herself. Driven by greed and fear for his own survival, Shaitan bulldozes his way through the galaxy, destroying everything in his path. Tiina wants Yudi to destroy Shaitan, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Shaitan being killed by his son. But she finds that Yudi is hesitant to do so. The final showdown between Tiina, Yudi, and Shaitan has unexpected consequences, for Shaitan will do anything in his power to win the fight. The stakes are high and the combatants determined. Will Shaitan's ultimate destiny be fulfilled?
Amazon Product Description:
Epic fantasy kindle bestseller, "The Destiny of Shaitan is mind-blowing, dark, humorous, and clever. It took me on a powerful journey inwards, which was a surprise, as I'm not generally drawn to Sci-Fi or Fantasy. I love the scene where the planet is covered with water and Yudi rescues Tiina. It's core message is unity. I believe it will appeal to people across all ages." - Sonia Ducie Dip.CSN.AIN, Numerologist, Author of eleven Numerology books.
Inspired by Indian mythology and partially set in a futuristic Bombay, The Destiny of Shaitan is a coming of age story, painted against the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic world.
When Tiina accompanies Yudi on a mission to save the universe from the ruthless Shaitan, she seeks more than the end of the tyrant; she seeks herself. Driven by greed and fear for his own survival, Shaitan bulldozes his way through the galaxy, destroying everything in his path. Tiina wants Yudi to destroy Shaitan, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Shaitan being killed by his son. But she finds that Yudi is hesitant to do so. The final showdown between Tiina, Yudi, and Shaitan has unexpected consequences, for Shaitan will do anything in his power to win the fight. The stakes are high and the combatants determined. Will Shaitan's ultimate destiny be fulfilled?
You can buy a copy of your own by clicking HERE.
