IWSG Day: Wednesday, February 1, 2023 ~ "The Blue Bar" by Damyanti Biswas, a Talented IWSG Member

  

It's the first Wednesday of the month,
the day that members of the
Insecure Writer's Support Group
share their writing struggles
and writing successes
and offer their encouragement
and support to fellow writers.






To visit the IWSG website, click here.

To become a member of the IWSG, click here.

Our wonderful co-hosts who are volunteering today,
along with IWSG Founder Alex J. Cavanaugh are Jacqui Murray, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, and, Gwen Gardner!

I hope you have a chance to visit today's hosts and thank them for co-hosting.

I'm sure they would appreciate a visit and an encouraging comment.

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Every month the IWSG announces a question that members can answer
with advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story in their IWSG posts.

Or, the question can inspire members
if they aren't sure what to write about on IWSG Day.

Remember the question is optional.
This month's featured question is: 

If you are an Indie author, do you make your own covers or purchase them? If you publish trad, how much input do you have about what goes on your cover?

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Happy February, Everyone!  

I hope this is a creative and love-filled month for you.

I am passing on this month's question.  

Designing a book cover is still in the future for me.

But I do have some things to say about an excellent book

just released on January 1st 

by talented IWSG member Damyanti Biswas.

An Amazing Cover

Amazon

This thriller kept me guessing from beginning to end

as I raced through it in in a few late and bleary-eyed nights.

What's not to love in this intense and literary noir ~ 

the twisting, surprising plot, 

the compelling characters, the gorgeous tight writing,  

or the gritty underworld and glittering aristocracy of Mumbai?

Underworld Mumbai

The Dharavi Slum

Wikimedia

Glittering Mumbai ~  Sachin Baikar

The twisting, surprising plot:

As Police Inspector Arnav Singh Rajput races to a grisly crime scene, 

he has no idea that this new case will upend his life.

A horrific serial killer is responsible for decapitating and dismembering women,

and Arnav can't keep away from cases of missing or dead women.

Arnav is haunted by the disappearance of Tara Mondal fourteen years ago,

the mysterious girl-woman he loved who danced to Bollywood songs

in the smoky, flashing, colored lights of The Blue Bar.

Not only must Arnav hunt for an elusive killer, 

he must navigate the ambitions, politics, and corruption

of the leaders of the Mumbai police and Mumbai society.

Someone will go to any length to sink his investigation.

Just when I thought I had something figured out,

an unexpected twist would flummox me.

 🔪 🔪 🔪 🔪 🔪 🔪 🔪

The compelling characters:

The characters in Damyanti's novel don't let you go.

She weaves a story that is both an authentic police procedural 

and an unpredictable romance.

Arnav is dogged in his quest to find the killer, 

a creepy gruesome slayer with a murderous obsession,

before Tara becomes the next headless, handless, footless woman

buried in muck with a scattering of blue sequins.

Tara has a life-changing secret, someone she must protect with her very life.

She risks returning to Mumbai and the Blue Bar as an instructor and performer

in an attempt to secure her financial future and realize her goals.

This a sampling of the unforgettable characters who inhabit Damyanti's book:

Bilal, a loyal family servant who cleans up the bloody messes 

and arranges for the disposal of the bodies by an underworld Bhai or gang boss;

the wildly successful Virani brothers, Bollywood heartthrobs 

who have captivated India's impressionable young women for years;

the unflappable Dr. Meshram, the coroner who will use his own time and money

to autopsy the brutalized bodies of the unknown and forgotten;

Sita Naik, Arnav's tireless assistant, 

a smart and professional assistant sub-inspector

who will do anything to help Arnav solve the case;

and Rahul Taneja, a ruthless real estate tycoon

famous for his fabulous wealth and lavish parties.

Autopsy Instruments

Flikr ~ Ed Uthman ~ License

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The gorgeous tight writing:

I already knew that Damyanti was an excellent writer,

because I had read her chilling debut novel You Beneath Your Skin.

Her writing is fresh, evocative, and eloquent, seemingly effortless.

But Damyanti is a writer who admits that for her, writing is a slog. 

She progresses slowly, word by word, on her computer 

through multiple drafts and revisions,

but she writes because she must.

Her fellow IWSG members understand this so thoroughly! 

 🔪 🔪 🔪 🔪 🔪 🔪 🔪

The gritty underworld and glittering aristocracy of Mumbai:

To a Canadian American like me, Mumbai is exotic.

But Damyanti's ability to bring Mumbai alive is engrossing.

Before long, I forgot about exotic Mumbai, as I was drawn into this kaleidoscopic city.

Damyanti constructs a Mumbai that is so absorbing you are there, period.

The novel opens at rush hour in Borivali Railway Station,

swarming with jostling noisy people, 

and the book transports readers to Mumbai's hectic nightlife,

to its stinky marshland and mangroves, 

to sultry Madh Island on the magnificent Arabian Sea, 

to its crowded beaches, busy police stations, and dangerous alleys.

It is unforgettable!  

Borivali Railway Station, Mumbai

Youtube

 🔪 🔪 🔪 🔪 🔪 🔪 🔪

I highly recommend this gripping mystery, The Blue Bar,

which I suggest you quickly follow up with You Beneath Your Skin.

The sequel to The Blue Bar is scheduled to be released on October 24, 2023.

Tentatively titled Blue Black Hair, the sequel is set in Mumbai

and Inspector Rajput returns to tackle the hair industry, caste, and castration.  The Big Thrill

Update:  I just read Damyanti's blog post for IWSG Day:  

"Does a Stunning Book Cover Ever Inspire You to Purchase the Book?"

Her title for her new book is now The Blue Monsoon.

The cover for The Blue Bar is striking!

Enjoy IWSG Day.  Stay happy and safe.

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

My next post will be on Friday, February 3rd.  🤞

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Terry and I are enjoying our time in Waikiki;

but, just for the record, it isn't always sunshine and balmy breezes. 

So as I write this, we are enjoying Sunday playoff football 

and are not feeling guilty about wasting a day of beautiful weather.

A Rainy, Chilly, Windy Sunday #1

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

January 29, 2023

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved

 

A Rainy, Chilly, Windy Sunday #2

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

January 29, 2023

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved