Early Christmas gifts
2020 has been a strange year with the pandemic and lockdown that brought a halt to the hectic lifestyle. All on sudden, we found ourselves with a lot more time on our hands. Deciding to use this time to channelize our creativity, we brought out our pens and set the words flowing. This gave rise to the idea of an e book-an anthology of short stories revolving around the lockdown. It was authored by 30 different people and the admins of DYRT asked me if I would edit it. I agreed.
The entire month of May was spent in reading different stories, editing and proof reading them. It was fun but also challenging as I was pursuing a course at Stanford and also editing my own book at the same time. I had also penned down a short story which was based on a true incident. Nevertheless it was a good learning experience for me and the book released on kindle around my birthday (June 27). We had a zoom virtual launch-a new normal that we had gotten accustomed to.
I felt humbled to be acknowledged for these efforts as I was awarded for my contribution along with my other co authors and also a special prize for editing.
Another special moment arrived in September when my book, 'A Turbulent Mind' released in September. I had plans of flying down to India to do a physical launch at Crossword Bookstore, sign copies for people and spend time talking to them about my book. The Pandemic prohibited any kind of travel and besides I was already in the middle of my Master of Fine Arts program which had commenced in August. I had to be content doing a zoom virtual launch and another session with my book clubs- DYRT and Book it Up. It was gratifying to receive so much support for my book in the form of good reviews from my community. It was also wonderful to get an award for debutant author.
Writing this memoir wasn't easy. It took around 18 months and writing the second chapter was the hardest part. I realized that I had to be brutally honest while talking about my feelings and why doing Ironman 70.3 was so important to me. I wanted to strike a balance between not wanting to sound whiny and at the same time express my vulnerabilities. Based on the feedback by people e, I am happy it was received well. I am already working on my next novel which is a work of fiction and that will be a part of my thesis for my MFA program.
This pandemic and the MFA program exposed me to a variety of books. It also gave me more time to read and I managed to finish 100 books this year. Right from Fiction, Memoirs, Thrillers, Translated literature from different parts of the world and Mythology, I feasted on some literary delights. Also for a writer, reading is very important in order to shape your thoughts, ideas and language. I have also learned to read as a writer and understand the different crafts and techniques used by various authors. Since there were hardly any races this year, my training also was not for long hours as it usually is when I am training for a triathlon. I indulged in a lot of smart training which gave me more time to read and post reviews on DYRT and Book it up. I was humbled to have received the Best Contributor award for the second time this year. It's nice to share titles that you read, get recommendations from other members and also exchange thoughts about several books.
Thank you so much DYRT! I am very happy to be a part of this group which has motivated me to read a lot more and also engage with other members across the world. 2020 is almost coming to an end. Christmas is still a few days away but it almost feels like my stockings have been filled by Father Christmas with these unexpected awards that came my way this morning.
With the new shelter in place imposed in California, my family and I aren't traveling to Bodega Bay as we had planned earlier. Nevertheless I am using this winter break to read, catch up on some Netflix series and also watch NFL.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Comments