‘Tis the season to be spooky, and in keeping with the flavour, two leading children’s publishing houses have come out with an anthology each of stories that will make you want to cower behind your sofa.
Scholastic’s Spooky Stories has my contribution called “Mirror-Self”, which is about a young girl who discovers her grandmother’s creepy secret. In addition, it has eight other stories, from Anshumani Ruddra, Nilanjana Roy, Arunava Sinha and others.
The Puffin Book of Spooky Ghost Stories, edited by Jerry Pinto, is of course from Penguin’s children’s imprint, Puffin. It has illustrious names such as Ruskin Bond, Jerry Pinto, Subhadra Sen Gupta and Paro Anand. There are thirteen horrific tales in this collection, and “Virus Here” is the title of my story, about an 11-year-old who finds a little surprise lurking in her new laptop.
Check them out if you can. Targeted at the age group 10 and above, you’re never really too old for a nice little scare, are you? Chills down the spine are good for health!
~PD
The Secret of Vakker Fezar
(Forthcoming, 2010)
The Secret of Fezar is the first book in the series (hopefully!) titled Satin. Here’s a short synopsis.
Tasil’s privileged birth makes her heir to the Marik family’s title, and her future is mapped out before her. Just 14 and about to enter the Academy of the Flame to train as a mage, Tasil is expected to take over the reins at Marik from her mother in the years to come. But the headstrong young woman is drawn to trouble like a moth to a flame.
Meanwhile, her older brother Kinnel has been pleasantly surprised to find that his late grandfather who hated him has bequeathed him his precious journals and artefacts from his travels to the North Lands. His curiosity is further piqued when he finds that none of the writing on the mysterious artefacts makes any sense to him, which is odd given that Kinnel is a talented word mage. As he considers a trip to the North Lands, he asks Tasil to accompany him.
Kinnel, Tasil and their friends’ search leads them to a mysterious North Land estate where they tumble into a remote, surreal world that blurs their own perceptions of reality. Who is the ageless woman Minar and what secrets does she hide behind her enigmatic smile? Is there a reason behind her reclusive existence? Where does she get the money to manage her vast estate?
Magic is forbidden in the North Lands, and mages are despised and distrusted there. Yet as Kinnel and Tasil unfurl the secrets of long-forgotten Northish magic, little do they realize how their own futures are wound with it.
Provided I finish writing it on time, The Secret of Fezar ought to be out in April November 2010. Watch this space for updates.
~PD
Hello world, I was in the papers today! Clicky here to read it all.
For those of you in Delhi, this appeared in the Indian Express on Monday, 10 August 2009. It’s in Newsline on page 6. For those without access to Express, including me, sadly, here’s a little glimpse:
~PD
