Earlier this year, for the first time in my life, I dipped my toes into baking seriously. I bought an oven, stocked up on dark cooking chocolate (for what is cake without chocolate?), researched recipes, measured my dishes, and rolled up my sleeves. The first few attempts ranged from the ordinary to outright disasters. (Those […]
Author: Payal
The terrible tropes of YA fiction
What are some of your pet peeves in YA fiction? The kind of things that make you groan aloud? If you’re an author, which of these have you been guilty of, or used with the intention of subverting it? If you’re a reader, which one do you secretly loooove? Or do you have an example […]
Yes, you deserve to be paid!
We are somehow conditioned to believe that asking for money is a sordid undertaking. As authors, illustrators and storytellers, this means that when we get invited to events as resource people—guest speaker, workshop facilitator, expert speaker, competition judge, awards juror, or simply as an entertainer—we hesitate to ask for money. Even though writing (that is, […]
Change
There have been lots of thoughts and feelings about this year, not just from me in particular, but because…well, we’re in the middle of a global crisis that makes every disaster movie you ever watched feel a little bit too familiar. Yet it’s been well over six months since I’ve written anything here. That’s half […]
Some birthday brooding
In the mid-1970s, in the dead of winter, despite advice to the contrary, my mother went see a night show of Rosemary’s Baby. I’ve never got around to asking her if she did manage to watch the whole thing—I tend to get distracted by that part of the story where, being nine months pregnant, she […]
Five-star YA reads of 2019
The one good thing about 2019, was that it was a fantastic reading year. This was mainly thanks to NetGalley letting me read pre-publication proofs in exchange for reviews. Of course, there were good and bad books—including that eminently forgettable whodunit in which the only gay character was also the deranged killer—and also very unremarkable […]
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2019: A year in solidarity
Twenty nineteen was a crappy year. Right-wing hate spread its tentacles deeper and wider around the world—the BJP was elected back in power; we lost some good people—some died, some showed their true colours; the economy got worse; Kashmir was annexed by the BJP government; and the climate crisis got worse. There’s more, but I […]
An open letter to Catherine Russell
Dear Catherine, Now that the news is out that you’re leaving Holby City, I find myself thinking back on all the drama that happened in relation to the Berena story. I know I’m not the only one, but I speak here for myself only. I used to believe you when you said you were an […]
Thai Diaries (days 9, 10 & 11)
Chinatown in the Thai capital So on now to the last leg of my trip, the holiday part of it at least, in Bangkok. This was my second time in the Thai capital and I was amazed at how much I missed the last time! Or perhaps travelling solo just gives you a different perspective […]
Thai Diaries (days 7&8)
Yoga, sort of From soul to physical body. Museflower’s yoga retreat programme gives you a full physical workout every day, along with some pounding and pummelling at the spa. This is the package to opt for if you are in search of time to yourself. Or the spa package. Yoga begins at 7 every morning, […]