My debut literary crime novel,”You Beneath Your Skin,” published by the fab team at Simon and Schuster IN is slowly making its way into the world.
It is available in India here.
Worldwide, here.
If you’re a netgalley reviewer, snag a copy here.
Reviews are appreciated–please get in touch if you’d like a review copy.
The writing life has been a roller-coaster the last few weeks. I’ve spoken about not being able to write, about being overwhelmed with book promos, about the rigours of a book tour.
I’m back in India, doing a few small events, combining it with family time. At its very first stop in one of India’s best planned cities, Chandigarh, I discovered an up-side to book events and promotions. After my talk at the Literati festival in Chandigarh, I received questions from young ladies in the audience, about power, which gender wields it, and why. I spoke at length about violence against women, and it was heartening to be able to resonate with young women.
I’ve never set out to be inspirational–I wanted to write a good story, and I’m hoping I’ve done that. The by-product has been the opportunity to speak about gender, power equations, feminism, violence against women and children. It was a huge and pleasant surprise to have young women come up to me–and ask me questions.
Simple questions like–what do we do when we do not receive validation and support from our friends and families? Is it all right to write what we want? What happens when what we write that might displease our families?
It was a joy to sign copies, and to tell these young women–your body belongs to you, as does your life. What you do with it depends on you–as long as you do not do something illegal. You do not need permission. Sunlight or storms don’t need permission from anyone–they just do their thing. It was a delight to meet those shining eyes and smiles, and think back on all the women who had shown me the way, decades ago.
What about you? Have you been at a talk by a writer? Given a talk? What impact has your writing made upon the world?
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I have finally figured it out. Writing keeps me off the streets and makes the world a safer place
It’s wonderful when I book can be entertaining and yet open up conversations on socially relevant topics. Good going Damyanti.
Congratulations. Looks like your writing is making more of an impact than mine is ever likely to!
What a wonderful achievement – not just to write a book for others to enjoy, but to also find that your words and ideas are a source of inspiration and change. Congratulations Damyanti. And take care of yourself.
Congratulations on penning your new book “You Beneath Your Skin,” Damyanti! I gotta buy one and give a good read. Warm wishes of good health, peace of mind, and continued success.
Tough question. You have it write for yourself, I think. Otherwise you lose what’s important to you and the writing falls flat. It’s only when you’re passionate that the writing sings.
You are an inspiration, Damyanti. xo
Congratulations. It’s a side step that has to be done, even if some people gets “shocked” cause its not happening to them, and Ive read that the abuse gets pretty bad in India.
I guess the older-stronger must lead the way, and so those younger ones will do one day.
I’ve never thought about how my writing could impact the world…
That must have felt great. Congrats on the book.
Congratulations on your achievement. 🙂
It is like planting a tree. Sometimes you just have to wait and find out what will be.
My blog and the book I’m working on aim at fighting judmental society, gender-based violence and mental health stigma.