gaelikaa's diary

Nowadays I'm busy.  I'm proofreading a manuscript which a senior editor has sent.  I'm also preparing a special writing project of my own, about which I'm really, really excited.  I have, as always,  my regular blogging and book review activities. As a housewife with four children, I lead a busy, crazy life.  As I work from home, rather than going to an office, I should be able to make the most of my time. 

I usually reserve my writing and editing activities for the hours when my husband and children are not in the house.  So I'd been wondering, recently, why my time isn't more productive.  Why isn't my current editing assignment already complete?  Why am I not writing at the rate of at least two thousand words per day? Deep down, I know the answer. There are too many distractions in my environment.

What distractions?  Well, as a housewife, one is supposed to constantly be on top of things.  Certain members of the household depend on me to know where they can…

Today is Raksha Bandhan.  It is a Hindu festival in which the brother and sister bond is celebrated.  It meant nothing to me for years, but now its meaning is deeply significant.  The festival is usually celebrated by the sister tying on a rakhi and the wrist of her brother as a symbol of his giving her his protection.

I never had a brother in the natural way of things.  I am one of four sisters.  It never bothered me in the least.  But when I came to India and got married, I realized the significance of  brothers to Indian women.  When a woman is married in India, she is bonded by law and religion to the family of her husband.  In-laws in Indian society may be good or bad for a woman, just like everywhere else.  But in India in particular, they can be extremely demanding.  Of course it varies from region and family to family, but in certain cases, it can even get out of hand.

Sometimes a woman just needs support from someone she can call her own.  Her in-laws may be the best in the …

When Joel Schwartzberg got in touch with me on Facebook and asked if I'd be interested in reviewing his award winning book, my immediate reaction was positive.  Reading and reviewing books is something I love to do.  You get a free book to read and all you have to do is write a few critical lines. What's not to like?

Then, when I realized that the secondary title was 'Humoirs of a Divorced Dad' my Irish Catholic hangups started to kick in.  Divorce was a dirty word where I came from.  Visions of unloved, unwanted, neglected kids and embittered, disillusioned parents came to mind.  Did I really want to review this book?  But I'd said I would and along it came.  And read it I did and reviewing it I am.  And do you know something?  I freaking loved this book. It was seriously good.  Humorously good too.

I suppose as a reader and reviewer of romance novels, I've become accustomed to the happy ending always being a 'given'. Yet romance novels are very often…