Preeti Shenoy's blog.

Most days I work a lot. I just can't sit still (except when I am meditating) or idle away time. It has become such an ingrained part of my personality that I don't even notice it. It is only when someone points it out that it hits home as to how hard-working I really am . Especially if that someone pointing it out, happens to be your fifteen year old son. I had just cooked an elaborate Chinese three course meal. It turned out really well. ("Maaa, this is even better than the stuff at Mainland China", both my kids exclaimed, which is the ultimate compliment when it comes to Chinese cooking). I felt pleased as I had spent quite a lot of time in the kitchen making this, and it indeed had been a lot of work. (Like the protagonist in my book Tea for two and a piece of cake , I too have a done a certificate course in cooking). A picture of the stuff I cooked ' Now, the one thing that I detest is a messy kitchen (or a messy home for that matter). So I asked my s

Regular readers will know that I make a lot of quilled cards, especially name boards. You can view  them HERE . Over the last two days, I have been trying something new. 3-D quilling! I made a quilled angel. You can see the front and back views. This angel is made up only of paper strips! This picture here on the left gives you an idea of the size. I somehow am now in love with the 3-D miniature quilling. I have been reading up about it and am astounded by the creative possibilities. I tried my hand and I madea tiny flower pot with roses. Whenever I discover something new, I am at it, like an obsessed person for a few days :) In fact, Satish will vouch that I am an obsessed person :) Obsession, when directed well is good. It makes you achieve things. Keeps that adrenalin pumped. I have made one more thing ( a man with a hat--I have named him Ivan) which has turned out really well. I have glued it and left it to dry. I shall upload a picture once th

And when the world seems to be a lousy place when nobody loves me, when I get shouted at for no fault of mine, when I just feel like running away, I just crawl under the table and lie still, waiting for the feeling to pass. And sometimes, my mummy crawls in there and stays with me. (and she always stays till I feel better) ____________________________________________________________________ To Buy my books in India, click here. To buy my books on Amazon click here

It is amazing when you think about the difference in how others view you and how you view yourself. Others judge you by what you have achieved, while you judge yourself by what you are capable of achieving, or rather, to put it precisely, what you think you are capable of achieving. Sometimes all of these are vastly different from each other. For instance, many newspapers write about me and they highlight 'blogger turned author'. This gives most people an impression that all you have to do to become a successful author is to start a blog. The fact is, I have always been in love with the written word, and I have always written. I used to write in a diary, every single day, since I was 12. In school, I have won lots of prizes for writing competitions. In college, I have won prizes at University level for short-story writing, creative writing and Public speaking among others. Before I became a published author, I wrote for many magazines, including Readers Digest. I have also

A picture I clicked in a small street bazaar in Bangalore, India. Loved the blue and the colours in this pic. This is my entry for Wordless Wednesday . _____________________________________________________________ To Buy my books in India, click here. To buy my books on Amazon click here

One of the things about writing--it is baring your soul. In order to be a writer, you have to be brave. You have to create something and send it out into the world, hoping that others will like your baby as much as you.  It is almost like standing naked for everyone to see, and comment. And not everyone is kind. You will face a lot of criticism, ridicule and jealousy. You have to have a thick-skin really! But the good part is, if you are successful and if your words have touched a chord and made a place in someone's heart---oh the love you receive! It is overwhelming, incredible and simply a marvelous, top-of-the-world feeling. I have been very fortunate to have all my books do exceedingly well because people find an emotional connect in my writing. And no matter how many fan-mails I get, I still feel fantastic when someone writes in. (I do get back to replying eventually, even if after a delay) But one of the mails that I got--I just had to reply back immediately: This i

My daughter who is 12, was given a project in her class. She had to present any gadget with modifications which she wished existed. She could either take an existing gadget and write about the features she wished it had,  or she could think up of an entirely new gadget. Of course, she chose the latter. She invented something which she called the AI-1 This was the cover of her project. And here is what was inside:    I thought it was really creative and clever. On the right side, you can see that she has drawn a button--if you press it, the gadget turns into a small micro-chip. On the left side there is another button which if you press, it turns into a giant television with suction cups which you can then fix on a wall and watch. It also comes with a mini-pocket charger.  She has explained the other features of the gadget , as you can see. When she came home from school, I asked her whether she presented her project and what the teacher said. My daughter just shru

While the Internet has totally revolutionized the way we live, making it so easy to do anything really, where everything is  literally a click away, it also has given us one of the biggest monster of our times-- FOMO. (Click on the link to read a superbly written piece on this) To quote from the above article:  We are so connected with one another through our Twitter streams and Foursquare check-ins, through our Facebook and LinkedIn updates, that we can’t just be alone anymore. The fear of missing out (FOMO) — on something more fun, on a social date that might just happen on the spur of the moment — is so intense, even when we’ve decided to disconnect, we still connect just once more, just to make sure. A joint research study conducted by Berlin’s Humboldt University and the Darmstadt’s Technical University reveals that spending  a large amount of time on social networks leads to negative feelings. There are many more such studies which support this finding. While s

 Last evening, we had a dinner party with a couple of good friends. There were some people whom I was meeting for the first time and who hadn't heard of me. One of them asked me 'What do you write about?' If I were to answer honestly, I would say I write about everything. I write about a leaf fallen on a pavement that prompted me to write  a poem. I write about my guinea pigs. I write about relationships. I write about my feelings and those of others. I write about marriages.I write about places that I find interesting. I write about people I find interesting. I write funny stuff sometimes. I write inspirational stuff sometimes. Mostly I just write whatever is on top of my mind at that point in time.I write straight from the heart. I wanted to say all of this. Instead I found myself giving the standard answer which I give when people ask me that question.  I found myself saying 'I write commercial fiction and I am one of India's popular authors.Just google my

Last evening I got this mail in my inbox: Dear Preeti, I am a regular reader of your blog and I have read  two of your books too. I really enjoy your writing style. But more than the style, what completely impresses me is your great insight about life. I love all those positive things you write - be it about time management, living life to the fullest or showing your love to those who matter. I have been wanting to write to you for a very long time. But I hesitated, because we have never met or spoken before. But now I saw that you are on a blog marathon. So I felt this was the right time to mail you, because you would be obviously in the look out for fresh topics.  I was wondering if you could take some time out and blog about the issue I have in my life... I lost my Dad in an accident when I was 4 years old and my sister was 6 years of age. We come from a middle class family hailing from Kerala. My mom had a government job. M

Today I thought I would share two of my favourite scenes from movies I have loved. (Oh there are hundreds--but I thought I would share two) Here goes: Loved this one! Unforgettable scene from scent of a woman (next to probably only the Tango scene)Al pacino is fantastic in this one. Totally captures how you should view life.  Live it to the fullest! This scene is such a pick-me-up'. Awesome! This one from 'The pursuit of Happyness' is so darn inspirational.. "Don't listen to anyone. You got a dream, you have to protect it. People can't so something--they want to tell you, you can't do it." If you haven't seen these two movies, go watch them now~! ____________________________________________________   To Buy my books in India, click here. To buy my books on Amazon click here

Today a good friend, again a best-selling author of children's books, Sonja Chandrachud called me up. Sonja with one of her books Sonja was the one who launched my book Tea for two and a piece of cake , at Pune and she had conducted the session beautifully.(She totally loved the book too :) ) We had a very long, lovely and interesting conversation. I always enjoy my conversations with my Author friends (like mentioned in yesterday's post ). It is wonderful to talk to minds that have so much to offer. I find it very stimulating. One of the things Sonja and I discussed was about how we make plans and yet life takes you in a completely different direction. She shared her experiences and I shared mine. Both of us concluded that trying to control everything in our lives, is really an exercise in futility. Does that mean you have to stop making plans and trying to get to your goal, as everything is pre-destined? No! Certainly not. It just means that you have to

“Things change. And friends leave. Life doesn't stop for anybody.”              ― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower  This morning I was thinking about change. Change is the only constant thing in life. I guess this is true for every one. Take yourself to 18th June 2008--basically, rewind your life,  five years back and answer these questions: What were you doing ?   Who were your closest friends? Are they still in your life with the same closeness? Where were you living? Were you more satisfied and content then than you are now? Why or why not? If I were to answer it, my answers would be as follows: 1. I had just written my first article for Readers Digest and was very pleased about it. I was elated to be published by a magazine of such repute and stature. It was a dream come true. 2. My closest friends of that period --they aren't that close to me anymore. I am still in touch with them--but it is an ocassional 'hello--how

My soul is happy when I create stuff--be it a picture, a book(a novel) , a poem---anything really which makes my internal world a happier place. If I don't create stuff, I  feel shriveled up from the inside. I can spend hours and hours by myself, sitting at my desk--listening to music and creating art. I don't much crave company .(unless it is of close friends who have known me for ages) I am going to show you two things which I made, which i was quite pleased about.. I didn't know what I was making when I started out. I just kept going and this is what emerged. I quite like it :) It was a LOT of work and needed a tremendous amount of patience. I liked the idea of the cat waiting patient;y, sitting so still, gazing out of the window. I like the idea of waiting for something. In today's 'instant-fix' times, I think sometimes, this stillness is good. Today I am a happy soul :)  Hope your day has been pleasant as well. And till tomorro

It's been quite a while since I did memes on my blog. So for today's post,  I thought I would do one  from Sunday Stealing as today is a Sunday. Besides, the questions also are different from the ones I usually get in my Interviews :) (I get tired of answering the same questions over and over! "How did you get into writing?" "Where do you get your inspiration from" "How do you manage doing so many things." "What are your future plans" "What is your book about" etc etc) Here goes the weird questions meme  from Sunday stealing : What is your ring size? I have no idea! I wear three rings though. One belongs to my dad (hence a Man's ring) and one is a diamond one gifted by Satish, and the third is a kind of a stone. How often do you wear jewelry?   Every day mostly. But on some days, I don't. When was the last time you consumed alcohol?   Last evening. (and no it wasn't Vodka.). Any big plans for