The Story Behind the Story with Ritu Bhathal of Great Britain.

 

Ritu is no stranger to the Scribbler. Always a welcome guest.

This week we will discover the SBTS of her new novel, Straight As A Jalebi

If   you’ve missed the Ritu’s other visit, please go HERE.

 

Read on my friends.

 

 

Ritu Bhathal was born in Birmingham in the mid-1970s to migrant parents, hailing from Kenya but with Indian origin. Ritu's colorful background has been a constant source of inspiration to her.

From childhood, she always enjoyed reading. This love of books is credited to her mother. The joy of reading spurred her on to become creative in her writing, from fiction to poetry. Winning little writing competitions at school and locally encouraged her to continue writing.

As a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and teacher, she has drawn on inspiration from many avenues to create the poems that she writes. A qualified teacher, having studied at Kingston University, she now deals with classes of children as a sideline to her writing!

Ritu also writes a blog, www.butismileanyway.com, a mixture of life and creativity, thoughts and opinions, which was awarded first place in the Best Overall Blog Category at the 2017 Annual Bloggers Bash Awards, and Best Book Blog in 2019.

Ritu is happily married and living in Kent, with her Hubby Dearest, and two children, not forgetting the fur baby Sonu Singh.

 

 

 Working Title: Straight As A Jalebi

 

Synopsis: Who knew that an innocent trip to India would have such an impact on his life?

 Sunny had only gone as a chaperone for his sister and her best friend, and to attend a few business matters while out there.

He’d ended up with a deal that was to change the shape of his professional future, and possibly his personal one, too.

 

 

The Story behind the Story: Way back when, I began writing a story. It took nearly 20 years to get from an idea to a self-published novel, Marriage Unarranged. As I basked in the happiness of my first novel out there, the characters I had written about would not be quiet.

In fact, other readers wouldn’t stop either. ‘What about so and so in the book?’  ‘I’d love to hear what happens next’…

And so, the beginnings of ideas for a further two books came about.

Straight As A Jalebi, or SAsAJ as I like to call it, was born, as I followed the story of one of my first book’s secondary characters, charting his confusion during his journey to discovering his sexuality, as a British born Sikh guy, in the early 2000s.

There are updates on the other characters, too, leaving the door open for book three, which I am beginning the first draft of, now.

 

 

Website: www.ritubhathal.com

***Straight As A Jalebi can be preordered HERE.

 

A question before you go, Ritu:

Can you tell us about the perfect setting you have, or desire, for your writing? Music or quiet? Coffee or tequila?  Neat or notes everywhere?

 

The biggest thing I need for writing, is energy, and inspiration.

After that, quiet would be good, but I don’t mind low music, as long as it isn’t something I already love, because I will then end up just singing along to it instead of writing!

I’d have a cup of tea by my side, or a large glass of water or cordial.

And snacks. A writer needs fuel!

And I am, in general, a bit of a neat freak so I like to have organized notes around me or a plan on my whiteboard.

 

 Book Blurb: Who knew that an innocent trip to India in the year 2000 would have such an impact on his life?

Sunny had only gone as a chaperone for his sister and her best friend and to attend to a few business matters.
He ended up with a deal that would change the shape of his professional future and possibly his personal one too.

Battling the pressures of marriage by his family isn’t Sunny’s only fight, as he finds his feelings for a certain ‘friend’ may be more than just friendship.

But how can he tell anyone how he truly feels?
Because the road to love isn't always straight...

Ritu Bhathal is a fresh, new, and much-needed voice for British Asian fiction.

Straight As a Jalebi is Book 2 in the Rishtay Series, following the Gill family in the new millennium. Book 3 due out in 2024.

Here's the first one.

 

Thanks for being our guest once more, Ritu. Wishing you continued success with your writing.

 

 

And a BIG thanks to our visitors and readers.