*~* Release Day Blitz *~*
Title: All of Me
Author: Jonali Karmakar
Length: 69 pages
Publication Date: May 29, 2016
ASIN: B01G0P8JGK
All of Me is a
collection of thirteen little stories that have been gleaned from real life as
well as imagination. Exploring a range of genres, these throb with everything
primal to human nature: fear, angst, joy, love, and longing. Some stories are
designed to elicit smiles, chuckles, and maybe even a belly laugh or two
whereas some are meant as a reality check. Universal in nature, each story
provides a glimpse of what women empowerment or a lack thereof can mean in a
person’s life.
From a small hamlet in
India to the roads of Australia; from a mother’s betrayal to a daughter’s
confession; from an extra marital affair to a same sex relationship learn for
yourself the what, how and whys.
Originally written for anthologies and ezines, these stories have been revisited and updated for this new collection.
Excerpts from stories in All of Me:
1
Instead there were so many questions
that started to raise their bantam heads. Why did she drive the winding lanes
into the past to warm herself? What was it that she was hoping to find? Had she
really blamed Palash for naught? Over the years had she made him less a person
who had lived and breathed and more the dream of one? It was not impossible
what he had accused her of.
Ira looked at the man before her and
matched him to her memories of him. They seemed two very different beings!
Waves of humiliation washed over her until she was rigid with misery. The
purpose of this trip was lost on her.
For a while she let his words run
through her head like cool water on a headache and dared to examine her
sentiments in the privacy of her thoughts. She let the long buried memories
surface and in the one moment saw everything and wanted not to, wanted to make
it go away, to unknow. In finding closure she had unearthed a truth that she
wasn’t willing to face ever.
2
She liked her job. It was good.
Brought in quick money. Left her enough hours for cramming her boring science
papers. What else can one expect? There were quite a few perks too. Posh
parties where cocktails, five star food and good contacts flowed
uninterruptedly not necessarily in the same order. Whatever. It was fun.
Okay it wasn’t a job to be proud of
she agreed. But she wasn’t ashamed of what she did. Still it was a put-outer
when people shriveled their nose after learning about her profession. As if she
reeked! So she didn’t advertise her work much. Clients came in on their own.
She had a reputation. Word of mouth was her advertisement.
Namita was one of the best. A little
pricey but satisfaction guaranteed. Naturally her clientele list included only
a handful. She liked to stick to her regulars. Knowing each other intimately
created a comfort zone which she thought was essential. Mutual enjoyment was
her mantra. She diligently noted their likes and specially their dislikes.
Their preferences for toys. The usual.
It was a little tricky with the fly-by-night
customers. It usually meant a day call. She preferred evenings. If the money
was good she accepted. But she didn’t compromise with her three-days-a-night
policy. In such situations Namita ditched one of her regulars by calling in
sick. A little ditching was healthy especially since her work was so damn
physically tiring. She only accepted them after seeing their medical
certificates. It irked some but she never budged. She didn’t want to pickup
something nasty from them. If they wanted her it was on her terms.
About the Author:
Jonali Karmakar is a fiction writer
with a Masters in English. Writing is not just her passion but her way of
dealing with life. She loves being able to escape into the worlds she creates.
Everything that she writes becomes a part of her and she wants her readers to
know the woman behind those words. In addition to being an educator, she works
as a content editor for a local news portal. She has been providing editing,
proofreading and translation services for the past few years.
Jonali’s work has been published in
several journals, anthologies and poetry collections both national and
international. An avid reader, she loves flipping pages of anything and
everything on the table and reviewing the same on her blog Eclectic Moods. She
feels that reading and writing are the flip sides of the same coin. Writing is
her way of communicating with the world. When she’s not writing or teaching she
loves to experiment with her paintings.
She has quite a few accolades to her
name.
