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365 Days of Journaling

 1.1.2023 "In the older wounds, And new hopes; During the crying nights, And every day's new sunrise Will my fate shine, this year?" - Nnikitta Dudannii © 2.1.2023 The sun was up when I woke up. It was windy yet warm. It was cold yet comfy. I felt happy. I have felt happier before but today, I was happy and I appreciated it.  I drove to my work and I thought to myself that something never changes - the traffic, the pollution, the rush, the 'being blind to other travelers on the road attitude', and everyone running to chase something. But today, I chose to register the trees, the road, the cool winds, and all things happy on the road - like a mother getting her child ready to go to school, a father dropping off his children, the tea vendor making tea for the commuters, the school bus having happy faces in them and all the things that Universe gave me.  3.1.2023 My workplace is exciting - every day it is a new exploration with counseling and therapy clients. No matt

Nargis and Other Stories ~ Book Preview

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About The Book The book is a collection of 8 short stories, each unique and different from other, covering various facets of life, inspired by real life characters and incidents. The stories address the contemporary social issues like loneliness, binge dating, domestic abuse, social media addiction, celebrity worship and also contemporary environmental issues like pollution, dwindling water resources, declining fertility rate, chemical warfare, etc.  The stories also attempt to illustrate the pain and wounds of contemporary political issues like lynching, conflicts, refugees, etc All the characters seem very familiar and we can easily relate to them Book Excerpt Nargis It is 2030 and most of the water on earth is polluted. In the beginning, it was industrial pollution that rendered most of the water beyond human usage and then the water wars that followed resulted in the extensive use of chemical and biological weapons, which further left the remaining water sources toxic.

Book Review: Backyard Tales by Aniesha Brahma

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About Author Young Adult and Children’s novelist, Aniesha Brahma, studied Comparative Literature. She started her career has as a social media manager in a publishing house. Currently works as a senior content writer in a digital media agency. When she is not working, she is dreaming up stories, conducting sessions for her popular YouTube Series, Chai & Chill, or planning how to get even more books and bookish content to readers via BUZZ Magazine.  About The Book   The Backyard Tales is the story of the bond shared between 17-year-old Mia Basu Roy and her beloved cat, Pippo. She seems to understand him far too well for a human. And he seems have another life that Mia begins to suspect. She follows her cat to their backyard and down a very dangerous road which leads her to witches, talking animals, and a story that’s much bigger than what she initially suspected.   Read this story to discover all of Mia and Pippo’s secrets, be enchanted by magic, and get the answer to a

Book Review: Ready For The World - Driver’s Education

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About The Author Charmeljun Gallardo is a former Radiologist and author. His first book is Ready for the World young adult book series. He graduated from San Francisco State University with a Creative Writing degree in 1996. He is a writer, photography enthusiast, sports fan, movie geek, stroke survivor, and an adventurous foodie. He lives in San Diego, California with his wife and son.  About Book Ready For The World - Driver’s Education:   All Brandon Delacruz is asking out of his young life is popularity, riches, and the girl of his dreams. But what he does have are good grades, a ten-speed bicycle, and his two lifelong friends, Josh and Ally, at his side. And together, they’ll navigate their way through the rigors of high school life. But unlike high school, real life doesn’t come with study guides. Brandon realizes that the girl he’s always dreamed about has been there all along. And as he untangles his feelings for Ally, something tragic happens to her family that changes

A Talk with Charmeljun Gallardo, Author of "Ready For The World Series"

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About Author  Charmeljun Gallardo is a former Radiologist and author. His first book is Ready for the World young adult book series. He graduated from San Francisco State University with a Creative Writing degree in 1996. He is a writer, photography enthusiast, sports fan, movie geek, stroke survivor, and an adventurous foodie. He lives in San Diego, California with his wife and son. In an exclusive chat with strokesofpen.com; Gallardo debunks some of the common questions around his book and life. Tell us something about yourself, your life. I grew up mostly in San Diego, California but since my dad was in the US Navy, I also lived in Japan and Guam for a time. I went to college in San Francisco where I earned my degree in English and later became a Radiologist. Seven years ago, I suffered a stroke that severely limited the use of my right arm and right leg. I can walk, albeit slowly, and do need to use a cane at times. But I have to do everything one-hand

Book Review: Irrationally Passionate by Jason Kothari

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About Book & Author Irrationally Passionate by Jason Kothari is a book about dreams, struggles, and achievements. In this book, Kothari has shared his life-changing events and incidents tha t helped him develop his entrepreneurship skills. He has been open and honest about his life struggles such as facing bullying, coming face to face with gangs in Hong-Kong, to being almost lost to addictions – everything has been conveyed as it is! There has been no shying away in expressing the journey. And, these things make this book more interesting to read. I just dived into it and kept reading it in a smooth flow. The writing is in story-telling style, which keeps the interest together. The language is crisp, easy, and simple to understand. Since, the author has been open in conveying his life experiences; it makes the story relatable. For example: bullying is something that happens with a lot of people and while reading Kothari’s account, many people would empathize with him. Similarly

The Imperfect Perfect ‘Me’

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Since childhood, I had dreamt to a writer. I didn’t know what it will require or what skills I should develop before starting my writing journey. I only knew that I love writing as it is a channel of emotions. Little did I knew that I would be judged on basis of my grammar, context, content, spellings, and thousands other things that come along it. I wasn’t perfect – I knew it since beginning. But, everyone wanted me to be perfect. As I started to write, instead of focusing on the feel of what I had written, I was pointed out my mistakes. They said I have lots of potential but need to work on my grammar. They made sat with me and pointed my flaws; so I can be perfect.