A Kiss to Reclaim is almost here

Hello friends,

Book release month is here and I’m afraid, there’s going to be a long wait for a new book or series after this one. I’m taking it slow because there’s literally no time. I’ve just returned from Bookaroo Delhi where I met with readers and connected with fellow writers and illustrators. What a lovely time it was, despite the extremely polluted air!

Anyhow, I’m off again somewhere this week and I realised I haven’t sent my newsletter for this month. So, here goes.

A Kiss to Reclaim was not meant to be written when I conceived the Hotel Moonshine Series but as you all know, some characters enter the stories and demand that we write full books for them. Ethan and Aashna were these characters and the moment I wrote that scene in book 2 where they meet over a video call, I just knew their story was meant to be written.

Unfortunately, it took me two years to write their book because I got busy writing other books (The Khan Sisters Trilogy, A Love to Embrace, The Henna Start-up, Everything Sucks etc). But here we are!

Also, since I mentioned Henna, I just wanted to let you all know that it has made to the – The Crossword Book Award shortlist and has received the honorable mention at the Binod Kanoria Award.

Meanwhile, A Kiss to Reclaim is here in ten days. Yes! Ten days before this angsty, steamy romance hits your Kindles.

He glanced at her office and saw a shadow move beyond. His eyebrow lifted. The only place they met was outside, here among the others. She never came to his domain and he never went to hers. But she should have been out here because Archana wasn’t in today. She spoke to the patrons, took care of them in Archana’s absence. And he missed seeing her around and generally do her thing.
It was definitely because of those texts between them. She was probably embarrassed to face him. But how long could she stay in her office? She was too much of a people’s person to shut herself inside, no matter how embarrassed she was.
He strode back into the kitchen just as he heard the office door open. And there she was. She was making it a point of not looking at him, so he let her be for now. He anyway had work to finish.
As the hours passed, her heard her come back to life. He heard the sound of her laughter, her loud proclamations where she insisted a customer had to try something. Usually, she gave one of his carefully concocted creations away for free and inevitably, the customers ended up buying more of them. Because they were that good. So her marketing, and his work, was going to hold them in good stead.
Much later, when the café was about to shut down and all the waiters had left, Ethan looked up and came to a spot decision. He was going to talk to Aashna about hiring another chef to help him in the kitchen. At least that was the excuse that he gave himself as he untied his apron swiftly and hooked it up at its usual spot. Still, he didn’t know why he bothered washing his face in the adjoining restroom, or why he ran his wet hands over his hair.
He stared at his reflection for a long moment.
‘You’re a loser,’ his reflection seemed to tell him.
Despite that truth, he stepped out of the rest room and didn’t enter the kitchen. He walked to the office, wondering if she’d felt this way the previous night when she came to give him the notebook. Had he even thanked her for it? Maybe he had with words, but he needed to show his appreciation to her anyhow. He was going to have to come up with some sort of pastry for her, made of chocolate because he knew how much it was her weakness.
He knocked on her door, wondering what she was doing inside. He’d never been in there before and he was wondering about the wisdom of entering her domain when there was no one else in the café.
‘Come in!’ she called out.
He turned the door handle, took a deep breath and stepped inside. She was talking to someone on the phone and she looked up perfunctorily, her eyes widening when she saw it was him. He made to leave, disappointed, but she shook her head and her index finger as well, making him stay back.
‘Fine. We’ll talk tomorrow ma,’ she said with an aggrieved sigh and then ended the call. She placed the phone carefully on her desk, and from that action alone, Ethan knew that she was greatly affected by his presence inside her office. This was the first time he had stepped inside her space.
He took it in. He’d expected her office to be pink and girly but she surprised him.
Slate blue. Antique silver.
The colours of cool sophistication and unmistakable style. There was a wooden desk at the centre, the polished surface gleaming without any visible clutter. A white vase stood in a corner and there was a leatherbound planner, similar to the monogrammed notebook she had given him. Her slim laptop was at the centre of the desk, and behind it, Aashna sat, looking at him curiously.
All thought fled from Ethan’s head. She was still in that spun sugar dress and he found the words leaving his mouth before he could process how they would sound. He widened his stance and crossed his arms, his gaze never leaving hers.
‘I believe there was an invitation.’

Friends, I’m cautiously optimistic that you will all like this book and enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Don’t forget to preorder it here.