A new novel by Anoop Judge

About a family faced with  tragedy, secrets, and misconceptions, No Ordinary Thursday by Anoop Judge, is a wonderful new novel. Please welcome Anoop back to Choices and be sure to comment about your book reactions below. Also, please read her special essay written just for us about her writing life.     A Peek into My Writing Life by Anoop Judge When I decided to transition from a career in law to one in writing, I envisioned a tranquil life spent crafting stories in a cozy study. Reality, however, has been a blend of routine, inspiration, and occasional chaos. Here’s a glimpse into my daily life as a writer. My day begins before the sun rises. The quiet of the early morning is sacred to me. With a cup of strong coffee in hand, I settle into my writing nook—my office which is a space filled with books, notes, and inspiration boards. These first few hours are my most productive. There’s a unique magic to the pre-dawn stillness that allows creativity to flow … [Read more...]

My memoir still has legs

Three Things: My memoir got its 223rd review on Amazon today. On Saturday 10 am I'll be on a memoir-writing panel called Thanks for the Memories at the Genre-LA writers conference at the Los Angeles Valley College. Sunday I'll be online all day at We Love Memoirs Sunday Spotlight. I actually thought I'd be done with book marketing a year after the memoir was published. Was I wrong! It seems that this book keeps re-emerging and providing inspiration for would-be memoir writers or the right words of encouragement for those also affected by mental illness and suicide. I feel so grateful for that. Here is its latest five-star review from Lindsay De Felix: on Amazon for Leaving the Hall Light On: A Mother's Memoir of Living with Her Son's Bipolar Disorder and Surviving His Suicide. This is a very hard book for me to write a review on. It is about a subject which I have no knowledge of – a bipolar son who commits suicide. I don’t know anyone well who suffers from … [Read more...]

Introducing my new writing friend, Deborah Kalan

Deborah and I met in Pilates class. We never said more than hello for about six months until one day I mentioned I had to rush away after class because I had a lot of work to do. She asked what I did, and when I said I am a writer, her eyes lit up. She said, I'm a writer too. And our friendship was off and running. I've read a lot of her stories, and I totally agree. She is a writer. I'm so happy to introduce her work to you. My Writing Life By Deborah Kalan I have been writing seriously since my eleventh birthday when I received a leatherette diary the color of blue Irises. The diary was secured with a little strap that had a gold lock and two gold keys. On the front of it were the words Dear Diary. Each page was divided into five sections of about five lines, which in my 11-year-old mind, restricted me to extremely brief entries. In those days, I mostly wrote about boys. The cute ones, the creepy ones, the ones that liked me, the ones that I liked who didn't like me. … [Read more...]