For those who have been waiting, my book is finally going to be available in India this month!
The official launch is taking place at 7 p.m. on December 15, at Crosswords Bookstore in Powai, Mumbai.
I’ll be in conversation with Indian author Jerry Pinto.
As far as I’m concerned, Jerry’s worthwhile meeting in his own right and I’m thrilled that he was chosen for the event. I’ve been told he’s a very funny guy, which I’m hoping will compensate for any stage fright that I’m sure to have. That aside, I can relate to him! He was once a mathematics teacher and has a law degree (as opposed to my accounting one), he’s also worked for a travel dotcom, and he likes to write about topical issues too.
Gotta love his book about Surviving Women (a guide for the confused Indian man in the modern day world)! He’s also won the National Award for the Best Book on Cinema, for his book Helen: The Life and Times of an H Bomb, about a Bollywood dancer. The book is also described as “a wonderfully witty and provocative examination of middle-class Indian morality; the politics of religion, gender and sexuality in popular culture; and the importance of the song, the item-number and the wayward woman in Hindi cinema”.
I’m sure Jerry will facilitate some very interesting discussion. It would be great to see some of you there. Everyone is welcome!
© 2011, Diary of a White Indian Housewife. All rights reserved. Do not copy and reproduce text or images without permission.
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{ 59 comments… read them below or add one }
Congratulations, Sharell!
I haven’t attended a book launch before, but would have gladly attended yours had I been in the same city (or even country!). When I visit India next, I’ll make sure to purchase a copy of the book and look for you in Mumbai to have it signed
All the best!
Deal, Nadia! 8)
Great news Sharell !
How did the other book presentation go ?
It went well and we had some fun conversation, but I know quite a few people got stuck at work and weren’t able to make it. (Curse long working hours in India).
Here’s a link to it: http://deliriousdelhi.com/2011/12/06/mumbai/
And a photo of Dave and me in conversation:
http://www.whiteindianhousewife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/booklaunch.jpg
Nice picture, I wonder what you were talking about
He has a fabulous theory about “expat evasion” and why expats pretend not to see each other and ignore each other in the street!
Congrats Sharell
You really are going places.
Did anyone reach you for movie rights yet?
Not yet… one step at a time, or I’ll completely freak out!
Amazing news Sharell!! I wish i could be there, will buy the book as soon as i land in Mumbai , all the best and good luck
Thanks so much!
Sharell I want to read your book badly.Can I get rewarded with a free copy for showing so much interest in your book??lol
Btw my office is not far from Crosswords.Hope I won’t have a busy schedule on 15th so that I can make it to the launch.All the best…..
Your “lol” suggests you were joking with your request.
Your comment brings up a good topic though, the rest of this is not directed towards you, but are statements in general. I think it’s a good idea that we point this out in case someone is not joking.
Joking about it is fine. However, in general it is not appropriate to ask an author for a free book, ask a musician friend to sing at an event (say birthday) for free, ask a tax preparer friend to prepare taxes for free etc. etc. Rather all of us visiting Sharell’s site and enjoying her musings and the subsequent conversation should spread the word so that more people *buy* her book. That way she will write more such wonderful books and continue to have this wonderful site active.
Sharell,
I’m so sad. I will be flying into Mumbai that night at 9:40. I’ll be missing it by such a short time. Congratulations though.
Kat
Hi Sharell…Read your book…Deeper Insight into everyday life in India..The book made it easier to explain to my Aussie girlfriend about Indian tradition, customs and lifestyle in India(We are travelling to India next month and I hope she won’t be in a shock after reading your book)…All the best for the Launch
Congratulations Sharell and all the success of the world for you!!!!!
Is it possible to buy your book on the net? Please, tell me how I can buy one considering that I live in Brazil and don´t know if I ever will go to India to by it…
Thanks in advance.
Wooo Hooo. How exciting for you. You so deserve the accolades that are coming your way with the book being released in India. A truly great book written by a wonderful author. :{D
Good luck with the book launch. That is so very exciting for you. I’ll look forward to hearing lots about the launch and seeing some great photos. Any plans for a sequel to the book?
Good luck! I’m sure you will do fine.
Wish I was there Sharell. My son is travelling to India over Dec/Jan and I’ll ask him to get me a copy of your book. Looking forward to reading it and good wishes for the launch on 15th December.
Hi Sharell…congrats for the launch in India..so can we just walk in and buy a copy and be rewarded with your autograph:)
I will surely try and be there.
Hey Shaell, Good Luck for the launch. I am sure your book gonna make a success with in Indians as well.
Btw, you r looking really b’ful in the pic with Dave. like you smile. Cheers
All the best for your book, Sharell. I’ll look for a copy of it in Chennai.
Congratulations, Sharell! This is amazing stuff. Don’t worry about stage fright – just remember the old trick…imagine everyone to be naked!
I’m so bummed that I can’t make it. I’m out of town and won’t be back until after your event. I would have really wanted to attend. I’m just hoping that this will be such a hit that you’ll be expected to have several follow-up appearances!
Good luck!
I’d be there if I could! I live a bit out of the way, in Moldova, Eastern Europe. As a fellow writer I’m very happy for you and wish you lots of success!
Congratulations. i am certainly going to buy your book..
Sharell, Congrats on the book! And all the best with the launch!
I was just wondering/curious – since you’re privy to the book writing/launch process, care to share some insights…
Something along the lines of – how does the whole thing get set up(the venue, the choice of ‘host’, etc). As an author how much say do you have in these matters(or does the publisher do it all)? Costs/remunerations, et al? Any interesting audience interactions? Contrasting experiences(if any) between the Australian vs. Indian book-launch/book-tour? Do you see much benefit to doing this(aside from the obvious one of creating a buzz)? Anything else you feel like sharing…
PS:
1) Long time lurker, infrequent commenter. Love the blog. Keep on, keepin’ on!
2) Have been to a few book launches(in the US) and have always wondered, hence the curiosity. Apologies for the 101-questions – just thought I’d bust out all my questions a la IAmA(on reddit).
Hi there, loved your questions outburst!
Well, I’m all rather new to this! The process has been very different in Australia and India. In Australia, I did mostly radio show interviews for the publicity (as well as wrote a few articles for different publications). There was no official book launch. And I did one reading at a literary event. All of it was arranged for me by the publisher. That’s the benefit of having a large publisher. They take care of a lot of publicity, whereas smaller ones expect the author to do it all themselves.
Book launches in India: my experience so far is that they’re all arranged, again, by the publisher. They gave me their ideas, and checked whether I approved. The publisher has also arranged other kinds of publicity for me too — like writing assignments linked to my book. Honestly, I’m not too sure of the benefit these book launches in India but I guess they do create some buzz. I’m not sure how many people will actually attend my launch because it’s really difficult with late working hours and terrible traffic, especially in Mumbai. The same was the situation with Dave’s book launch that I was at on Monday. Not a big crowd. Perhaps if I was a famous author, a book launch would attract lots of people.
Hence, I think there are plenty of other beneficial ways of creating interest in a book — particularly through the internet, there are plenty of options.
Thanks for sharing. Much appreciated.
> In Australia, I did mostly radio show interviews for the publicity…
Sweet! My impression, and I could be wrong, is that radio & TV slots/invites are mostly accorded to established authors and/or neophytes who create an inordinate buzz in literary circles. Sounds like you’ve made quite an impression – on your first attempt, too. Kudos!
> … I think there are plenty of other beneficial ways of creating
> interest in a book — particularly through the internet …
True dat. IAmA’s on reddit come to mind(eg. http://goo.gl/3jCKR). Although YMMV. ‘The mob is fickle’
I’m just fortunate that I have a well regarded publisher… and a publicist.
sharell:
U have a hugh following on the Internet….for us u r a famous writer!
and in india, only cricketers and anyone connected with bollywood manage a housefull crowd! but how many are there due to curiousity for the book and how many are there for thrills?
Gurus can pull a huge crowd in India too. Check out all the people at Delhi Airport just to see Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (Art of Living)!
http://www.whiteindianhousewife.com/2010/02/india-photo-crowd-at-delhi-airport/
“Gurus can pull a huge crowd in India too.”
I saw that too.When I was entering the atmosphere of Earth , many humans started surrounding me in big numbers.
Congratulations! I wish I could be there.
sharell:
How do i get a signed copy from u if i order from flipkart?
as u rightly mentioned because of working hours and traffic not everyone staying in mumbai would be able to make it to the official launch at Crosswords, Powai.
If you can come to Powai at some stage, I’ll sign it for you.
Delurking. Congratulations! Love the blog. Good Luck for the launch
A special welcome to you! Now that you have delurked, I hope you’ll keep commenting (it’s not so scary around her any more, now that the arguementative people have finally made themselves at home in the forum). Thanks for the good wishes.
Congratulations, Sharell. I have been waiting for your book for some time now and though I will not be able to attend the book launch, I’ll be sure to get a copy for myself. Good luck
Thank you very much!
Oh Sharell I wish I had known slightly earlier…I came to India yesterday (yaaayyyyyy!!) and I will be in Mumbai on the night of the 15th!!!! I am EXTREMELY excited about going to my favourite place on earth, we’re having a reunion at uni…but would have loved to come a few hours earlier for your book launch!! I will most definitely be there in spirit, and hopefully we will meet at another place, another time
Awww, never mind, I’m sure the reunion will be much more fun! Thanks so much for your support though. If you’re ever in my area, I’lll sign the book for you! Enjoy Mumbai, 8) It’s a great time of year to be here.
…and I just ordered your book, so excited!!!
thats great news sharell…will definitely try to b there since i stay close by…All the best and recently Jerry Pinto had done his best in verbally bashing up today’s newbie writers!! He has got a thing for good ole English! Hope you have a nice time over your book launch…will try and catch up!
Hi Priya, it would be great to see you! But guess what though, I’ve been told by my publisher that Jerry Pinto can’t make it! Despite having confirmed, he now has something else on. Ah, India. So, now the event is without a host. I’m not sure what will happen if they don’t find a replacement soon!
Good sign. He has sensed your fame and he is jealous !
No worries , dear friend.
Now that Jerry Pinto has backtracked from his commitment ( Jeers to him for that ) , I can do the honor of questioning you.After all I wrote the first book on economics in the world.
ye dil hai mushkil jeena yahan
Jerry hat ke Jerry bach ke, yeh hai Mumbai meri jaan !
Just wanted to drop by and wish you good luck for your book launch tomorrow! I have your book on my kindle so couldn’t have really had you sign it, but would have loved to be there to support any way. Alas, I only get back to Bombay on Sat.
In any case, wish you all the best. I’m sure it will be great. Ciao!
Thanks so much! I hope it goes okay…. in the absence of the host who canceled, a bit of jugaad will have to suffice. Life really tests me at times.
And please leave all that filthy Delhi dirt behind.
Sharell, watched a few minutes of your book launch on YouTube. Congratulations again! Now I am waiting for my Flipkart order to change status to shipped.
Oh my, it’s on You Tube?!
I’m scared to look!!! It was so nerve wracking!
Here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHmEMYMLSFs . You did well, don’t worry.
That was great, Sharell. I have to admit that even though I know very well that you’re Aussie, I have engaged with you on this blog with so much talk about India, Indians and Indianness that when the vid first started, I found myself saying “Hey, guess what?! Sharell has a real Aussie accent!” I don’t know what I was expecting!
But you did really well. I’m glad it went well. Are they asking you to another event sometime soon – would love to attend.
That’s funny! Even I don’t know what I expect with my accent these days. It’s really confused and changes depending on who I’m around.
No, no more events! One is enough!!
BTW how did the whole event go?
It actually went better than I expected, and quite a few people turned up.
I was so worried about how it was going to go though, after Jerry’s cancellation. But luckily I had the experience of Dave’s book launch so I wasn’t too clueless. I’m still recovering from the anxiety though!!
Good to hear about the turnout.
Hope you had a good night’s rest.
No, I had such a bad sleep! I couldn’t relax and the whole night kept playing over and over in my head. Aaargh!