Ten Shades of Life

I had mentioned awhile back that I would be getting published in a book early in 2013. Well, that day has now come. 

It isn't just the unique cover.
Right from the start, Fablery's writing contest looked to set itself apart from the others. While there were many contests on short stories based on love, Fablery focused on ten unique genres in a contest spanning an entire year. The stories in this contest were longer and more fleshed out that your basic 3000-word short stories, allowing for more character development, intrigue and (my favourite) kahaani mein twists along the ride. 

The best stories from each genre were selected at the end of the month and are now available as Fablery's first anthology 'Ten Shades of Life' ( Mahaveer Publishers). Much like the genres, the authors involved include people from very different walks of life, including IT professionals and software engineers, movie screenplay writers and Horror Writers Association members (gulp!), popular Indian bloggers and yes, one anaesthesiologist who maybe inhaling one too many mind-altering drugs at work as well. 
Rather than a buying a book without knowing what you're getting, here is an extended preview of all the genres and stories in this book to help you decide.



01. The Incarnadines- Cheyenne Mitchell
Genre - Fantasy/Mythology
At an age when men are travelling to outer space, the clans that practise sorcery and other occult rituals prefer to maintain a low profile. Cheyenne's ' The Incarnadines' offers you a peek behind one such mystical clan.

02. Red and Gold - Monika Pant
Genre - Romance
A heart warming tale vibrant with the colours of passion and resplendent glory, 'Red and Gold' is set in erstwhile Awadh which was a fabled fairyland - of Nawabs and princesses. Lost in a land of jewelled nights and courtly intrigue, will our protagonist find love and live forever with her Prince charming? 

03. Harry's Bluff - Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan
Genre - Action/ Adventure
The hunter becomes the hunted as a hitman struggles to unravel the mystery behind a routine job gone horribly wrong. But in seeking out answers and perhaps a chance for redemption, he will find himself forced to confront the one villain that truly terrifies him... his past.

A little self-gloating is good for the health, I hear.

Seriously ! 

04. Something like that - Shankar Raman
Genre - Humour
For the protagonist Chetan who has only had practise with dummy bullets in a cozy firing range so far, the onest of 'D' day and a real target set off an adrenaline rush. The trigger pull is just seconds away when... well, read on to find out in this fun caper guaranteed to bring laughter.

05. A Weekend in the Country - Bruce Memblatt
Genre - Horror
If you go on a getaway with your best friend, make sure he doesn't bring his ex-wife along! A Weekend in the Country is a good old fashioned ghostly tale with an outdoor twist.

06. Nootropic Egress - Karthik L
Genre - Science Fiction
A child prodigy whose intelligence puts him in contact with an alien race: the first for human race. But what happens when the aliens he encounters turn out to less friendly than the ones he's used to in movies ? Is he intelligent enough to outsmart the aliens or would his intelligence prove to be his own undying? 

07. The Secret of Ahiraah - Reshmy Pillai
Genre - Historical
The impregnable fortress - Sonar Killa - is relaxed in the respite its high yellow sandstone walls bestow but what if the unconquerable fort’s conquerable secret is out? Are the Guptmyaan’s only a forgotten rumored legend of the fort? What lies in the bare gyaan kothri of the most opulent mansion in the fort? The Secret of Ahiraah takes you into forgotten in-ways, secret keepers, spies and a lurking enemy in the Rajputana of 16th Century India. 

08. Where did you go - Deepa Duraisamy
Genre - Suspense/Thriller
A place of religion. A heartless crime. Uncovered clues. Stumped detectives. All of these come together in a heady mix as we explore the mystery behind a kidnapped child.                                                


09. Barren Harvest - Vinaya Bhagat 
Genre : Philosophical 
After an apocalypse nearly destroys Earth, the survivors live in colonies on the few barely inhabitable splinters of the planet. Eighty years later, a young woman living in the apparently utopian society, where humans remain young and disease-free, starts remembering her past. As she navigates the labyrinth of her slowly returning memory, in search of truth and solutions to her current dilemmas, long-dormant emotions awaken that put her very survival at risk.

10. A Good Day to Die - Rahul Biswas
Genre - Occupational
A Mumbai fireman battles the flames and jumps headlong into a blazing inferno to save lives. But he finds he has more to worry about than fire this time as a member of his own unit is out for his blood. Will he able to make it out in time or will it just become a good day to die?



To know more about the editor Nethra Anjanappa, click here.

Ten Shades of Life is now available, both online and in bookstores. It can be purchased online at :

 Infibeam

Happy reading. Hope you like it.