Personal Blog of Dagny Sol, Editor and Author Coach
Questions can help you change the direction of your thoughts. In a conversation between two people, the person who asks the questions- and is willing to listen- is the person who controls the conversation. Questions are the negotiator’s most effective tool. To ask the right question and sit back to let the other person talk, […]
Small is Big- by Rafaa Dalvi Brevity is the soul of wit, said Shakespeare; it is the sister of talent, said Chekhov. Writing flash fiction is challenging as well as deeply satisfying. I have loved all varieties of micro-fiction- as a reader as well as a writer. Micro-tales compel you to stay focused on your […]
Pretty Vile Girl: The protagonist you will hate to love! When you have racy plot and myriad, twisted sub-plots married to a series of brutal murders, committed with ice-cold nerve made all the more chilling by a kind of detached, almost meditative casualness, you get a Pretty Vile Girl! The theme of this novel is revenge- […]
Fairy tales are written for impressionable youngsters; Unfairy Tales are written for discerning adults. The values and perceptions of the modern world are not the same as those of the times when the Perrault, Anderson and the Brothers Grimm penned down their stories. Today, their stories seem biased, bigoted and even regressive. Humans have learned […]
Mandira closed her eyes and let the gentle lapping of the lake soothe her like a lullaby. It was warm, even though it was early morning. Summer was at its peak. In the city, the heat was unbearable. She had to escape the heat and the people; people who stifled her with their expectations and […]
The theme of the novel is unusual, specially in the Indian context. Men wanting to marry women older than themselves aren’t thick upon the ground in India, as yet. For an author to have picked such a theme for his debut novel, speaks of his own comfort with the idea. The love interest between the […]
To aid your fickle memory, it is time to get yourself a jotting pad. Your memory is not really a dependable asset. It forgets things which are vitally important and refuses to let go of things you’d rather it did not store for posterity. But no, it WILL do the opposite both times! Touch has […]
Summarizing 2017: In 2017, I didn’t choose a word/ phrase/ thought for the year as I had done every year since 2012. There is no reason for not doing it. It just didn’t happen. Strangely enough, I didn’t stress about it which was very out of character for me. I usually fuss and get displeased […]
BRAHMAHATYA: by Rajiv Mittal Complicated yet integrated characters, a skilfully created sequence of inevitable events and a thick suspense plentifully fed by a revengeful, murderous intent, Brahmahatya has it all. To make the novel additionally delectable, there is the generous inclusion of local flavor. This, I said to myself, is an Indian story written in English. […]
The boy with a backpack was ten years old, give or take a year. He had bright, intelligent eyes and a cocky assurance about him. He wore a tan jacket and khakhi full length trousers, in protection against the chilly winter winds. He was carrying a backpack which he refused to put down. From time […]