NBtM: Ten Days in October by Ashish Malpani

Ten Days in October

by Ashish Malpani

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GENRE: Fiction: Crime

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BLURB:

'5 a.m. phone call broke Police Inspector Shivaji Chavan’s sleep informing him that local jeweler Anil Kokate, was found hanging from a tree on the banks of Pravara River in a small town of rural India. Although the signs point to an open and shut case of suicide, Chavan suspects foul play. While trying to find the missing pieces of the story he finds more hidden skeletons and comes across astonishing & cruel past of the victim. What begins as a routine investigation quickly turns darker, ruthless and pressing. Can Chavan handle the pressure of his superiors, local media and frightened masses? Can he navigate the system to reach the killer? Can he solve the moral dilemma when he comes face to face with the killer?

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Excerpt 3

‘Haramkhor! What a way to ruin a beautiful morning!’ Inspector Shivaji Chavan thought as he rode his bullet to the river bank of a rural town in India, where local jeweler Anil Kokate was found hanging from a tree.  Chavan’s sleep was disturbed by the phone call informing him about the suicide but his initial investigation makes him suspect foul play.  While trying to find the missing pieces of the story he finds more hidden skeletons. The routine investigation turns darker, more deadly and pressing. Can Chavan handle the pressure of his superiors, bribes and local media and navigate the system? Can he solve the moral dilemma when he comes face to face with the killer?

   

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Ashish Malpani is an Indian-American freelancer and blogger. Born in Sangamner, a small town in rural India, he spent much of his adult life in Austin, Texas. A technology product marketer by trade, Ashish earned his MSE from Purdue University and MBA from the University of Texas.

 Ashish fell in love with reading and traveling at a young age. As a kid he had two dreams in life: to write a novel and to travel around the world. Thirty eight countries and counting, Ashish has explored various cultures and captured the world through the lens of his camera with his wife Samta and son Ayan.

Author website: www.ashishmalpani.com

FB: www.facebook.com/authormalpani

Twitter: www.twitter.com/ashishmalpani

Buying Links:

Paperback (US Edition $7.99): https://www.amazon.com/dp/1533500975/

Paperback (UK Edition £5.49): https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1533500975/

Paperback (Germany, France, Spain & Italy Edition €7.79- €8.02): http://www.curiua.com/p/ten-days-in-october/9781533500977

E-Book (Kindle Edition WW $5.99): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GNOGWTE

Smashwords (iBook/ Nook etc. Edition): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/639343

Interview with Ashish Malpani

As a kid did you write or make up stories?

>>As a kid I was pretty introvert and used to observe more than share. My mom for one wasn’t really happy about it. But that did result in making up stories. My first stories were based on super humans and had a lead character who could jump over buildings but could not get away from the crowd. I do think that contradiction manifests in the characters of ‘Ten Days in October’.

Where does most of your Character inspiration come from?

>> I strongly believe that every person you meet, every incident that happens around you leaves an impression on your mind. I often wonder that the people involved in the incidents were to speak to me, what will they say? What will be their stories? ‘Ten Days in October’ is inspired by a real life event that happened in the rural Indian town that I grew up in. My characters are inspired by people I thought will be affected by that incident.

Do some qualities of your characters come from real people?

>> My characters are indeed inspired by real people. Sometimes I do tend to divert from the initial character sketch to give more real life feel. My protagonist in ‘Ten Days in October’ is someone you will love and hate both. You will like him because he is a good guy at heart and wants to do the right thing. However, he does show signs of patriarchal thinking and has developed philosophy that justifies doing the wrong things too. Other characters too are based on people I have known or met in my travels.

What was the inspiration for your book?

>> As a kid, I always liked reading and making stories. I always dreamt about writing but somehow it never became a reality before. I strongly believe that every person you meet, every incident that happens around you leaves an impression on your mind. I often wonder that the people involved in the incidents were to speak to me, what will they say? What will be their stories? Some of the incidents we witness have a broader social impact and do touch our nerves. The people who are involved in such incidents definitely have gone through a lot and have a lot to share. Reporting of these incidents in popular media is purely based on coverage, reader appeal and sensationalism. We often read the report in the media, feel bad about it for few minutes and then move on with our lives. I fear that over the years, we have taken this as a new normal and let it desensitize us. As a writer, somewhere I feel that it is my responsibility to connect with readers and invoke thoughtful dialogue about such issues.

What is your favorite spot to write?

>> As the night falls, the study in our house becomes the perfect setup for my fingers to start beating the keyboard along with some music streaming through the earphones and a warm cup of coffee.

What advice would you give budding writers?

>> Since writing and publishing was really new for me, I didn’t discuss it with lot of people beforehand. I disclosed it after I had submitted the novel for self-publishing. So I will summarize my learning from the process here.

• Self-publishing is easy: Both eBook and print versions are easy to do. Making changes after publication is easy as well. For all the options that I had discussed before, the quality is relatively better than small publication houses.
• Buyers are wary of self-published books: In my experience, the buyers, book reviewers stay away from self-published books. First, because it is easy, everyone is doing it and not all books are great. Second, the books don’t look professional when compared with regular books. It is estimated that less than 1% of the self-published books really cut it.
• Set the expectations right: It is estimated that average print self-published book sells about 100-150 copies; and mostly because of friends and family. So don’t expect miracles to happen overnight. It does need lot of marketing and promotional support to get any good sales numbers. Not everyone who is your ‘friend’ on Facebook is going to buy the book.
• Good book cover and back cover blurb is a must: But it doesn’t guarantee that the book will fly off the shelf. But mediocre book cover and poorly written blurb will definitely turn the readers away. The same applies to the content. It is critical to get the content professional edited.
• Do it because you want to: Write because you want to share something with the world, and not to make money from day one. Enjoy the process and the short limelight. Needless to say, don’t quit your day job just yet.

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Ashish Malpani will be awarding $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway