Journal: Fiction, Fast Forward

5 min readOct 19, 2024

After successful reentry into the publishing mode in 2024 — Ponder 2023 and ‘Fountainhead — A Review’ ( my first non-fiction book), I am writing fiction again. Here are the updates:

a) Bachelor’s Wife and Other Stories:

Our editor Falguni Jain completed the edits — Clean Copy, Version 4 — in February, after 5 months of effort. Shweta Hitesh Joshi, my creative partner, and editor, worked through Falguni’s queries and brought alignment of theme and flow and Falguni handled the rest — editing, proofreading, and all that made the manuscript shine through.

We all hit a pause, as Shweta was in the middle of transferring from Milan to Bengaluru, and I got sucked into routine work. We started our chat in August, as she moved her stuff and settled her kid in school.

After a bit of back and forth, we decided that I would write the synopsis and take one step at a time towards selecting a publisher who would understand the goals of this magnificent piece of work we have in our hands.

The book explores the events and situations at various stages of the Ramayan, delving into the characters through an introspective lens.

b) A City Full of Stories — 2: Stories from the City of Joy (ACFOS-2)

I would say that this is my best work to date — after ‘Bachelor’s Wife’ was the first Version 2.0 work, and ACFOS-2 tops it. I loved the three-part format, each so different, that I strut like a peacock whenever I think of it.

I was waiting for the big moment to arrive — Shweta to pick up the manuscript for her first reading.

Shweta’s feedback is the first joy I get when I finish writing. She is my patron, guide, friend, and creative partner. This is the best part of the process — she is in and from there on. we travel together. So let me savor the suffering of the long wait.

c) My Rainbow Bridge

My first novel hit a halt in July and I have written small pieces. Once I complete the synopsis and author bio of ‘Bachelor’s Wife’, I will pick this up — I may go for a short break around December to pursue some serious writing.

My evolution from a short story writer to a novelist is fascinating. Inspired by ‘Death of Ivan Ilych’ and connecting the dots of my reflections on life and death, and also searching and finding the little things and short journeys of people from my family — uncles, aunts, parents, and a cousin — all who have got onto the bridge earlier than me. In the journey on the colorful rainbow bridge, I discover life, again — and not in the way you would expect. If you want to read more, here are the earlier journal links.

a) Part 1: https://medium.com/@author-ashok/my-rainbow-bridge-journal-1-40f5a7cf0b1f

b) Part 2: https://medium.com/@author-ashok/my-rainbow-bridge-journal-2-8c812b90cd50

d) The Middle River

This is a surprise to those who follow my journal. A new entrant into my long list of partly completed manuscripts. We (Shweta and I) discussed this sometime in February this year. The fascination towards Narmada is natural for Shweta — for she is from Bhopal and Nagpur, and the mighty river is part of her life.

It's truly a divine privilege for me to have the opportunity to co-author a book with Shweta. I'm incredibly honored and excited to embark on this journey. I love the niche and corners, exploring the deep recesses of the divine ravines.

How do we look at the book? As a series of short stories like ‘Bachelor’s Wife’? Or a single long novel? Where are the sources for these stories? How do we write — a mix of modern, historical, and mythological — or purely mythological? First person or third person?

We have decided to pursue the ‘mythological’ format. Our research is on to find the sources…and as I write, we seem to have become lucky—read the poster for clues.

e) A City Full of Stories — 4: Stories from the Garden City

I wrote a story for this series last year. Just last week, I completed two stories — romantic, human relationships, office politics, and life’s struggles — all in the garden city of Bengaluru. This is more like a side job, so don't rely on it until it becomes mainstream.

As is obvious, ACFOS-4 will happen after ACFOS-3 only, so let’s hold our horses until next year.

I just wanted to remind you about my second novel titled "The Twine Shall Meet." Unfortunately, it's not getting as much attention as I'd like. I enjoy writing it, and I hope to share more about it in the future. This will be my Version 3.0 writing, so you can expect even more from it.