Читать книгу His Monsoon Bride - Aastha Atray - Страница 3

Dear Reader

When I found out that Harlequin Mills & Boon was looking for their second writer from India, a switch went off in my head. Why am I not taking part in the contest? I asked myself. It was five hours to deadline and I told myself that sometimes, to make dreams come true, you need to take a risk. And so I sat down and started writing as if my life depended on it. My original story, about the slightly voluptuous, shy but smart daughter of a millionaire, Amrita, who finds love with the roguish and rude but utterly handsome businessman Mehtab was just a figment of my imagination that even caught me by surprise. Who knew I was capable of such romance? Even though my romance with my husband, Kishore, has remained fresh for five and a half years now. And so I wrote a story about people who fall in love not because they are attracted to each other’s exteriors, but because eventually it’s a heart of gold that matters. I think it was because my own marriage has made me believe in such a love.

But I never expected to win! And so when I first got the call saying my story had been selected in the top three I was stunned. In fact, I was grateful for even that achievement. Then, as they called out my name as the winner at the party thrown for the entrants, I knew that taking that risk and giving it my all had paid off. And what an experience it has been!

Writing a love story for Mills and Boon has been the most creative and fulfilling task I have ever undertaken. It has taught me how to flesh out my characters, how to know that their actions are a result of their past life, and how to see that a person’s past and present shapes their future. From the moment I started writing about Amrita and Mehtab I knew I had to really make them come to life. In fact I had to make the reader feel as if she knew them intimately, and also make her understand why they do what they do.

Amrita, who on the surface seems to have everything, is actually a slightly confused young woman who wants to be independent and free from the shackles of the elite society she belongs to. She is also very headstrong and intelligent, and is a journalist (I guess I had to put a little bit of me in her!). She also faces a problem that many of us in this day and age do. She thinks she is fat just because she isn’t exactly like the models she sees on the pages of a magazine. But we Indian women are uniquely beautiful because of our curves, and eventually Amrita embraces that, as it’s Mehtab who makes her realise how beautiful she really is. She is also pretty fashionable, and opts for clothes that flatter her figure rather than just going along with a trend, and that underlines an aspect of her personality that’s just so spunky.

Mehtab was so named because that name just conjures up the image of a tall, big-shouldered, handsome man, whose grin can turn a woman to mush. He is witty and charming, and can say all the right things so that a girl just doesn’t stand a chance. Mehtab is misunderstood, because his steely, rough exterior hides a man who is fighting the demons of his past. But if you manage to go beyond all that, as Amrita finally does, you will find he is a kind, compassionate man. And he falls in love with Amrita for the real her. That’s because he knows that she has also accepted him, with all his baggage, and that is a sure sign of real love.

Their love story is a good example of how love can be found even when the circumstances are unfavourable. Sometimes life throws curveballs at us, but love really can conquer all. And I hope it makes everyone believe in the fact that true love does exist, and to give up on it would be a shame.

I am so glad I got to write this Mills and Boon story as it has made me a writer I never imagined I could be. And to be able to show the world what a love story set in contemporary India—my city Mumbai—is really like is also another big plus.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. It’s been a ride!

Take care!

Love

Aastha