Monsters and Adventures and Tropes, oh my (Part 3)

Posted on September 14, 2016 by Rati Mehrotra

Okay, this is my final post on this topic. The third exciting project I am proud to be a part of is Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling published by Jason Sizemore of Apex Publications, due out this November, and edited by Monica Valentinelli. Each story in this collection examines a tired trope or common cliche and twists it into something new.

My story in this anthology is titled Real Women are Dangerous and is inspired by the 100 million Missing Women of Asia. The term ‘missing women’ refers to the number of extra women who SHOULD have been around in a particular country or region if the ratio of men to women was the same as it is in other parts of the world where girls and boys get the same level of care. Continue reading →

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Monsters and Adventures and Tropes, oh my (Part 2)

Posted on September 5, 2016 by Rati Mehrotra

Well, I warned you there’d be a second part. Here is my update on the second project I’m really excited to be a part of:

2017 Young Explorer’s Adventure Guide
Dreaming Robot Press, run by Sean and Corie Weaver, publishes science fiction and fantasy novels for a Young Adult and Middle Grade audience. This is the third year of their Young Explorer’s Adventure Guide anthology – “24 amazing science fiction stories for middle grade readers”. One of them, ahem, by yours truly. I am in fantastic company, as you can see from the list of contributors. Really looking forward to reading this one! The kickstarter is currently 60% funded with 16 days still left to go. It has been selected as an SFWA Star Project. Continue reading →

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Monsters and Adventures and Tropes, oh my (Part 1)

Posted on September 2, 2016 by Rati Mehrotra

The last official weekend of summer! Already the light has changed. Couldn’t we have been eased into this, sort of? I’d like a long, sunny Autumn, please. I’d ask for a delayed and mild winter, but that would just be bad climate-changey wishing on my part, so I won’t. Now for an update on three exciting projects that I am very proud to be part of:

Those Who Make Us: Canadian Creature, Myth, and Monster Stories
Edited by Kelsi Morris and Kaitlin Tremblay, and published by Exile Editions, this anthology releases on November 1st, 2016, and is available for pre-order now. My story, titled ‘Vetala’, is about a stalker-ish spirit that follows the protagonist from India to Canada. And it’s about the Bhagavad Gita. And also about Canadian trains, because I love Canadian trains, and it’s absolutely horrifying to me, how they’re slowly disappearing. Continue reading →

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Talking of School

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Rati Mehrotra

August! Another couple of weeks and schools will open, and I shall (hopefully) get back to a more writerly routine. Hello, alarm clock. I have not missed you.

Talking of school, I came across an old photograph a few days ago – my fifth grade class picture. None of us are looking particularly happy. Mrs. Henderson, our squat and grumpy class teacher, sits in the middle, looking the least happy. I do not have fond memories of her. But I do have very strong memories of that time. I got to thinking how important school was in my childhood, how large a part it played, and how different it is for my kids these days. Continue reading →

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Summer SF/F Reads, Reviews and Updates

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Rati Mehrotra

My goodness, July is almost over! Nearly half the summer vacation gone, and what do I have to show for it? Several delicious reads, for one thing. Here is my recommended list:

strangerinolondriaA Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar
Jevick, a pepper merchant’s son, heads to Olondria and adventure, little knowing the pitfalls that await him. Richly imagined secondary world fantasy, beautiful and lush – descriptive writing at its best. A gourmet meal of a book! Not hard to see why it won the 2014 World Fantasy Award. I am now reading it’s companion novel, The Winged Histories. Continue reading →

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Biking (and writing) on the P’tit train du Nord

Posted on July 9, 2016 by Rati Mehrotra

I have always bemoaned the slow, inexorable vanishing of Canadian trains. Steam-powered railways were integral to the building of Canada as a nation. Trains were the arteries connecting the heart of our country with its limbs, opening settlement in the west. But everyone drives now – there are highways and (if we’re lucky) buses, where once there were only trains. At the very least, I think, cities should have some link with the transportation of their past. St John’s, NL, for instance, has a lovely train museum where you can read about the history of the trains, and wish they still ran. The train route is now a hiking trail. Continue reading →

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Beautiful Puerto Rico

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Rati Mehrotra

I went to Puerto Rico in May: the shoulder season, between the cruise ships and the hurricanes. The best time to go, even though I got drenched a couple of times and it was perishingly hot in the sun. Walk in the shade in the old town of San Juan, ducking into cafes or bars if it gets too hot, or treat yourself to a Piragua – a flavored snow cone. Stay out late, until the sun dips below the horizon and the music starts. And I’m not just talking of the human kind. I’m talking of frogs. Wander into the Plaza de Colón, near the dense shrubbery, and you will hear the seriously loud Coquí frog. Never failed to delight me! Continue reading →

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Komagata Maru – an apology at last

Posted on May 20, 2016 by Rati Mehrotra

Have you all heard of the 1914 Komagata Maru ‘incident’? A Japanese steamship called Komagata Maru, full of hopeful immigrants from Punjab, India, sailed from Hong Kong to Vancouver, Canada. At the time, India was still under the yoke of the British Empire, and the men were technically British subjects, and so argued they should have the freedom to travel anywhere in the British Empire. However, most of the passengers were not allowed to land in Canada and the ship was forced to turn back to India. Upon its return to Calcutta, the ship was met by a British gunboat. Nineteen of the passengers were shot dead, and many of the rest were imprisoned. Continue reading →

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April News and Writerly Updates

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Rati Mehrotra

The sun is out, it’s a beautiful spring day in Toronto, and I’ve finished the revisions to Markswoman weeks before my deadline! What more could I want?

Oh yes. I want a magic wand so that the second book gets magically written. I have been working on it, just not as productively as I should be. I have my first 60 pages, going to be hitting the middles soon, will certainly get bogged down, and okay, I binge-watched the entire 14 episodes of Firefly. I’d still be watching, if there were any more. Continue reading →

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The Family Ghost

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Rati Mehrotra

SockdolagerSpringVery pleased to report that my short story The Family Ghost is now live at The Sockdolager in the Spring 2016 issue. This is a story about love, family and ghosts, set in rural India. A young girl is married off to a young man she barely knows. How does her mother protect her from overbearing in-laws? It’s a light-hearted story that, I hope, will make you smile. But I was thinking of deeper issues while writing it. Perhaps you will think of them too. Continue reading →

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