Bøger af Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar

Albie Ringham is like most twentysomething men. He likes fast cars and women who look good driving them. As the spare in the Ringham dynasty, he parties in the world's best nightclubs while his sister Victoria prepares to one day to take the throne. When fate thrusts the crown back onto Albie's head, three generations of romance, hopes and frustrations come along with it. Can Albie fulfill generations of family obligation by becoming the people's prince? Or will he be lured away from duty by love? His relationship with the winsome Heather Sparkle threatens his family's bloodline. Find out why readers love the surprise twists and turns in this unlikely romance.

Finding a missing construction worker makes Ali a good man but not a stellar detective - at least not in the eyes of the national intelligence unit. His assignment to a new vice squad could be the road to redemption. When his undercover agent discovers the dead body of an expat teacher, what began as a safe bet puts his reputation on the line. Soon the burned remains of another woman are found in the desert, and Ali and Manu have no choice but to enlist the help of his fiancee Maryam to explore how the two murders may be connected. Do they have the country's first serial killer on their hands? And, if so, how can they ever hope to stop him? Set against the backdrop of the Arabian Gulf, readers are drawn into a world of intrigue, romance, and danger. This is the second book in the Crimes in Arabia series.

When one disgraced police captain stands up against a totalitarian regime, can he expose their corruption before it's too late?"A well-written mystery thriller set in a fascinating setting. A FINALIST and highly recommended."--The Wishing Shelf Book AwardsEverything seems perfect until the day Ali's entire world collapses and his hopes to join the elite government forces are dashed. Not only is he demoted from his position, but he's brought face to face with the corruption that underlies the seemingly perfect, oil rich, Arabian gulf society where he was once police captain.Along the way, he meets Maryam, a young aspiring journalist. Together, they're determined to get to the bottom of the widespread deaths of migrant laborers being swept under the rug. But the agencies responsible will stop at nothing to keep their profits high, and interest in their activities low.Will Ali and Maryam be able to expose the truth and achieve justice?Read THE MIGRANT REPORT today to find out!"The Migrant Report is an enlightening story. It shows the other part of the world that sometimes we overlook. The truth will hit you." - Amazon Review

As always Rajakumar gives a inside view of a culture, reflecting the ups and downs of a people who love, hate and are trying to live their daily lives as triumphantly as possible. - Michelle Cornwell Jordan, IndieWriters Review Expat life in the Arabian Gulf is a lot like high school. Necessity is the mother of all friendships. The Dohmestics explores the ups and downs of six women thrown together by fate in the quintessential Middle Eastern compound; a neighborhood enclosed by a boundary wall with a security gate. Emma, Nouf, Rosa, and Maya are part of the sophomoric fish bowl no one can escape, where rumors can ruin marriages or jobs. Daily life is an array of coffee mornings, book clubs, and single parenting for Emma whose pilot husband is away more than at home. She can barely remember the workaholic professional she was before becoming a trailing spouse. Noof, a female Arab lawyer, struggles between her traditional values and Western education. She's a mother, wife, and friend, like society expects of her, but she wants to establish an identity of her own. Rosa was the regional winner of a beauty pageant in the Philippines. Now, she is a full time maid and nanny for a family who treats her well. But will sacrificing her future for her sisters' be worth it? Country girl Lillie is fired a few months into her first job as a housemaid. She can't go back home; too many people need her income. Without a reference, no one will employ her. Maya, a seamstress in Sri Lanka, lost everything in the Asian tsunami. She bears her tyrannical boss' demands, in hopes of rebuilding a life back home. Amira, the compound's unofficial head cheerleader, appears to have it all. Yet, as everyone knows, because each is desperately trying to hide her own: we all have secrets.

What's it like being the ant in the ice cream? The characters in this short story collection will show you; experience life as they know it as transplants from across the world into American suburbia. Adapted from real life anecdotes both her own and those of others, Mohana takes us into the world of the South Asian immigrant living the American Dream. Think of her as a cultural translator for those who you may not notice otherwise, living in the margins of our cities. "What are a few inches when you know he will provide for you the rest of your life," her mother would have said, smacking her on the cheek. The sight of his feet, white, broad toes, and clean, short-clipped nails startled her. Americans normally wore their shoes everywhere; they had special shoes to wear inside their houses, shoes specifically for their bedrooms. BABY

Happily ever after begins now for Abdulla and Sangita, the unlikely duo who met by chance in a London apartment. Married life holds more than they bargained for with the pressures of living amongst his extended family. Hind has made good on her aspirations to work in the foreign service in India as an independent woman. Except loneliness dogs her every step. And young Luluwa, once a teenager infatuated with her dead sister's husband, is growing up quickly. When a deep family secret comes to light, she will have to find a way to bring them together to overcome the dark forces. Readers will lose themselves in the increasingly complex ties that bind. Fans of Love Comes Later will enjoy seeing their favorite characters fighting for their chance at happiness.

You're trying to write a book but you're not the next Shakespeare - not yet, anyway. You could be. But no one will ever know if you don't get those marvelous words out on the page (or screen). In easy-to-follow steps, Mohana breaks down the process of getting started as a creative writer. From getting past writer's block (excuse of the weak!) to putting that blog to work (everybody's got one), the tools of the trade are revealed. If you've had a story idea in your head for a day, year, (or longer) that it doesn't seem to be writing itself, you may want to take a closer look at this book. Designed as a concise guide for aspiring writers, you'll find here the key principles of how to get started, keep going, and finish a manuscript, all told by a fellow accidental writer who took the long way developing a writer's formula. From query letters, to synopsis, if you are trying to decide between commercial and self-publishing, this book will give you the latest information in sharing your story with the world. With worksheets and exercises to keep you focused, you will get to know yourself again, this time as a writer.

Winner of the Indie Book of the Day, September 2013. Which country in the Middle East is safe, hip, and quirky? Qatar may not be the answer that comes to mind. Mohana will change that with these vignettes of growing out of her twenties in the emerging desert powerhouse. With wit and love, she takes readers on an armchair journey of ruminations. In a wonderful mix of cultural juxtapositions, we hear about a place where all restaurants are closed during the daylight hours of Ramadan. Yet SUVS clogging fast food drive-throughs like McDonald's are commonly late night spectacles. This unique exploration of cultural differences is due to the author's ethnic heritage and physical proximity to her birthplace, India. We experience the hilarious ups and downs of reactions to her American accent and western dress despite being a non-white expatriate. Learn the realities of what it takes to make a life in Doha.

"...a deliciously tangled plot and insight into life on the Persian Gulf." Kirkus Review When newlywed Abdulla loses his wife and unborn child in a car accident, the world seems to crumble beneath his feet. Thrust back into living in the family compound, he goes through the motions--work, eat, sleep, repeat. Blaming himself for their deaths, he decides to never marry again but knows that culturally, this is not an option. Three years later, he's faced with an arranged marriage to his cousin Hind, whom he hasn't seen in years. Hard-pressed to find a way out, he consents to a yearlong engagement and tries to find a way to end it. What he doesn't count on, and is unaware of, is Hind's own reluctance to marry. Longing for independence, she insists on being allowed to complete a master's degree in England, a condition Abdulla readily accepts. When she finds an unlikely friend in Indian-American Sangita, she starts down a path that will ultimately place her future in jeopardy. The greatest success of Rajakumar's novel is the emotional journey the reader takes via her rich characters. One cannot help but feel the pressure of the culturally mandated marriage set before Hind and Abdulla. He's not a real Muslim man if he remains single, and she will never be allowed freedoms without the bondage of a potentially loveless marriage. It's an impossible situation dictated by a culture that they still deeply respect. Rajakumar pulls back the veil on life in Qatar to reveal a glimpse of Muslim life rarely seen by Westerners.

Rapping. Breakdancing. MCing. DJing. Beatboxing. Graffiti art. These are just some of the most well-known artistic expressions spawned from hip hop culture, which has grown from being an isolated inner-city subculture in the 1970s to being a truly international and mainstream culture that has taken root in countries as diverse as Japan, France, Israel, Poland, Brazil, South Korea, and England.This insightful book provides not only an overview of hip hop's distinctive dance style and steps, but also a historic overview of hip hop's roots as an urban expression of being left out of the mainstream pop culture, clarifying the social context of hip hop culture before it became a widespread suburban phenomenon. Hip Hop Dance documents all the forms of street music that led to one of the most groundbreaking, expressive, and influential dance styles ever created.