Hi all! I’ve got a great treat for you!
Author Shobhan Bantwal is here to giveaway a copy of her new book, The Unexpected Son. I haven’t read it yet – but it looks awesome.
If you comment on this post, you’re entered to win this book (US readers only)!
Hi Shobhan! Welcome to the blog!
Thanks for inviting me, Lisa. I love doing interviews, so I’m excited about this one.
Tell us a little bit about your new release (the cover art is absolutely adorable, btw)!
THE UNEXPECTED SON is my fourth book by Kensington Publishing. The previous three went into multiple printings. In keeping with my Indian themes, this one also features Indian characters and backdrop. It is set partly in the U.S. and partly in India. And I love my cover, too. Kensington continues to give me some great covers.
This is the story of a New Jersey woman who one morning wakes up to a shocking truth that turns her cozy world upside down: she has a grown son in India, a child she’d been told was stillborn 30 years ago. Now he’s fighting for his life. Revealing her secret past to her husband could ruin her happy marriage, and yet, she has to return to her battle-scarred town in India to reconcile with her past, to meet her unknown son—and pray for the faith of the family she’s leaving behind.
What’s the story behind the story of your new book?
The first part of THE UNEXPECTED SON is set in the late 1970s, in a small town in India, very much like the one I grew up in. In a conservative, primarily Hindu town, premarital sex was an aberration back then, so I wanted to make that the central theme.
What would happen if an innocent teenager falls in love with the college sports hero and overall bad guy, and is eventually left to deal with an unwanted pregnancy and her life in ruins? And what if, many years later, she has to face the demons from her past at the cost of losing everything she has carefully built up after overcoming tragedy and heartbreak? I thought this concept would make a great story: everything to lose and everything to gain. Of course, I’ll have to wait and see what my readers have to say about the story.
What do you hope readers will take away from this book?
In all my books, I strive not only to entertain but also educate my readers. I like to believe I offer a brief glimpse of a different facet of Indian culture that most South Asian authors don’t. Digressing from my fellow authors who write mostly literary fiction, I write commercial fiction with romantic elements, and I include bold and controversial topics like dowry, female-fetus abortion, and premarital sexual encounters besides the small but vivid details like saris, curries, castes, religious elements, and arranged marriage. My author brand is “Bollywood in a Book.”
With THE UNEXPECTED SON, I hope my readers will enjoy a good read and also learn something about a culture they may know little about.
Where can readers find out more about you?
My website: www.shobhanbantwal.com has all the information about my books, excerpts, author events including my two virtual tours’ schedules, contests, recipes, photos, and contact page. I’m also on facebook. My books are available at all retail bookstores and online booksellers.
Short answer questions (one or a handful of words):
type of socks you’re wearing: too hot for socks in August, LOL!
last book you read: THE WOODS by Harlan coben
what you had for breakfast: corn muffin
something on your writing desk that inspires you: my granddaughter’s picture
favorite cartoon when you were a kid: Mickey Mouse
Hope you enjoyed the interview! Comment to win the book!
Best,
Lisa Dale
Okay, this sounds like a book that is right up my alley. I’d love to read it!
Hi,
I saw her other books in Barnes and Noble and they’re on my TBR list
It really is too hot for socks now >_< flip flops!
This sounds like an awesome book. I saw her other books around the net and they are on my wish list.
I am planning on bringing The Unexpected Son to the beach next week! You are such a talented writer and I expect to be both entertained and educated about such an interesting culture!
Hi Shobhan, your covers are so eyecatching. I’ve got The Dowry Bride and The Sari Shop Widow (autographed!) in my TBR pile and can’t wait to get to them. Your stories sound wonderful! Congrats.
Your book sounds so interesting. I’d love to read it and your backlist. Beautiful, covers.
This story sounds amazingly wonderful and heartfelt!! I’d love to read it! And the cover looks beautiful, intriguing. Great interview. Yet another author to add to my list of new authors to try. Gotta love it!!
The cover of this book is just so precious. It instantly caught me eye. The backstory is compelling.
lenikaye@yahoo.com
Thanks to all of you who posted comments. And thank you, Lisa, for the kind invitation to your blog and the wonderful interview.
Shobhan
The storyline sounds sooo interesting and I would love to read this novel.
Your cover is awesome..Its one of the best I’ve seen. I would love to read this book. Also great post. I’m going to check out your other books as well. They sound like the kind of books I really enjoy reading.
Thanks for the interview..
Heidi
would enjoy reading this nove….thanks for the chance
I would love a chance to read your book. I would love to learn about a differant culture. It sounds like a wonderful story. Your book cover is beautiful.
katsrus(at)gmail(dot)com
My husband is going to India on business at the end of the month, and this sounds like something we both might like to read, since we know nothing about the country. Also, since I love Rudyard Kipling, I’d love to see a contemporary take on the culture. It’s on my wish list now!
Great interview Shobhan. I fell in love with your book after reading the first review and the cover made me sure I would love your book. Thanks for stopping by to chat. I will be checking out your earlier books.
Thanks for the opportunity to enter.
misskallie2000 at yahoo dot com
Sounds like an interesting book that would offer alot in the way of different cultures. Kind of a learning experience plus just enjoyment in reading. Thanks for the chance to win it and good luck with the book!!
I’ve read about this book before and it does look interesting
I didn’t realize that your books had romantic elements to them. I must really check them out now. I somehow assumed it was literary fiction. I love how you say Bollywood in a Book, *bg*
I’m reading The Unexpected Son now. It’s totally absorbing! Thanks, Shoban, for writing it.
Thanks for the great interview! This sounds like it would be a great book! I would love the chance to read this!
Thanks for the giveaway!
That cover is amazingly cute. Sounds like a story I would love to read. Thanks for visiting us here and letting us know about this book.
Am I too late for the drawing? I’d love to read this book. Let’s see, the last book I read was The Fire in the Fiction by Donald Maass
This looks like an interesting story.
I have read reviews of this book and it sounds really good. Would love to win it.