I’m pleased to welcome Ruchira Khanna, author of Choices, to Linda’s Book Bag today to tell me about the links between life and writing for her. Choices is available for purchase in e-book and paperback here.

Choices

Leonardo is a young man who is standing on a crossroad of life, facing choices. He has a few questions, questions that all of us have faced when facing choices that can change our lives.

Does fate make a man, or do his desires?

Do ambitions and desires actually lead a person to true happiness and fulfillment, or does providence and life changing events actually show a person the true path to follow?

Choices raises these questions, and attempts to answer them. It is a slice-of-life, a book written from the heart.

One Life, Many Challenges

A Guest Post by Ruchira Khanna

One life, many challenges…

All humans endure this problem as we breathe in deep and exhale with a cold sigh and continue to trudge along this planet, Earth.

Many of us leave this world without a thought of solving it, as our minds are so muddled up with the daily activities thus avoiding to complete the full circle wherein lies confused relationships, grim expectations and a foul taste with regards to the other person’s loyalty.

But, honestly, all problems have a solution!

Be it changing the tyre of one’s car to modifying the direction in one’s life. The only thing constant is the “I.”

If I am keen on the change, even the Universe will comply with my wishes. Such is the power of positive thoughts.

That’s how my books come into life … I choose themes for my books that are related to man and his daily grudges. For instance, in Choices, my first novel, I talk about what makes our life. Is it the choices we make or is it predestined?  Do ambitions and desires actually lead a person to true happiness and fulfillment, or do providence and life changing events actually show a person the actual path to follow? Choices raises these questions, and attempts to answer them via a fiction tale.

My second novel, Voyagers into the Unknown has a theme of happiness, and I show via my fantasy novel how and why travelers travel thousands of miles to get happiness in their lives.

It is a vibrant story of transformation from an unlikely source: a local tour guide of historical Agra, India where the Taj Majal still sways those who behold it. Seeped in educational philosophy, this novel is an uplifting read.

The problems these characters face is just like you and me thus, most of us can relate to it.

My readers have given me a tag line, “Books that make me ponder.” The proof lies in the reviews on Amazon.

America is a country of immigrants with most of us breathing two cultures, and the challenge lies when life envelops you with an individual situation. There is always the confusion to either go left or right over it.

My upcoming novel, Breathing Two Worlds talks about balancing life between two cultures. Being mindful of decisions to make when in a certain environment. I have tried to showcase the two cultures my protagonist experiences, and via a fiction tale, I try to clear the cobwebs in her mind.

For me, my inspiration is the society that I live in. Being conscious of the problems around me, and penning it down via a fiction tale allows me to make the reader ponder over the solutions that the character in the novel tries to display thus, allowing the person who reads to take a take-home message in a subtle way.

I remember my Math’s teacher used to give importance to even the seconds in our lives. She would compare it to diamonds.

“Each second is like a diamond!” would be her Mantra and I have taken forward that quote by giving importance to my readers and their valuable time by making sure they benefit from the time spent in reading and purchasing my books!

About Ruchira Khanna

Ruchira Khanna, a biochemist turned writer, left her homeland of India to study in America, where she obtained her Master’s degree in Biochemistry from SJSU and a degree in Technical Writing from UC Berkeley.

After finishing her studies, Ruchira worked as a biochemist at a Silicon Valley startup for five years. After the birth of her son, Ruchira took a job as a technical writer, so that she could work from home. Soon, she began freelance writing work as well.

Her love of writing grew and she started working on her own books. After four years of freelancing, Ruchira published her first book, a fiction novel for adults called Choices.

Then came the children’s book The Adventures of Alex and Angelo: The Mystery of the Missing Iguana. 

Since then Ruchira has published Voyagers into the Unknown, about the quest for happiness.

In addition to writing books, she also maintains an inspirational blog of daily mantras on Blogspot, called Abracabadra. Ruchira currently resides in California with her family.

You can visit Ruchira’s website and find her on Facebook. Ruchira’s books are all available here.