Blog Tour: SPOTLIGHT, REVIEW & INTERVIEW of ANDY PAULA and her LOVE'S LABOR

Love's Labor by Andy Paula

The Blurb

Piali Roy has run away from home and the two stubborn men who love her. One is her beloved Baba; a rigid traditionalist, he refuses to accept anyone from outside her caste and community. And then there is Sathya, the unsuitable outsider. He loves her truly, madly, deeply and has even called off his marriage for her sake. Neither man will budge, and the small town of Jampot, where everyone knows everything, is not big enough for the two of them.

Away from their unreasonable demands, Piali strives to find peace in the mountains. But within six months, her lover tracks her down. Once again, she betrays the one by trusting the other.

Will her labor in the name of love be in vain, or will love transcend all differences?

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My Review

Piali is a teacher who works with 12th standard students in Mussourie. She lives by herself at the accommodation close to her school. She is in charge of the centenary celebration that’s being organised at the school. In the middle of a busy day, she gets a call from Sathya, the love of her life. He has discovered her whereabouts.

From this point, the story takes you in flashback. If Sathya is the love of her life, then why are they not together? You have to read the story to find out.

I somehow feel that Piali’s character is very similar to author Andy Paula’s. It’s just an instinct. Both are teachers who love teaching English. Piali has a powerful leadership quality that also somehow tells me is a lot like the author. The President of the country visiting the school again appears to be based on Andy’s connection with Ex-President Abdul Kalam.

Apart from that, I liked the way Piali Roy has been etched. Her struggle with her parents, her father’s stubborn attitude and her mother’s silent support of her father – everything has been framed well.

I loved Sathya’s character. He is the perfect character for a romance and really came across as a hero. Lucky Piali!

One thing disappointed me, though. The end was abrupt and I was startled to see that that was it, the story was over. Quite unexpected!

All in all, a very well written, lovely story that is worth a read. Congratulations Andy Paula -  looking forward to reading more of your work!

I will go with a 4-star rating for Andy Paula's Love's Labor. 

The cover is perfect for the book and has been done by Naila Ahmed. Kudos Naila!

Meet the Creator of Love’s Labor

This is the first in my ‘Meet the Creator’ (read ‘author interview’) series. Do be kind and post your positive views.

Andy Paula is the author of Love’s Labor, a romance novella published by Indireads. It’s her debut novel and obviously a labor of love. I enjoyed reading Andy Paula’s Love’s Labor and I am happy that I got this opportunity to meet the creator of this beautiful romance. 

Sundari Venkatraman: Give a description of your novel ‘twitter’ style, in 140 characters. 

Andy Paula: #PialiRoy #SathyaNair Impossible mission-love! Domineering fathers, doting mothers. Can lovers beat odds? No Love without Labor http://www.amazon.in/dp/B00H6UARAK 

SV: Can you describe your journey from Anindita Sarkar to Andy Paula?

AP: Anindita was christened Andy by her schoolmates and assured that she would win the Pulitzer some day. Andy laughed at the idea knowing full well that good compositions in the grammar paper did not translate to a literary award. She grew up, mastered in English and picked up the red pen. As an educator, she lived out her childhood dream of teaching English. Working in various public schools of India brought her the experience, the adulation and the spondylitis.  It was when the last happened -with the heaps of notebook and exam paper corrections- that a corporate training opportunity arose. Relieved at dropping the red pen and picking the mouse, the corporate trainer went on to train the IT sector in Voice and Accent, Culture and Behavioural modules. Six years into that and UK beckoned. 

Quitting my corporate career - without batting an eyelid! – it was when I was savouring the English sounds, sight and smell that the blogging bug bit me. As my dormant muse raised its pretty head, and surprised me by keeping it raised, Indireads happened. Love’s Labor, a story untold, was waiting to be told and by now I remembered the Pulitzer ‘prediction’. So revisions, edits, give-up stages later, I finally went with the flow (read, editor) and the book saw the light of the day. Some labor, that!

SV: They say that debut novels generally verge on a lot of incidents from the author’s life. How much of Love’s Labor follows yours? 

AP: A lot. The plot, the characters, the settings, the conversations – all are real. What is not is the end. And the names. 

SV: I see that you are a corporate trainer. Do you see yourself becoming a full-time writer?  

AP: Had Love’s Labor sent me laughing to the bank, I could’ve answered this with more certainty, Sundari! Since I’m still reeling under the impact of the lack of zeroes on the paycheck, I am unable to say.  

SV: Love’s Labor was born out of the impact of a real incident in the life of someone you know. What about your next book?

AP: Love’s Labor is one real life incident; my next is many people, many lives. 

SV: Love’s Labor is a romance. Do you plan to continue writing in the same genre or…?

AP: Everyone loves a love story. So romance has a huge market that Indirom, the flagship of Indireads, decided to tap. 

For now, I don’t have a roadmap but my stories will always be about human relationships, I think. That is what fascinates me the most.  

That was a lovely conversation with Andy Paula, the creator of Love’s Labor. It was fun talking to you about your journey as a writer Andy. I hope you get a number of ‘zeroes’ in your upcoming paycheck. Looking forward to reading your next book. 

     The Book Club Presents Andy Paula's Love's Labour 

Andy Paula - slideshow

Meet the Author

Andy Paula is a corporate trainer by profession and a writer by vocation. After the innumerable essays, poems, articles, editorials, congratulations & condolence letters she wrote for herself and others refused to satiate her writer's Self, she finally put herself seriously to the task and wrote Love's Labor,a romance novella that is now on Goodreads. 

To know more about the versatile author click here.

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