{"id":6401,"date":"2023-12-22T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-21T21:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/starlaarts.com\/?p=6401"},"modified":"2023-12-06T15:47:43","modified_gmt":"2023-12-06T05:17:43","slug":"guest-blog-post-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starlaarts.com\/index.php\/2023\/12\/22\/guest-blog-post-11\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Blog Post"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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All Nisha Gaikwad wants is to be left alone\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>

Betrayed by her husband, the only man she\u2019s ever loved, Nisha didn\u2019t just love and lose\u2026she shattered. And all she\u2019s left with are the shards of her broken life. A sparrow with a broken wing. Dull, drab, damaged\u2026<\/p>

Still adjusting to civilian life, ex-Lieutenant Paul Alvares wants very little from life. A stable job, good times with his friends and, above all, escape from his overbearing mother\u2019s matchmaking schemes.<\/p>

Wracked with guilt over the inadvertent role they played in Nisha\u2019s betrayal, Paul and his friend Rahul, offer her a job at their fledgling security firm. Only to discover that the so-called helpless housewife has a talent for espionage and a bloodthirsty, out-of-the-box, approach to vengeance.<\/p>

They discover that even a wounded sparrow can fly.<\/p>

Between celebrity weddings, political vendettas, and corporate scams, Nisha and Paul discover that there is more to each other than just good times and behind-the-security-scenes. But can Nisha ever forgive Paul for his role in her ex-husband\u2019s crime? Can Paul ever forgive himself for wanting his friend\u2019s wife for his own? When desire ignites on the foundation of friendship, Nisha and Paul are left with only one decision to make \u2013 Will they choose a future together or the debris of their past?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Book Link<\/strong><\/h4>

Goodreads<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Amazon Australia<\/a> |\u00a0Amazon US<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Prologue<\/strong><\/h4>

Moments. Endless moments.<\/p>

Life seemed to ebb and flow around her, a streaming consciousness that she was aware of but wasn\u2019t a part of. Would it always be like this? Would her life always be about watching not participating, breaking not healing, wondering not doing?<\/p>

\u201cNisha?\u201d<\/p>

She startled out of her dazed contemplation of the window and, outside of it, the dirty wall of the next building, at the hesitant call. Ma hovered in the doorway, her hands mangling the end of her chiffon dupatta.<\/p>

\u201cHmm?\u201d<\/p>

Ma\u2019s hands fluttered in the air like birds with a broken wing, listing and falling, with no apparent direction.<\/p>

\u201cRahul is here to see you. Aarushi\u2019s with him.\u201d<\/p>

Nisha sighed, the exhale of exhaustion seeming to come from deep within her soul. She loved Aarushi, she truly did, but her friend\u2019s open happiness scraped across Nisha\u2019s still raw, emotional wounds.<\/p>

And Nisha hated that. What kind of person resented her friend\u2019s joy? The ugliness inside her, new but there, was a constant reminder of what had happened. Would Aman\u2019s mark on her psyche ever fade or was she destined to be this tired, angry, bitter wreck for the rest of her life?<\/p>

\u201cNishu?\u201d Aarushi bounced into her room, her now fading green streaks of hair flying around her beaming face. Rahul followed behind at a more sedate pace, his posture military straight despite having left the Navy. A wave of distaste flooded her at the sight of him, at the reminder of the Navy and all that it meant to her, but she swallowed it down and looked away, looked to her friend who was literally leaking happiness from every pore.<\/p>

\u201cHow are you?\u201d Aarushi asked, dropping down on the wooden bench beside Nisha.<\/p>

\u201cGood,\u201d she replied automatically. She glanced at Rahul who was watching her with those shrewd eyes of his and returned his polite smile with a strained one of her own.<\/p>

\u201cI have some exciting news.\u201d Aarushi caught Nisha\u2019s hands in her own, her slender fingers managing a surprisingly strong grip.<\/p>

\u201cLovely,\u201d Nisha managed to say, retrieving her hand and discreetly flexing her squashed fingers.<\/p>

\u201cRahul is setting up his own private security firm.\u201d<\/p>

Oh. She glanced at Rahul. \u201cCongratulations,\u201d she offered.<\/p>

\u201cThank you,\u201d he smiled, a little stiffly but with genuine warmth. \u201cI\u2019d like to talk to you about it.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cMe?\u201d Startled, she stared at him.<\/p>

He held her glance and nodded, gesturing to the chair in front of her. \u201cMay I?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cSure.\u201d She shot her friend a bewildered look but Aarushi was busy nibbling on a block of cheese like a little rat. Aaru had developed a weird obsession with cheese in recent times. She\u2019d heard love made you do strange things but cheese cravings might be pushing the envelope on that\u2026<\/p>

\u201cNisha.\u201d Rahul\u2019s gentle voice drew her gaze back to him. She wanted to look away but the quiet strength in his eyes wouldn\u2019t let her.<\/p>

\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cI want you to come work for me.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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About the Author<\/u><\/strong><\/h4>

A published author with Harlequin India \u2013 Mills & Boon India Collection and Juggernaut, Shilpa Suraj\u2019s books have hit both the Hot New Releases and Bestseller lists on Amazon. Her next novel, tentatively titled \u2018Wrong,\u2019 has been contracted by Rupa Publications and will release later this year. She is also part of the Flipped Anthology by Harper Collins and had an audiobook book Insta Reddy release with Storytel.<\/p>

She is, amongst other things, currently working on \u2018Frazzled and Fabulous,\u2019 a humorous, true-to-life parenting story that is part memoir and part nonfiction.<\/p>

An avid reader with a passion for creative writing and storytelling saw her participating in writing competitions at school and dabbling in copy writing for an ad agency as a teenager. Twenty years in the corporate space, including a stint in Corporate Communications for Google, India, and a spell at entrepreneurship all hold her in good stead for her multiple current roles of author, mother and Head of Human Resources & Public Relations at an architecture and interior design firm.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Contact the Author<\/u><\/strong><\/h4>

Website<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Newsletter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

All Nisha Gaikwad wants is to be left alone\u2026 Betrayed by her husband, the only man she\u2019s ever loved, Nisha didn\u2019t just love and lose\u2026she shattered. And all she\u2019s left …<\/p>\n

Guest Blog Post<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starlaarts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6401"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starlaarts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starlaarts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starlaarts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starlaarts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6401"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/starlaarts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6407,"href":"https:\/\/starlaarts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6401\/revisions\/6407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starlaarts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starlaarts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starlaarts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}