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WORK TITLE: My So-Called Bollywood Life
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 5/3/1985
WEBSITE: http://www.nisha-sharma.com/
CITY:
STATE: NJ
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
RESEARCHER NOTES:
| LC control no.: | n 2018016068 |
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| LCCN Permalink: | https://lccn.loc.gov/n2018016068 |
| HEADING: | Sharma, Nisha, 1985- |
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| 005 | 20180322131940.0 |
| 008 | 180322n| azannaabn |n aaa |
| 010 | __ |a n 2018016068 |
| 040 | __ |a DLC |b eng |c DLC |e rda |
| 046 | __ |f 19850503 |
| 100 | 1_ |a Sharma, Nisha, |d 1985- |
| 670 | __ |a My so-called Bollywood life, 2018: |b ECIP title page (Nisha Sharma) |
| 670 | __ |a Email from publisher received 3/22/2018: |b Date of birth: 5/3/1985 |
PERSONAL
Born May 3, 1985.
EDUCATION:Wilkes University, M.F.A., M.A. Also holds a J.D.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author. Creative Writing teacher.
AVOCATIONS:Jane Austen, Shah Rukh Khan.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Prior to starting her writing career, Nisha attended Wilkes University, where she earned both her M.F.A. and M.A. She also holds a J.D., which helped her to launch her main career in law. She also leads creative writing courses.
Sharma wrote two other books before officially releasing her introductory novel, My So Called Bollywood Life. The book follows Winnie Mehta, a girl who seems to have had her entire life decided for her before she even had the opportunity to live it. When she was an infant, her parents took her to a priest (or pandit), who predicted that Winnie would fall in deep, true love with a man who would bestow her with silver jewelry, and with an “R” as the first letter of his name. Then Winnie met Raj and, for her parents and her alike, everything seemed to snap into place. Besides Raj, Winnie is also deeply passionate about filmmaking, and her ultimate dream is to attend New York University to study film, then move on to create Bollywood-style movies professionally. Raj happens to share this dream with Winnie—or so she initially believes.
Everything Winnie holds to be true seems to suddenly come crashing down around her after she discovers Raj has ended their relationship in order to move in on someone new. Things go even more awry for Winnie when she loses her chance to help coordinate her high school’s film festival and, as a result, her chance to catch the eye of any professionals who can help her land a spot with New York University. Yet all isn’t quite lost for Winnie. A job hunt leads her to a position at an art center, where she gains the unexpected chance to develop a new love. Booklist contributor Ilene Cooper remarked: “For some readers, this will be just the ticket to Bollywood.” In an issue of Publishers Weekly, one reviewer called the book “a satisfying story with a layer of dramatic intrigue.” A writer in Kirkus Reviews felt the book is “a delightful and humorous debut.” On the Pop Culture Beast website, JL Jamieson remarked: “Sharma writes a delightful high school love story that’s fresh and interesting.” She added: “This is a lovely installment to the genre, and one I’d recommend to anyone.” Hypable website contributor Lelanie Seyffer commented: “Nisha Sharma’s My So-Called Bollywood Life is a stunning, breathtakingly romantic, feel-good story that absolutely should make its way into your hands as soon as possible.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, April 15, 2018, Ilene Cooper, review of My So-Called Bollywood Life, p. 51.
Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2018, review of My So-Called Bollywood Life.
Publishers Weekly, March 26, 2018, review of My So-Called Bollywood Life, p. 122.
ONLINE
Book Riot, https://bookriot.com/ (May 7, 2018), Priya Sridhar, “Interview with Nisha Sharma, Author of My So-Called Bollywood Life,” author interview.
Debutante Ball, https://www.thedebutanteball.com/ (June 9, 2018), Kaitlyn Sage Patterson, “Interview with Nisha Sharma, author of My So-Called Bollywood Life,” author interview.
Hypable, https://www.hypable.com/ (May 1, 2018), Lelanie Seyffer, “‘My So-Called Bollywood Life’ by Nisha Sharma will make you swoon and squee,” review of My So-Called Bollywood Life.
Nisha Sharma website, http://www.nisha-sharma.com (July 5, 2018), author profile.
Pop Culture Beast, http://www.popculturebeast.com/ (May 15, 2018), JL Jamieson, review of My So-Called Bollywood Life.
USA Today, https://happyeverafter.usatoday.com/ (May 15, 2018), Joyce Lamb, “Interview: Nisha Sharma, author of ‘My So-Called Bollywood Life,’” author interview.
About Nisha
Nisha Sharma grew up immersed in Bollywood movies, eighties pop culture, and romance novels, so it comes as no surprise that her first YA, My So-Called Bollywood Life, features all three.
Nisha credits her father for her multiple graduate degrees, and her mother for her love of Shah Rukh Khan and Jane Austen. She lives in New Jersey with her cat Lizzie Bennett and her dog Nancey Drew. You can find her online at nisha-sharma.com or on Twitter and Instagram at @nishawrites.
Click here for Frequently Asked Questions
More About Nisha
Nisha is a first generation Indian American.
She went to Catholic schools/Jesuit prep schools which can probably explain her hatred for plaid skirts.
Nisha read Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy mysteries along with the Babysitter’s Club and had an obsession with old school WB shows. (Buffy, Felicity, Popular, Dawson’s Creek)
She started reading romance novels in the eighth grade.
Nisha went to this writer’s camp when she was sixteen and made the dramatic change to writing poetry instead of fiction.
She switched back to her first love (fiction) when she entered college, and although she could’ve been a lot further along in her writing if she stuck with fiction, poetry helped her see things from a different perspective.
She was pre-med for one year in college. Dissecting a fetal pig ended that career path quickly.
She finished her first YA book by the time she entered law school in 2007. It’s still sitting under her bed somewhere.
Her second YA is sitting next to it.
In 2008 Nisha wrote her third YA book and voila! She got an agent!
She got side tracked again with law school, graduation and bar exams.
In the process, Nisha wrote and sold two adult romance novels and a few non-fiction articles.
After graduating Hofstra Law, she started a day job in NYC and her MFA program at Wilkes University on a part time basis.
The RWA National Conference was in town in 2011, so Nisha stopped by to visit friends and ran into Antonella Iannarino from David Black Literary and within 2 weeks, she signed!
Nisha is an MA and MFA graduate of Wilkes University. Her MA Capstone sold to Crown with movie rights to Storefront Pics and Bend-it Films. Her MFA Thesis was about Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice as the blueprint for the alpha hero archetype in contemporary romance novels.
She teaches creative writing on the side, uses her J.D. during the day and writes whenever possible.
If Nisha had a Pug, she would name it Pugsley.
She does have a cat and has named it Lizzie Bennett (#LizzieBennetttheCat). Her dog is named Nancey Drew (#NanceyDrewtheDog).
#WeNeedDiverseBooks
My So-Called Bollywood Life
Ilene Cooper
Booklist.
114.16 (Apr. 15, 2018): p51. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
My So-Called Bollywood Life.
By Nisha Sharma.
May 2018. 304p. Crown, $17.99 (9780553523256); e-book (9780553523270). Gr. 7-10.
Winnie Mehta loves film, especially Bollywood movies. She's determined to get into NYU film school and is sure that fellow movie buff Raj is the guy predicted in her birth prophecy. But when Raj finds a new girlfriend, Winnie's world is turned upside down. After Raj takes over the film festival that was to be her key to NYU, she has to figure out a new way to showcase her love of movies. More unsettling, she must decide if she believes in destiny, and if so, what is hers? Sharma's debut mirrors her own passions, so there's plenty of Bollywood allusions. Even the chapter headings reference Bollywood films, which are detailed in the back matter. Those less familiar with the genre may be a little overwhelmed by the movie details that sprinkle the text. But there's lots of big-picture elements to appreciate here: a strong, winsome heroine; a solid supporting cast, including family; and a romantic triangle that rivals any Bollywood plot. And, of course, for some readers, this will be just the ticket to Bollywood.--Ilene Cooper
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Cooper, Ilene. "My So-Called Bollywood Life." Booklist, 15 Apr. 2018, p. 51. Book Review
Index Plus, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A537268170/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=7d7885ec. Accessed 19 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A537268170
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My So-Called Bollywood Life
Publishers Weekly.
265.13 (Mar. 26, 2018): p122. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
My So-Called Bollywood Life
Nisha Sharma. Crown, $17.99 (304p) ISBN 978-0-553- 52325-6
Winnie (Yaneeta) Mehta and her family are obsessed with a prophecy from an Indian priest about the New Jersey teen's romantic future. They believe she's destined to marry Raj, her longtime boyfriend and childhood friend. But over the summer, Raj hooked up with another girl, and he no longer shares her Bollywood filmmaking dreams either--even more of a betrayal to Winnie than the cheating. The fallout from their breakup is vast: not only does Winnie get pushed out from helping with the school's annual film festival, but she has to get a job to pay back Raj after a misguided, post-breakup stealing incident. Winnie's new position at a local art house puts her in the orbit of Dev, a classmate who loves the cinema as much as Winnie. Sharma's YA debut is filled with upbeat, third-person prose, and quirky, Bollywood-focused details: in recurring dreams, Winnie is visited by actor Shah Rukh Khan, who gives her life and love advice, and each chapter begins with a Bollywood movie review and rating written from Winnie's review blog. The romance that blossoms between Winnie and Dev is sweet, if predictable, creating a satisfying story with a layer of dramatic intrigue offered through Winnie's genuine concern over whether her fate is predetermined or of her own design. Ages 14-up. Agent: Antonella lannarino, David Black Literary Agency. (May)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"My So-Called Bollywood Life." Publishers Weekly, 26 Mar. 2018, p. 122. Book Review Index
Plus, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A532997251/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=b823afd6. Accessed 19 June 2018.
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Sharma, Nisha: MY SO-CALLED BOLLYWOOD LIFE
Kirkus Reviews.
(Mar. 1, 2018): From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Sharma, Nisha MY SO-CALLED BOLLYWOOD LIFE Crown (Young Adult Fiction) $17.99 5, 15 ISBN: 978-0-553-52325-6
A fresh, madcap rom-com in which a Princeton, New Jersey, high school senior, aspiring film school student, and Bollywood junkie navigates the dramas of real life.
Vaneeta "Winnie" Mehta is digging a grave for her ex-boyfriend Raj's entire film collection. She'd believed that Raj was destined to be with her; their match was fated in her janampatri (natal star chart) after all, so she was devastated to find out via social media that he was hooking up with another classmate. To add insult to injury, she's stripped of her role as school film festival chair because of an administrative snafu, and Raj has secured Bend It Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha--Winnie's idol--as the festival's guest of honor. But when Winnie reconnects with classmate and fellow film geek Dev Khanna and falls for him hard, she is forced to question all that has been prophesied: Is Raj really her destiny, and if she chooses Dev, will she be giving up her chance to live happily ever after? With the help of family and friends, Winnie navigates these ups and downs in order to find her own perfectly scripted Bollywood ending. Bollywood fans will appreciate the high-drama tropes and self-referential jokes, and newcomers will be tempted to explore the genre for themselves
A delightful and humorous debut. (Romance. 14-18)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Sharma, Nisha: MY SO-CALLED BOLLYWOOD LIFE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2018. Book
Review Index Plus, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A528959809/GPS?u=schlager& sid=GPS&xid=d1fa6037. Accessed 19 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A528959809
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Interview with Nisha Sharma, Author of MY SO CALLED BOLLYWOOD LIFE
Priya Sridhar
05-07-18
Winnie in My So-Called Bollywood Life once believed in destiny. Her pandit foretold she’d marry a man she’d know from a young age. He will have a name starting with “R,” who would give her a bracelet. Except that “man” is a boy who has cheated on her. He stopped supporting her dreams to go to New York University and study film. They have to run their school’s Bollywood film club together while broken up. The new film adviser has no faith in Winnie, and takes Raj’s side.
Winnie now doesn’t know what to do with destiny when it seems her horoscope lied. Raj also doesn’t see why cheating has to end their relationship. His new girlfriend believes that Winnie wants to steal Raj back. Maybe, however, friendship and Bollywood film can reconcile her broken heart with looking forward.
Author Nisha Sharma sat down with Book Riot to talk about her debut novel.
MY SO-CALLED BOLLYWOOD LIFE is a romantic comedy that tries to reconcile tradition with modern passions and ambitions. What inspired this novel?
I wrote MY SO-CALLED BOLLYWOOD LIFE for my MFA thesis, and at the time, I wanted to address a few misconceptions that I’d seen in books with South Asian representation. The first is that Indian parents don’t get along with their children. Although it happens, I had a really positive relationship with my parents and I wanted to highlight that in a story.
The second misconception was that all South Asian characters struggled with their identity and any South Asian book had to wrestle with identity as an “issue.” I disagree with this entirely. Although I grew up in a rural town with mostly white families, I was completely comfortable straddling the line between cultures. It came naturally to me and in MY SO-CALLED BOLLYWOOD LIFE Winnie struggles with destiny and free will, but not Indian and Western cultures as two separate entities. The last misconception lies in the term “Bollywood” itself. The title is a play on the word “Bollywood” because although it really means the Hindi language film industry, so many people use it to describe pretty much everything else.
Once I knew what I wanted to address, the rest of the story came pretty easily.
It’s interesting that Winnie’s family, which has Punjabi roots, balances the idea of destiny while also supporting Winnie to enter the Bollywood business. How do you think being American and having immigrant parents changes tradition?
Whenever this topic comes up with friends who have immigrant parents, we all tend to agree on one thing: when our parents immigrated to America, they took the traditions that were sacred at that time and preserved it here. So, even though most traditions in India have become fairly modernized and evolved, the 1970s and ’80s can still be alive and prevalent for parents raising children in the U.S.
That being said, some immigrant parents are comfortable evolving as a personal choice for themselves and for their children, so they’re more accepting of change. With Winnie, her parents were steadfast in certain beliefs, while in others, they knew Winnie wasn’t going to grow unless they adapted. As the child of immigrant parents, I think it’s a give and take: I want to support my parents in what they believe is important, but I also share with them what’s important to me. Our traditions change depending on the individual variation of family units.
Raj, Winnie’s ex, does a number of questionable things, starting with the cheating on her when they were “on break,” but he tries to make up for them in an effort to win her back, while ignoring the girl that he’s supposed to be dating. What do you think of his actions, and his own arc?
When I first wrote Raj, he was a lot more slimy. There was no questioning that he was out to take down Winnie because he felt slighted that she broke up with him. He was, unfortunately, fairly one dimensional. After I worked through multiple rounds of revisions, Raj’s personality became a little more nuanced. His intention was to make Winnie jealous because his pride was hurt, and then when he saw that she was moving on fairly quickly, he felt like he needed to take her back. However, there was another part of him that genuinely cared for her and wanted her to succeed.
I think that some of his actions really stunk, but truthfully, some ambitious people in the South Asian community can do terrible things when they want to be the best or the last man standing. That kind of competitive nature in our society can become poisonous which is why I wanted to address it through Raj.
Winnie describes Bollywood movies as delightful because they understand passions and emotion, while creating a new world. Do Bollywood films delight you for the same reason? If not, how do you feel about them as a Desi?
Of course Bollywood movies delight me! I think that with Bollywood movies, there is a bigger suspension of disbelief that audiences have to accept. There will most likely be singing and dancing involved. There will be unexplained set changes. The drama can be a bit extreme in some circumstances.
However, that’s the fun of watching a Bollywood film. You’re allowed to enjoy the cheese and the campiness and the total bad-assery that is an evil villain so evil that his theme song is legendary.
As a Desi, I embrace the cheese, but because of the sexual revolution that’s happening in India, some of the innocence is no longer seen in movies, which I miss. On the flip side, I’m also really proud of some of the work Indian filmmakers are doing to make Bollywood movies more present. There are women’s issues, LGBT issues, racism and religious persecution tackled on the big screen that didn’t get the attention they deserved.
Mr. Reece takes quite a journey from antagonist to mentor, once Winnie earns his respect. How do you think his perspective of Winnie and Raj changed over the course of the book?
I think that Mr. Reece always saw Winnie as a bit dramatic, while he saw Raj as the hard worker. It wasn’t until he got to know Winnie and understand how driven she was that he realized she was just as hard-working. His respect, I think, came from the fact that not only was she unwilling to give up, but she also used every creative measure in her toolbox to get what she wanted. I think that would earn anyone’s respect, don’t you?
What do you hope readers will glean from your work, especially as a debut?
I hope that readers are entertained by my work, and that they want to see more from me. I also hope that they build author expectations and challenge me to share with them something new and different each time I produce. I’m ready to embark on a relationship with my audience, and throughout this journey, I’m ready to tell the best stories I possibly can.
Winnie’s parents are pretty reasonable with her, all things considered, while telling her she has to pay for what she took from Raj as part of their breakup. What went into their characterization?
A lot of my parents went into Winnie’s parents. They’d be mad, they’d freak out, and they’d sit me down for the tongue lashing of my LIFE if I pulled off what Winnie did. However, there wasn’t any form of “grounding” or “punishment” in my house. If there was a “punishment,” it was to accept the consequences, and make up for my actions.
The other part of the parents’ reaction is understanding their daughter was hurt and reacted accordingly. I wanted Winnie’s parents to be seen as her greatest allies, even if they were mad at her. That was a difficult balance to achieve, but important for the story.
Do you think people can choose to ignore a destiny, especially from an astrologer? I didn’t get a horoscope done, but my mom did before she got married.
I 1000% think that people can ignore destiny. If it’s meant to be, then it’ll happen. But in my personal opinion, any astrologer telling someone that they must do certain things in order to achieve happiness may not be the best source for advice.
My family has an astrologer they periodically go to for advice, and my sister and I always crack up with some of the things he tells my family. If I believed our pandit about what he’s predicted for my love life, I would’ve been married 3 years ago on Valentine’s day, and missed being with someone as great as the person I’m with now. I wanted to invoke that humor into MY SO-CALLED BOLLYWOOD LIFE because so many South Asians consult astrologers and think differently than I do.
With that being said, I also believe determining whether destiny or free will are more important than the other is like debating whether the chicken or the egg came first. I think it’s all about perspective.
Being Indian in New Jersey seems different from being Indian in, say, Miami or in New York. Do you think different cities shape Desi communities in various ways?
I think the larger the South Asian population, the more businesses and resources available, the more likely that the South Asian community will celebrate together. However, the opposite can be true as well. I grew up in Northeast Pennsylvania before moving to New Jersey, and we had a really small South Asian community. It was a strong network of families that involved pani puri parties, Bollywood film nights, and Holi functions. We made it work with the resources we had. In the end, I think that sometimes it’s not about location, but about the people.
What upcoming projects can we expect from you?
I am writing the companion novel to MY SO-CALLED BOLLYWOOD LIFE, tentatively called RADHA’S RECIPE FOR BOLLYWOOD BEATS. The book is very different from MY SO-CALLED BOLLYWOOD LIFE because it has a bit more of a somber storyline where the characters are dealing with family, other people’s expectations, and personal aspirations. The hero is Jai, one of the secondary characters in Winnie’s story. I’m excited to share it with everyone!
Thank you so much for having me, Priya!
You’re welcome! pick up a copy of My So-Called Bollywood life, Out May 15!*
*[Ed.’s Note: Pub date corrected from May 12th to May 15th]
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Interview with Nisha Sharma, author of MY SO-CALLED BOLLYWOOD LIFE
Posted By Kaitlyn Sage Patterson on Saturday, June 9, 2018
Nisha Sharma grew up immersed in Bollywood movies, ’80s pop culture, and romance novels, so it is no surprise that her first novel, My So-Called Bollywood Life, features all three. Nisha lives in New Jersey with her cat, Lizzie Bennett, and her dog, Nancey Drew. You can find her online at nisha-sharma.com or on Twitter and Instagram at @nishawrites.
Winnie Mehta was never really convinced that Raj was her soul mate, but their love was written in the stars. Literally, a pandit predicted Winnie would find the love of her life before her eighteenth birthday, and Raj meets all the qualifications. Which is why Winnie is shocked when she returns from her summer at film camp to find her boyfriend of three years hooking up with Jenny Dickens. As a self-proclaimed Bollywood expert, Winnie knows this is not how her perfect ending is scripted.
Then there’s Dev, a fellow film geek and one of the few people Winnie can count on. Dev is smart and charming, and he challenges Winnie to look beyond her horoscope and find someone she’d pick for herself. But does falling for Dev mean giving up on her prophecy and her chance to live happily ever after? To find her perfect ending, Winnie will need a little bit of help from fate, family, and of course, a Bollywood movie star.
http://www.twitter.com/nishawrites
http://www.instagram.com/nishawrites
http://www.nisha-sharma.com
Who is one of your favorite (fictional or non-fictional) characters?
My favorite fictional character has always been Lizzie Bennet from ‘Pride and Prejudice.’ Lizzie was such a spunky character in a time when spunk was frowned upon. As a writer, I admire the way that Jane Austen crafted a character that is so easily identifiable in an era when everyone was expected to speak the same way. Ever since I read Lizzie and Darcy’s story for the first time, I’ve always aspired to create unique characters in my own books. The road to publication is twisty at best–tell us about some of your twists.
Good lord, where should I begin with this one? I knew I wanted to write professionally when I was still in college. I worked on my craft, and when I graduated, I landed my first agent who I thought believed in my stories. Unfortunately, after she signed me, I was told to revamp my book and essentially “white wash” my South Asian characters. I parted ways with that agent, something that to this day, is a scary process. However, I learned that a bad agent is worse than no agent at all. A writer needs an advocate in their corner, not an adversary.
Because I felt like my South Asian romances would never sell, I ended up writing cowboy romances through law school, and it wasn’t until I enrolled in my MFA program that I tried to write a diverse romance again. From the time I sold to publication, it took four years of editing and waiting and re-writing. This four year journey with ‘My So-Called Bollywood Life’ taught me about patience, and the need to keep honing my craft. So although the road to publication has been twisty, it’s also been educational and has helped me grow both personally and professionally.
Share one quirk you have that most people don’t know about.
I am OBSESSIVELY neat and organized.
No, you don’t understand.
Like if my knife block on my kitchen counter isn’t at the right angle, then I get twitchy, and I have to get up and fix it. My bookshelves in my house are organized in what I like to call ‘High Fidelity’ order. By period in my life, then by genre, and finally alphabetized by author. My clothes in my closet are hung by season, then by shirt sleeve length. I kid you not.
It’s a disfunction that I prefer to embrace rather than correct.
What is your advice for aspiring writers?
Finish the book. This is probably the most generic advice that everyone and their mother tells, but it’s probably the most important one out there. It certainly has a lot of meaning in my life. You cannot be a novelist if you don’t have a completed novel. Pitching your idea is one thing, but pitching your book is next level. So if you have to be uber crazy organized and break your writing up in word count, page count, writing hour goals, do it. Just finish that book.
What’s your next big thing? (new book, new project, etc.)
I’m working on my next book with Crown! In ‘My So-Called Bollywood Life’, my main character embraces culture and loves every minute of it. In ‘Radha’s Recipe for Bollywood Beats,’ culture is more of an exploration through food and dance. The process of coming up with the recipes that are included in the book, and revisiting dance which was a big period of my life, has truly been an amazing experience for me as a writer. I can’t wait to hear what readers have to say about Radha’s story.
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Kaitlyn Sage Patterson
Kaitlyn Sage Patterson grew up with her nose in a book outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. After completing her M.F.A., she moved to South Korea, where she taught English and started writing her debut novel. THE DIMINISHED will be published by HarlequinTEEN in April 2018, followed by its sequel in 2019. When she's not staring off into space and trying to untangle some particularly troublesome plot point, she can be found in her kitchen, perfecting the most difficult recipe she can find; or at the barn, where she rides and trains dressage horses; or with her husband, spoiling their sweet rescue dogs.
Book: My So-Called Bollywood Life (Nisha Sharma)
JL Jamieson05.2018Book Review, Books
My So-Called Bollywood Life
Nisha Sharma
Crown Books for Young Readers
May 15th, 2018
Winnie Mehta has a lot on her mind. The family astrologer predicted that her soulmate–whose name would begin with ‘R’–would be someone she met when she was very young, and would gift her with a silver bracelet.
Her now-ex boyfriend Raj had been in her life forever and had gifted her with a silver bracelet, but over the summer he had changed into a person that was too different from her. He no longer wanted to go to film school like her, and worse, he thought she should give up her dream to be a filmmaker and go to college for something else like him! She told him they needed a break.
She finds out once high school starts back up in the fall that he took the word ‘break’ as ‘break up’. He started seeing someone else.
Now Winnie has to deal with Raj still taking part in the film club–and trying to take the lead for the film festival away from her. She needs the event for her application to NYU’s film department, and when Raj uses the situation to convince Winnie to get back together with him–that’s the last straw.
Meanwhile, Winnie starts working at the Rose theater and reconnects with an old friend–Dev. Now she’s caught between defying the stars by being with Dev and going to film school, or being with Raj and following her destiny.
Sharma writes a delightful high school love story that’s fresh and interesting. The characters are fun, and as a reader you can’t help but recall old and favorite high school shows and movies as these characters agonize over their love lives and school dances. This is a lovely installment to the genre, and one I’d recommend to anyone.
JL Jamieson
JL Jamieson is a strange book nerd who writes technical documents by day, and book news, reviews, and other assorted opinions for you by night. She is working on her own fiction, and spends time making jewelry to sell at local conventions, as well as stalking the social media accounts of all your favorite writers.
Interview: Nisha Sharma, author of ‘My So-Called Bollywood Life’
By: Joyce Lamb | May 15, 2018 12:02 am
Nisha Sharma
Joyce: Welcome to HEA, Nisha! Please tell us a bit about your new release, My So-Called Bollywood Life.
Nisha: First, thanks so much for having me on your blog!
My So-Called Bollywood Life is YA rom-com with tons of Bollywood movie references, Bolly-love and drama-queen antics. Winnie Mehta is a Jersey girl who has her love life all planned out. She was told at a very young age that she’d end up with a guy whose name starts with an R and who gives her a silver bracelet. Her boyfriend fits the bill, so she’s shocked when he changes into someone she no longer loves. Then there is Dev Khanna, who doesn’t fit her birth chart prediction at all. Now she must decide to make her own decisions or let destiny guide her choices.
Joyce: What distracts you the most when you’re trying to write?
Nisha: I can’t write for long periods of time in a noisy location. Sometimes I have no choice because of work, so I’ve invested in noise-canceling headphones that help keep me focused. If I have my headphones, I can easily write for hours in any location, from trains, to parked cars in an empty parking lot at work, to under the covers on my phone at 3 a.m.
Joyce: Do you write by the seat of your pants, or do you carefully plot your stories?
Nisha: I am most definitely a plotter. I start off with a mind map that’s color-coded by hero and heroine. I then do pivot tables with goal, motivation, conflict statements for each character. I end with a very detailed outline by chapter in an Excel spreadsheet. I know, it sounds extreme, but the process works for me. I may not always stick with the same outline the whole way through, so when a story change happens, I go back and revise the Excel spreadsheet. Some people have told me that my method, or plotting in general, kills creativity, but I disagree. Plotting to that level of detail is part of my creative process.
Joyce: Who are three romance authors who turn you into a fangirl?
Nisha: Just three? Not three per genre? Jeesh.
Well, Nalini Singh is an auto-buy. I will read every word she writes for as long as I live. I am still such a fangirl, even now that I know her more personally.
I started reading Nora Roberts the summer after seventh grade. There is a sense of nostalgia tied to her novels because she began my adult romance obsession. I met her a few times and I was a tongue-tied idiot for every minute of the encounter.
Jenny Han. She’s a phenomenal writer and I hope one day I can tell stories that resonate with readers as much as Han’s stories resonate with me.
Joyce: Do you have a pet that hangs out with you while you’re working?
Nisha’s kitty Lizzie Bennett, not to be confused with Jane Austen’s Lizzy Bennet.
Nisha: I have two pets, a DSH cat named Lizzie Bennett (with two t’s) and an albino chihuahua named Nancey Drew. My parents call them Chutney and Cheeni around the house, because you know, they think my pets should have Indian “pet” names. Nancey Drew sleeps with her head tucked between my ankles, and Lizzie either tries to sleep on my shoulder or between my wrists in front of the keyboard. They’re both very demanding of my time, but I like them around.
Joyce: What’s your ideal scenery while you’re writing?
Nisha: My ideal scenery would be a beautiful sun room decorated by Joanna Gaines. Or maybe an ocean hut in the Maldives. I don’t really have a spot with a constant view when I write. Sometimes I can score a few hours in my library at home, but I work a lot. Most of the time, the only opportunity I have to jot down a few words is in my car or at my desk during lunch. And if I’m focused on the scenery, chances are, I’m not writing.
Joyce: What are three romance novels on your to-be-read list?
Nisha: I’m really excited to start reading Puddin’ by Julie Murphy. I loved Dumplin’ and know this one is going to be just as great.
I’m also waiting for the second book in Jennifer Armentrout’s de Vincent series, called Moonlight Seduction. I know it’s going to be amazing.
Last but not least, Ocean Light by Nalini Singh. Auto-buy!
Joyce: What are you working on now?
Nisha: I’m working on another YA romance about Bollywood dance teams and Indian cooking. My main character, Radha, used to be a classical Kathak dancer before her parents’ divorce. After she moves to New Jersey with her mother, she stops dancing professionally, and discovers a new passion for food. Jai leads the school Bollywood dance team, and needs Radha’s help to enter the school’s winter showcase. There is romance, parental drama and a big fat Indian wedding, too!
Joyce: Thanks, Nisha!
About My So-Called Bollywood Life:
The romance of Stephanie Perkins meets the quirk of Maureen Johnson, then gets a Bollywood twist in this fate-filled debut that takes the future into its own hands.
Winnie Mehta was never really convinced that Raj was her soul mate, but their love was written in the stars. Literally, a pandit predicted Winnie would find the love of her life before her eighteenth birthday, and Raj meets all the qualifications. Which is why Winnie is shocked when she returns from her summer at film camp to find her boyfriend of three years hooking up with Jenny Dickens. As a self-proclaimed Bollywood expert, Winnie knows this is not how her perfect ending is scripted.
Then there’s Dev, a fellow film geek and one of the few people Winnie can count on. Dev is smart and charming, and he challenges Winnie to look beyond her horoscope and find someone she’d pick for herself. But does falling for Dev mean giving up on her prophecy and her chance to live happily ever after? To find her perfect ending, Winnie will need a little bit of help from fate, family, and of course, a Bollywood movie star.
About Nisha
Nisha Sharma grew up immersed in Bollywood movies, eighties pop culture and romance novels, so it comes as no surprise that her first novel, My So-Called Bollywood Life, features all three. Nisha credits her father for her multiple graduate degrees and her mother for her love of Shah Rukh Khan and Jane Austen. She lives in New Jersey with her cat, Lizzie Bennett, and her dog, Nancey Drew.
Find out more at www.nisha-sharma.com.
Nisha Sharma, romantic comedy, YA, Author interviews
‘My So-Called Bollywood Life’ by Nisha Sharma will make you swoon and squee
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Nisha Sharma’s My So-Called Bollywood Life will make you aggressively swoon at least once while also making you want to add every Bollywood movie possible to your Netflix queue.
My exposure to the world of Bollywood films begins and ends with exactly one movie — Bride and Prejudice — which I absolutely love. Unfortunately, even though I know about Bollywood movies as a genre of film, and even though I’ve always thought that they’d be 100% the exact genre of film I would love, I’ve always been a little intimidated because I’ve never been quite sure where to start.
Luckily, now I have Nisha Sharma’s My So-Called Bollywood Life and its fantastic protagonist Winnie Mehta to guide my path into the wonderful world of Bollywood films.
The story centers on Winnie following her breakup with Raj, her boyfriend of three years. This throws her for a bit of a loop — more so than usual — because a pandit literally gave her a prediction that said she’d meet her soulmate before she turned 18, his name would begin with the letter ‘R’ and he’d give her a silver bracelet. And Raj checks off all these boxes — so, soulmate acquired, right?
Except apparently not, since she comes back from film camp to find out that he’s dating someone else — and to make things worse, they still have to co-run Film Club and plan the huge film festival together. Add to this Dev, an old friend and a fellow film club member who she suddenly starts to see in new light, and you have the perfect story for how Winnie Mehta’s actual life became her very own Bollywood film.
I am a long-time, proud, and (some might say rather aggressive) supporter of the rom-com genre. I watch When Harry Met Sally every New Year’s Eve, will put on Pride and Prejudice (the 2005 version) on any given rainy day and will put on You’ve Got Mail at the end of any long and trying day.
There’s just something comforting about inhabiting a world where people fall in love in outlandish ways, where grand gestures are made, shenanigans occur, dramatic events take place — but no matter what happens, you always know that it’s going to end with a big damn kiss and a happily ever after.
Which is why I love this book and the character of Winnie, both for her love of Bollywood films — which offer all traits that I so love in American-based rom-coms — and for how she navigates her own romantic entanglements.
See, Winnie and author Nisha Sharma get it. They get the appeal of these slightly silly storylines. They get why these types of films are enduringly popular. They understand what it is they have to offer, both as a genre of a film and as a lens for viewing your own struggles and triumphs.
When clearly superior romantic choice Dev gently teases Winnie for her love of Bollywood films, she very succinctly and wonderfully explains exactly what it is this genre has to offer us —
“People love the movies because of the romance, the emotion and the passion that the characters feel. It’s easy to get swept up in the magic as long as you have a flexible suspension of disbelief.”
Romance permeates every page of this book. It’s at the start of every chapter, which offers us a short review of a popular Bollywood film. It’s in the idea of destiny and soulmates and prophecies, which are so intertwined in Winnie’s story and her romantic choices thus far. It’s in the flow of the story itself, which has all of my favorite rom-com tropes, used in all the best possible ways.
Honestly, I had to put down the book a couple of times with my hand over my heart because Nisha Sharma does romance so damn well. And it’s just so wonderful every single time to read a story about marginalized communities that doesn’t center around pain or crisis, but instead allows its characters to go through the very normal trials and tears of high school romance.
Additionally what Nisha Sharma understands so well — and what you understand best if you happen to watch a lot of romantic movies — is that the best romance stories can’t just be about romance. Love and romance and relationships can’t exist in a vacuum — it isn’t realistic or healthy or even all that interesting.
Instead, the best romance stories, like the best real-life romances, are those which are less about romance and more about growth — both as an individual and as a couple. And that growth can only happen if you have complex, complicated characters who challenge one another and work through difficult situations, who have a loving support system to help facilitate that growth.
Luckily for her — and for us who are reading her story — Winnie Mehta has all that in her life, which makes reading about her journey a pure joy. She has a loving best friend, Bridget, who supports her but keeps her grounded. She has an ex that isn’t just a one-note villain, but someone with whom she has a long history and cares for outside of romance. She has a love-interest turned boyfriend who she cares about but must also learn how to support and compromise with.
Last but certainly not least, she has two fantastic parents who support her, love her unconditionally and hold her accountable.
And it’s this very last facet of the story — her parents — that really elevates the novel from being good to one of my favorite books I’ve read this year.
“Oh, don’t give me that American ‘but, Mom’ attitude. You’re Indian. You face this drama. It’s in your dhadkan, your heartbeat.”
As a child of immigrants, I always love reading YA novels that highlight the sometimes fraught with frustration, often complicated, but almost always loving relationship between immigrant parents and their children. I think these relationships are important to highlight in YA lit, and I’m so thankful every time I see a YA novel depict these experiences.
What I liked so much about this novel in particular — and what felt so refreshing to me — was just how supportive Winnie’s parents and grandmother were of her. Yes, they tried to push her towards Raj more than was necessary, and they were a little bit overbearing in that way that all parents — but particularly immigrant parents — often seem to be.
But, at the end of the day, her parents always supported her — not just in her love life, but in her personal life. Far from micromanaging or dictating her every personal and professional move, they instead gave her both the freedom and the support to pursue her own dreams and make her own decisions, even if they didn’t necessarily agree with them or like them.
It’s a relationship between immigrant parents and their children that we don’t always see depicted in media but one that we’re so desperately in need of. Because yes, many immigrant parent-child relationships are tense and difficult and that deserves to be shown — but so do the ones which feature decidedly less difficult struggles.
It’s the experience I had with my own parents, both of whom I’m sure would’ve rather seen me to go law school or med school, but cheered just as loudly when I graduated with my degree in education. It’s an experience that so many immigrant readers out there have with their own parents, and I’m glad to see it presented here so lovingly and honestly.
“I knew that one day I was going to have a daughter who would do all this so much better than I ever could.”
“How did you know?”
“I followed my heart.”
The quote above comes toward the end of the book, when Winnie asks her father if he regrets making certain decisions in his life because of other people’s influence.
His answer not only made me cry a thousand tears, it also summed up so much of what I loved about this story. It highlights, again, the unconditional love and support of Winnie’s parents — their belief in their daughter and her choices, their understanding of just what it is she’s capable of accomplishing.
It also summarizes the theme of the story and what it is Winnie needed to learn — that the endless debating of destiny and prophecy and soulmates means nothing if you don’t know how to both listen to your heart and follow where it leads you.
Nisha Sharma’s My So-Called Bollywood Life is a stunning, breathtakingly romantic, feel-good story that absolutely should make its way into your hands as soon as possible.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to watch all the Shah Rukh Khan Bollywood films I can get my hands on.
My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma is available now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local independent bookstore. Also, don’t forget to add it to your Goodreads “to read” list!
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