PUBLISHED FICTION
Write a 6-word story, they said. I wrote: "One ticket to Earth," she whispered.
My debut fiction chapbook is now out on Amazon! It's a collection of 7 short stories.
It's called 'Hormonal House' because all 7 stories are inspired by the sights, sounds, sighs and silences of a single moody house.
These stories were born out of my isolation during the pandemic-induced lockdown between 2020 and 2022, when I spent a disproportionate amount of time locked away in my dilapidated house in Mumbai, where I grew up. As I wallowed in my inner world of literary abundance, every few months a different corner of the house would yield a new fictive character.
Each story has a different protagonist, plot and purpose, and is a universe unto itself, but all 7 stories have thematic throughlines and, together, reflect a dark, atmospheric sensibility. They belong together in mood, clime, color and creative aesthetic. My characters – Vaali, Vaara, Vaayu, Baali, Soki, Hotoli, Botoli, Gabroo, Abaka – are all alter egos of the same spirit.
These stories have been published as separate pieces in different literary magazines but this is the first time the collection has been published in its entirety.
Publisher: Alien Buddha Press.
The book is available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3sQWAag
Hormonal House - About each story:
The Pigeon Portrait: A story about ephemeral moments that have the power to stun us into creativity. But the press of ordinary life is too heavy to let these transient moments of inspiration breathe for more than a few seconds. What happens then? Nothing.
Vaara and Vaayu: These alliterative words are the first names of the protagonists of this story. In Marathi, the author’s native language, both words mean 'air'. However, the intensity varies – ‘Vaara' means 'breeze' and 'Vaayu' means 'wind'. It's a story about a woman, her beloved uncle, and a glorious act of love.
Baali’s Flight: An atmospheric account of a lady’s experience living in someone else’s house for a brief while. Though the story is limited to a single day that turns into night on the page, there are layers, stories and flights within this story. The reader is rewarded with a small twist at the end. The twist is based on an archetypal secret wish common to most humans. The objective is to make the reader own the conclusion, even if it’s for no more than a few minutes, or seconds.
Soki’s Reflections: This story is about Soki’s field of vision. Trapped indoors for 18 months, her surreal dreams at night have come to mirror the weathered house she inhabits. The story is a meditation on the jailed citizens of the recent pandemic. The author plays with the literal and metaphoric meaning of the word ‘reflections’ and condenses 18 long months into one static scene in which nothing happens.
Hotoli and Botoli: A dark, edgy story that teases the borders of horror, dystopia and the human condition.
Gabroo’s Breath: Gentle feminist fiction and an ode to the literary genius of Italo Calvino, author of Invisible Cities.
Abaka and The Intruder: A macabre tale about three entities – a beautiful woman, a determined intruder and a rickety house. The story has both a climax and an anti-climax.