Done With Men

Author: Shuchi Singh Kalra

Published By: Indireads

Pages: 140

ISBN: 978-19-278-2632-4

About The Author:

Shuchi Singh Kalra is a writer, editor and blogger based in India. She has been writing since 2005, and has freelanced with popular magazines such as Femina.in, Good Housekeeping, Home Review, Parent & Child, Vista, Dogs & Pups, Women’s Era and Time ‘N’ Style among many others. She also writes a monthly travel column for Investors India. Shuchi is the owner of Pixie Dust Writing Studio, an editing firm that services a global clientele, and the Indian Freelance Writers Blog, which is a fast-growing resource for Indian writers.

Shuchi started dabbling in fiction only recently and her short stories have found a place in anthologies such as Love Across Borders and New Asian Writing’s upcoming collection (to be published in 2014). Done With Men is her first book. Before she took to writing, Shuchi was an Optometrist at one of India’s leading eye hospitals. People thought she was crazy to dump a seemingly good career to become a full-time writer but looking back, she believes it was the best decision she ever made. A self-confessed travel junkie, she now leads a happily nomadic life with her fauji husband and livewire toddler.

Book Blurb:

Travel journo Kairavi Krishna (Kay) has had it with men. After a series of disasters (losers, philanderers, leeches, mama’s boys and possessive psychos), she is all too tempted to give up on the prospect of ever finding love. Accompanied by her best friend and flat-mate Baani, she heads to Goa, hoping to get away with a resolve to stay clear of the male species.

Goa, however, has a host of surprises in store for her. Ricky, her pesky ex-boyfriend, is busy painting the town red with his hot new girlfriend. Now what is poor Kay to do other than overdose on vodka, smoke pot, get an outrageous tattoo and fall off the hotel balcony?

She wakes up in the hospital to the tender ministrations of Dr. Vivian D’Mello—suave and handsome. Will Kay stick to her guns or will she fall for his ridiculously sexy charms? But what’s up with the mixed signals he’s giving out?

Author Interview:

Though I wasn't that lucky to meet the Author, I certainly had the privilege to ask her some questions regarding her book through mail. Here is what she wants to share with you all !!

Me: Before I begin this Interview, let me thank you for bringing up such a wonderful book to your readers. It was really a great experience. Without wasting anymore time let me start the interview.

1. Before I ask anything else, could you enlighten us giving an insight about your book and the characters?

Shuchi: ‘Done With Men’ is all about the romantic (mis)adventures of Kairavi Krishna – serial dater and ditzy girl extraordinaire.  She is a travel writer and is urban, young and…single. After an unfortunate rash of loser boyfriends, she is pretty much done with men and ready to focus on her career. But her latest assignment, to cover Sunburn in Goa, packs more surprises than she bargained for. In the middle of partying, falling off her balcony, food allergies and ex-boyfriend encounters, Kairavi develops a hopeless crush on her dreamy doctor, but she isn’t sure if he would possibly be interested in more than her broken clavicle. And then we have Kay’s best friend Baani, Kapil (Baani’s fiancée), Ravi (Kay’s boss), Ricky (Kay’s latest ex) and the The Thought Bubble (Kay’s alter ego) to add to the mayhem.  From the entire cast of ‘Done With Men’, I love The Thought Bubble the most.

2. “Done with Men” is obviously a fictional book but do the characters have any resemblance in real life?

Shuchi: Though the characters are completely fictitious, they are 100% relatable. There is a good chance that you have someone like Kanjoos Kapil or Bindaas Baani in your friend circle. As for Kay, she is so real that she could easily be one of us. She is the quintessential modern, urban, working girl who anybody could relate to. She loves to travel and is a writer. Like any single girl her age, she is has her own wonky ideas of romance and is clumsy enough to land into trouble at the drop of a hat.  Many of her personality traits are borrowed from people I know.  

3. This is your first book, so what made you to step up into the creative world of writing.

Shuchi: DWM is my first book but I have been writing professionally for almost a decade now. I have written for several Indian and international publications and businesses, but all thus while I couldn’t ignore the strong urge to author a complete book. Every time I would go to a bookstore, I would imagine a book with my name on the cover sitting on the shelves and visualize myself signing copies for eager readers. It just took me a while to get down to doing it because I had to take a break from my freelance projects and devote all my time to this.

4. Are you a writer by ‘choice’ or by ‘chance’? 

Shuchi: A little bit of both, I guess. I have always been fond of writing since I was a kid – it was something I was good at and I would often pen down my thoughts in a personal diary. While I enjoyed it, I never thought of it as a viable career choice (I come from a generation where everyone was expected to crack IITs and PMTs).  Few people know this, but I was an Optometrist before I took to writing. I worked at a leading eye hospital in India and soon realized that peering into slit-lamps and prescribing glasses wasn’t my thing. I took up some freelance writing assignments to earn some extra money during my internship and only then did I realize the scope of it. Not surprisingly, I quit my job as soon as I could and got into it full-time. My family thought I was crazy to dump a seemingly good and lucrative career prospect to become a full-time writer. But as I look back, I believe it was the best decision I ever made.

5. How does it feel to be an Author? Tell us something about your Pre-Author life and Post-Author life?

Shuchi: It feels great, of course!  DWM has given me the confidence to write more books. It has led me to believe that if I can do it once, I can do it again. And yes, more people know me now so it feels good to have my name out there.

6. What are your favorite books and who is your favorite Author?

Shuchi: There are just too many! I have been a voracious reader since childhood and I never missed a chance to bury myself in a book. From the Bronte Sisters to Enid Blyton, and Shakespeare to Sophie Kinsella, I’ve lapped them all up. I believe that my writing style carries the influence of all the authors I have read till date.

7. Apart from writing, what are your other hobbies?

Shuchi: I love travelling and I would be on permanent vacation if I could afford it. Nowadays I’m quite heavily into gardening and baking.

8. If someday God appears in front of you and you are allowed to ask only 1 wish, what would that be?

Shuchi: A thinner me? I can manage pretty much everything on my own but I just want to know how it feels to be thin .

9. Can we expect another book of yours in near future?

Shuchi: I am working on multiple projects at the moment and I’m not sure which one will hit the shelves first. There is a sequel to DWM in the pipeline, another yet-to-be-named rom-com and a story about a small-town housewife who is struggling to find her identity.

10. There are many aspiring writers trying to get their story published, any advice for them?

Shuchi: I am just one book old so I’m not sure if I am the right person to dole out advice, but I would just say that don’t wait for the perfect moment to write that book cooking in your head. Set a routine, write a few words everyday and FINISH that first draft. Don’t waste time on fancy words and expressions when you are writing – just let the story flow. You can edit and 

pimp it up later. 

11. Lastly, any words for me and my blog???

Shuchi: I love your blog and your reviews… keep going at it!

I'm really thankful to Shuchi for taking out some time from her busy schedule and answering my questions...

My Review:

Done With Men is a book where the protagonist is a girl who had some disastrous relationships before and decides to spend her life all alone; without any partner. This was the first thing that came to my mind when I read the title. Though I may not be entirely wrong, but this book has an interesting story to tell.

The protagonist Kay is a fun, quirky and bubbly type girl who lives her life in a carefree way. She is happy with her present career, though she had sex with her boss a few months back on a trip to Goa. Not just that but she has a disastrous experience with men and relationship. When her boss asks her to attend a festival at Goa and prepare some articles, she gives no second thought but a yes. Breaking up from a relationship just a few days back, she thought this trip will witness a new beginning to her life but there she sees her -ex partying with a new hot girl. This disturbs her and she ends up on bed sleeping with a girl.

So how will her life change? Or will she just end up being Lesbian?? Who is the doctor?? What he has to do with Kay?? * The Doctor will be introduced in the later pages of the book?? What part is he has to play in Kay's life?? Well to know the story, you have to read the book.

I don’t like reading Chick-lit novels. That’s certainly not my cup of coffee. But when a friend of mine mentioned this Novella and sent a .pdf copy of it, I went through the reviews on various sites before reading the book. Well, to be honest, this was my first chick-lit and I wasn’t disappointed.

Likings: It makes you laugh.. Full credits to the Author for writing it in easy and simple language… It won’t make you bore.. Can be finished in one go.

Disliking: It’s a Novella and when you finish the book, you might crave for more.. Use of abbreviated words (You need to check the glossary to know their full forms)

My Rating: 4.5/5

(If you are searching for something to laugh, enjoy and relax, then you must pick this)

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