My meeting with Lawrence Hill, the guest of honour at the Bob Edwards Luncheon.

I attended the Bob Edwards Luncheon on November 10, 2010. Aside from the food being fabulous and my meeting with Lawrence Hill, author of Book of Negroes, I was absolutely thrilled to meet Aritha Van Herk. Feeling a little out of place at the party, it was a pleasure when she approached and introduced herself and shook my hand. There was an underlying "welcome to the world of writers" in her approach. Thank Goodness. It made me feel a little less nervous at the party.

Loading a picture of Lawrence Hill signing my book after the luncheon.

An Interview Published in THE DAILY TOWNSMAN, Cranbrook's leading newspaper

Thank you to Bonnie Bryan for a superb interview.

"She has been praised for the characters she creates and the story features a multicultural cast that deals with issues of racism, sexuality and every day issues that come up in life."

To read full interview, follow link enclosed in the header.

A Review in SAWNET by Uma Parameswaran

A review -- "Khelawan's sense of humour is evident throughout, especially in small vignettes such as the scene in which Ravi's cousin Seema tells Reshma about her imagined sexual adventures, freely quoting from a romance novel, 'He swept me into his strong arms..wrapping my strong lean thighs against his hard sweaty back'."

I am grateful to Uma Parameswaran for publishing an online review of my debut novel in SAWNET. This is my second professional review. The first one was published in THE VOICE MAGAZINE in Feb 2010 issue.

To read review, click the header and follow link.

Yes! I Have Been Invited To The Annual Bob Edwards Awards Luncheon (2010) As A Guest Author.

I am very excited and honoured to be invited to Bob Edwards Awards luncheon as a guest author (November 10, 2010). Lawrence Hill, the author of "Book of Negroes" is the guest of honour. Some past recipients include George Stroumboulopoulos (2008), Rick Mercer (2004), Rex Murphy (2002), Guy Vanderhaeghe (2000), Carol Shields(1998), Margaret Atwood (1985), and W.O. Mitchell (1978) among other notable individuals. For more information on this event, click on the title of this blog and follow link to Alberta Theatre Projects Website.

BOOK SIGNING in CRANBROOK, BRITISH COLUMBIA

I will be heading to Cranbrook, British Columbia to promote my book at COLES BOOKSTORE.

Date: August 14, Saturday (2010)
Time: Noon to 4 pm

Hope to see you all there.

"New book set in Elkford" Article in THE VALLEY (June 4, 2010)

THe "Free Press" article was re published in "The Valley" newspaper. Click on the header to follow link. Article appears on Page 4.

Canadian Immigrant Ezine

Here's another article introducing me as an emerging writer! I love the small piece on Elkford.

"Set in Elkford, British Columbia, Canada. (Elkford is a picturesque Rocky Mountain town founded in 1971 as a home for miners working at newly-established Fording Coal operations. From its early days as a collection of temporary homes, a one-room school, and a single general store, Elkford has grown to its current population of nearly 3,000 residents.)"

THE FREE PRESS article featuring my novel "The End of the Dark and Stormy Night."

Yes! My debut novel was in the news again. This time in a British Columbia Newspaper. To read, click on the header of the title. "New book set to cause a stir A fictional book by a writer who lived in Elkford for two years as a teenager, is casting the town in a new light with a tale of religious conflict, adultery and homosexuality..."

Just a correction to an error in the article - I live with my dog, not a cat and the last time I visited Elkford was when I was 21, not 16, as the article states! :D

My Novel selected for discussion at a Book Club

I am very thrilled to be appearing as guest of honour at a Calgary Book Club that has selected my novel The End of the Dark and Stormy Night as a discussion piece. This is certainly a new experience for me. And I am looking forward to it. This event will take place next Wednesday, June 9, at a local Indian restaurant.

Meeting with Yann Martel

Location: Calgary
Date: April 28, 2010

What he wrote to me: "May the Pacific be the ink of your pen. Write until you've understood the light." Hm. Thoughtful!

Book Signing at Chapters Spectrum by Sundridge Mall, Calgary, NE

Location: Chapters Spectrum, Calgary, Alberta
Time: 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Date: 27 February, 2010

Come meet the author!

My very first official book review!!

"To Khelawan’s credit, she imbues these characters with refreshing honesty. They’re colourful, multifaceted, and at times outrageously funny. Mrs. Anand may be a racist, controlling mother, but when she gets her hands on Mr. Anand (fed Viagra in the guise of a diabetes cure), the earthy sex scene reveals her as an emotionally complex woman with much more depth than simply a stock character."
The Voice Magazine To read full review, click on the header of this blog.

A Note About Inspiration.

Mohit Rajhan of Bollywood Blvd Show posed the question that most interviewers ask me often: "What inspired you to write this novel?" I seldom know how to accurately answer this particular question: What inspired me to write this novel the way I did? Did Garcia influence me in any way as I was in the midst of reading "One Hundred Years of Solitude" while working on completing this novel? Or was it just that one of my friend's challenged me to never start a novel by the phrase "it was a dark and stormy night..." as no one would then take me seriously as a writer -- which of course I decided to challenge in that very instant -- and began my novel with exactly that phrase. This question has always stumped me! Then I was reading "The White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga and it included the topics for discussion and interview with the author himself at the end of the book. He also discussed this question -- where did the inspiration for the main character come from? After reading his answer, I finally had mine. What inspired me to write this novel, among other reasons...Well, I see "blindness" all around me. Everyone of us live in some form of denial or assert our right to be "right." This blindness is a part of all of us. This is a character flaw yet also an essential survival tool for many of us. It's good and bad at the same time. Perhaps, this is what has mostly inspired me to write "The End of the Dark and Stormy Night" the way that I did.

Interview with Bollywood Blvd.

I recently travelled to Toronto to promote my novel "The End of the Dark and Stormy Night." I was interviewed by Mohit Rajhan on Bollywood Blvd Show. This was my first live interview -- a bit terrifying. However, it turned out well in the end. I guess it helps being in the hands of a very good interviewer!

The interview aired on Channel 4 (OMNI) nationally at 3 pm and 9 pm on January 31, 2010.

An Interesting Birthday Tale -- Strangely True.

Here's a birthday tale that is strangely true.

I recently celebrated my 36th birthday on January 24. I have always treasured this day as this is also the day my father was born. Years later, my daughter was born on January 23. I always told her that she missed her grandfather's and my birthday by a day -- if only she was born a day later!

A few years back, my daughter and I went to visit Fiji Islands, my birthplace. On the way back to Canada, while on the plane, my daughter says, "Mom, I do share yours and Nana's (grandpa's) birth date. Nana (Grandpa) and you were born on January 24, in Fiji Islands, whereas I was born on January 23rd, in Canada. For me to share your birth day, I had to be born on January 23rd."

Of course, she was right. The beauty of timezones. January 23rd in Canada is in actuality January 24th in Fiji. Moral of the story -- I suppose the universe knows what it is doing every step of the way. It is just us who fail to see the several connections. Ha!