Cirrus@Austlit

'Spanning over three generations, Incandescence is a book about a fallen aristocratic family set in 1970, Bangladesh. In a nuanced tale of love and betrayal, the protagonist is on an introspective journey of the self, space, and time. Mila Chowdhury, growing up in this somewhat odd and dysfunctional family, discovers life's intrinsic value. That there is a huge gap between what is and what should be. How does one overcome such limitations and shortcomings? Paradoxically, the answer lay right here, within her own odd family.'  (Publication summary)

'The Blue, Red Lyrae is a twin novella book, Offing and The Cheshire Grins. They have both been written in a stream-of-consciousness style. Either way both stories are tied like the constellations of the lyre of the deep skies. Hence, the title The Blue, Red Lyrae, meaning the colours of two of five main constellations. Blue is indicative of hot and red, indicative of cold, an existential allusion to life, dancing at the cosmic tune of a symbolic harp that Lyra stands for.'

Source : publication summary

'In 1866, Peter Baxter's misfortune ends the day he leaves Badgerys Creek orphanage. Unsure of what to do next, Peter finds himself on a farm run by Mr. Brown. An aging man, Brown needs help and is happy to give Peter a place to live in exchange for his labor. Unbeknownst to Peter, Brown's past is riddled with dark secrets tied to the same orphanage, which he has documented in a red folder.

'During a chance encounter, Peter meets Rose. Peter cannot help but fall in love with her beauty, grace, and wit but fears that his affection will go unrequited as a result of his crippling poverty. But fate changes when Peter joins the search for gold in Hill End, New South Wales. Striking it rich, he returns to Rose a wealthy man. Peter is changed by his new found affluence, heading towards the mire of greed. Will Rose regret her relationship with Peter?

'Meanwhile, Rose has her own troubled history. One that is deeply entwined with Brown's past and Peter's future.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'On a trail of relics and ruins, Snapshots is a travel diary delineating my journeys of four major continents. A travel through the ancient, the medieval, the renaissance and the modern; an historical account of these continents has been noted in this diary. Primarily, it is the palaces, the mosques, the churches, the temples and the museums; however, heritage forests and sea beaches have also found their ways into this diary. People's views and perceptions, which they have enthusiastically shared with me, a stream of consciousness technique has been applied in presenting a few segments in order to exhibit my internal monologue. With my rendering, these accounts have been compiled as chronicles of a motley collection. On rare occasion, culinary descriptions have been jotted. Time is of the essence. And on a timeline of this journey, specific dates have been drawn. As great distances have been covered, it has taken a long time for this travelogue to evolve. Dynamic in its own right, at the end of each traverse, another began anew and recorded here. My journey begins in Europe, then to North America, Australia and ends in the sub-continent.' (Publication summary)

'Following the stream of consciousness technique and embedded in dream allegory, Moirae depicts human predicament exploring notions of fate and religion. Taken from a fantasy land on a planet with two moons, called the Lost Winds, this story is about human oppression under a tyrannical regime which calls itself democratic. Much like our planet earth, people flee to seek protection in a place called Draviland, a long way away from the Lost Winds. Dramas pertaining to such human conditions often appear in the main character's lucid dreams and knitted in pink honeycomb pattern. This metaphor is used to construe self organized behavior among men, herding as they try to escape from persecution.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Set in Canada, Of Note is a poignant story of a refugee on the coast of Nova Scotia. Separated from his sole family, his biological daughter, he is reunited with her years later only to be separated again by an awful twist of fate.

Set in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Melodies Passé is a reflection of an era that witnesses economic transition. It marks a departure from an enchanted tradition as it moves into a cold world of money and materialism.

Set in Paris, France, The Black Coat is a story of an artist's vision. His relationship with this vision inspires him and holds him in a tight emotional knot. It reflects a total dedication for art and his subject to the point that the artist losses himself totally.

Set in Sydney, Australia, Eye-opener is a psychological drama of deception between two friends who fall out because of a bizarre chain of event, leading to a turning point in their relationship.

Set in Brisbane, Australia, Charade is a hilarious story about three pretentious coffee mates, who construct a facade of lies to deceive one another. They continuously prod each other and it leads to undesirable consequences, revealing intrinsic predicaments such as fear, jealousy and egocentricity.

Set in Granada, Spain, The Wager is an allegory. It deals with the innate nature of evil and how it perpetuates the guile in the human society by coexisting eternally. Disguised in many forms and shapes, evil is portrayed in the form of a traditional belief, in which people seek revenge through blood money. Tradition and evil seem to be revisited across generations.