Rashmi Kumar, Author of STILLETTOS IN THE NEWSROOM

Stilettos in the Newsroom is the story of 28-year-old Radhika Kanetkar. From the boulevards of Pune in Western Ghats as a Sub-Editor of an English newspaper, the story meanders through the byzantine lanes of journalism as she takes her baby steps into the world of news, and takes her on to Lutyens’ Delhi. From a Sub-Editor to Features Editor, it is a journey of triumph, anguish, jealousy and of course breaking news but it is also a story that sees Radhika Kanetkar finding her true love Sameer. 

In an Interview with us recently, read about this Indian beauty and brain .

Can you tell Logos Audibles Blog (LAB) about yourself?

A: I was born in a small town of Pune in the state of Maharashtra in India. Later, I attended Jesus and Mary College, Delhi University and graduated in English Literature and then pursued a degree in journalism. Although, I am a full-time journalist, and now a full-time writer, I also volunteer with an NGO for the mentally-distressed and suicidal and dedicate most of my Saturdays for that. I have also found my calling on the radio and since I love interacting with live audience, I have been doing a weekly radio show that is aired every Thursday. When I am not pursuing these passions, I take off to pursue my other calling in life – to travel.

After developing an initial hatred for Delhi, I now love the city that throws up surprises at me every now and then, so now, I can safely say, Delhi is home. I live here with my parents and forever hungry school of gold fish that needs to be fed every now and then.

How was growing up for you and how much have you travelled?

A: I would say, growing up years for me, were both challenging and easy! So it has left me with bitter-sweet memories. During my childhood, adolescent and teenage, I was a gawky little shy girl, who grew up having no friends and play mates. My world was often circled around my mom’s kitchenette or bedroom! As to how and when I became the social queen bee, I don’t remember but I did realise (while I was growing up) that if I wanted companions to hang out with and friends for a life time, I needed to bring about certain changes within me and boy… have I stopped since then! Now people come around and ask me, “Does your list of friends ever end?” To which I turn around and smile, “You sure know nothing about me!”

Yes, I do travel a lot. I am a travel junkie and completely addicted to it. Someday, I also want to start my own travel company.

What inspired your work of art and tell us if you have previous books published?

A: I’ve been a journalist for the past eight years and this book reflects my observations in this field. I am a keen observer and a sensitive one at that. That’s quite a lethal combination if I may add. I wanted to show the readers and my (ex) bosses, colleagues, family and friends what I feel about the profession and how I see it. Secondly, much is written about other (business/corporate) sectors; and whatever has been penned about journalism is by very experienced journalists or experts of the field. Nothing is jotted down by freshers or the new-age journalists. I wanted to show things the way a young journalist like me saw and experienced them. 

Interestingly, the manuscript for Stilettos in the Newsroom is technically not the first one I wrote, but it definitely is my first official book. Some 8-9 years back, I'd completed a story but when I read it again (after many years!!) I found it extremely boring, full of flaws and totally unfit for anyone to read so I decided to dump the manuscript and work on something new, that's how Stilettos... came along. 

How long did it take you to write this particular book and get it published?

A: It took me exactly one year for the whole process to start and finish.

To what extent can you say your personality and or experience is reflected in your work?

A: Any writer’s personality is definitely reflected through his works and I wouldn’t be an aberration to it. My personality certainly shows through and so do my experiences but a large part of the book is also fictitious. I have left it on the readers to figure out what’s true and what’s not!

In three sentences, what is your message to the world through your writings?

A: Like all art forms, writing is also one of the purest forms of self-expression. Who ever has the opportunity or capability to express oneself freely should thank god for it! I am not sure if my books would ever have a life-changing impact on anyone but my writings would always reflect strength, courage and conviction to achieve whatever one truly believes in. (Sorry for going beyond three linesJ).

Which author(s) have influenced your writings so far?

A: I am actually surrounded by fiction. I am a huge fan of work of fiction and that's precisely what you'd find on my bookshelf! Gabriel Garcia Marquez has left a huge impact on me. While I have re-read Marquez's novella Memories of My Melancholy Whores over and over again, I was also fascinated by Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. Currently, I am re-reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. There is no particular reason why I have re-read these books but guess, somewhere they've connected too closely to my heart.

 Read more and see more of her pictures after the jump

Learn Igbo Now

I came across this initiative and thought I should share. My Language is now easier to learn thanks to Joan who uses Audio lessons as well as other web media to teach the Igbo language. 


Catch up details  here


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Top-earning "American Idol"

Forbes has released its annual ranking of the top-earning "American Idol" alums for the past year, and it comes as no surprise that Carrie Underwood, who recently surpassed Kelly Clarkson as the most successful Idol of all time, tops the list. (Incredibly, her $20 million tally comprises 40 percent of the ENTIRE LIST, since the others on the list made $29.8 million combined!) But there are plenty of surprises on the new Forbes list--when it comes to who's on it, and, just as interestingly, who's not.
Click here to view full list


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The Royal Demotion of Prince Andrew

Tough times for the Empire. Britain's Prince Andrew will step down from his role as the United Kingdom's trade ambassador, Buckingham Palace announced today.
"The prince is expected to announce that he will concentrate on boosting skills training and apprenticeships in Britain in future, in what is bound to be seen as a significant downgrading of his role," the Guardian reported.
The royal demotion follows the recent debut of the reality show featuring his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson on the Oprah television network. It also comes after the British government was embarrassed by unflattering descriptions of Prince Andrew's "astonishingly candid" comments bashing the French and anti-corruption investigators while on a 2008 visit to Central Asia, as described in U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks last year.

To continue

Author of the Week - Myne Whitman in another Romance

1.            Your book ‘A Love Rekindled’ has been on the radar    recently, can you tell Logos Audibles blog (LAB) about yourself?

I am a Nigerian blogger, writer and poet. I live in Seattle with my husband and write full time. I write mostly romance and love poems though recently I have been trying my pen at literary short stories. I am currently working on my next novel, also a romance. I blog at www.mynewhitmanwrites.com, I am on twitter as @Myne_Whitman and www.facebook.com/Myne.Whitman.

I was born at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu, Nigeria and I grew up in that city till my middle secondary school. I attended Ekulu Primary School, Queens School Enugu, Special Science School Agulu and Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka. I remember as a child studying a lot, reading everything I could lay my hands on, and then trying to play the rest of the time. My mother was a school teacher and my father worked for the electoral commission, so the love of reading and education came from them and from the environment of Enugu, which is a part an academic and civil service city.

This early background made me very cosmopolitan because I went to school with people from all across the country and outside. Reading a lot makes me sometimes come across as quiet but I do like a good loud debate too, having watched my father and his friends talk politics and football. In three words, I will describe myself as friendly, caring and fun-loving. I realized early on through books that it was possible to be whoever and do whatever you wanted to do. I learnt to stretch my wings even further when I first left the country. I have been a teacher, NGO consultant, banker, skate-hire attendant, and researcher and have worked for the government both in Nigeria and Scotland.

2.      What inspired your work of art and tell us if you have previous books published.

A Love Rekindled is my second book after the first titled, A Heart to Mend. It was inspired by wanting to write stories that Nigerians could relate to as themselves, and one that could get them wanting to read more.

3.      How long did it take you to write this particular book and get it published?

It took a year plus.

4.      To what extent can you say your personality and or experience is reflected in your work?

Most authors will tell you that they are embedded in their work. This is the same for me. There is a small piece of me in all my characters.

5.      Who are your publishers and how can you appraise them in relation to birthing your dream and adding value?

I am my own publisher. I use services from companies that offer them in terms of editing, printing, distribution, etc. But when it comes to the copyright of my work, and all aspects of the creativity like covers, timing, and marketing, I make all the decisions.

6.      In 3 sentences, what is your message to the world through your romance writing?

First and foremost I wanted to write a story of love and finding oneself. I also felt that there were not were not enough romance novels set in contemporary Nigeria, and that I could do something to change that. Therefore, a lot of these themes in my novels are motivated by events or stories I’ve heard or read about in real life Nigeria of the last few years. The characters and issues dealt with in the book are therefore meant to be relevant for contemporary life and relationships. Again, I have always been intrigued by the principle of unconditional love and want to more people to come on 

board.

7.      Which author(s) have influenced your writings so far?

Authors like Buchi Emecheta, Nora Roberts and Danielle Steele are role models.

8.      In what formats can we get your book? (here we mean whether print, audio, e-book, movie trailer et al)

Except for audio, my books can be found in all the other available formats. As well as paperback, the two are eBooks on Kindle, Nook, and the iBookstore. They are also mobile apps available across several platforms and app marketplaces. I also have their trailers on Youtube and other video platforms.

9.      What can you say about Logos Audibles services that help writers with editing, proofreading, transcription, subtitling etc as well our campaign to help authors produce their work in audio as well. Do you think it would encourage writing as well as the reading culture in Africa?

I think they are offering a great service. I’m of the opinion that quality stories should be made available in as many formats as possible so as to reach as many people as are interested in them.

Continue after the jump

M.K Asante, Tyrone Terrence, Peter Moutray, Chika Unigwe, Dike Chukwumerije, Jude Dibia, Nicolla Phipps, Ishaya Bako, Literary FACES that rocked Abuja's writing workshop

It was a literary storm as these icons took on young budding writers in Abuja between the 12 -16th of  July 2011 to squeeze out the literary juices from them in an engaging workshop. Hosted by a dynamic Youth NGO in Abuja, The bold and Beautiful Youth foundation, the likes of me who participated in the workshop can only recover from this event when we see our books and talks impact our 'worlds' too.


The Foundation headed by Uloma Enodien has indeed shown excellence and commitment to the Nigeria cause in our fight to build a strong and economically empowered nation.


The facilitators according to the pictures are Jude Dibia, Tyrone Terrence, Chika Unigwe, Dike Chukwumerije, Ishaya Bako, Peter Moutray, Nicolla Phipps, and (below), Prof. M.K Asante.


 More news and pictures of event coming soonest.
To find out more about the youth foundation go here www.theboldandbeautiful.org

Blogger Goes Offline With Google Gears

Ever since Google announced its Google Gears project, we’ve been waiting for Google to make its apps work offline. Last Friday, they released some code that effectively makes Blogger work on Google Gears. It’s more of a demonstration than a full-blown product release, but it points to a day soon when all of those Blogger users will be able to write posts even when they are not connected to the Web. Google Gears already works with Google Reader, and Gmail may be next






http://techcrunch.com/2007/10/22/blogger-goes-offline-with-google-gears/


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Andre Agassi Hall Of Fame Acceptance Speech Transcript

People are still buzzing about Andre Agassi’s speech Saturday when inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I. The International Tennis Hall of Fame has provided us with a transcript of the speech, pasted below, for your enjoyment. There are certainly more than a few lines to quote and memorize and live by in your everyday life. Enjoy!

Andre Agassi

“I’ve stood at this podium twice before. Once was to introduce my beautiful wife, Stephanie Graf. I was so much more comfortable that day because I felt the recipient to be far more worthy. The second time was in my father’s imagination (laughter), in his mind’s eye. From the day I was born, my father Mike saw this day in my future and described it to me many times.

So my feeling of déjà vu right now almost rivals my feeling of gratitude. Almost.

You know, not long ago I was giving a talk in my home town of Las Vegas, and after I spoke there was this answer and question period. The first hand up, first questions out of the box, was a man in the front row. You could see in this man’s face that he was really struggling with something. He took the microphone, stood up and asked, “How do you know when to stop telling your kids what to do?” The questioner was my father.

I was caught off guard that night. I didn’t know what to say. I don’t remember what I did say. But the answer has come to me now so clearly. Dad, when I was five, you told me to win Wimbledon; when I was seven, you told me to win all of the four Grand Slams; and more times that I can remember you told me to get into the Hall of Fame. And when I was 29, I don’t know if you remember this, you told me to marry Steffi Graf. Best order you ever gave me. So Dad, please don’t ever stop telling me what to do.

If we’re lucky in life, we get a handful of moments when we don’t have to wonder if we made a parent proud. We don’t have to ask them; we just know. I want to thank tennis for giving me one of those moments today. It’s one of the many things for which I need to thank this sport.

I look at Simone and the thousands of young people she represents at Agassi Prep, and I say under my breath, “thank you, tennis.” I look at my wife and my children who I live for, and I say, “thank you, tennis.” I look to the future, my efforts to build high performing charter schools in inner cities across the U.S., schools that will impact tens of thousands of Simones, and I say, “thank you, tennis, for making that possible.

To read all, click here

Okey Ndibe's 'Sexually Transmitted Degrees'

This topic posted by my friend Sanyaolu Kehinde Taiwo on Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at 3:54pm on facebook fascinated me specially because it addresses the Citadel of learning that determines the status of women and men in society; how they turn out on the job and out of job or better still whether they ever get by in society. Without meaning to over-flog issues, let me allow you to read this masterpiece as written by OKEY NDIBE. 

By Okey Ndibe

A friend of mine, a writer based in Abuja, surprised me recently when he asked if I knew what the acronym STD stood for. To underscore how ludicrous I found his question, I quickly retorted, “Of course, sexually transmitted diseases.” He guffawed – I should have noted a tinge of mischief in his tone – and then disabused me. “It stands for sexually transmitted degrees!”

This writer then went ahead to explain that the term was coined by another friend of his to account for the fact that many (too many, in fact) of Nigeria’s university and polytechnic students – mostly females, but some males as well – barter their bodies in exchange for grades. In effect, this inventive adaptation of a well known, frightening shorthand for venereal infestation seeks to sum up a disturbing social trend: students sleeping (or otherwise bribing) their way to a degree.

There are, one conjectures, multitudes of Nigerian bankers, engineers, lawyers, accountants, physicians, mass communicators, economists – to name a few – who flaunt sexually transmitted degrees, diplomas or certificates. Or degrees that were priced and bought, not earned through diligent study.

One must stress that there are many academics and students who don’t – and won’t – participate in this monumental self-debasement and degradation of education. Even so, there’s no question that those who take part, as lecturers or students, in this scandalous cheapening of education constitute a significant percentage. 

At long last, the Beckhams have a baby girl!

I'm excited for this role model couple even as they welcome 

their bundle of joy - a baby girl (little spice girl).It's a special


delight to hear about baby arrivals for celebrity couples  as it 


cushions the effect of tales of rampant divorces and parental

irresponsibilities that our  world has come to accept.

Congratulations sweeties! 

Former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham gave birth to a daughter at 7:55 a.m. Sunday morning at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. Already mom to sons Brooklyn, 12, Romeo, 8, and Cruz, 6, with husband of 12 years David Beckham, this is the first girl for the 37-year-old fashion designer.

More at  http://omg.yahoo.com/news/victoria-beckham-welcomes-a-baby-girl/66848

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Discovering ME, personality type with US Former President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Hi peeps, i was at a seminar on Friday 8 July and got this link that would assess my personality and give me my breakdown. I had to answer about a 60 questions 'objectively' and then my assessment profile was given. i recommend it for anyone. Let's keep discovering 'us' and work it to strengths to affect our world.The facilitator is Nigeria's renowned trainer Lanre Olushola. Google him and learn more.


 Click here to take the test


To read my personality profile read after the jump

Communication Coach 1 - Recovering from a Bad First Impression

Have you ever met someone new at a dinner party, networking function, or a dating event, and they rubbed you the wrong way immediately?  Something they said or did, or they way they spoke or acted, just really turned you off?   Sure, we all have had that experience.

Now let me ask you, do you think the person was truly aware of their negative vibe at the time?  Probably not right?  They probably did not try to upset you on purpose, right?  So if you didn’t tell them afterwards of their bad first impression, then they may never know how they came off, and may even think they made a good impression with you!  They may be a bit confused the next time they see you as to why you are running in the opposite direction! 

My next question is - could this be you?  Is it possible that you accidentally gave an unintended negative first impression with a new co-worker, friend of a friend, or even on a date?  Sure it is.  Now what can be done?

Here are some quick steps to take to recover from a bad first impression, assuming you were made aware of it afterwards. Read more. 

Tiger Woods' announcement this morning

If Tiger Woods is calling in his media "friends," you know something is up. That's why the news that Tiger will sit down with The Golf Channel's Kelly Tilghman on Monday morning at 11 AM ET seems a bit strange. Tiger hasn't played golf since early May at the Players Championship, and announced last week that he wouldn't be attending the British Open this week at Royal St. George's.

Details here

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21st Century Joseph now in Nigeria, Interfacing with the Author

Meet David Ropo Lawale, who left banking for consultancy and writing. He has written a series of nine books with the first in the pack published and here for you to read up. Logos Audibles Blog (LAB) caught up with him recently in Abuja and savoured the privilege of interviewing him particularly on his book '21st century Joseph'. 

This book is dangerously educating and is poised to revamp lifestyle and belief, the writer is quite imbedded in his book and it's a great adventure to have you read the first in a series that will blow your mind. Read what the author had to say

The interview

      Your book ‘The 21^st century Joseph’ has been on the radar recently, can you tell Logos Audibles blog (LAB) about yourself?

Hi. I’m David Ropo Lawale; an ex Banker who decided to step out of the banking field to follow my passion and purpose. I’m currently a Business Strategist and a Performance Enhancement Trainer. It’s been a privilege to train Banks, various organisations, schools, churches and Islamic organisations;  also handle entrepreneur conferences in and out of the country.

.      What inspired your work of art and tell us if you have any previous book(s) published.

This is currently my first book though I’ve written 9 books. This is the first released so far….. I recall being at the university and writing a school magazine titled “BEEF.” No one had dared to write a campus mag in years but I did it and your guess is right…. I got in serious trouble with my friends and students..lol.        

I was inspired to write the book 21^st century Joseph because I got tired of stories we (21^st Century people) needed to relate with in scripture which dated back thousands of years. God is called the I AM. That also means He can be anything to any generation. Remember, life is fun, our God is fun. But generally we have allowed religion (whichever one of the religions) make us boring and stereotyped.  The book is God’s heart beat to the world. It’s David’s comical way of expression, his way of inspiring, his way of teaching and also his way of entertaining.