Queen Can Fight
The mythology man, Amish, is moving from Shiva to Ram. The first of his new series, The Scion of Ishkvaku (Westland), will hit stores next week. Curiously, the trailer of the book (all blockbuster books now have them) shows Sita as a martial warrior, not some shrinking violet. “There are many versions of the Ramayana. In some, like the ancient Adbhut Ramayan, Sita Maa is portrayed as a fearsome warrior. That is how she appeared to me as well in my story,” says Amish. He will be hoping Ram too showers his blessing on this series like The Destroyer did on the Shiva Trilogy.
Rich And Limited
Academic Foundation, which has been publishing scholarly books for over 25 years, has started a new imprint, Limited Editions. These will be richly produced coffee-table books, like the one first off the press, The Ancients: Bhutan Diaries by Serena Chopra. But isn’t it already a crowded market? “Yes, it is,” says Sanu Kapila, AF’s co-director. “Our idea is bring some more substance to the coffee-table space. So the books will have an engaging narrative too, apart from great visuals.” A new imprint is always a cause to cheer.
Gray Areas
E.L. James is not yet done with Fifty Shades of Grey, the monster bestselling series on sadomasochism. She has announced a new book, Grey, which is written from the point of view of Christian Grey, the enigmatic, rich protagonist. “He is a complex character and readers have been fascinated by his desires and motivations.... Also, as anyone who has ever been in a relationship knows, there are two sides to every story,” says James.
