Spotlight: Love the Dark Days, by Ira Mathur

love the dark days

Love the Dark Days

Love the Dark Days
by Ira Mathur
Genre: Memoir

This frank, fearless and multi-layered debut centers on a privileged but dysfunctional Indian family, with themes of empire, migration, race, and gender. The Victorian India elephant in the room in Ira Mathur’s silk-swathed memoir Love The Dark Days is in chains. By the time calypso replaces the Raj in post-colonial Trinidad, the chains are off three generations of daughters and mothers in a family in their New World exile. But they are still stuck in place and enduring insecurity and threats, seen and unseen. Set in India, England, Trinidad and a weekend in St Lucia, with Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott Love the Dark Days follows the story of a girl, Poppet, of mixed middle-class Hindu and Elite Muslim parentage from post-independent India to her family’s migration to post-colonial Trinidad. Profoundly raw, unflinching, layered, but not without threads of humour and perceived absurdity, Love the Dark Days reassembles the story of a disintegrating Empire.

Available at Peepal Tree Press, Amazon UK and Amazon US


Advance Praise

“Glorious writing full of hard-won wisdom. A transcendent memoir about extremes of love and hate, princely wealth and the rebellious, righteous poor. I loved it.” —Maggie gee

“Moving from pre-Independence India to Trinidad and London, we see the growing pains of the author, as she decodes her rela-tionships with her glamorous parents, her beautiful piano-playing authoritative grandmother and her two siblings. In a world between poverty and privilege, she is guided by Derek Walcott and Naipaul is ever-present. Ultimately, she has to find her own voice, her own truth and reconciliation. A window into a world, rich in history, that few know about. A compelling read.”—Shrabani baSu

“A blaze of a book, a Caribbean feminist memoir that examines inherited patriarchal abuse of women and societal norms brought from the Old World to the New. This exquisitely written memoir examines familial love and fateful blood ties while scrutinising, with compassion, a flawed patriarch and magus too, Derek Walcott. Mathur deftly yokes together parallel worlds, colonial India and post-colonial Trinidad. Both worlds are dark, and both worlds hurt women.” —Monique roffey

“Mathur brings alive startling episodes from her technicolour life, proving truth is not just stranger but often more compelling than fiction. There is a sense of her burning through her days, reckless, raw, passionate at times. For all that, she offers the embers of her life with a rarely found wisdom. An exquisite, compassionate, and necessary book.” —amanda Smyth

“One of the most powerful and exciting new voices in contemporary literature. Love the Dark Days is an extraordinary, multi-lay- ered memoir, drawing threads from the colonial past into a moving, contemporary story of fragile relationships. Ira Mathur is a real find.” —David Haviland

“What marvellous and heartrending crossroads multiplied during the twentieth century. Between east, west, north, and south; many kinds of ancient and untold modes of modern; from ‘man’ and ‘woman’ to vulnerable beings of imagination and heart… Over the years I have witnessed Ira Mathur navigating an all too human writer’s life, I have yearned for her to put something of her beauty, wisdom and pain into print. Here it is. Stranger and more compelling than any fantasy, here we are.”—Vahni (anthony ezekiel) Capildeo

“This brave and inspiring feminist critique of patriarchy and gender oppression has wonderful promise as a biting movie adaptation for the #MeToo era.” —Etan VleSSing, Hollywood Reporter

“I was transported by this gem of a memoir, written over even years by an award-winning, Indian-born journalist, dubbed the “Jon Snow”of Trinidad. Set in her home nation, but also in St Lucia, India and London, it’s a multi-layered ac- count of a woman growing to feminist maturity while grappling with the ongoing traumas that result from her turbulent childhood. With many memorable characters, including her formidable grandmother Burrimummy, it also features Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott, who was a mentor of her work. Monique Roffey is spot on when she calls it a “blaze of a book.”—Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller

“A compelling memoir of the binding power of love and the liberating beauty of forgiveness.” —Earl Lovelace


About the Author:

Ira Mathur is an Indian-born Trinidadian award winning multimedia journalist with degrees in Literature, Law and Journalism. She is currently the Trinidad Guardian’s longest-running columnist, and has freelanced for The Guardian (UK) and the BBC. In 2021 Mathur was longlisted for the Bath Novel Award for her unpublished novel Touching Dr Simone. In 2019 Mathur was longlisted for the Johnson and Amoy Achong Caribbean Writers Prize. In 2018 she shortlisted for the Bridport Short Story Prize, the Lorian Hemmingway (short story) and Small Axe Literary Competition. Mathur gained diplomas in creative writing at the University of East Anglia/Guardian.

Ira Mathur

Website

Spotlight & Author Interview: A Reservoir Man + Giveaway

RESERVOIR MAN TOUR BANNER
Join Us For This Tour From:  Sep 6 to Sep 26 

 

 

Book Title:  A Reservoir Man
by L.J. Ambrosio
Category: Adult Fiction (18+), 340 pages
Genre: Fictionalized Memoir
Publisher: Self-Published, Amazon
Publication Date: May 25, 2022.
Content Rating: PG-13 +M: There is a few explicit sex scenes, some mentions of sexual abuse, some bad language


Book Description:

Everywhere Michael turns he sees a Reservoir Man. Michael’s endless trials of survival include sexual assault, The Vietnam War, an arrest in Spain, Hollywood scandal, the AIDS outbreak, 9/11 and beyond.

​If only Michael could find the one thing he values most, freedom. Michael’s coming-of-age is tarnished by many but the courage to live his truth may just keep Michael one step ahead…or will he succumb to the embraces of a Reservoir Man?

Buy the Book:
Amazon
BookBub 
add to goodreads

Praise:

“This book is a dream, a gamble, a utopia, even. Or perhaps it is essential, evident, as something that can only be so. This book is a game, a risk, an elixir with magical substance, and wisdom, where silence and prayer read the imperceptible growth of the plant until its flowering, and then, until the luxuriant time of its fruits, after the freezing winter.”  Kalyan Panja, Book Critic
“Fiction that reads like an intensive biographical account, A Reservoir Man is an action-packed tale filled with recognizable metaphors. Be sure not to blink because you just might miss a pivotal moment in Michael’s rousing, larger-than-life story.” — R.C. Gibson, Indiestoday.com
“Heartfelt, engaging, and thought-provoking, author L.J. Ambrosio’s A Reservoir Man is a must-read coming of age story of 2022. The themes that the author explores, from betrayal and family to secrets and identity, become the perfect backdrop to the protagonist’s story and make the twists and turns in the narrative even more impactful. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!” — Anthony Avina, Author, Book Critic
“I applaud the author for his innovative and imaginative storyline.” — Grant Leishman, Critic, Reader’s Favorite
“Sometimes, a good book can do funny things with time. I flew through this book and in many ways it felt like it was over in the blink of an eye, but I somehow lived a whole lifetime while doing it.” — Lizzie, Critic, Elementary My Dear Book Blog
“What I particularly found novel about this work was that it had a unique approach and perspective to it. This is a hard thing to find.” — Jeyran Main, Critic, Review Tales

Author Interview:

Do you snack while writing? Favorite snack?

Yes I snack on Gummy Bears. My favorite snack, besides Gummy Bears is chex mix.

Where do you write?

In my office, it is a glass-enclosed space that overlooks my garden, a beagle is nearby.

Do you write every day?

No.

What is writing schedule?

My schedule is when I’m moved to tell my story.

Is there a specific ritualistic thing you do during your writing time?

Yeah, I get my Coffee!

In today’s tech savvy world, most writers use a computer or laptop. Have you ever written parts of your book on paper?

Yes I took continuity notes in my journal of character name changes, and a rough outline.

Do you have another profession besides writing?

Yes, representing talent and producing films.

How long have you been writing?

Not long, though in my early twenties I had a number of narrative poems published. I just discovered the pen now at my ripe old age.

Do you ever get writer’s block? What helps you overcome it?

No.

What is your next project?

A continuation of Michael’s story from “A Reservoir Man.” The title is tentatively “Reflections.”

What genre do you write and why?

Fictional memoir because I find them to be more emotional and truthful, I can share my insights with the reader.

What is the last great book you’ve read?

I don’t read anymore. I read most of the masters and learned from their insight. I had read so many books until I arrived at “Celine’s Journey To The End of The Night.” I arrived at the end of the search and a different one began. There are many good writers today but I learned their insights long ago, and other than a change of costumes, they reach the same reality, maybe in a different language.


PictureMeet the Author:

Louis J. Ambrosio ran one of the most nurturing bi-coastal talent agencies in Los Angeles and New York. He started his career as a theatrical producer, running two major regional theaters for eight seasons. Ambrosio also distinguished himself as an award-winning film producer and novelist over the course of his impressive career.

connect with the author: facebook ~ instagram ~ bookbubgoodreads



Tour Schedule:
Sep 6 – Literary Flits – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Sep 6 –
Reading is My Passion – book spotlight

Sep 7 – Splashes of Joy – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 8 – Book Corner News and Reviews – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 9 – 
Rockin’ Book Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway

Sep 9 – Books are a Blessing – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 12 – Books for Books – book spotlight
Sep 13 – The Obsessed Reader – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 13 – 
My Reading Getaway – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway

Sep 14 – Novels Alive – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 15 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Sep 16 – Amy’s Booket List – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 19 – Celticlady’s Reviews – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 20 – 
Gina Rae Mitchell – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 20 – Deborah Zenha-Adams – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway

Sep 21 – fundinmental – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Sep 21 – 
Sadie’s Spotlight – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway

Sep 22 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Sep 23 – The Phantom Paragrapher – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 26 – Stephanie Jane – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 26 – 
I’m All About Books – book spotlight / giveaway


 

 

Enter the Giveaway:

RESERVOIR MAN Book Tour Giveaway

Spotlight: Paddy’s Power, by Michael Thomas Connolly

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Paddy's Power

Paddy’s Power
by Michael Thomas Connolly
93 pages
Genre: Memoir
Out: August 11, 2022

Michael’s father Paddy raised him in a rigorous environment. He was born in 1957 in the Northern English mill town of Oldham. His father and the Catholic Church both had a significant impact on his upbringing, which affected how he behaved as a teenager.

Amazon


About the Author:

Michael Connolly is the son of an Irish immigrant who grew up in the North of England in the sixties and seventies and lives there still.

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