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‘Wear something suitable. We will be leaving at around eight,’ he said autocratically, an eyebrow raised in imperious command.
‘You can’t force me to go, or to do anything that I don’t want to,’ Meethi said pugnaciously.
She wouldn’t be browbeaten this time. She would live life on her own terms. Her time away had matured her, made her stronger, and she would not be bullied.
Veer felt as if she had struck him. She was shamelessly defying him! He looked at her in burning fury.
‘And what will you do?’ he asked dangerously, a flash of rage crossing his face.
‘You can’t guard me all the time. As soon as I find a chance I’ll run away,’ Meethi said defiantly, her eyes shooting sparks.
Her mutinous expression inflamed him further. He pulled her to him and his mouth swooped down on hers with pent-up fury and desire, silencing further protests. He wanted to punish her, kiss her senseless and douse the fire that she effortlessly ignited in him.
The touch of her lips was like ambrosia, sharpening his thirst, and his tongue swiped at her luscious lower lip, nibbling at it in tiny bites. Parched after the long absence, they drank thirstily from each other, not pausing even to breathe. He hadn’t forgotten how good she always tasted and was pleased to know that she too wasn’t immune to the inferno that blazed whenever they touched.
My editor’s letter of approval had an incendiary effect and I still have trouble catching my breath at times!
As a child I loved reading and my imagination was peopled with love stories. When I eventually sat down to write a love story I came up with a clichéd romance with wooden characters. The empathy was missing because as an Indian I found it difficult to identify deeply with a Greek hero and a British heroine.
I decided to write about Indian characters, and by the time I submitted my manuscript to my delight I found that Mills & Boon® had begun publishing Indian writers.
Harlequin Presents® has always been my favourite series, because the one truth that it holds up is that wealth, riches, lineage and beauty alone cannot ensure happiness. A human being’s quest for happiness is eternal. Everyone wants to be happy and everyone has different ideas of what can make them happy.
I write romances because I feel that love leads us to abiding joy and happiness. Love for one’s soul-mate, one’s children, parents, friends, and all those who inhabit one’s immediate world. Love which is deep and at the same time detached, because it has zero expectations. The missing piece in life’s puzzle is love, which gives a spiritual dimension to human life.
I hope, dear reader, you will enjoy reading the story of Meethi and Veer as much as I enjoyed writing it. I would love your feedback at [email protected]
Sincerely
Tanu Jain
‘And then he kissed her!’ is the line that used to run like a litany through TANU JAIN’s mind whenever she sat down to laze and relax. For years handsome hunks haunted her imagination and stunning strong-willed heroines clamoured to come out. She knew it was the effect of reading countless Mills & Boon® romances (she started in Class 8).
She tried scratching the itch and came up with the story of a strong Greek male and a suffering beauty. It was sure to be accepted, she thought naively. It was a disaster! The rejection slip opened her eyes to a few pertinent facts and her next work was written straight from the heart, with familiar local settings. Add an editor who believed in her voice and guided her—and voilà!
Strength, kindness, honesty, optimism and love were drilled into her as a child by her parents, and the first Mills & Boon® that she read made her realise that these were exactly what romance novels were about! So writing a romance novel was both emotionally and morally satisfying!
Tanu’s interests are wide-ranging. (Too wide, she feels at times!) She has done her doctorate in English Literature and occasionally teaches English language and literature.
She currently lives in Gwalior, India, with her businessman husband who, for her, epitomises the qualities of a typical Mills & Boon® hero. Her daughter and son are proud of her, but are embarrassed when she uses their names for characters in her books!
Recent titles by the same author:
HIS CAPTIVE INDIAN PRINCESS
His Runaway Royal Bride
Tanu Jain
MILLS & BOON
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To the catty girls who add so much colour,
Parul, Jaya, Priya, Rashmi, Ekta, Hemangini and Bhavana.
To the centre of my universe,
GJ.
And, last and importantly,
to an avid romance-reader and daughter of my heart,
Vasundhara.
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