Skip to main content

'If You Only Knew Me' by Divyata Rajaram ~ Spotlight


IF YOU ONLY KNEW ME
by
Divyata Rajaram



BLURB

If You Only Knew Me is a story of friendship, passion and intrigue set in Dubai, arguably one of the world’s most exciting cities to live in.

Rupali, Anjali, Dipika, Sakina and Monica are five NRI women whose lives are glitzy and exciting as they flirt with high society within the charmed social circles frequented by the Dubai expat community. Beautiful homes, designer clothes, shoes, fast cars and a lifestyle that is envied by all, there is very little these women have not attained. Together they have also woven the closest of friendships and must rely on each other to stay on top.

Appearances are deceptive, though, and often the people you think you know the best, harbor secrets too dangerous to be shared. When tragedy befalls, the investigation that follows opens an ugly box of secrets that will test their friendship and find them struggling to make sense of the madness and deception surrounding them.

Who can they really trust anymore? How far must they go in their fight for survival?

How long will their friendship last once the masks have dropped and none can pretend any longer?


Read an excerpt from the book...

Dipika’s head was swimming as she sat in Tim Horton’s, Mall of the Emirates, waiting for Rupali to join her. The only reason she had even fixed up to meet her was that she knew her mother had called up Anjali who would have informed Rupali.
“Ha … I’ve crossed over to the dark side, Ma. Too late to return home again,” she thought. The black coffee she sipped did nothing to clear the confusion in her head.
Dipika pushed her limp, dank hair out of her eyes, struggling to make sense of the menu in front of her.
That bastard was stringing her along, she knew it. All his false promises meant nothing, she thought wearily while gazing at the menu.
She looked up to find Rupali rushing over to the table.
“Dips, darling, so good to see you,” said Rupali, trying to sound upbeat and cheerful. She almost recoiled as she hugged Dipika.
The stench of body odor and some other strange pungent aroma permeated the air around her.
Dipika looked awful; her usual dark circles worse than ever, hair dank and limp, and lips cracked and blistered. She never used makeup, but this was truly the worst Rupali had ever seen her look in a long while.
“Are you okay, babe?” she asked in a soft whisper. The answer seemed apparent - she was not.
Dipika made a superhuman effort to sound and act normal.
“I haven’t been too well, Rupa. That’s what I had called mom about. Hope she didn’t worry you girls. I’m sure it’s nothing serious. I just haven’t been sleeping much lately and it’s telling on my health.”
Rupali was sure that Dipika was depressed about her father’s upcoming death anniversary.
“Listen, baby … you are going through a tough emotional phase right now. It will get better, I promise. Meanwhile, we are all there for you, okay?” She hoped she sounded more confident than she felt.
Dipika nodded listlessly. Poor Rupali, such a good friend, always looking out for her. Dipika felt a million miles away from her right now.
They finished their coffee and made their way over to a few shops. Rupali could tell Dipika was having trouble walking and put it down to her mystery illness. Psychosomatic symptoms, probably, given her bouts of depression. All she could hope for was that whatever it was, it would clear up and her friend would get back to normal.
Dior, Valentino, Lanvin; there was truly no dearth of high-end brands in the latest styles in the Dubai malls. The girls finally agreed on a stunning Chanel dress, stark and beautiful, in black and white. When Rupali tried it on with the blue turquoise earrings the shop assistant provided, she loved what she saw in the mirror. The hunt for matching shoes took them to the Shoe District where even Dipika was seemingly revived by the stunning collection of Christian Louboutin. Rupa convinced her to pick up a pair of strappy stilettos in hot pink with a gold trim.
Rupali hesitated for a few seconds before charging her card. Sometimes she felt guilty about spending Rohit’s money. However, he had always told her that appearance meant everything - sleek, sophisticated and expensive clothes were his natural choice and, now, hers as well.
Finally, exhausted with their shopping, the girls headed to the parking lot where Rupali’s driver was waiting for them. She asked him to first drop Dipika off at her apartment on Sheikh Zayed Road before heading to her own home.
On her way home, she quickly called up Anjali.

Grab your copy @


About the author


Divyata Rajaram has been living and working in Dubai for the past fifteen years. An experienced financial service professional, she is also an accomplished singer of Hindustani classical as well as western music. If You Only Knew Me is her first novel based on NRI women living in the UAE, and offers a glimpse into their lives and the challenges they face in a foreign land.

An avid reader of crime fiction, Divyata lives with her husband, their daughter and a beautiful dog in Dubai.      


                          

   This Tour is Hosted by 



We Promote So That You Can Write 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

"Pradyumna: Son of Krishna', by Usha Narayan

Name of the Book : PRADYUMNA: SON OF KRISHNA Author: Usha Narayanan The Story : ‘I see a dark future that makes me quake,’ Devarishi Narada said. ‘One of these newborns will ravage the world and erase the name of Krishna from the face of the earth.’ As the world trembles on the threshold of Kali Yuga—4,32,000 years of unprecedented evil—it waits for a saviour to rise. Meanwhile, in the dark netherland of the asuras, the meek Vama shudders as he learns that he is actually Pradyumna, the son of Krishna. And that his journey has just begun. From the asura kingdom to Dwaraka and then Kurukshetra, destiny forces him to battle monsters, angry gods and blazing weapons, and overpower his own weaknesses. Will he be able to rise to the challenge in time to save the world? Or is he the destroyer prophesied by Narada? Pradyumna is the gripping saga of the rise of this mighty, swashbuckling hero whom all of humanity awaits. My Review: I'll start this with a

'Shades Of Love' by Candy Laine ~ Spotlight

  Publisher: Candy Laine (Indie published) Publication Date:  11 May 2016 Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC Language: English Genre: Romance BLURB An anthology of short stories exploring the emotion of love in all it's aspects. The love between a mother and son, a criminal and a stranger, an army officer and his wife, painful teenage crushes, second chance romances with twists in the tale and more. Reader Reviews " These are sweet, romantic short stories (though not necessarily 'romance') similar to what you might find in Guideposts. Most of the stories are set in India. All have an uplifting feel, with wonderful imagery and a realistic cadence which will make you feel like you are visiting that country. Some of the stories have the unusual theme of romance centered around film production, something you don't see everyday. My favorite story was 'Grace's Miracle' which had a fun twist that I don't want to spoil, but you will laugh and say 'a-

Vengeance- A sting in every tale. (A WRIMO India anthology)

At the onset, I’d like to thank Neelesh Inamdar- a contributing author in the anthology, ‘Vengeance’- for giving me an opportunity to read it and review it on my blog. Confession- Not being a fan of anthologies, this was only the second one I got down to read; and I didn’t much enjoy the first. Having said that, Vengeance came as a surprise and a pleasant one at that. One of the reasons I can think of is that each story is bound around a common theme of revenge and vengeance (but then, you had already guessed that, didn’t you?) I would not be doing justice to the book, if I don’t talk about each story separately. So, here goes: 1)       ‘The beautiful ratio’, by Shweta Rao Garg : I liked her choice of words and her use of Syntax. What also stands out is her keen observation of the real life around; right from the weirdly spelled local sign boards (Manchuri rais and Oneon Garlik), to the cinematographic description of a middle class Muslim neighborhood, to the logic b