Winners and importance of gifting books

As part of spreading the word around about Cult of Chaos and Anantya Tantrist, I’ve been hosting giveaways of the book at various spaces, online and offline. As a result of buying copies of my own book to giveaway to a few people I know or do not know, I’ve realised how important it is to gift books. Till now, I didn’t gift many books as I always thought of books as a personal choice, much more personal than the crockery in your cupboard or even the spectacles you wear. It’s something that each person or kid should pick up on their own (except for me and my brother who always gift each other books on rakhi, the only time we exchange gifts). So I ended up giving something banal, like chocolates. However, gifting is actually a lovely way to explore new authors and adventures that you would never have started on if you hadn’t got a copy. And it also encourages the industry. So from now on, if you call me on a birthday or a party, expect a book. No more flowers/chocolates.

And now for a bit of announcements on winners of various contests.

Over at HarperCollins webpage

These are the two questions we asked. (Answers at the end of the post)

10968449_847387665306916_6661982320308517234_n

10968449_847387665306916_6661982320308517234_n

Winners:

Krishna B, Coimbatore

Aastha Jain, Delhi

Over at author Kiran Manral’s website

Kiran was superbly helpful and did a detailed interview and then a contest. (details)

Aditya Anand, Jaipur

At  The MJ Show

The amazing Mihir Joshi had a Twitter chat and then declared winners in his Youtube show which covers fabulous inde-musicians

Abhishek Prusty, Cuttack

So glad that Anantya will be shipped to all these lovely people and cities. Congratulations all of you! Hope you enjoy the book 🙂

=============

Didn’t participate? It’s not to late. One contest and one giveaway is still on!

Contest on superstitions

At author Sharath Komarraju’s website.

Giveaway at Goodreads

And if you’re too lazy to write, just apply for this giveaway at Goodreads. And hope you’ll win the copy!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Cult of Chaos by Shweta Taneja

Cult of Chaos

by Shweta Taneja

Giveaway ends March 10, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

(Answers to Harper Collins contest: Answer 1: True Detective. Answer 2: Ouija board. Could you guess?)

 

 

Giveaway: Tell me a superstition; get Anantya

Sharath Komarraju is a pal who’s written a guest post for my blog, helped me so many times online with advice and also come to my book launch. He’s a fabulous writer and runs contests with freebies on his website regularly. His Contest Number 13th had to have a Cult of Chaos connection, considering the book is all about occult and folklore. So we’re doing a giveaway at his blog.

This is what he wants you to do.

========

OPEN for entries. Last date for submission: 24th February, 2015

Hello, all! Contest 13 is upon us, and in keeping with the theme of the number, this time we’ll write about superstitions.

Before we get to the topic, though, I have an announcement to make about our contests. We’re soon moving from a fortnightly schedule to a monthly schedule. So the contest will stay open for longer, which means we’ll hopefully get more and better entries. The prize, which has been stuck at 500 rupees for a while now, will be doubled to 1000 rupees.

I’m doing this because I want to run monthly giveaways as well, on the 15th-to-15th cycle, where people will get a chance to win various prizes in return for insignificant acts such as leaving comments. If all of this doesn’t make sense, don’t worry. As a follower of the blog, nothing much will change, except a few timelines here and there which you will get used to soon enough.

TOPIC

Since we’re on Contest 13, it will be almost criminal of us if we did not write about fears and superstitions. As you know, the number 13 has always had an ominous significance in the world of the supernatural. It is not so much an Indian motif, but let’s use it as an excuse to ruminate upon the other-worldly anyway.

Why? Because it’s fun! All right, so this time, the topic to write on is:

What is your pet superstition?

IMG_20141031_121020

======

Head to his website, where he suggests ideas, links of superstitions and ways for you to participate in the contest. All answers should be posted as comments on HIS blog, before the end of this month. So what is your superstition?

 

Free books at Goodreads

I am giving away free author-signed copies of The Ghost Hunters of Kurseong! To participate, all you got to do is sign in with a Goodreads account and click.

goodreads_f

 

It’s that simple really. And Goodreads is a beautiful place to meet people who love books and find new books for yourself! Connect with me on Goodreads! 🙂 Click below to reach the Giveaway. May the most curious win. (oh, and the giveaway is on for a month! That gives enough time for even the laziest of people to participate)

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Ghost Hunters of Kurseong by Shweta Taneja

The Ghost Hunters of Kurseong

by Shweta Taneja

Giveaway ends August 28, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

What does the Iyer ghost look like?

Is it a kite? Does it look like a pretty handkerchief or a old Nokia phone? Does it have five hands or three feet? Does it wear striped yellow socks, have a pot belly or does it have long, flowing red hair which smell like a running gutter? What does the Iyer ghost look like?

Participate in this contest by Hachette India and win something that I consider the best gift ever: More books!

All you need to do is buy my book The Ghost Hunters of Kurseong

Ghost Hunting contest

 

Check out entries for the contest on the Hachette India Children page

To read reviews, synopsis and even peek inside The Ghost Hunters of Kurseong, head to this page here.

Unfortunately, as you can read in the conditions, only kids can participate, so if you land here and read till the end, please share this contest with your children, nephews/nieces, grandkids and neighbours.