My books – The Devil in Us (short stories) and A Life of Spice (food essays) are both on sale for $0.99 (for the ebooks) for the holidays! I hope you will help me spread the message!!
Both books can be found on Amazon, iBooks, BN, Kobo and other outlets.
Order now – $0.99 only – A Life of Spice
In A Life of Spice celebrated writer Monica Bhide explores her romance with food. As in any romance, there are moments of great heartache and unbelievable happiness; betrayals and breakups; and, of course, intimacy. The essays in this book show how food affects all the areas of our lives: family, friends, love, culture, faith, and more. They capture the delights of cooking as wooing and of food as nurturer, and the sadness of the heartbreak kitchen. This collection of powerful and thought-provoking vignettes makes us examine our relationship with food deeply—and what food really means to us. A Life of Spice gives readers a front-row view—and deliciously stolen peeks behind the curtain—into those choice moments that define a lifetime.
Celebrating the powerful memories of food that bind us all together, A Life of Spice features essays that first appeared on Monica’s blog and in national and international publications, as well as new, never-before-read tales of family and food.
Praise for A Life of Spice
“Monica writes stories about food, but often they are really stories about searching. She looks for what the world will reveal if you ask questions of the things we usually keep silent. She’s a generous writer, seeking the finer, richer sides of us.” — Francis Lam, editor-at-large, Clarkson Potter, and New York Times Magazine columnist
“Monica Bhide is more than a food writer. She’s a chronicler of culture and family history. She is a romantic for the bond between parent and child. She is an essayist of her own heart and mind, fearlessly searching for the truth in both. She is endlessly fascinating to read.” — Tim Carman, James Beard Award–winning food writer for The Washington Post
“Monica’s stories take us on a journey through time, across continents and cultures. With her we fast and feast for love, we share the wonder of fairy tales with a child, we feel the longing for a lost homeland, we delight in culinary discoveries, and we find our own identity in a new land. Throughout Monica reminds us that the essence of food is love—love for our family, our history, our humanity.” — Elise Bauer, Creator of SimplyRecipes.com
***** ORDER NOW – 0.99 cents ONLY — The Devil in Us *****
The Devil in Us is a collection of stories about how your life can change in a second. There is a story of an addicted poet trying hard to find solace, a magical woman who can capture a dying breath, a widower learning to grieve. The stories all beg one question: what would you do?
It is with great pleasure that I share some of the endorsements that this book has already received:
“Monica Bhide’s short story collection isn’t impressive because it’s a first-timer’s effort—it’s impressive, period. The stories, each filled with strong, feisty characters and exquisite details of people, places, and things, will keep you riveted. There are plenty of Indian Americans writing novels these days, but far too few writing short stories and even fewer writing stories of this caliber.” — Sree Sreenivasan, co-founder of the South Asian Journalists Association and Chief Digital Officer at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
“This book and its characters will haunt you long after you finish reading it.” — Kathleen Flinn, author of the New York Times bestseller The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry
“Monica Bhide’s shimmering short stories travel from Maryland to Mumbai and back again, effortlessly introducing us to soldiers and shape-shifters, hijras and housewives. With insightful grace, she illuminates the ordinary miracles and tragedies of suburban American life, intertwined with an India equally intimate and spectacular. Full of rich, delicate details and searing character portraits, these remarkable stories remind us of the demons we carry inside us on all of our journeys.” Annia Ciezadlo, author of Day of Honey: A Memoir of Food, Love, and War
“Monica Bhide’s excellent collection will transport you to unexpected places, moving you between America and India, hospitals, college campuses, ancient temples, a devastated train station. You will be entranced by the wide spectrum of characters she has created–a newlywed doctor learning to love his wife, a cancer survivor hoping for a second chance, a dying old man filled with hate, a transsexual who adopts a young orphan. Filled with surprises and heart, this book will pull you in and not let you go.” Chitra Divakaruni, author of Oleander Girl and Mistress of Spices
“Monica Bhide’s wonderful, internationally-flavored collection is full of spice and life. The beguiling voice of a true storyteller will lure you out of your self into her intriguing, fictional world. Enjoy!” Diana Abu-Jaber, author of Crescent and Bird of Paradise