Oswald Pereira

I may sound like a school kid. But I was thrilled to be featured as Red Room Rising Star this week. I didn't expect this to happen so soon after I joined Red Room. I know, I know, there are many others who have been featured as rising stars. But this is indeed special for me ... back home in India, especially. You know we Indians haven't really cured our colonial hangover. Everything that is 'phoren' -- our version for foreign -- is regarded with great awe. So this tag of Red Room Rising Star may make people back home believe that I'm actually quite famous. I've already attracted 'wows' from friends and envy from foes.

 Now I hope some agent or publisher falls for this Rising Star 'honour' and picks up my second unpublished novel, Revenge of the Naked Princess. I would like to slip in a sentence about the book here: The novel captures the dark age of forced religious conversions in India in the 16th century; it's the first Indian novel on forced conversions ... or so I've reason to believe. I must confess that I've been flooded -- not with offers -- but rejection letters. Some of these 'form' letters are quite hilarious, in their language and style. It makes we wonder whether these guys are in the publishing business. One of these days, I have a mind to write 'abcdefg' and send it to an agent or publisher. I won't be surprised if I get that famous rejection letter, saying that my work is interesting and well-written but it doesn't fit into their list. Sorry, sorry, if I've offended any agent or publisher, we poor, so-called writers got to survive in this writing world ruled by publishers and agents.

But I've a feeling that publishers and agents may not much care what we 'authors' say. It's like a David taking on a Goliath ... many Goliaths, in fact, who have shooed me away.  In that story David won. In real life, David continues to be that small, losing guy.

Don't want to end on such a pessimistic note. So I would say cheers to myself for being chosen Red Room Rising Star and sound like a drunk adult instead of a growing boy.