Welcome

A multicultural romance and erotic romance writer, Suleikha published her first short story in February of 2011. Her debut novella, Spice and Smoke, from Samhain Publishing, was released on April 10, 2012. As an avid reader, television addict and movie junkie, Suleikha seeks to marry her love of all things Indian with her love of all things romance!

It's My Party, And I'll Face-Palm If I Want To

Kimono. Dashiki. Kilt. Sari.

Superhero. Disco queen. Flower child. Vampire.

The first list consists of native cultural dress. You know, clothes. The second list is of costumes. You know, playing dress-up. So why, in this day and age, is a well-known publisher of erotica and erotic romance like Ellora’s Cave continuing to confuse the two?

“I really need to NOT know about Ellora's Cave's Bollywood parties,” I said on Twitter. “For the sake of my blood pressure.” The thing is, people in general need to know about these kinds of themed parties, for the sake of common sense.

Spicy Saturday: Vidya Balan

On the heels of International Women's Day, it seems only right to recognize one of the hottest ladies of modern Bollywood, Kerala-born beauty Vidya Balan. Why is she hot? Because the versatile actress is burning up the box office with films like Kahaani and The Dirty Picture, netting headlining roles and demanding paychecks on par with male stars. Able to play everything from the ingenue to the sexpot to the badass, Vidya earned her stripes on TV, doing commercials and sitcoms and music videos, before making her Bengali film debut in 2003 and her Hindi film debut with Parineeta in 2005. In just seven years, she's become an award-winning, must-have lead actress! In short, Vidya rocks.

Five Things Soaps Can Teach You About Writing

As a lifelong TV junkie and erstwhile entertainment journalist, I’ve often joked I have the “superpower” of being able to sense where a story is going. (Friends have tested this theory. Exhibit A: the pilot for The LA Complex.) That’s because even when a show is throwing in every twist imaginable, crafting unreliable narrators and casting new roles, there is a narrative flow. It’s called a story arc for a reason. There are always clues and flags—and subtle signs that sometimes even a writer doesn’t pick up on—which hint at the trajectory of a given plot. And, often, a regular soap opera viewer (or regular reader!) is eagle-eyed when it comes to spotting missteps and deviations from the natural direction. Most of what I've learned about writing a riveting tale, or enjoying one as a consumer, I gleaned from being addicted to daytime soaps!

Not the Same Old Song and Dance

What's the appeal of Bollywood men? I tackled this question in February of 2009 on LiveJournal and thought the post still has some relevance today — particularly as I now write Bollywood-themed romance.

(I really had to resist copyediting/updating this. Any mistakes and un-PC comments are exactly as they originally appeared.)