More About the Book
Lena Sharma is a successful San Francisco restaurateur. An immigrant, she’s cultivated an image of conservatism and tradition in her close-knit Indian community. But when Lena's carefully constructed world begins to crumble, her ties to her daughter, Maya, and son, Sameer—raised in thoroughly modern California—slip further away.
Maya, divorced once, becomes engaged to a man twelve years her junior: Veer Kapoor, the son of Lena’s longtime friend. Immediately, Maya feels her mother's disgrace and the judgment of an insular society she was born into but never chose, while Lena’s cherished friendship frays. Meanwhile, Maya's younger brother, Sameer, struggles with an addiction that reaches a devastating and very public turning point, upending his already tenuous future.
As the mother, daughter, and son are compromised by tragedy, secrets, and misconceptions, they each must determine what it will take to rebuild their bonds and salvage what’s left of their family.
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (August 1, 2022)
ISBN-10: 1542037751
ISBN-13: 978-1542037754
ASIN: B09KLJTJJ2
Print Length: 335 pages
Purchase a copy on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Bookshop.org. Make sure you also add it to your GoodReads reading list.
About the Author, Anoop Judge
2015 Beverly Hills Book Award, The Awakening of Meena Rawat, an excerpt of which was nominated for the 2019 Pushcart Prize, No Ordinary Thursday, and Mercy and Grace.
Her essays and short stories have appeared in Green Hills Literary Lantern, Rigorous Journal, Lumiere Review, DoubleBack Review, and the Ornament anthology, among others.
Anoop calls herself a “recovering litigator”—she worked in state and federal courts for many years before she replaced legal briefs with fictional tales. She holds an MFA from St. Mary’s College of California and was the recipient of the 2021 Advisory Board Award and the 2023 Alumni Scholarship.
She lives in Pleasanton, California, with her husband, and is the mother of two admirable young adults.
You can find her online at:
Website: https://anoopjudge.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/judgeanoop/
--- Interview by Jodi Webb
WOW: Welcome back to WOW Blog Tours! We had so much fun with your first tour for Mercy and Grace. You have four published novels and another on the way. What made you choose No Ordinary Thursday for your second blog tour?
ANOOP: I loved how the Wow book team represented my latest published novel, Mercy and Grace—the questions the bloggers asked me were astute and insightful, and I enjoyed getting feedback from the bloggers about the book. I wanted to repeat the experience with my previously published novel No Ordinary Thursday.
WOW: I’m so glad because your books are on my TBR list. While reading No Ordinary Thursday, I noticed that the women mentioned a pivotal moment in their friendship that happened during a card game. That got me thinking about your novel The Rummy Game. Do the characters in No Ordinary Thursday and The Rummy Game crossover?
ANOOP: Yes, you are right, these are crossover characters from my first book The Rummy Club. When I first began writing No Ordinary Thursday I thought it would be a sequel to The Rummy Club, and that’s why you have the scene where the women are playing the card game—rummy—which originated from my first novel. Ultimately, I abandoned the idea of a sequel but decided to let the names stay the same as a fun fact. How astute of you to get that!
WOW: Fascinating, a great example of how writers have to be open to changes in the plan mid-writing. Another thing that stayed with me from No Ordinary Thursday was one section that was so frightening and realistic it gave me shivers. I don’t want to publish a spoiler so we’ll leave it at that. How do you make the events in your books so real?
ANOOP: The idea for this book actually came from a real-life story. I read about a young man, who left a young girl to die in a car that caught on fire because he was driving drunk, in the ethnic newspaper India West. That got me thinking as to how a sheltered, protected young man coming from a conservative South Asian background could behave like a criminal. I decided to make him part of a shattered family and a secret that led to alcohol poisoning for fifteen years and that’s how I came up with the character of Sameer.
This is a very good question because, although I have not experienced any of these things personally, there is always YouTube videos to consider when you want to research your character. I also wanted to give the novel The Night Of vibes which is a drama miniseries (aired on HBO in 2016) that stayed with me for a long time after I watched it.
WOW: Oh no, now I have another series to add to my streaming list. Where will I find the time? But my schedule challenges are nothing compared to yours. Writing a novel, promoting another, teaching a class on novel writing. Not to mention a family wedding! How do you fit it all in?
ANOOP: Thank you for finding out a little about me. Yes, I like to stay busy. Born to a professional family in New Delhi I was raised on the mantra of “Study hard. Get a job. Be financially independent. Get married.” In that order. I love attending Indian weddings but I also love writing, and teaching. As I grow older, I focus on the things that matter to me instead of cynicism, petty gossip, excessive criticism, and demands of any nature that drain me emotionally. I love this quote from Meryl Streep:
“I no longer have patience for certain things, not because I've become arrogant, but simply because I reached a point in my life where I do not want to waste more time with what displeases me or hurts me . . . I no longer spend a single minute on those who lie or want to manipulate. I decided not to coexist anymore with pretense, hypocrisy, dishonesty, and cheap praise. I do not tolerate selective erudition nor academic arrogance. I do not adjust either to popular gossiping. I hate conflict and comparisons. I believe in a world of opposites and that's why I avoid people with rigid and inflexible personalities. In friendship, I dislike the lack of loyalty and betrayal. I do not get along with those who do not know how to give a compliment or a word of encouragement.”
WOW: Marvelous, we should all keep that in mind. Can you tell us a little about how you became involved in mentoring and teaching other writers?
ANOOP: To write a novel and to be successfully published, takes not just one person, but a village. I have been lucky to be helped by many other writers, including my writing coach from my Amherst writing classes and various writing friends that I met along the way while attending writing retreats. Now that I know the tricks of the trade I want to help all kinds of emerging writers, young and old to make sure their stories find a place in the world.
WOW: I’m sure your students have so much to learn from you. Can you tell us a little about being a writing teacher?
ANOOP: Teachers and students of creative writing have a symbiotic relationship. Almost all authors teach because we learn so much from our students. Students bring a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints to the classroom, which broadens my understanding and challenges my preconceptions. Additionally, fresh and unfiltered creativity from students often introduces me to new narrative techniques, unique story structures, and original thematic explorations. Likewise, observing students navigate challenges and overcome writing blocks demonstrates the importance of perseverance and flexibility in the creative process.
Another takeaway is feedback and reflection. Engaging with student feedback on my teaching methods helps me refine my approach and adapt to meet their learning needs more effectively. And of course, the enthusiasm and passion students exhibit for storytelling reinvigorate my own love for writing and remind me of the joy and excitement that originally drew me to writing.
Overall, teaching creative writing is a reciprocal process that continually enhances my growth as both an educator and a writer.
WOW: Can you give us a sneak peek of your next novel?
ANOOP: My next book is about an open marriage between an Indian couple—secret from their family and friends, of course—which gets upended when all the rules are broken. The working title is Let’s Just See What Happens. I’m still in the process of researching and writing the book.
WOW: Well, here at WOW we can’t wait to just see what happens!
-- Blog Tour Calendar
June 17th @ The Muffin
Join us as we celebrate the launch of Anoop Judge's book No Ordinary Thursday. Read an interview with the author and enter to win a copy of her book.
June 19th @ Writer Advice
Novelist Anoop Judge stops by with a guest post about Ways To Begin a Story.
June 21st @ A Wonderful World of Words
Let's have some fun with a book giveaway and a guest post from Anoop Judge tracing her journey through four novels.
June 22nd @ A Storybook World
Make an addition to your TBR pile with this spotlight on No Ordinary Thursday.
June 24th @ My Beauty My Books
Author Anoop Judge visits with advice to her twenty year old self and a chance to win a copy of her novel No Ordinary Thursday.
June 25th @ Words by Webb
Read a review of No Ordinary Thursday at Words by Webb.
June 28th @ What Is this Book About
Stop by for a spotlight on a new book for a new month: No Ordinary Thursday by Anoop
Judge.
Judge.
June 30th @ Choices
Anoop Judges gives readers a peek at her writing life with today's guest post.
July 2nd @ Boys' Mom Reads
Karen shares her review of No Ordinary Thursday, a novel of love, friendship and family.
July 3rd @ The Faerie Review
Want to enjoy the July 4th holiday with a great book? The Faerie Review is spotlighting No Ordinary Thursday by Anoop Judge.
July 5th @ StoreyBook Reviews
Anoop Judge shares her thoughts on Crafting Dialogue: How Can You Best Give Voice to Your Characters?
July 9th @ Word Magic
Fiona welcomes novelist Anoop Judge sharing a few things you didn't know about her.
July 11th @ Knotty Needle
Read a review of No Ordinary Thursday, a novel about family and friendship.
July 12th @ Author Anthony Avina
Pop by the blog of Author Anthony Avina for a guest post about what inspires Anoop Judge.
July 17th @ Chapter Break
Ready to head for the hammock (or your favorite reading spot) with an engrossing summer read? Learn more about No Ordinary Thursday and author Anoop Judge.
July 20th @ Seaside Book Nook
Jilleen shares her thoughts on No Ordinary Thursday and a guest post on first memories from the author Anoop Judge.
***** BOOK GIVEAWAY *****
Enter to win a print copy of No Ordinary Thursday by Anoop Judge! Fill out the Rafflecopter form below for a chance to win. The giveaway ends June 30 at 11:59 pm CT. We will randomly draw a winner the next day via Rafflecopter and follow up via email. Good luck!
4 comments:
Do you write in a daily journal?
I always look forward to these giveaways. It's very generous!
Sounds like a fantastic book!
No family is perfect. I will look forward to seeing how this family navigates the turmoils and tribulaions.
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