<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Writinglafde]]></title><description><![CDATA[Ashish Rastogi's author website, where he shares his writings, art, and reader appreciation. You can order his books directly from his store.]]></description><link>https://www.writinglafde.com/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Sun, 12 Apr 2026 23:01:17 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.writinglafde.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA["Has anything changed?"]]></title><description><![CDATA[Saaransh Mishra. Unassuming. Each word is measured. The flamboyant, aggressive legend on the badminton court is 'Shy' off the court—a moniker he carries as a badge of love. A nickname, his now husband, the equally famous Australian rugby star Brendon Marsh, gave him when they first met. Did we get the scoop on how they met? Maybe. Maybe not. We spoke to them about the reality of living as queer athletes. Thirteen years since that eventful evening at the Wembley Arena and the London Olympics...]]></description><link>https://www.writinglafde.com/post/has-anything-changed-1</link><guid isPermaLink="false">696b1d39482610fa28927b4c</guid><pubDate>Sat, 17 Jan 2026 05:35:11 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aadd3b_0efc195921d7401b83b6983002008862~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_480,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>drashishrastogi</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Pitch?]]></title><description><![CDATA[No, not the cricket pitch. This one is for books. Anyone who has ever written a book would have come across terms like pitch, logline, and blurb. They are beasts to be tackled by every writer.  So  what are they? Pitch : Before a book is published, a pitch is a summary of the manuscript included in the query package sent to literary agents or commissioning editors at publishing houses. The objective is to inform, intrigue and generate interest. This pitch is usually around 500 words. For Lit...]]></description><link>https://www.writinglafde.com/post/pitch</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6901d8eb3eb9e1a18664ac3c</guid><pubDate>Fri, 31 Oct 2025 04:18:55 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aadd3b_8f8854298b9745709ba5deca9012b140~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>drashishrastogi</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Don't go by the cover.]]></title><description><![CDATA[Yeah, we have all heard this, but a book cover is what our eyes see first. A good cover makes a book stand out at a bookstore or book fair.  "Your cover only has around 3 seconds to catch a browsing reader’s attention. You want to stand out and make them pause and consider, and read the blurb.” ― Eeva Lancaster, Being Indie: A No Holds Barred, Self Publishing Guide for Indie Authors Book covers are as varied as the genres and topics of the books they cover (pun intended). Of late, there has...]]></description><link>https://www.writinglafde.com/post/looking-for-a-book-cover</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68fc591749fb0f70215f15c9</guid><pubDate>Tue, 28 Oct 2025 05:15:59 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aadd3b_b0fde879ec164d2c995a5cce2932f43a~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>drashishrastogi</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[How should I publish my book?]]></title><link>https://www.writinglafde.com/post/how-should-i-publish-my-book</link><guid isPermaLink="false">677a557b6701ef4f818ac56d</guid><pubDate>Sat, 25 Oct 2025 04:54:36 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aadd3b_fa60f29267fe48d19fe89f3e5488313f~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>drashishrastogi</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[From Writing to Copyright]]></title><description><![CDATA[You have written a book or a song, or maybe you write poems. How do you ensure that your work is not distributed without your knowledge...]]></description><link>https://www.writinglafde.com/post/from-writing-to-copyright</link><guid isPermaLink="false">66faa96e412de0857994fab6</guid><pubDate>Mon, 30 Sep 2024 13:38:53 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aadd3b_eb1f164cd8564e419c3345b98a5ed6eb~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_939,h_330,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>drashishrastogi</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[We did it again!]]></title><description><![CDATA[We set up the bookstall and had a ball. Buoyed by the success of our bookstall at the Resident Welfare Diwali Fair in 2022, a group of...]]></description><link>https://www.writinglafde.com/post/we-did-it-again</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6548908d68b42433f501ee6e</guid><pubDate>Mon, 06 Nov 2023 07:56:49 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aadd3b_0d204eeef7084598bd760ee2d33272cf~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_917,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>drashishrastogi</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Home Coming]]></title><description><![CDATA["Hey, it is going to be okay." Brendon places his hand on my thigh, stilling the foot tapping. His warmth across the blue jean fabric...]]></description><link>https://www.writinglafde.com/post/the-home-coming</link><guid isPermaLink="false">63c2a39d7c7d0521e794bcae</guid><pubDate>Thu, 19 Jan 2023 11:14:52 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aadd3b_77581e6e77644fe9aa8ea88560b92034~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_840,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>drashishrastogi</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Boys day out]]></title><description><![CDATA["Jon, why the hell are we here? It's Valentine's day in two days, and I am yet to buy a gift for Emily." Jason calls from the kitchen,...]]></description><link>https://www.writinglafde.com/post/boys-day-out</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6003b91e5b261600c76aa885</guid><pubDate>Thu, 12 Jan 2023 08:45:38 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aadd3b_14d3b651053c4124b361babd2b8f7073~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>drashishrastogi</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Where the butterflies rest.]]></title><description><![CDATA["He has been like this for a week." The muffled voice seems familiar. Is it my nephew, Harish, or my son-in-law Ramesh? The faces and...]]></description><link>https://www.writinglafde.com/post/where-the-butterflies-rest</link><guid isPermaLink="false">63b5420ca1ce5549dc25ef5b</guid><pubDate>Wed, 04 Jan 2023 09:14:53 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aadd3b_efd7a48c736d4aa6b0b221e473744f8d~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_770,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>drashishrastogi</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Beyond the "happily ever after."  ]]></title><description><![CDATA[So exasperating. Who needs a cactus when you have the bumbling botanist for a cousin? The lingering three dots confirm my suspicions....]]></description><link>https://www.writinglafde.com/post/beyond-the-happily-ever-after</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6393102f8fefa80e2493fbca</guid><pubDate>Fri, 09 Dec 2022 11:02:31 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aadd3b_2f8e2e700cc843ce828c6e821bf35f88~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_480,h_852,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>drashishrastogi</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Do you wish to set up a book booth at your local fair?]]></title><description><![CDATA[A paperback or hardcover on display at a book store, library, or book booth is an aspiration for every author. However, if you have...]]></description><link>https://www.writinglafde.com/post/do-you-wish-to-set-up-a-book-booth-at-your-local-fair</link><guid isPermaLink="false">634e538bf9eeb9d93ece2dbd</guid><pubDate>Thu, 20 Oct 2022 05:24:13 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aadd3b_3b6cb075dbe343adb030ea9a06bc836e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>drashishrastogi</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Is visibility important?]]></title><description><![CDATA[What LGBTQ+ representations have you grown up with? The earliest one I can recall was my brush with the trans community in Delhi during a...]]></description><link>https://www.writinglafde.com/post/is-visibility-important</link><guid isPermaLink="false">60962c2d9182e5001573d67d</guid><pubDate>Sat, 19 Jun 2021 08:35:34 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aadd3b_c2ed9a7caa7448c8bc6f9d992b61a888~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>drashishrastogi</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[I call you to war]]></title><description><![CDATA[Flames. Heat. The stench of burning flesh surrounds me; one name echoes. AMBA. Sweat trickles down my forehead; my heart pounds against...]]></description><link>https://www.writinglafde.com/post/i-call-you-to-war</link><guid isPermaLink="false">609668c5b9c2b20015325219</guid><pubDate>Tue, 01 Jun 2021 08:22:04 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aadd3b_ab6d1b19d4bc4d1a87badd368c659a0b~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_666,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>drashishrastogi</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[A card]]></title><description><![CDATA[I am the bespectacled nerd. Nondescript. Blink, and you miss—nothing to write about, ignored all the time. The only reason people turn...]]></description><link>https://www.writinglafde.com/post/a-card</link><guid isPermaLink="false">607a899a481c9d00169f1c0d</guid><pubDate>Sat, 17 Apr 2021 08:12:10 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_307a4de8e565488685d2758cf2068396~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>drashishrastogi</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What's so funny?]]></title><description><![CDATA["Why are you smiling?" "Hey, stop giggling." Ever heard people complain along these lines while you are immersed deep in your book....]]></description><link>https://www.writinglafde.com/post/what-s-so-funny</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6052d4dad4a6670057d09c10</guid><pubDate>Thu, 18 Mar 2021 05:22:22 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aadd3b_c2b87ca0f57a4ae28ed935a13f8f1ec9~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>drashishrastogi</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>