Kiran Manral

Kiran Manral (born 1971) is a popular Indian author and blogger. Based in Mumbai, she published her first novel The Reluctant Detective in 2011.^[1][2] Karmic Kids (2015) her first non-fiction work, is an introduction to parenting based on her own experience of raising a son.^[3] Manral is also the founder of India Helps, a network of volunteers who assist disaster victims.^[4]

Biography

Born in Mumbai on 22 June 1971, Manral graduated in English from Mithibai College in 1991. After working as an advertising copywriter, she joined the news service at Mumbai's DSJ TV and went on to work as a feature writer for The Times of India and Cosmopolitan India. In 2000, she became a freelance journalist and, from 2005, a blogger creating "Thirtysixandcounting" and "Karmickids". At their height, both were considered to be among the most popular blogs in India,^[1][5] before she closed them down in order to devote more time to motherhood.^[6]

She then turned to writing, publishing The Reluctant Detective in 2011. Telling the humorous story of how a bored housewife confronted with successive murders becomes a detective, it received generally positive reviews.^[7][8] Once upon a Crush which followed in 2014 describes the romance experienced by an office girl who constantly runs into misfortunes.^[9] Manral comes up with another intriguing romance in her All Aboard (2015), this time set on a Mediterranean cruise ship. Even The Times of India recommended it as a novel which could not simply be dismissed as "chick-lit". ^[10]

The same year, Manral published her first non-fiction work, Karmic Kids, describing her experience of bringing up her spirited son from childbirth to age ten. One highly positive review calls for the book "to be read by everyone", not just mothers.^[11] Set in the Himalayan foothills, her most recent novel, The Face at the Window, is in sharp contrast to her earlier works. Described as "a dark brooding story of mysterious, concealed identities", it presents the frightening experiences of a retired school teacher which begin during a violent thunderstorm.^[12]

Publications

Manral has published the following books:

• Manral, Kiran (2011). Reluctant Detective. Westland. ISBN 978-93-81626-11-5., novel
• Manral, Kiran (2014). Once Upon A Crush. Leadstart Publishing Pvt Ltd. ISBN 978-93-82473-91-6., novel
• Manral, Kiran (2015). All Aboard!. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 978-93-5214-048-0., novel
• Manral, Kiran (2015). Karmickids: The Story of Parenting Nobody told you!. Hay House, Inc. ISBN 978-93-84544-87-4., non fiction
• Manral, Kiran (2016). The Face at the Window. Amaryllis. ISBN 978-93-81506-78-3., novel

References

1. "About Kiran Manral". thereluctantdetectivebook. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
2. "Kiran Manral Interview - Karmic Kids Book". WriterStory. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
3. "Book Review: Karmic Kids". The Times of India. 27 December 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
4. "Kiran Manral". One and a Half Minutes. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
5. "People of India - Kiran Manral". Memshahib in India. 11 June 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
6. "Kiran Manral". iDIVA. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
7. "Book Review: The Reluctant Detective by Kiran Manral". The Hungary Reader. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
8. Datta, Unmana. "The Reluctant Detective". Women's Web. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
9. Chandarana, Nittal (14 May 2014). "Book review: Once upon a Crush". Verve. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
10. "Book Review: All Aboard". The Times of India. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
11. "Book review: Karmic Kids". The Times of India. 26 December 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
12. "Book Review: Himalayan Gothic". The Times of India. 22 March 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.