Triggers on a Leash

Based on two very different blogs by yours truly, and drastically adapted and written as a play by Naren Weiss and uniquely shot as a short film by Ashwath Nair - Presenting, Triggers on a Leash!

The original short stories on which this short film is based are here on Storywheel.

See Transference and The Heist

Enjoy and share the joy!

 

50

This is a stub for the 50^th story on Storywheel. See Contest Rules for details.

Win a Free EBook!

Do you want to win a Free EBook?

It is very easy! Send me an idea, theme, logline or title of my 50th short story. You can send your ideas in the following ways:

• A comment in response to this post
• On Twitter @girivijayakumar
• On Facebook @ http://facebook.com/storywheel

Rules: Please limit your comment to 3 sentences or 30 words, whichever is shorter. This is more a guideline than a rule. But remember that if there are ties in selecting the winners, I will use this rule to break ties.

Prizes: There are 3 prizes. All 3 selected winners will receive the ebook Storywheel Collection - Combined Vol I & II. This is an EPUB ebook readable on the Amazon Kindle and other ebook reader devices or on your PC/Mac or smartphone (with appropriate software). Sorry, this is the only digital format in which the book is available. Prizes will be sent via email, therefore please provide your contact info. (I hate spamming and your email address will not be used for purposes other than contacting you related to this prize.)

End date: This contest is open until Midnight Indian Standard Time Feb 29, 2012. Winners will be announced within 48 hours of closure of the contest. UPDATE: This contest is open-ended and perpetual. Winners will be announced monthly.

Legalese: By participating in this contest, you are granting the rights to Giri Vijayakumar (Author) to write and publish a story using that idea, regardless of whether it is one of the 3 selected winners. You also represent and warrant that the idea is your own and not plagiarized. Stories may be published in the Storywheel blog, digital ebook(s) or print books. Winners will be credited by providing one link to their blog or website at the Storywheel Collaborators page.

Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/girivijayakumar

Join the Storywheel page on Facebook at http://facebook.com/storywheel

Happy New Year!

Wishing all Storywheel readers a very happy and prosperous New Year 2012!

Storywheel: The Best of 2011

As the year draws to a close, here is The Best of 2011 from Storywheel. This list is in order of my preference, so the first one is what I like the most (Sorry, David Letterman. This is my blog and I get to do my lists, my way!).

Siachen:
This is top of the list of stories for 2011 and deals with guilt. One of my personal favorites. I have a fascination for train stations and this story opens with a railway station scene.

Unfinished Business:
This is a fictionalized account of true events from twenty years ago... the part about Hindi movies.

Madras Chronicles — Billa and Ranga:
Nostalgia.

Madras Chronicles — Summer of '79:
More nostalgia.

The Crush:
Pure fiction. I loved writing this story and coming up with a totally twisted ending.

Happy reading. Enjoy!

Storywheel Turns Two

Dear Readers,
   Storywheel turns two today. I would like to thank all the regular readers for their support.

When I started posting my stories on Storywheel, I had taken on the goal of completing 100 short stories in one year. That goal is far from being complete. As of the second anniversary, I have written 47 stories. Still short of the half-way mark. Nothing captures this better than the last story that I posted titled Unfinished Business.

The last year has been quite eventful.

• I wrote a total of 9 new stories. The pace has definitely slowed down. I am hopeful that I can pick up the pace and finish a few more before 2011 ends.
• I did my first radio interview with Sanobar Sultana on Chennai Live, mostly about Storywheel.
• In July 2011, I published the first 40 stories as Storywheel Collection ebooks on Kindle.
• As of today, the Storywheel Blog's Facebook page has 184 fans/followers.
• One of my most popular short stories (by traffic), Genome is being translated into Bulgarian by a reader! It also got a raving review on BestScienceFictionStories.com
• I started a part fiction, part autobiography series titled Madras Chronicles

As always, thank you for your support. Spread the word.

Happy reading!

Giri

Storywheel meets iTunes

The Heist – A Ten Minute Play is now available on the Apple iTunes bookstore! This play is available for royalty-free performances worldwide.


Here is the link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id454545508?mt=11


Enjoy!

The Heist – A Ten Minute Play now available on Smashwords.com

The Heist – A Ten Minute Play is now available from Smashwords.com!

The play is an adaptation from two short stories – The Heist and Transference – previously published on Storywheel. Regular readers of Storywheel may recall that a different adaptation directed by Hariher Balasubramaniam from Strayfactory was staged during The Great Indian Blogologues in October 2010.

This is the original version of the script available for royalty-free performances on stages worldwide.

Update - Aug 13, 2011: The ebook is available on smashwords.com at a discount of 50% until Sep 15, 2011. Use Coupon Code JX74N

Storywheel Collection - Now available for Kindle on Amazon.com

Dear readers,


You can now purchase Kindle eBooks of collections of stories from Storywheel at Amazon.com! For the convenience of readers, there are different collections available.

The Storywheel Collection - Vol I consists of the first 20 stories published on Storywheel: the short story blog.

The Storywheel Collection - Vol II is the second in the series and consists of another 20 stories previously published on Storywheel: the short story blog.

The Storywheel Collection - Combined Vol I & II is a bargain. Get all 40 stories in one neat package. This is the best deal and has all the stories published so far.











If you are a science fiction fan, the Storywheel Collection - Science Fiction is for you.












And coming soon... The Storywheel Collection - Suspense. For those who like a little mystery in their short stories.

I thank all readers for their continued support. Happy reading.

Enjoy!

Prayers and Solidarity

Dear Storywheel readers,
     Join me in expressing our prayers and hopes for the people of Japan who have been ravaged by the recent earthquake and tsunami and its aftermath.

Regards,
Giri

The Great Indian Blogologues: Yours Digitally, Madras - reviews

• Today's The Hindu: Metroplus supplement carried a great review of "The Great Indian Blogologues". There is also a picture from the Vigilante vs. Vigilante play based on "Transference" and "The Heist" from Storywheel.

Starring: Manasa Vasudevan, Vidyu Raman, Hariher Balasubramanian and Gayatri Khandadai
Not in picture: Naren Weiss, Joel Nigli

• Another review by an independent blogger, @rindojustrindo on his blog
• .. and you have to read the comments thread here on Judy's blog for some entertaining post-facto plot discussion
  
  
• NDTV Hindu's 'The Metroplus Show' covers The Great Indian Blogologues (skip to 5:28) and speaks to members of StrayFactory
• India Today Nov 15th 2010 Edition carries an article on The Great Indian Blogologues

• A teaser video from IndiBlogger for the final Nov 13th 2010 show!

• LiveMint covers The Great Indian Blogologues in Play it like Twenty20
  
• Deepa Ravi reviews The Great Indian Blogologues in S*P*A*M Magazine
• Poorvaja's review of Nov 13th show
• Vinay Menon (author of Tweet You!, one of the other posts that was adapted for the stage in Act 3) reviews the Nov 13th show

A review

Wow! I didn't expect this. Storywheel is listed as one of the "43 Must-Read Short Fiction Blogs" by www.guidetoartschools.com

One of the most important tasks a new writer must take is to explore the works of various writers, both past and contemporary. In the electronic age, with the rise of the webpage and downfall of the magazine, writers have taken to posting their new works online. From novelettes to short tales numbering fifty words or fewer, blogging writers take the important art of the creative word to new limits. After viewing hundreds of excellent blogs, we have noted the top 43 links, with a brief summary and interesting facts about each. Read and be inspired.

From Guide to Art Schools

Thank you!

Thank you!

Today, Storywheel got its 100th fan on its Facebook Fan Page. I am very happy that the reader base has grown from 62 on May 1, 2010 to 100 in such a short time.

Thank you all for your support. Happy reading!

Regards,
Giri

PS: If you haven't already, grab a free eBook containing the 21 stories published so far!
PPS: I better get back to writing as it has been almost a month's hiatus...

Announcing Free PDF eBook: Storywheel - Vol I - Issue 1

Dear readers,

Storywheel has been live for more than 4 months now. Here are some impressive statistics:

·         Went live Dec 11, 2009

·         21 Stories published till date

·         62 “Fans” on the Facebook page http://facebook.com/storywheel

·         A reader spends on average 3 minutes and 36 seconds on a page

·         Top 3 sites referring traffic are

o   IndiBlogger.com 16.4%

o   Facebook.com 12.6%

o   StumbleUpon.com 11.0%

·         The maiden IndiRank on IndiBlogger is 65

·         23 shares on Facebook by readers

·         31 regular RSS feed subscribers

·         73% Male / 26% Female

·         81% of readers in the age group 25-44

·         Top countries

o   India

o   US

o   Switzerland

o   UK

·         Top cities

o   New Delhi

o   Mumbai

·         Most comments received

o   Ego

o   Literati

o   Mind Reader

In celebration of all my friends and loyal readers, I am giving away a Free eBook of the first 21 stories that were published on Storywheel. You are free to do almost anything with it except releasing it in book form. Go on and print some copies, if you like or forward it to your friends. Click on the Storywheel Logo in this post or the link below it to get the Free PDF eBook!

Get the Free PDF eBook!

Thanks for your support and Happy Reading!

Best regards,

Giri

http://storywheel.blogspot.com

Annapurna

E

veryone was stunned when Prakash announced his decision. There was utter disbelief in the room. His sister Priya was the first one to speak.

“Are you out of your mind? My marriage is in November. Are you even going to be back by that time? What if you don’t come back?”

“Priya, that is not appropriate. Prakash, do you think this is realistic?”, asked dad. There was genuine concern in his eyes.

“Appa, you know me. I have made up my mind about Annapurna. I will be away for the next six months. That is unavoidable.”

His mother walked up to him and said, “Prakash, you were born five weeks premature. Everyone said that you won’t make it. Your father used to feed you with a tube and syringe. Look at you now! You have made it this far. We trust you. We are not worried about you and Annapurna. Our wishes and prayers are always with you.”

“Thanks Ma!”

Priya shook her head in disapproval. Prakash pulled her and kissed her on the forehead, “Hey, don’t worry. I will be back in time for your marriage.”

* * *

Prakash got down from the bus with his backpack and a hand luggage. The area was teeming with people. He walked up to the tent that was set up for registration.

The girl at the registration desk was wearing a lavender jacket. She looked up and removed her ear muffs.

“I am Prakash and part of the blue team.”

“Okay, let me see here…”

She ran her finger down the list of names on her clip pad. When she found his name she looked up and said, “Welcome to base camp! Do you have your gear?”

“Yes, I do! Have the other members of my team checked in?”

“Yes, they have. You are the last one to arrive. They should be in the blue tent that you see over there…”

She pointed in a direction where there were a cluster of tents. Behind the tents stood the majestic Mt. Annapurna, one of the most dangerous mountains for climbers.

“Thanks to our sponsors, we are offering a free pair of climber shoes for everyone who made it to base camp. What is your shoe size?”

“Well dear, I won’t be needing them… I always have them specially made for me!”

Prakash pulled up his trousers to reveal his pair of prosthetic limbs.

Welcome to Storywheel!

Dear Reader, Welcome to Storywheel!

I will be posting my short stories on this blog. These stories are a work of fiction, some of them inspired by life experiences. I hope you enjoy these stories as much as I did writing them.

Happy reading!