Author bio:
Manali is a freelance writer and editor cum blogger. She also runs a blog where she shares poetry, short fiction, book reviews, and personal stories. She is a co-host for a monthly blog hop Every Conversation Matters Blog Hop Series. Her show the Author Collaborative is a weekly podcast which she has been doing for over five year, having completed 150+ episodes and interviewed 100+ authors on it. As an author, Manali has twelve books published under her name. She has won the Best Author: Fiction Award at Cherry Books Awards, and the Book of The Year title in 2021 at BeTales Magazine Annual Awards, for her debut novel, Love (Try) Angle. Her second novel, Love & (Mellow) Drama helped her win Best Author of the Year at Authoropod Magazine Annual Awards '23. She also won Best Romance Author at Authoropod Annual Awards ’25, for her short story collection Heartstrings and Harmonies. You can find Manali on all socials as A Rustic Mind.
Book details:
1. A Rustic Mind
Blurb (as on Amazon):
"We never think about the effects or repercussions of our everyday actions or even the things we come across on a daily basis. Through ‘A Rustic Mind ’, I aim to provide a thoughtful take on such actions and incidents. Poetic in its expression, these words will strike a chord which is not only deep but relatable on many levels."
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.in/Rustic-Mind-Manali-Desai-ebook/dp/B0792D49WX/
2. The Untold Stories
Blurb (as on Amazon):
Have you wondered about the events that happen around us? Do you think about the kind of lives people we come across everyday lead, and how they came to be what they are today? Our life is our story, but what about those little everyday incidents which create the anecdotes filling up the chapters of our life story? ‘The Untold Stories’ shares tiny anecdotes from people’s everyday routines which go on to make remarkable chapters in their life stories. These anecdotes range from incidents around contemporary social issues and events such as terrorism and Environmental imbalance to those circling around relationships.
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.in/Untold-Stories-Manali-Desai/dp/8194375924/
3. The Art of Being Grateful & Other Stories
Blurb (as on Amazon):
Aashna receives a mysterious phone call in the middle of the night. The caller is a girl who says she has been kidnapped and will die if Aashna doesn't help her. Before Aashna can get details about the girl and her whereabouts, the phone gets cut off. Who was she, and why did her voice sound eerily familiar? Will Aashna be able to help her? Maanvi's life has always been about making everyone around realize that she is worthy too. From her test grades to her body type, everyone always had a piece of advice to give or some judgement to pass. How does Maanvi get affected by these? Does she manage to prove her worth to the world? These and six other stories in this collection cover a range of genres, including romance, mystery, horror, thriller and much more. Delve in for a delightful reading journey!
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.in/Art-Being-Grateful-Other-Stories-ebook/dp/B08CVTTGZ2/
4. Love (Try) Angle
Blurb (as on Amazon):
Ayesha has just moved to the 'City of Dreams’ with her parents. She befriends the charming Viren, who helps her find her footing in Mumbai. Though she is slowly adjusting to her new life, what Ayesha is most excited about is pursuing B.A. (Hons.) Political Science from a reputed college. Things don’t go as smoothly as she had thought though. Because Abhi, her senior, seems hell-bent on making her life on the campus difficult from day one. Just when things seem settled, Viren joins the college as an Ad-Hoc lecturer. Is there more to Ayesha’s friendship with Viren, and her frenemity with Abhi? It seems there’s a love triangle blooming around the corner or will it be a Love (Try) Angle? Because Ayesha is not sure if it’s love at all.
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.in/Love-Try-Angle-Manali-Desai-ebook/dp/B08Y7X6RXM/
5. Under the Mistletoe & Other Stories
Blurb (as on Amazon):
Diana is all set to welcome her loved ones for Christmas. An unexpected (and uninvited!) guest shows up at her door, spoiling her festive mood. All her attempts to thwart Dylan’s intrusion go in vain as he keeps dropping in, again and again, insisting that she join his family for Christmas Eve dinner. Against her better judgment, she finally gives in, just to get him off her back. As they stand under the mistletoe after the dinner, Diana and Dylan know things have changed for the better for both.
A group of passengers is stranded at the airport together on New Year's Eve. Their plans were to celebrate the last day of the year and then ring in the new year with their loved ones by their side. But a delayed flight mars their plans and their happiness. They end up talking to each other, exchanging their New Year's Eve plans and how they have celebrated it these many years so far. As they all welcome the new year together at midnight, their combined resolutions are to stay in touch with each other. They also resolve to make the best out of whatever life throws their way. Because as they have seen and experienced, not all things go as planned, always.
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.in/Under-Mistletoe-Other-Stories-Manali-ebook/dp/B09P421LSP
6. Love & (Mellow) Drama
Blurb (as on Amazon):
Gayatri Kulkarni: A gen Z girl who has always lived under the shadow of her elder brother Sharad; so much so that she even chose her degree and college, following in his footsteps. Although she doesn’t regret it, she wishes her parents would understand her dream to pursue her one true passion - DANCE.
Varun Agarwal: A millennial who believes there are no shortcuts in life. He has learned the hard way that being born into a wealthy family comes with more cons than the world would ever understand.
She belongs to a Maharashtrian middle-class family from the suburbs. He hails from an affluent family in South Bombay. The only common point between them - being Mumbaikars. How do their paths cross in this city of dreams? Gayatri believes it’s because of Abhi Agarwal, Varun’s younger brother, who is also her brother’s batchmate and close friend. But Varun has harboured a crush on her long before they exchanged hellos and phone numbers.
Their story is a meeting of two generations and families who are poles apart. Is there drama involved? Gayatri is often called a drama queen by those who know her. But after Varun’s entry into her life, she’s transformed from Miss Melodrama to Miss Mellowed Drama. Find out all about that transition in this much-awaited spin-off from Manali Desai’s debut novel, Love (Try) Angle, Love & (Mellow) Drama (Love Trials-II)
Amazon link:
Paperback: https://www.amazon.in/Love-Mellow-Drama-Manali-Desai/dp/935846688X
7. Mindful Musings & Peaceful Ponderings
Blurb (as on Amazon):
Anxious
Conflicted
Nervous
Confused
Safe
Complete
Jubilant
Confident
Do these sound familiar? You may not have experienced these feelings lately, or maybe not at all. But if you have, you aren't alone. The 50 poems in this book are a reflection of you, me, and all of us. They are the mindful musings and peaceful ponderings of human experiences that make us smile, laugh, cry, and wonder with emotions that unite us all.
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.in/Mindful-Musings-Peaceful-Ponderings-Manali-ebook/dp/B0BLLSN1JH/
8. Night in Shining Armour
Blurb (as on Amazon)
This little book brings forth a collection of poems, each centered on and around the theme of nightly experiences and encounters. Right from dinner dates to bonfires and stargazing, almost every activity that happens after sundown is covered herein, in poetic verse. Divided into two sections- Facets and Pursuits; the poems in Facets are a night lover's ode to the elements of the dark, and those in Pursuits, talk about nighttime occurrences and indulgences. Striking a chord with nocturnal (human) beings and selenophiles, the lines herein are assured to evoke emotions of longing. No human, irrespective of their age is deprived of the pleasures (or pains) that the dark hour brings in. The poems, describing moments of what happens after sundown will make the readers romanticize the darkness or have bittersweet moments flash through their minds, helping them relive and reminisce long forgotten or buried memories.
Amazon link:
Paperback: https://www.amazon.in/Night-Shining-Armour-Manali-Desai/dp/9364942396
9. Heartstrings and Harmonies
Blurb (as on Amazon):
Think of a time when a song made your life easy. Was it when you wanted to confess your love? Was it when you were at a low point in your life, and that song worked as a balm? Was it a song someone dedicated to you, or vice versa? Is there a song you associate with a person or a memory? Do you have a specific song set as a ringtone for the special people in your life, and a story behind doing so?
For music lovers, there would hardly be a day that goes by without listening to their favorite tunes and melodies. They travel, they work, they workout, they cook, and do almost every activity imaginable, with their best friend, music, by their side.
Heartstrings and Harmonies is a book for such souls, written by one such soul. Each tale in this collection is woven around a song. So how many such tales are we talking about? Since it’s a Valentine’s special book, that too released in a leap year (2024), that number is significant as well. Did you guess it yet? Yes, it’s 29.
29 stories, 30 songs.
Dive in for a lyrical journey of love, friendship, hope, revelations and beyond.
Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.in/Heartstrings-Harmonies-Manali-Desai-ebook/dp/B0CVFC6T2D/
10. Embraces in Ink
Blurb (as on Amazon) :
When was the last time you said 'thank you'? Be it to your parents, siblings, friends, the books that made you smile, the movies that made you laugh, or anyone and anything else? Was it today? Was it so long ago that you can't even remember? How often do you feel blessed or perceive a sense of gratitude for the simple joys that every day brings? We generally take the people around us for granted, failing to appreciate their contribution in our daily happiness. The same goes for things too; right from a sunny day during winters, to a rainy day after the long summers, or from the perfectly cooked dish, to the comfort of a quilt. The pages within, Embraces in Ink, make you look at these very things and people, by tapping into your feelings about them; emotions you may not even have realized you had for the smallest of gestures, words, and blessings, whether manmade or natural. Come, take this journey, where these, Notes from the Soul, will make you feel grateful towards life and everything that it has to offer.
Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.in/Embraces-Ink-Notes-Manali-Desai-ebook/dp/B0DPN2ZJBL/
11. My Jeans Fit Well & The Ice-Cream Didn't Melt
Blurb (as on Amazon) :
Think The Book of Awesome meets a pocket-sized daydream.
Does popping bubble wraps satisfy you? When you spot a rainbow, or catch a beautiful sunset, what do you feel? We spend our lives chasing (and sometimes failing to find) happiness not realizing that it's hiding in plain sight - tucked behind a perfectly timed comeback, or waiting in the first bite of a favorite dish after a long time. Maybe it arrives with a good hair day that matches your plans, or grins back through a bookish friend you didn’t know you needed. This collection is your invitation to slow down, smile more, and reconnect with the little delights stashed away amidst life’s routines.
My Jeans Fit Well & The Ice-Cream Didn't Melt, is a collection of 150+ such nuggets, paired with whimsical illustrations that are slices of happiness with a gentle reminder that joy doesn’t need grand gestures; sometimes, it’s the little things that lift us the most.
This book asks you to pause and perhaps even find your own relatable, or newfound everyday joys. Perfect for anyone who loves a good list, a good laugh, and the good kind of goosebumps.
If you’ve ever smiled at a perfect sunset or laughed at a silly pun, this book is your happy place.
Link:
Paperback: https://www.amazon.in/Jeans-Ice-Cream-Didnt-Illustrated-Writer/dp/9371822651
12. Inked Inheritance
Blurb:
Some stories are like heirlooms. They arrive quietly, but stay forever.
Like—
the smell of burnt coffee on a sleepless night,
a grandmother’s voice reminding us that “silence has a shape too,”
letters tucked away in old drawers,
the creak of a porch swing,
the roots of an old banyan tree,
or the silence between siblings who no longer know how to speak to each other.
Inked Inheritance: Stories Stitched Across Generations is a collection of forty stories about the things we carry across generations — memory, love, loss, family, friendship, identity, and the invisible threads binding them together.
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.in/Inked-Inheritance-Stories-Stitched-Generations-ebook/dp/B0H4G8CF1R/
