Guest Post with Laxmi Hariharan author of The Destiny of Shaitan by Laxmi Hariharan

Published: 17th March 2012
Ebook $0.99
206 pages
Target Audience: YA


Kindle bestseller The Destiny of Shaitan is a delicious blend of gods & humans, sacred and profane, a gripping ride offering a glimpse into your own power.

Partially set in a futuristic Bombay, this coming of age story is painted against the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic world.

When Tiina accompanies Yudi on a mission to save the universe from the ruthless Shaitan, she seeks more than the end of the tyrant; she seeks herself. Driven by greed and fear for his own survival, Shaitan bulldozes his way through the galaxy, destroying everything in his path. Tiina wants Yudi to destroy Shaitan, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Shaitan being killed by his son. But she finds that Yudi is hesitant to do so. The final showdown between Tiina, Yudi, and Shaitan has unexpected consequences, for Shaitan will do anything in his power to win the fight. The stakes are high and the combatants determined. Will Shaitan's ultimate destiny be fulfilled?

Young Adult Forever 

Laxmi Hariharan 

My sister-in-law turned to me, “when Naman married you I thought you might lick him into shape. Little did I realise he was marrying someone just like himself.” She was of course referring to the—happy to spend life in pursuing my dreams traveller who never wanted to settle down in one place—me.


Coming from a conservative South-Indian family in suburban Bombay, my biggest fear as a teen was to be ‘trapped’ in an arranged marriage. I always knew that I would wait till I found the one. A partner who would accept me for what I am. A free spirit—an easy rider kind of person. So, when my then to-be-husband woke up one morning and didn’t blink at my “Uh! How about we just spend the day walking around Singapore, doing nothing... just being?” I knew that was him.


It took a few more years to realise that I was firmly in what the world calls today the Young Adult space. I not only write YA, I am YA. In fact I have my own quiz to help you figure out if you too are YA.


a. Do you have more in common with your girlfriends’ fourteen year old (especially your love for Hunger Games, Twilight, et al)


b. In workplace meetings or in ‘grown up’ parties or at the pub, are you the only one who knows Formspring (or for that matter twitter?)


c. Are you health conscious (in fact probably vegeterian?) who also loves to over-dose on vitamins in the hope of staying perpetually young?


If you got even two of the above three right, chances are that like me you are YA forever.


But, wait a bigger surprise was in store, for little did I realise how much my writing owes to Indian mythology. Me, the one who left my home country India in wanderlust, running away from the constraints that Eighties Indian society placed on its women. Me the uber Go West kinda gal, now churning out fiction inspired by the East—Indian gods & goddesses and their adventures? I paused, and dug into my memories—going back in time to when I was a little girl, perhaps five in Bombay—and my grandma, Periamma I called her (literally translating from Tamil as Big Mother) wrapped in her ultra-traditional, nine-yards, silk-cotton saree narrating stories from ancient Indian epics. I had absorbed them wide eyed, becoming one with them in my dreams, believing I could overcome demons in the real world, and that nothing could stop me. It was these stories which portrayed Goddesses embracing their power, stronger than the mightiest Gods, who were my earliest role models. In embracing my roots I found my voice.


Through my writing, I hope to share these delightful stories from the rich tradition of Indian mythology, presenting them in a cool, futuristic, simple to understand setting, so that people of all ages everywhere, can enjoy them. The Destiny of Shaitan and my next novel The Seven Islands will particularly resonate with Young Adults and the YA at heart; for we dare to dream. We are the imagination engine, who sees the future.


If my readers feel just a little of those wonderful emotions which my Grandma shared with me, then I will be ecstatic.

About the author: Laxmi Hariharan was born in India. She lived in Singapore and Hong Kong and is now based in London. She has written for various publications including The Times of India, The Independent and Asian Age. She is inspired by Indian mythology. When not writing, this chai-swigging, technophile enjoys long walks in the woods and growing eye catching flowers. Her debut novel The Destiny of Shaitan is available on Amazon.

Reach Laxmi here
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Giveaway information:
-any one who comments is entered into a draw to win a $15 amazon card
-also, best comment will get profiled on Laxmi's Reader Avatar series on her blog