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A real-life love story

May 2 - May 8, 2024
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Gulf Weekly A real-life love story
Gulf Weekly A real-life love story

Gulf Weekly  Melissa Nazareth
By Melissa Nazareth

BAHRAIN-BASED author Preety Praveen has announced the release of her audiobook in June, which is based on her debut novel and will set the stage for the sequel expected to hit the shelves in July. 

Cross Connection is a love story that will make you believe in the power of destiny and revolves around Simar, who hails from the North-Indian state of Punjab.

She moves to Tamil Nadu in the south of the sub-continent to pursue her degree in dentistry. But fate has other plans. While Simar is struggling to survive in her ‘new world’, a plot twist brings Naveen into her life – until he has to leave India.

“The book is based on my life experiences and my love story but of course I have fictionalised parts of it for creative purposes,” Preety told GulfWeekly.

“The print edition of the novel was released in 2020 but my publishers recently proposed working on an audiobook, which has come at a great time, considering the sequel A Pocket Full of Promises will be out this year.”

It was Preety’s husband who suggested she write a story about their romantic journey as her debut novel when she first shared her idea of becoming an author with him.

The trained psychologist and ‘writer at heart’ then penned down the 203-page book, which was picked up by Indian self-publishing platform Blue Rose Publishers.

“It was indeed a nostalgic experience and I relived some beautiful moments,” Preety said.

“I strongly believe that if one has family support, things always work out smoothly and successfully.”

The 49-year-old has lived in Bahrain since 2009, with her husband, Praveen, who works with Hilal Computers, daughter, Prarthana, who attends New Millennium School, and son Pranav who is now pursuing his higher education in Bangalore. Preety lived in Bangalore for a year during the Covid-19 pandemic, but returned in late 2020. She still travels to visit Pranav.

Preety is involved in numerous projects, her last major one being an hour-long Hindi movie Bas Ik Vaari, which was screened at Mukta Cinema and can now be watched on Pocket Films channel on YouTube.

“I’ve written and directed many Hindi and English theatre plays and short movies,” adds the social activist who loves to support the needy and uses her degree in psychology to provide free-of-cost services, both online and offline.

Cross Connection is also available on Kindle and the audiobook can be purchased on various platforms including Amazon, Google Play, and Apple Books.







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