Acknowledgements

‘Shy’ has been a labor of love from the first lines I wrote. September 2018 was a watershed moment for the LGBTQ+ community in India. The Supreme Court read down Article 377, a legacy of the British era. Around the time during a conversation, my sister-in-law, Ms Gunjan planted the idea of a gay protagonist. I had forgotten our talk till Saaransh appeared in my mind (the Olympic gold medal match scene). The topic was challenging because of the sensitivities involved. There was no Indian sportsperson who was out and proud. Dutee Chand, the Indian athlete, came out in 2019.

As a writer, I belong to the ‘panster’ group. While the storyline built itself, fleshing Saaransh and Brendon’s characters involved hours of reading and research. During this study, I came across many life stories of sportspersons who struggled with their sexuality. Each story gave me a glimpse into the challenges these individuals go through, over and above the hard work they put into excelling in their sport. The prejudice and hate from outside carry into the locker rooms and stadia. They have a difficult choice, focus on their passion in the highly competitive world of sports or live a life as their true selves. If interested, you can find many of these life stories on a Pinterest board I maintain. (Pride in sports—www.in.pinterest.com/drashishrastogi/pride-in-sports)

They are my teachers. I hope, in bringing Saaransh and Brendon to life, I have been a good student.

LGBTQ+ rights are a sensitive topic. In written form or implied, I do not wish to hurt the LGBTQ+ communities’ sentiments. Through this story, I want to call out the prejudices against the community. I am a firm believer that we are humans first and last. Hence the labels on whom we love should hold no significance or create barriers.

Saaransh’s exploration of his sexuality is not a lived experience. However, being an Indian, I am aware of some prejudices LGBTQ+ persons face in India. I recognized the need for sensitivity readers while writing this book. Finding Indian sensitivity readers proved to be a challenge. Help arrived through Mr Ankit Bhutani, Gay rights activist and Founder Queer Hindu Alliance (Twitter: @QueerHA). His support introduced me to two wonderful people.

Prarthana Khot is a well-known and recognized yoga teacher and fitness expert based in Mumbai. She likes to write about diverse topics. (www.aaryalife.wordpress.com )

Ninad Sail (Instagram: @the_boy_in_d_city) from Mumbai runs his blog—www.ninadwrites.wordpress.com. He has an engineering background with experience working in the Information Technology (IT), management industry, and non-profit organizations. Prarthana and Ninad’s feedback helped me fine-tune aspects of Saaransh’s story. Their encouragement helped me tide over many moments of doubt.

My friend, Prachi (Patty) in Australia, introduced me to Shea Evans who provided a critical review of the overall storyline and narration. Shea Evans is a Melbourne based performer and improviser, as a member of an Improv company. Shea also is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and uses his lived experience to tell stories that are inclusive and shine a light on topics that don’t get spoken about in traditional improv.

I am thankful to a fellow author Dr Priya Gole for her advice on aspects of Damian’s character. Priya is a paediatric Speech-Language Pathologist. Check out her romantic thriller Break.

A chance opportunity brought me in contact with The Write Cohort. (@thewritecohort) where I matched with my mentor Kimberly Wisnewski (www.kimothywish.com). Her guidance and feedback played a significant part in polishing the story.

Writing is a long, lonely journey. Endless hours of dreaming, thinking, writing, scratching, and scrapping. To paraphrase renowned Indian lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri’s famous lines- I had started alone in writing this story. On the way, people joined, and a caravan was formed. The sensitivity and beta readers gave me hope and encouragement to bring this story to the readers.

Writing a novel involves putting your heart and soul into words, sentences, and paragraphs. The characters become a part of our lives. I call them ‘my babies’. We watch and nurture them as mother birds until we push them off the writing board to fly.

The time to send Saaransh and Brendon into the world has arrived. A huge thanks to the efforts of the NineStar Press team. I am grateful for their belief in this story.

To every reader who reads this book, a heartfelt thank you for giving Saaransh (Shy), Brendon (Blue), and me a chance to be part of your world. We would be grateful if you would leave a review.