The MF Husain exhibition at the Victoria and Albert

Maqbool Fida Husain, mourned in India as a “national loss” after his death in 2011, is supposed to have died in “self-imposed exile” in London – as the media like to put it. Yet, it is ridiculous to call it “self-imposed” exile. He lived outside of India because back in the country where he was born and where he grew up, he lived in fear of his life. He received regular death threats for offending religious feelings, for making paintings with themes from Hindu religion that were apparently profane because they depicted nudity and eroticism.

Read full article here
See more blog posts to do with art and books here

MF Husain at the V and A, a preview

Exhibition at the V and A, of 8 triptychs by MF Husain. For more pictures, go here http://amitamurray.com/ The exhibition goes on till July 27, 2014. Free entry.

Article coming soon!

Buy my novels here!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Amita-Murray/e/B00I3Z465O/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

ROMANTIC COMEDY

Confessions of a Reluctant Embalmer
Anna Patel styles dead people. (And they probably know that they're dead.)

Trapped between her histrionic family, and her own troublesome desires, she tells people the truth on a strictly need-to-know basis. Now all she needs to do to get away from it all is marry her persistent boyfriend - and keep it all together till the wedding. It should be dead easy.

But then, during a memorial service held at her parents' (Ruth Worthing and Govind Patel) funeral home, a dead cat appears in a casket. There's a Pet Slasher on the loose, the Patel family’s livelihood is hanging by a thread, and on top of it all, their chief embalmer keeps telling her she's his soul-mate.

Her heart and happiness at stake, Anna must confront who she is, and ask herself if trying to be normal and dependable is all it is cracked up to be.

"Randy, Funny, Fascinating" - Publishers Weekly

"This book is fantastic. The family are feisty, flirty and fun." - A Book and Tea

If you like Six Feet Under, The Royal Tennenbaums, and all kinds of rom-com, then check out this book!

VICTORIAN MYSTERY

The Pre-Raphaelite Seamstress
It is the 1860s, and Rachel Faraday is trying to follow in the footsteps of the Pre-Raphaelite artists. Struggling to make a living, in a world that looks down on female traders, she paints her fabrics in the colours and styles of the artists and sells them to wealthy women who daydream about clasping the men of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood between their thighs. One night, she meets a man, who, after the coldness of her cottage and the loneliness of her existence, shows her the possibility of a different life. The next day, he is arrested on suspicion of cold-blooded murder. As Rachel sets out to prove his innocence, she realizes that she must come to terms not only with the evidence in front of her, the vagaries of her trade, the hot-blooded attentions of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, but her own erotic longings and the secrets of her past.

Are you a good writer or a good storyteller?

Read my latest blog post on amitamurray.com

How to act like a Londoner!

Banksy, of course

Get pissed at the funeral of a close relative, tie your pants around your head and dance in Trafalgar Square in the middle of the night, holding a can of Australian beer in your hand. Sing God Save the Queen.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/amita-murray/the-definitive-guide-to-acting-like-a-londoner_b_4705714.html

Lovely reviews!

About The Pre-Raphaelite Seamstress

A Woman's Wisdom
http://awomanswisdom.wordpress.com/2014/03/23/the-pre-raphaelite-seamstress-by-amita-murray/

"There are some particularly descriptive passages in the book which are superbly written and give a real pull to the senses as they transported me straight back to the streets of Victorian England."

Fresh Pot of Tea
http://alisondeluca.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/review-of-pre-raphaelite-seamstress.html

"Part romance, part cozy mystery, The Pre-Raphaelite Seamstress by Amita Murray was a thoroughly enjoyable read. The author has done a great deal of research for the book, and this showed in a number of colorful details as well as rich settings and backgrounds, glowing with life."

Rani Shergill
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R115A28EIWL6AY
"This is a wonderful, rich and colourful book with vivid scenes describing life in Victorian London!"
 

The Pre-Raphaelite Seamstress

The Pre-Raphaelite Seamstress is available on Amazon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Amita-Murray/e/B00I3Z465O/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1391175745&sr=8-1
Buy here and read an excerpt 

"The day I met Harry Twyfold, I was mistaken for a whore. And a team of horses on the stage coach to Bath nearly killed me. It was not the first time a man looked me up and down and offered me a few pennies to bend over and lift my skirts, and it wouldn’t be the last. A seamstress has no virtue to lose. And I have long ago given up the fight to explain myself."

Confessions of a Reluctant Embalmer on Amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Amita-Murray/e/B00I3Z465O/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1391175745&sr=8-1 - Buy it here, and read an excerpt

Anna is engaged to one man, another keeps telling her she's his soul-mate, and all these dead bodies keep popping up....

Confessions of a Reluctant Embalmer book cover

Stephanie Tkach has done a brilliant job with this cover. Tell me what you think! Either as a comment here, or on @AmitaMurray. I'd love to know.


You would like this novel if you like comedy, rom-com, dysfunctional family humour, multi-cultural families.


Read the blurb...

Anna Patel styles dead people.
(But they don't know that they're dead....Just kidding. They probably know...)

Trapped between her histrionic family, and her own troublesome desires, she tells people the truth on a strictly need-to-know basis. Now all she needs to do to get away from it all is marry her persistent boyfriend - and keep it all together till the wedding. Easy, right?

During a memorial service in her parents' (Ruth Worthing and Govind Patel) funeral home, a dead cat appears in a casket. There's a Pet Slasher on the loose, the Patel family’s livelihood is hanging by a thread, and on top of it all, their chief embalmer keeps telling her that she's his soul-mate. With her heart and happiness at stake, Anna must confront who she is, and ask herself if trying to be normal and dependable is all it's cracked up to be.

Publishers Weekly says, "A randy and light tone infuses this funny novel about a family who run a funeral home in present day London. The author intersperses fascinating tales about the family’s clients, rendered with matter of fact good humour, as the family dramas spiral out of control. The book is a perfectly charming blend of macabre detail and the social dynamics of a multi-cultural family in the U.K., without ever resorting to cliché, except to comic effect."

Confessions of a Reluctant Embalmer

My first novel Confessions of a Reluctant Embalmer is coming out on Kindle Publishing/Amazon very, very soon. The book is a rom-com set in a funeral home, so think Six Feet Under meets Simon Doonan and they go out to lunch with As Good As it Gets or Forgetting Sarah Marshall - I can't decide, something romantic and funny.

Read the blurb...

Anna Patel styles dead people.
(But they don't know that they're dead....Just kidding. They probably know...)

Trapped between her histrionic family, and her own troublesome desires, she tells people the truth on a strictly need-to-know basis. Now all she needs to do to get away from it all is marry her persistent boyfriend - and keep it all together till the wedding. Easy, right?

During a memorial service in her family's funeral home, a dead cat appears in a casket. There's a Pet Slasher on the loose, the Patel family’s livelihood is hanging by a thread, and on top of it all, their chief embalmer keeps telling her that she's his soul-mate. With her heart and happiness at stake, Anna must confront who she is, and ask herself if trying to be normal and dependable is all it's cracked up to be.

Publishers Weekly says, "A randy and light tone infuses this funny novel about a family who run a funeral home in present day London. The author intersperses fascinating tales about the family’s clients, rendered with matter of fact good humour, as the family dramas spiral out of control. The book is a perfectly charming blend of macabre detail and the social dynamics of a multi-cultural family in the U.K., without ever resorting to cliché, except to comic effect."

Stephanie Tkach is working on a book cover, and I can't wait to share it with you. 
The book will be available as an e-edition and paperback.