Boost your blog and take it a notch higher with #MyFriendAlexa

Many years ago, cajoled by a dear friend, I started my blog with the name ‘Straight From My Heart’. True to its name it was all about me penning all my thoughts down in it straight from my heart. This was all I knew about blogging then. I shared it with my friends and relatives on FB or via email and there appreciation as well my own contentment to having expressed myself was enough for me. 

There was nothing professional about it nor was monetisation a goal. I did create content for websites but that has nothing to do with my blog. I did a lot of work but had no clue about my reach or SEO. I had a dedicated set of followers and their love would satiate me.

In a couple of years it got better and I ended up working with some good brands but the upward progression was as slow as a snail.

In next few years I upped my game with Blogger Support Platforms like Indiblogger and Blogadda and thought my world expanded a bit after I purchased my domain name.

But the eureka moment for me was when I first came across Blogchatter in early 2016 for the A to Z Challenge. I had never realised then, how through them, I took my first steps into professional blogging. From something as trifle as having my blogging calendar set for next two months to publishing my 4 books with them in ebook carnivals through their 4 seasons of A to Z challenges they have aided me evolve to perfection in every way they could and can I be more grateful. They taught me brand building and I rechristened my blog baby. They were and still are my torchbearer and a guiding light in the right direction.

I am saying this for the umpteenth time that what I love the most about Blogchatter is their wonderful vision for the community always which has never gone wrong till date. Thus I have looked forward to each of their campaigns most sincerely and have reaped great benefits not only in terms of making my blog soar higher and higher in stats but also in terms of individual growth.

One of their most successful campaign ever is #MyFriendAlexa which aids in making our blog soar higher in terms of a global metrics called Alexa Rank by giving us a wonderful readership as well as our work getting global exposure. 

This is my fourth consecutive year in #MyFriendAlexa and I know if done religiously it is the biggest boost we can give our blog and I am ready to take the plunge despite of many other critical preoccupations this month.

 In this campaign, all you got to do is publish biweekly entire September and read and share the 10 blogs you are given each day, yes that simple. You will get all support from your exclusive whatsapp groups.

At the end of the month you will be amazed to find out how many wonderful writers have become your friends and have enriched you multi-dimensionally apart from the stats of course. 

It is a campaign where you have no loss and all gain as it gives your back your mojo to write and read religiously. Both these skills are vital for a professionally evolving blogger. 

Like A to Z challenge, you don’t need a theme here or start from an alphabet, all you need is to create good content to retain your readers, read good content and spread good content by sharing it. 

If what I have written above has struck a chord with you, I will recommend that you join the campaign by clicking here. The last date arrives soon so you got to hurry.

Also if you are a blogger and not a part of our Blogchatter family yet, do join it now by following Blogchatter on Twitter and I promise you will only thank me later for it!

If you like what I write, you can grab the copies of my four published books here: The Fragrance of True Love, Destiny's Favorite Child, Dare to Defy The Destiny and Empowered Women Empower Women

Review of Life and Times of a Twenty Something by Reema D'souza ( A Lovely Account of a Girl Next Door)

As April was commencing I was enthralled by the myriad theme reveals of my co-bloggers and some of them really caught my heart's attention. One of them was Reema Dsouza's 'Life and Times of a Twenty Something' which I could relate to almost instantaneously. The pressure of the A to Z Challenge kept me on and off her posts but as soon as her ebook was out, I was elated to grab a copy and I am so glad I did. 

I love the candour and honestly of the author in pouring her heart out in this beautiful compilation of her thoughts as a twenty something. It undoubtedly transported me to several years back and I related to every ounce of it and in fact every girl would. It is such a pleasure reading about her dreams, her graduation, her note to her future husband, her Friday love and many such interesting topics that she had beautifully portrayed as an innocent gal next door called Alana. You may choose to finish the read in one go or savour it chapter by chapter one at a time. It is an ideal read for both the scenarios.

If you are looking for a beautiful autobiographical account of a lovely independent and suave Indian girl, this one's for you. You can download it from Blogchatter Ebook Carnival here.

Book Blurb : There is so much that happens in our twenties. Graduation, first job, first salary, staying away from home, dating, being broke, being bored with the job that you worked so hard to get, and relatives and neighbours sneakily trying to find a suitable bride/groom for you when you've no idea about what you want to do next in your life. You are a mess. You thought you'd have everything sorted; you had those dreams in your eyes when you graduated. But when you look at it you've nothing sorted, you don't know which way to turn and you constantly ask yourself "What am I doing?" Those dreams that you once wanted to turn into reality are still dreams.
But then you have those moments of pure bliss! Buying something for your parents with your hard earned money, being appreciated at work, excelling in a skill you never thought you had, realizing that you have friends who are real gems and are always there for you, and maybe finding the love of your life. Twenties may be a mess, but then when you look back they are a beautiful mess!
Alana is a twenty something too and there is a lot happening in her life. Read more about her journey in the book.

Review of 'Picky Eaters? Guaranteed Hacks To Make You Happy' by Dr.Amrita Basu and ADr.Abhijit Misra

This #AtoZChallenge I got addicted to reading Dr.Amrita Basu's good advice on her blog and I really found them worthy, well researched and highly useful. This was precisely the reason I picked up her and her husband Dr.Abhijit Misra's ebook  ~ Picky Eaters Guaranteed Hacks To Make You Happy.

The title itself sounded like a blessing for a mother of an extremely picky eater like me and I devoured the book of its useful contents in a single go. The doctor couple also are parents to a 5 year old damsel which added a practical hands on element to the narration from parents angle too and kept me further glued.

Undoubtedly, the book stated facts I was still unaware of like our diet in our pregnancy determines our child's food preference and it aided me to reason the dynamics of my son's behaviour towards food and I am indebted to the authors for the same.

I find the recommendations in the book quite relevant and easy to emulate to improve the good habits of our children. The facts related to nitty gritties like how to check and cater to our child's food allergies and an icing on the cake. 

Though I really wanted to read more on this subject from the knowledge duo, I found the ebook really useful.

I recommend this book to every mom for its worthy hacks encapsulated perfectly. You can download it by clicking here. You may also like to order their awesome ebook on Fruits Nutrition, check it out here on Amazon.

About The Authors: Dr.Amrita Basu is an ENT surgeon ,teacher in a medical college ,and blogs about health,wellness and her journey as a mom blogger.She is an avid balcony gardener and a voracious book worm.
Dr.Abhijit Misra is a pediatrician ,teacher in a medical college and the rock solid support behind  healthwealthbridge.com. They  are the co -authors of this book and partners in real life.

Book Blurb: Picky eating makes moms worried .Did you know .what you eat during pregnancy ,could change your unborn child’s eating habits?Knowing when to worry and how to handle picky eaters ,is what this book is about .Easy actionable hacks to make life easier for moms.

Review of 26 Words : A to Z of Short Stories by Smita Pal (An ebook with a Meaning)

From times infinite topics highlighting and aiming to attack the social disparities, stigma and inequalities have been closest to my heart. I myself am an avid writer of the subject, thus picking up author Smita Pal's maiden ebook on the same ~ 26 A to Z stories was indeed my first choice and I am glad I picked it up for the stories are fresh, raw and soul-stirring.

The weaving of the tales is beautiful and the subjects are vivid and diverse from all arenas of life. I would say it is the sheer brilliance of the author to build heart-wrenching and thought provoking anecdotes around words as simple as Apple, Bangles, Cat, Dog etc. narrated wonderfully. Her new ABCD holds a lot of depth for her readers. Once I began reading, it was difficult for me to put it down.

I would also like to mention the well conceived endings of the stories which leave your heart tantalised and craving for being the face of change in our society.

You will find a bit of yourself in each of her story and I love the perspective she has brought in to these tales which have been told a umpteen times before too. Nevertheless, the narratives are a clear indication of her sheer talent. Though in a very few places, I felt there was a scope for fine-tuning of the script.

The language and tone of the meaningful ebook are crisp and I recommend this anthology to every one beyond any doubt.


You can download the book here : 26 words – A to Z of Short Stories OR Grab a copy on Amazon here

About The Author: Smita, an MBA in Finance is a working mother who loves to write, cook, paint, read and do a lot many other things. In her free time, she can be found cooking, decorating her home, cleaning( She is a self confessed OCD), DIYing or blogging about life , her kitchen and her parenting debacles. She is also a camera ready mama, capturing her toddler’s antics on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/theavgmom/ ).Though she loves writing, she has just recently re embraced this passion of hers fully and started her own blogging journey again. You can find her musing about things and trying to find the humorous side of the highly overwhelming parenting journey (Yes blissful too!) atwww.theaveragemom.in

Book Blurb : “26 words – A to Z of Short Stories” is a collection of 26 short stories on topics of social issues. Each story revolves around a word which starts with a letter of the alphabet and a social issue which begins with the same letter. It is my first ever attempt at writing and I feel strongly about each one of the topics chosen in my tales. My attempt is to speak up about these topics and bring them to notice.  We as a race have a lot to learn yet and it is still a long way to make our society as perfect as desired.  And the only way to achieve this will be by bringing the change ourselves. These tales of fiction are just a look at some of the problems that are entwined in our lives today.

TrulyYoursRoma's Rating of the Book : 4*/5

My Unparalleled Love For My Blog ❤❤

I take the baton of Blog Love from Srikanth.

I owe my heart to my blog, it is truly the voice of my soul and no words can ever aid me express what it means for me and how my love for it is unparalleled. Little did I know two and a half years ago that it will become so vital to my life, when I gave up my career at its peak to accept a full time mommy role.

Though I have been writing for infinity, I thought this was the best time I poured my heart out in my sacred space, my blog which I term ~Truly Yours Roma as most of the women centric write ups I present here are true tales of Indian fairer sex which must be brought forth to prick as many consciences as possible. I weaved these Tales straight from the heart on my beloved blog and candidly endeavour they make a contribution in improving the society we live in no matter how small or big it is.

My love, my blog soon reciprocated all the sincerity and dedication I gave it and returned back the love. I was chosen as the recipient of the ‘Woman of the Year’ Award organised with VWoman Community of Glenmark and was conferred the same in Leela Palace Mumbai in Mar'15. The fact that I was on the right track satiated my heart and I expressed my love to the blog for being a genuine partner in fulfilling my dreams and getting my writings a recognition so early. It has unknowingly begun to shape me and my aspirations and I now shouldered a bigger responsibility.

'My beloved blog, from a workaholic corporater who worked 22 hours a day, to staying at home and losing my identity in the mundane cores, you held my hands firmly and did not let my sheen die away. In the worst of situations I poured my heart out to you, you became my venting space, you heard it all and stayed with me till I was calm.

You integrated me with my precious readers whose appreciation made me work harder. You conferred me opportunities to weave and integrate with some worthy gems of the blogging world and build relationships of a lifetime.

You brought me opportunities, awards and recognition from IndiBlogger, Blogadda, MyCityforKids, Aviva, Everscoop, Baggout etc. and forever remained by only ray of hope in  difficult times or whenever I lost focus. But you never left me aalone nd continue to be my greatest strength till present day. 

Last year, you introduced me to the wonderful Blogchatter Community and my first ebook 'Dare to Defy The Destiny' saw the light of the day and I value my association with them. 
It feels so great when people recognise me by your name today, you are such an inseparable part of my identity. Just a couple of days ago, at a big event, people didn't identify me as Roma but when I mentioned I blog at Truly Yours Roma, they immediately recognised. It made me ecstatic to witness you become the face of my voice. I wish I take you to the greatest heights and carve a success story for you never heard of before. May we remain together forever. I really find you so adorable and will leave no stone unturned ever to nurture you, groom you and improve you to the best of my abilities. Undoubtedly I love you to the Moon and Back. Earnestly I love you the most...Yes, I do!’

I pass the baton of blog love to Jaibala.

#WriteOn unhindered with the Best #Blogbuddies 😊

My Words and I are friends forever
And one would perish without the other

The companionship of my words appeased my heart
As I trotted tiny steps in the blogging world

I thought I wrote for myself
To vent out myself, my blog is my breathing space

I wrote according to my whims and fancies
And was elated with whatever appreciation my writings garnered

And that is where the entire process was clichéd
For at times I lacked all motivation to prove my skills

Like any other journey, even as a Blogger
You need a bunch of close knitted buddies to march ahead on their writing journeys together

Now am proud to be a part of such a blogbuddy group precious..
We proudly showcase ourselves as Team 'Write On' to the world

Swearing not only to be just sharing our giggles and laughter
But also to support each other in our blogging endeavors

We not only love to promote each other in our daily blogchatter
But also if needed, kick each other out of slumber

Committed to an integral part of each-other's blogging journey
We pledge to #WriteOn and on, with the Best #Blogbuddies

"I am a Blogbuddy with @Blogchatter and take a peak of my adorable team here"

This Post is also linked to  NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) which challenges you to a blog post every single day in November. Publish posts daily, meet other bloggers, and try something new. 

Copyright ©2016 Roma Gupta Sinha 

Review of 3 awesome e-books of the Blogchatter EBook Carnival

I know I am quite late but I owe this to  Blogchatter for a long long time and better late than never. This is my 200th post and so I decided to mark it as my tribute to Blogchatter, a really worthy community of Blogging Buddies, if I can put it that way. I am sure if you don't already know about them, you surely would be interested. 

While we bloggers know how to create magic with words, Blogchatter grooms us in how to spread that magic in the world. They invite experts on their weekly chats on Twitter where we bloggers can directly interact and not only get out queries resolved but view some not so trodden but significant roads for us to flourish. They also beautifully integrate the bloggers across different genres and motivate engagement and promotion of each other. Their awesome campaigns and the integrity with which the Blogchatter Team runs it deserve a huge round of applause and I really mean it as have reaped a lot of intangible benefits by being its part for over 4 months now. Today, I really value my association with it and thank it for giving me some really lovely blogger friends who are equally good human beings.

In the month of May, Blogchatter successfully ran a Mega E-book Carnival where a number of bloggers published their E-books. It was a pleasure reading these diverse books and I am sure I have read almost all of them even if that was a while ago and in this post I review 3 of my favorites in different categories so that you also get a flavor of how rich and diverse the Blogchatter Ebook Carnival has been. If time would have permitted , I would have in-fact felt really honored to review all of them here.

1. The Other Side Of Love by Richa Singh:

I picked this one first as I am a compulsive love story reader and like to devour every single piece I can lay my hands on. Trust me this one turned out to be a real stunner for it depicted beautifully the intricacies of practical and impractical problems that crop up when two women fall in love with each other. It shows the human imperfections as well as their hearts draped in lovely but contradictory emotions. It's a candid portrayal of a wonderful love story of Radha and Sangeeta by author Richa . An absolute Must Read, it surely stands out of the rest!

2. The Desi BackPack by Ramya Rao:

I loved this book as like author Ramya, my dad too got transferred a lot and my love for travel grew. This book made a great read and I loved to see India through her eyes. I could assimilate a lot of warmth, a lot of learning and a lot of knowledge in between the lines. Written with a lot of heart and soul this book not only takes you on a tour to important cities and their heritage, in India but also offers great pieces of travel advice at regular intervals. If you are a travel junkie like me, you surely will enjoy and relate to this one a lot. I loved the variety in which she served the chapters to her readers. Ramya surely has all the essential ingredients to make it to being a Top Travel Blogger one day, I wish her all the best!

3. Got Me for Life by Chandni Moudgil:

Ahh, I was truly elated to read this book not only because of the earnest stories of the 26 women it speaks about but also due to the beautiful style of expression of author Chandni. I was smitten by how she weaved characters so beautifully that I automatically got driven into them, one after the other. I imagined myself in a few of them and many others I was forced to believe I knew for sure. That talks about how good a story teller, the author is. Some of the stories like 'Everlasting Love', touched my heart and I only wanted to keep reading. I highly recommend this book to everyone!

P.S. If this post has coaxed and persuaded you enough to pick up the marvelous reads, don't wait, head straight to the Blogchatter Ebook Carnival Icon placed on the side bar of this blog and download your favorite book :)

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