DUBAI A Dubai woman who bagged a plush deal with a UK publisher two years ago after winning a writing contest at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature is over the moon after the launch of her first novel on Wednesday at this year’s edition of the festival.
“I can’t be more excited to finally get my hands on the book. I think I will buy at least five copies just for my family,” Briton Annabel Kantaria, 44 told XPRESS ahead of the unveiling of Coming Home, the first of the three books she was contracted to write for publishers Harlequin after winning the Montegrappa First Fiction competition at the premier literature festival in 2013 by submitting first five pages of her potential book and a synopsis of her story.
No lookign back
“When I entered the contest, the only thing I hoped for was to see an agent read my work,” added the mum of two who started writing the first draft of her novel following what she calls a lucky meeting with literary agent Luigi Bonomi, also from London. “I think that’s the ultimate prize for anyone who aspires to be a mainstream author and you know once there, there’s no looking back,” Kantaria, who quit her cushy job of the Editor in Chief of a women’s magazine in 2007 before trying her hand at writing a novel.
“The first attempt was terrible but I managed 35,000 words the second time, which I eventually polished up before submitting. Thus Marmalade Murders became Coming Home, said Kantaria, a resident of Dubai for over 16 years.
A domestic drama with a dark edge, Coming Home releases worldwide on May 7. A Kindle edition is available for £7.99 in the UK.
The festival that opened on March 4 will run until March 7 and will by attended more than 130 authors across 200 events at the InterContinental Hotel Dubai Festival City. Tickets are available at www.emirateslitfest.com
