India’s first gay Olympic gold is not the news headline Saaransh wanted to make. Losing his family and his job is hard. But badminton? That’s not something he will give up. Not even for Brendon. Unless he finds the courage to keep them both.

‘SHY’ is a ~77,000-word contemporary romance novel with gay protagonists that will appeal to the LGBTQ community and romance readers in the YA and NA segments.

Saaransh’s greatest love is badminton. His dream is to win an Olympic Gold for India. But he harbors another secret desire. Live as his true gay self. He can’t exactly come out and embrace his reality in a country that still considers non-heterosexual relationships as unnatural and illegal. Not if he wants to win that precious yellow medal.

London Olympics, 2012, presents him with a perfect opportunity to achieve his dreams. While the world is chasing the athletes and stars of more popular sports, Saaransh uses his anonymity to live the gay life for one night. However, he did not count on meeting Brendon, the burly Australian proud gay rugby star.

Romance and love are complicated when trying to keep the closet closed and the person prancing around in your dreams outs you to the world.

You lose your family, job, your dignity, and because of cowardice, the only chance at happiness.

Can Saaransh become the person he should be? A sports star who can lead the way for LGBTQ rights in India. World no. 1, who can help provide visibility to the queer community in India? Most of all, will Saaransh become strong enough to confront the world and find a way to Brendon.

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About the Author

Ashish (he/him) is a physician and medical research professional from India. He has self-published a thriller, ‘The Broken Code’ in 2018 and a sports rom-com, ‘All the Lines to Cross’ in 2020. When Ashish is not busy managing his medical research company, he writes poems and stories and dabbles in art.

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