The humour in romance

Vibha Batra’s book is different from regular rom-com books for its characters, writing style and plot

There is an endless stream of rom-coms in the English literary scene. While some follow a template, others dare to be different. Vibha Batra’s Glitter and Gloss falls under the latter. Yes, there is love. There is wooing. There is that hot man. But there is also humour, eclectic writing, which includes some Hindi rhymes reflecting her talent of composing Hindi lyrics, and descriptions on make-up. Which brings us to the plot of Glitter and Gloss. Misha is a make-up artist at MAC, who falls madly in love with Akshay, who also falls madly in love with her.

The only obstacle is Akshay’s older sister, who isn’t that convinced, and Misha is faced with the challenge of pleasing her.

Following her debut book,

The Activist and The Capitalist, Vibha, who is based in Chennai, wanted to write an out-and-out romantic comedy. “I wanted it to be fun and something people could relate to.” Misha is an endearing character who dreams of making it big as a bridal artist whereas Akshay is your typical gooey-eyed handsome hunk. And Didi isn’t all bad. “She is a different person with her own ideas and values,” says Vibha.

Her first book received a lot of praise and Vibha says she realised, readers love “hardcore romance.” Vibha has written across age groups, including Young adult fiction. She has also written Hindi lyrics. Her different writing styles seamlessly merge together in her book.

The raring to go Vibha is shy and not one to project herself, though she is a prolific writer. She says the writing just flows.

“A friend of mine once said, ideas keep flowing out of our heads. You have to just grab them and write!” Her next book is

From London to Ludhiana, a Juggernaut publication, that is doing well among readers. There is no stopping Vibha, it seems.

Glitter and Gloss is a Bloomsbury publication.