Arranged Roommates (✔)

|FUNFACTS AND AUTHOR'S GRATITUDE|

(do post your opinions on the readers' review part before this!)

✨BTS / FUN FACTS / RANT!!✨ 

i) You might have noticed that there are a lot of scenes where Aryan gifts Jewelry to Ria. Three times to be precise.

First time, it was the DIY trinkets bracelet, in Chapter 23. It represents the start of their friendship.

Second time, it was the artificial earrings on their first(unofficial) date, when Aryan realised his feelings for Ria. So, it represents the start of love.

Third time, it was the gold red-green anklet. It represents Aryan finally confessing his love and the progress of their relationship!

Idk if this jewelry connection makes sense, from DIY to artificial to precious gold, but this is what I thought about while writing these transitions.

ii) This book was supposed to be just 30 chapters initially with less than 5 hrs of content but then...here we are. 1.5 years later, 9 plus hours of content and 100k+ words.

iii) Aryan and Ria were supposed to have their first kiss in a swimming pool(it was in Aryan's aesthetics too!) But then one day, I was listening to "Zara Zara" so, Rain kisses and Aryan's confession in that scene felt like a much better idea cuz nothing can compete against Romance in Rain, right?

iv) The idea of Ria being an art Youtuber stems from my own desire to have an art YouTube channel since I was in highschool(Cuz I loveeee crafting) But in all the hustle-bustle of life and studies, the dream of creating art related content never really materialized. Maybe in future sometime!🤞

v) Hugs of all kinds- side hugs, the special 'do minute aur ruk ja bss aise hi' after a bad day wala hug, arm around waist wala hug, big bear hugs, 'i am drunk, can u hug me plz' wala hug etc etc- are all scattered here and there throughout the whole book...that's cuz I personally LOVE receiving and giving hugs. I think that hugs are the most purest form of showing physical affection for anyone and that's why they form such a major part of the book!

vi) Aryan's character was inspired by someone who I met at my cousin sister's wedding last year in Jan 2023🙈 (There is a whole big storytime related to this incident but that's the tale of some other time*wink wink*) It was also this incident that sparked the idea of this story in my mind!!

vii) Momo was absent from the later part of book(if you noticed) that's cuz Rohit and Tara were taking care of him at that time. will get to know more about it in Arranged Muse.

viii) There is also a storytime related to Ria's spiritual views and her attitude of gratitude but since it's a bit personal (and i don't wanna bore you all with it) we will skip it for now. will share if the opportunity presents itself in future!

ix) My favorite quotes from the book:

Chapter 37: "Love a person who cherishes you as much as they cherish their freedom..."

Chapter 36, where Aryan tells Ria, when she is confused about her career choices: "Take the leap of faith, Ria. Life doesn't give you infinite chances at things your heart desires."

Chapter 38: "When I told you that I loved you, I didn't expect anything in return. I didn't expect your compliance, your approval, or your reciprocation. It was just me telling you that I have reserved a special place for you in my heart, Ria...That's what love is."

x) Ria's name was supposed to be something fancy at first. YK, like typical Indian gen-alpha/ gen-z kind of names like Amyra(fmc of my last discontinued novel), Samaira or Ruhani or maybe Meisha or something. But then Ria is supposed to be a 90's born girl and no Indian parents, especially in small towns named their kids with fancy names back then, right? So, the name Ria just felt right. Simple and subtle.

xi) Hidden(not-so hidden?) YJHD references in the novel:

I chose Udaipur as the city for the wedding vacation cuz Bunny and Naina fell in love in Udaipur (during aditi's wedding) so I just thought...that why not make Aryan and Ria fall in love in Udaipur City too!!

Second was in chapter 34, when Aryan and Ria were getting ready for a function and they were standing in front of the mirror and Aryan said: We make a beautiful couple, don't we? There was a similar scene (deleted from the final movie) in YJHD too.

Then there was one in chapter 14, where aryan was annoying ria and she says: i will complain to ur mom about this! there was a similar scene in YJHD too. Comment if you know which scene from the movie i am talking about!!

xii)  When i started writing this book, i planned to not do any "mature ahem ahem" sort of content cuz as much smut i have read (and i have read A LOT of it, of ALL types. i am practically an expert smut reader at this point lol). But i still cringed everytime i tried to write something on my own, using the same "mature" vocabulary that is commonly used. It never felt right. But then i discovered that i can write "it" in my own way, that is, skipping the use of words that i didn't feel comfortable with and focusing more on emotions and feels yet making it spicy at the same time.

✨AUTHOR'S GRATITUDE AND ENDING WORDS✨

Many of you might not know but this actually wasn't my first book on Wattpad. I had published a Book called "A Chubby Tale" back in 2020. I didn't have any plot in my mind, unlike this time when I had pre-planned each and every chapter and the plot was clear in my mind since the beginning. 

I had gathered quite a bit of readership on ACT but I decided to discontinue cuz I just wasn't enjoying writing it anymore. (and now that I think about it, it had some moral issues that the present day me wouldn't like to read or write about...but we all learn something new everyday, right?)

While writing Arranged Roommates, I knew my mistake from the last time, so that's why I avoided repeating it again. While writing this book too, I know that I have made my fair share of mistakes and my writing still has a lotttt of scope for improvements. But I am still proud of myself for completing this novel. It will always have a special place reserved in my heart.

I gained a lot of readers and friends during the process of this book and lost a lot of them. But if you are still reading this, just know that I am so so grateful that you have accompanied me throughout the journey of this book🫶 I can't thank you enough for making this sooo special for me. 

Sometimes, during the journey of this book, when I saw other Indian writers(who started along with me or later) gaining lakhs and millions of views on ongoing books, it hurt a little too much. I tried every promotion technique under the sun. I started questioning whether the book I am writing, is it even readable? I felt demotivated. I started comparing. I felt like giving up. 

But then I remembered the reason why I had started writing in the very first place. It was for MYSELF, not for anybody else. Readership was just a bonus. And then I felt the amount of love you all showered on me in the comments. Reading your comments was my MOST FAV part of the day.

Idk why I am crying while writing this🤧😭 but yes, Thanks to all of you again for giving a chance to the book of a new, novice writer like me! Forever grateful for your support!

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