Podcast
The Closet Writer Chronicles
Hosted by Sangeetha Menon · EN
Candid conversations with writers, storytellers & creators about what writing and creativity means to them, a peek into their life stories & featured narrations of their work.
20episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Unmana: Creating A Bibliomystery
Feb 22, 202501:22:49Tap to summarizeThe episode opens with Unmana talking about what creativity means to them. Unmana shares how they got into writing, their writing routine and how vulnerable they choose to be with their work. We chat about their experience in marketing, their perspective on publicity especially for books today, and their relationship with social media. We also talk about their debut book - from the idea to getting published. Unamana also shares their perspective on gender & sexuality and talks about queer literature. Later, we exchange book recommendations. The episode ends with an excerpt from Unmana’s book narrated by them.Unmana lives in Mumbai with their husband. Their first novel, Chikkamma Tours (Pvt.) Ltd, is a deliciously bookish mystery set in Bengaluru that features India’s first fictional queer detective. Unmana’s short stories have been nominated for the Best of the Net and the Deodar Prize. You can find them on Instagram @unmana_bombay and X (Twitter) @UnmanaSangeetha Menon a.k.a. The Moody Marshmallow is a writer, editor and podcaster. She currently handles the rights portfolio at Tulika Publishers, where she finds new avenues for stories to travel. She has worked with organisations like Bound, Karadi Tales, and Carve Magazine to name a few. You can find her on Instagram: @marshmallow.musings and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menonsangeetha/Mentions: Ana Mardoll’s Ramblings, The Chronicles Of Narnia, The Hunger Games, Zac O’Yeah, Missy, Raghav Rao, Ashwitha Jayakumar, The Book Of Emperors, ghachar Ghochar, Anjum Hasan, Westland, Pratilipi, Trilogy, Fictionary, Pradeep Sebastian, The Book Hunters Of Katpadi, Agatha Christie, K - J Charles, Cat Sebastian, Courtney Milan, All This Could Be Different, Sarah Thankam Mathews, Premee Mohamed, The Butcher In The Forest, S.B. Divya, Meru, Nilanjana Roy, Black River, Anita Desai, Clear Light Of Day, Rosarita, The Women’s Courtyard, Khadija Mastur, WMFA, Only Murders In The BuildingSocial Media:Instagram - @theclosetwriterchroniclesTwitter - @TheMoodyMarshEmail - theclosetwriterchronicles@gmail.comMusic:Beat Provided By https://freebeats.ioProduced By White Hot
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Ashwin Muthiah: Unbottling Life Through Stories
Feb 15, 202501:37:42Tap to summarizeDisclaimer: This episode contains content on alcohol. Listeners are advised to tune in if they are above the legal drinking age. The episode opens with Ashwin talking about what creativity means to him. Ashwin shares his earliest memory of being creative. He talks about his early career days and the different start-ups he’s run over the years. We chat about how his interest in wine started and how unPINNED Wine was born. We also talk about his manuscript and docu-series In Pursuit of Flavour. He also shares misconceptions people have about wine and wine education. Later we exchanged recommendations on books and sows. The episode ends with a piece written & narrated by Ashwin.Ashwin Muthiah is an author, wine educator and documentary host. He is the founder of unPINNED Wine. He has written an unpublished manuscript called In Pursuit of Flavour which he has adapted to docu-series by the same name. Ashwin studied economics at Wharton and was a part of the South Asian acapella group Penn Masala. He also founded a number of start-ups and has worked in finance and marketing. You can find him on Instagram @unpinnedwineSangeetha Menon a.k.a. The Moody Marshmallow is a writer, editor and podcaster. She currently handles the rights portfolio at Tulika Publishers, where she finds new avenues for stories to travel. She has worked with organisations like Bound, Karadi Tales, and Carve Magazine to name a few. You can find her on Instagram: @marshmallow.musings and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menonsangeetha/Mentions: Lego, Looney Toons, Captain Underpants, Dave Pilkey, Penn Masala, Taylor Swift, Rajnikanth, Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Idiots, wine And Spirits Education Trust, Finding Dory, Friends, New Girl, The Office, Ted Lasso, Salt Fat Acid Heat, But First Champagne, Chef’s Table, How To Feed A Dictator, Chhaunk, Abhijit BanerjeeSocial Media:Instagram - @theclosetwriterchroniclesTwitter - @TheMoodyMarshEmail - theclosetwriterchronicles@gmail.comMusic:Beat Provided By https://freebeats.ioProduced By White Hot
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Bijal Shah: The Healing Power Of Stories
Feb 8, 202501:40:02Tap to summarizeThe episode opens with Bijal talking about what creativity means to her. Bijal shares her earliest memory of being creative. We talk about her early career days in accounting and how she got interested in bibliotherapy. We chat about her reading routine and how she curates book lists. Bijal also shares a bit about her platform Book Therapy and some of the courses she teaches on there. We also talk about some of her favourite books. The episode ends with a piece written & narrated by Bijal.Bijal Shah is a bibliotherapist, counsellor and author. She is the founder of Book Therapy, which offers individual, couples and group bibliotherapy, literary curation and personalised reading services as well as bibliotherapy training. Bijal's book recommendations have featured in the Guardian, Marie Claire, NBC News, among other publications. She's a member of the International Federation of Library Associations and the American Library Association, and has undertaken bibliotherapy workshops for the United Nations as well as various corporate organisations and libraries in the UK and the US. She is also the co-host of the podcast Raising a Reader & Storyteller. You can find her on Instagram @booktherapy_by_bijalSangeetha Menon a.k.a. The Moody Marshmallow is a writer, editor and podcaster. She currently handles the rights portfolio at Tulika Publishers, where she finds new avenues for stories to travel. She has worked with organisations like Bound, Karadi Tales, and Carve Magazine to name a few. You can find her on Instagram: @marshmallow.musings and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menonsangeetha/Mentions: Slow Hobbies, Kindle, audible, BBC Sounds, Bibliotherapy, Cinema Therapy, B.N. Goswamy, Rasa theory, Freud, Carl Jung, The Power Of Now, The Celestine Prophecy, James Redfield, Love Matters, Judy Blume, The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri, Ocean Voung, Tortoise Media, Sweet Bobby, Netflix, Black Wave, Kim Ghattas, A Peace To End All Peace, David Fromkin, Until August, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Patria, Laurence Blair, The List, Yomi Adegoke, Panchatantra, Jataka Tales, Brotherless Night, V.V. Ganeshananthan, women’s Prize for Fiction, Orbital, Samantha HarveySocial Media:Instagram - @theclosetwriterchroniclesTwitter - @TheMoodyMarshEmail - theclosetwriterchronicles@gmail.comMusic:Beat Provided By https://freebeats.ioProduced By White Hot
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PinkLungi: Part 2 - Culturepreneurs
Jan 25, 202501:15:26Tap to summarizeThe episode opens with Govindan talking about what creativity means to him. Aishwarya and him talk about how PinkLungi caters to a larger audience while appearing niche and their future expansion plans. We discuss how they divide roles while balancing their personal & professional lives. They share how they resolve conflict and how they deal with burnout. We talk about social media and validation. They also share how they’re intergrating AI into their creative process. Later, Govindan & Aishwarya share their favourite books, shows, podcasts & a lot more! The episode ends with a piece written & narrated by Govindan. Tune into Part 1 streaming now! Aishwarya Gopinath, co-founder of PinkLungi, is the kind of nosy you’ll love. Her nosiness isn’t in the traditional sense. It’s her curiosity to know the people around her and the situations that make things interesting for them. For her, that’s where stories lie. After all, the best tales are found in the little details of everyday situations. Her creativity has reflected in her entrepreneurial career, where she is building Kerala’s coolest digital media company, shining a spotlight on the culture, entertainment, and lifestyle of Malayalis. As a person who loves to put her nose into stories, she has managed to build a platform that makes Malayalis proud and infotains people worldwide. You can find her on Instagram @aishwaryagopinath Govindan is one of the co-founders of PinkLungi. As a 90s kid, he grew up on a healthy dose of Discovery and Nat Geo which led to him embracing the Nat Geo tagline “Live Curious”. He now nourishes his curiosity with a healthy dose of information from across the internet, and tries to share his perspectives with the world through PinkLungi. You can find him on Instagram @kurumangattugovindan Sangeetha Menon a.k.a. The Moody Marshmallow is a writer, editor and podcaster. She currently handles the rights portfolio at Tulika Publishers, where she finds new avenues for stories to travel. She has worked with organisations like Bound, Karadi Tales, and Carve Magazine to name a few. You can find her on Instagram: @marshmallow.musings and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menonsangeetha/ Mentions: Marvel, Disney, The Madras Courier, Friends, The F16s, ScoopWhoop, BuzzFeed, Peter Thiel, Reddit, Copilot, The Golden Road, William Dalrymple, Ponniyin Selvan, Kalki, Claude, Midjourney, Fabulous Lives Of Bollywood Wives, Netflix, Amazon, Happy Money, Ken Honda, Bombay Balchao, Jane Borges, Milk Teeth, Amrita Mahale, Haruki Murakami, The Secret, The Empire, Dan Carlyn, Hardcore History, The Seen And The Unseen, Amit Verma, The Book Of Emperors, Indus, Nikhil Gulati, 1177 BC, Mouse, Animal Farm, Cut The Clutter, Shekar Gupta, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Hunters, Mindhunter, David Fincher, Man In The High Castle, Moonshot, The Psychology Of Money, Rich Dad Poor Dad, richest Man In Babylon, Social Media: Instagram - @theclosetwriterchronicles Twitter - @TheMoodyMarsh Email - theclosetwriterchronicles@gmail.com Music: Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io Produced By White Hot
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PinkLungi: Part 1 - Culturepreneurs
Jan 25, 202501:09:28Tap to summarizeThe episode opens with Aishwarya talking about what creativity means to her. Govindan and her then share their earliest memories of being creative. We delve into their educational and career choices. They share how they met and how their relationship evolved and the origin story of PinkLungi. We also talk about how they took the decision to transition out of their respective jobs and focus on PinkLungi full time. Aishwarya and Govindan also share how they curate pieces for the platform, AI tools that they use and how they found their brand voice. The episode ends with a personal essay written & narrated by Aishwarya. Tune into Part 2 streaming now! Aishwarya Gopinath, co-founder of PinkLungi, is the kind of nosy you’ll love. Her nosiness isn’t in the traditional sense. It’s her curiosity to know the people around her and the situations that make things interesting for them. For her, that’s where stories lie. After all, the best tales are found in the little details of everyday situations. Her creativity has reflected in her entrepreneurial career, where she is building Kerala’s coolest digital media company, shining a spotlight on the culture, entertainment, and lifestyle of Malayalis. As a person who loves to put her nose into stories, she has managed to build a platform that makes Malayalis proud and infotains people worldwide. You can find her on Instagram @aishwaryagopinath Govindan is one of the co-founders of PinkLungi. As a 90s kid, he grew up on a healthy dose of Discovery and Nat Geo which led to him embracing the Nat Geo tagline “Live Curious”. He now nourishes his curiosity with a healthy dose of information from across the internet, and tries to share his perspectives with the world through PinkLungi. You can find him on Instagram @kurumangattugovindan Sangeetha Menon a.k.a. The Moody Marshmallow is a writer, editor and podcaster. She currently handles the rights portfolio at Tulika Publishers, where she finds new avenues for stories to travel. She has worked with organisations like Bound, Karadi Tales, and Carve Magazine to name a few. You can find her on Instagram: @marshmallow.musings and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menonsangeetha/ Mentions: Marvel, Disney, The Madras Courier, Friends, The F16s, ScoopWhoop, BuzzFeed, Peter Thiel, Reddit, Copilot, The Golden Road, William Dalrymple, Ponniyin Selvan, Kalki, Claude, Midjourney, Fabulous Lives Of Bollywood Wives, Netflix, Amazon, Happy Money, Ken Honda, Bombay Balchao, Jane Borges, Milk Teeth, Amrita Mahale, Haruki Murakami, The Secret, The Empire, Dan Carlyn, Hardcore History, The Seen And The Unseen, Amit Verma, The Book Of Emperors, Indus, Nikhil Gulati, 1177 BC, Mouse, Animal Farm, Cut The Clutter, Shekar Gupta, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Hunters, Mindhunter, David Fincher, Man In The High Castle, Moonshot, The Psychology Of Money, Rich Dad Poor Dad, richest Man In Babylon Social Media: Instagram - @theclosetwriterchronicles Twitter - @TheMoodyMarsh Email - theclosetwriterchronicles@gmail.com Music: Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io Produced By White Hot
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Pravin Shanmughanandam: Into The Wilderness
Dec 14, 202401:39:28Tap to summarizeThe episode opens with Pravin talking about what storytelling means to him. Pravin talks about his early days in corporate life and how he found his calling with filmmaking and becoming a naturalist. We delve into how he founded Pollachi Papyrus and Pollachi Itineraries. Pravin shares his perspective on conservation and conservation filmmaking. He talks about responsible tourism and archiving records on the bio-diversity of his hometown. We later chat about some of Pravin’s work – his short films – and how that’s led him to do impactful work with the Tamil Nadu Forest Department. The episode ends with an article written & narrated by Pravin. Pravin Shanmughanandam is a Conservation Filmmaker and Naturalist. He is the the Founder of Pollachi Papyrus – a local magazine documenting South India’s bio-diversity, and Pollachi Itinearies. Pravin has won the Siena Awards and been a finalist in the Big Picture People’s Choice Awards. He also works with the Tamil Nadu Forest Department. You can find him on Instagram @pravin_shanmughanandam Sangeetha Menon a.k.a. The Moody Marshmallow is a writer, editor and podcaster. She currently handles the rights portfolio at Tulika Publishers, where she finds new avenues for stories to travel. She has worked with organisations like Bound, Karadi Tales, and Carve Magazine to name a few. You can find her on Instagram: @marshmallow.musings and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menonsangeetha/ Mentions: Jim Corbett, Ethicas, Pollachi, Valparai, Great Hornbill, Nilgiris, Pollachi Papyrus, MetroPlus, National Geographic, Amar Ramesh, YouTube, The Tap Comics, People Of Pollachi, Humans Of New York, Comaya, Conservation India, Ramki Sreenivasan, Shekar Dattatri, Responsible Tourism, Amur Falcon, Nasser, Fireflies Media, The Elephant Whisperers, Poacher, The Hunt For Veerapan, Malayalam movies, Into The Wild Social Media: Instagram - @theclosetwriterchronicles Twitter - @TheMoodyMarsh Email - theclosetwriterchronicles@gmail.com Music: Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io Produced By White Hot
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Utkarsh Dalal: AI, Gaming & Creativity
Dec 7, 202401:21:18Tap to summarizeThe episode opens with Utkarsh talking about what creativity means to him. He shares his earliest memory of being creative and how he got into writing with his anonymous blog. Utkarsh talks about how he wanted to pursue a career in journalism and writing but then realising that it wasn’t something he wanted to pursue professionally. We chat about his career choices as a software engineer and then working in policy. He later talks about his start-up GameAway.in, a cloud gaming company. We also talk about validation, cancel culture and books. Utkarsh also shares his thoughts on influencer marketing and the impact of AI on creative careers. The episode ends with a personal essay written & narrated by Utkarsh. Utkarsh is an entrepreneur, coder and occasional writer currently living in Mumbai. He's the founder of one of India's top cloud gaming firms, and spent several years living in California, where he also studied and got a degree in Computer Science and Political Economy from the University of California, Berkeley. In his free time, he likes to read, stay fit, travel and help care for the street cats in his area. You can find him on X (Twitter) @DalalUtkarsh and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/utkarshdalal/ Sangeetha Menon a.k.a. The Moody Marshmallow is a writer, editor and podcaster. She currently handles the rights portfolio at Tulika Publishers, where she finds new avenues for stories to travel. She has worked with organisations like Bound, Karadi Tales, and Carve Magazine to name a few. You can find her on Instagram: @marshmallow.musings and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menonsangeetha/ Mentions: Toptal, YouTube, Influencer Marketing, TikTok, Instagram, Patreon, Gaming, Elden Ring, Netflix, AWS, Amazon, Shark Tank, ChatGPT, New York Times, Dall-E, Sally Rooney, Normal People, Why Nations Fail, Fooled By Randomness, Thinking Fast And Slow, The Dawn Of Everything, David Wengrow, David Graeber, Yuval Noah Harari, Early Indians, Tony Joseph, Roald Dahl, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, Septimus Heap, Angie Sage, Enid Blyton, Atomic Habits, James Clear, Yes Theory, Fireship, Game Makers Tool Kit, Monty Python, Hidden Brain, NPR, Blackadder, The Walking Project, The Internet Freedom Foundation Social Media: Instagram - @theclosetwriterchronicles Twitter - @TheMoodyMarsh Email - theclosetwriterchronicles@gmail.com Music: Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io Produced By White Hot
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Karthik Venkatesh: Inside An Editor's Mind
Nov 30, 202401:26:59Tap to summarizeThe episode opens with Karthik talking about what creativity means to him. He shares his earliest memory of being creative and how he started out with writing. Karthik talks about his stint in business development and his shift to education, where he taught English and History! We chat about his experience as a teacher and his move to publishing. Karthik sheds light on the editorial process of a book and we chat about different aspects of an editorial job. We then talk about how he chose to pursue writing more seriously and his debut book. Karthik also shares about some books he’s worked on and stories that he’s loved as a reader. The episode ends with an excerpt from Karthik’s book read by him. Karthik Venkatesh grew up in Bangalore, speaking Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, English, Dakhani and Hindi. He tried to learn French but failed. He did learn Punjabi though. Once an MBA, he later studied education and taught English and History in a school. He is now Executive Editor at Penguin Random House India and has written two books for children 10 Indian Languages And How They Came To Be, and 10 Makers Of The Indian Constitution (January 2025). You can find him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karthik-venkatesh-b565251/ Sangeetha Menon a.k.a. The Moody Marshmallow is a writer, editor and podcaster. She currently handles the rights portfolio at Tulika Publishers, where she finds new avenues for stories to travel. She has worked with organisations like Bound, Karadi Tales, and Carve Magazine to name a few. You can find her on Instagram: @marshmallow.musings and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menonsangeetha/ Mentions: Tintin by Herge, The Winning Way, Harsha Bhogle, Anita Bhogle, Boundary Lab, Nandan Kamath, the Hindu, Duckbill, Sayoni Basu, Westland, Ian Rankin, Agatha Christie, Shetland, Harlen Coben, Amitav Ghosh, AK Ramanujan, Ram Guha, Pundits From Pakistan, Rahul Bhattacharya, P Sainath, The Last Heroes, Tulika Publishers, Unknown Heroes Of India’s Freedom Struggle, Alice Munro, R K Narayan, Jahnavi Barua, The Smart And The Dumb, Vishal Vasanthkumar, Social Media: Instagram - @theclosetwriterchronicles Twitter - @TheMoodyMarsh Email - theclosetwriterchronicles@gmail.com Music: Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io Produced By White Hot
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Bhavika Govil: A Novel Dream
Oct 26, 202401:29:18Tap to summarizeThe episode opens with Bhavika talking about what creativity means to her. We talk about how her interest in writing started and her early days as a journalist. Bhavika talks about why she chose to study writing formally and how that’s helped her craft and growth. We delve into her writing process with regard to POV, writing routine and structure. Later, she shares some of her favourite books and TV shows. She also shares a bit about her debut novel, Hot Water. The episode ends with an excerpt from Hot Water narrated by Bhavika. Bhavika Govil is a writer whose debut novel, Hot Water, is forthcoming with HarperCollins India in April 2025. A portion of the manuscript won the 2021 Pontas & JJ Bola Emerging Writers Prize and the DHA New Writers’ Open Week. Her short fiction has won or been shortlisted for the Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize, the Bound Short Story Prize, among others, and been published in magazines including Wasafiri, Extra Teeth, Gutter. She has a Master's in Creative Writing from the University of Edinburgh, and facilitates creative writing workshops for adults. She is based in New Delhi, India. You can find her on Instagram @bhavikagovil , X (Twitter) @Bhavikagovil and her website: www.bhavikagovil.com Sangeetha Menon a.k.a. The Moody Marshmallow is a writer, editor and podcaster. She currently handles the rights portfolio at Tulika Publishers, where she finds new avenues for stories to travel. She has worked with organisations like Bound, Karadi Tales, and Carve Magazine to name a few. You can find her on Instagram: @marshmallow.musings and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menonsangeetha/ Mentions: Bound, Edinburgh, The Seven Moons Of Maali Almeida, Shehan Karunatilaka, The Bee Sting, Paul Murray, Hot Water, HarperCollins, Simon And Garfunkel, Elena Ferrante, Neopolitan Novels, My Brilliant Friend, Elena Knows, Claudia Pineiro, Jhumpa Lahiri, Deepa Annapara, Avni Doshi, Girl In White Cotton, Burnt Sugar, Madhuri Vijay, Em And The Big Hoom, Jerry Pinto, Jazz, Toni Morrison, Gilmore Girls, Severance No new episode next week on account of Diwali. See you on 17th Nov! :) Update: New episodes out from 1st December due to technical issues. Thanks for your patience! Social Media: Instagram - @theclosetwriterchronicles Twitter - @TheMoodyMarsh Email - theclosetwriterchronicles@gmail.com Music: Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io Produced By White Hot
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Arun Kale: Helter Skelter
Oct 19, 202401:46:53Tap to summarizeThe episode opens with Arun talking about what creativity means to him. Arun shares his earliest memory of being creative and how he started out on his creative journey. He talks about his experience as a graphic designer and his teaching stint. We then delve into how he started Helter Skelter and Astray and what his curation process is like. Later, we talk about social media and the different formats that exist today for stories. Arun also shares his thoughts on AI. The episode ends with Arun reading the editor’s note from Helter Skelter’s latest volume. Best known as the founding editor of Helter Skelter Magazine, Arun has been a media entrepreneur for the past 22 years and his professional experience spans a number of roles, including writer, editor, educator, graphic designer (print and digital), and web developer. He has also had a fruitful stint as teacher and program director at a French college of graphic design and visual communication, and recently concluded a stint leading communications and capacity building at a non-profit applied AI research institute. You can find him on Instagram @sleepybyday and on X @arunkale. And you can find more about Helter Skelter @helterskeltermag (Instagram) and @ishelterskelter (X). Sangeetha Menon a.k.a.The Moody Marshmallow is a writer, editor and podcaster. She currently handles the rights portfolio at Tulika Publishers, where she finds new avenues for stories to travel. She has worked with organisations like Bound, Karadi Tales, and Carve Magazine to name a few. You can find her on Instagram: @marshmallow.musings and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menonsangeetha/ Mentions: The Prince And The Pauper, The Hound Of The Baskervilles, J Krishnamurthi, Rishi Valley, Tata Lit Live, Adobe InDesign, PageMaker, Soundcloud, MySpace, MTV, Channel V, CG Salamander, Pragya Bhagat, Janice Pariat, Kala Ghoda Festival, Bound, Spotify, IFP, Anchor, Spotify for Podcasters, Astray, Appupen, Devashish Makhija, Kaneez Surkha, Ursula Le Guin, Stefan Zweig, Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master And Margarita, Zadie Smith, Black Sabbath, Oasis, Ozark, A Young Doctor’s Notebook Social Media: Instagram - @theclosetwriterchronicles Twitter - @TheMoodyMarsh Email - theclosetwriterchronicles@gmail.com Music: Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io Produced By White Hot
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