For publishers, the big news is that bestselling romance writer Ravinder Singh has moved to HarperCollins India, after a longish relationship with Penguin RandomHouse.

For readers, the bigger news is that Singh’s next novel is coming out in the winter of 2018. Like some of his earlier bestsellers, the untitled work is inspired by events from Singh’s own life.

Ravinder Singh burst on to the Indian romance market in 2008 with his debut novel I Too Have A Love Story, based on the tragic death of his real-life fiancée. After the tremendously successful debut, despite famously never having read a book before, he went on to write four more novels and edited two collections of stories from readers.

Singh’s new book brings back the beloved characters of Happy, MP, Ram and Rinku, who featured in his first two novels. The book follows the lifelong friends as they embark on an epic road trip across Europe and are arrested by the border police in Croatia. “It was one hell of a reunion. At first, we had decided, what happened in Europe should stay in Europe, but then that’s the real challenge for the author in me – to live a story and not tell it,” said Singh, speaking of his decision to turn the real-life adventure into a novel.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled that Ravinder has chosen HarperCollins as his new home for his irresistible story. Ravinder has the great gift of capturing hearts with his effortless storytelling – it will be a treat to publish his new book,’ said Diya Kar Hazra, Publisher – Fiction, Harper Collins India.