MJ Soni

MJ Soni’s first literary work that received an A+ was a sad essay about footprints disappearing on a beach when she was in high school in South Africa. This little flame of recognition burned bright for many decades while she worked as an eye surgeon and physician scientist. Decades later, after attending a writing class at her local community center, the flame roared back to life, and theresult was DEFYING APARTHEID, her memoir that captures her experiences as a young activist in South Africa. A lifelong fan of Agatha Christie, she now draws upon her love of the culture and cuisine of her diverse Indian, African, and American background, to write heartwarming murder mysteries set largely in coastal New England. Her short stories have appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Akashic Books, and the Best New England Crime Stories Anthology.     She’s a recipient of the Leon B. Burnstein/MWA-NY Scholarship, and a runner up to the Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award, a Pitch Wars mentee and mentor, and amember of Crime Writers of Color, Sisters in Crime National, and Sisters in Crime-CT.