What is the title of your latest release?
THE PERFUMIST OF PARIS
What’s the elevator pitch for your new book?
Paris, 1974. Radha, Lakshmi’s rebellious younger sister from The Henna Artist, is now 32 and living in Paris with her husband and two daughters. With Lakshmi’s help, she’s on the cusp of realizing her career ambition as a master perfumer when she finds out the son she never told her husband about is heading to Paris to find her, upending her carefully managed world and vulnerable marriage.
How did you decide where your story was going to take place?
My character decided it. In the first book of the Jaipur Trilogy, I had written the future stories of each major character. Radha decided to elope with a Frenchman who was trekking through the Himalayan foothills where she was a boarding school student. They married in Paris, where Radha found her way into the elegant world of fragrance—a natural for Radha—who used to mix the finest henna paste for her sister Lakshmi.
Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Yes. I would find her take on perfume fascinating.
What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Ambitious. Intelligent. Curious.
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
The majority of ingredients used in perfumes originated from the Indian Subcontinent.
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I edit as I draft.
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Cardamom Ice Cream
Describe your writing/office space:
Sometimes I write in bed. Sometimes in the living room, sitting on the couch. Sometimes standing at my desk. Always in pajamas.
Who is an author you admire?
Kate Quinn. She’s a hard worker, humble, and gifted in many genres.
Is there a book that changed your life?
No.
Tell us about when you got “the call.”
When my agent left a message on my phone telling me that we just received a very nice offer from MIRA Books/Harper Collins, I sat in shock for a while. Then I told my husband Brad, who proceeded to jump up and down around the room.
What’s your favorite genre to read?
Detective/mystery
What’s your favorite movie?
Pulp Fiction
What’s your favorite season?
Summer
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I don’t.
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you recommended?
The Empress - streaming series
What’s your favorite cuisine?
Indian
What do you do when you have free time?
Murder mysteries
What can readers expect from you next?
Another historical fiction novel set in India
The Jaipur Trilogy #3
From the author of Reese's Book Club Pick The Henna Artist, the final chapter in Alka Joshi’s New York Times bestselling Jaipur trilogy takes readers to 1970s Paris, where Radha’s budding career as a perfumer must compete with the demands of her family and the secrets of her past.
The year is 1974. Radha is now living in Paris with her husband, Pierre, and their two daughters. She still grieves for the baby boy she gave up years ago, when she was only a child herself, but she loves being a mother to her daughters, and she’s finally found her passion—the treasure trove of scents.
She has an exciting and challenging position working for a master perfumer, helping to design completely new fragrances for clients and building her career one scent at a time. She only wishes Pierre could understand her need to work. She feels his frustration, but she can’t give up this thing that drives her.
Tasked with her first major project, Radha travels to India, where she enlists the help of her sister, Lakshmi, and the courtesans of Agra—women who use the power of fragrance to seduce, tease and entice. She’s on the cusp of a breakthrough when she finds out the son she never told her husband about is heading to Paris to find her—upending her carefully managed world and threatening to destroy a vulnerable marriage.
Women's Fiction Historical [MIRA, On Sale: March 28, 2023, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780778386148 / eISBN: 9780369718495]
A wonderful trilogy to binge-read!
Alka Joshi is the internationally bestselling author of the Jaipur Trilogy: The Henna Artist, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur and The Perfumist of Paris. Her debut novel, The Henna Artist, immediately became a New York Times bestseller and a Reese Witherspoon Pick. It has been translated into 26 languages and is currently in development at Netflix as a tv series. Joshi was born in India and came to the U.S. with her family at the age of nine. She worked for 30 years in the advertising/marketing fields. She has a BA from Stanford University and an MFA from California College of Arts. She lives on the Monterey Peninsula.
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