1--What is the title of your latest release?
THE CURIOUS SECRETS OF YESTERDAY
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
A woman’s ambitions clash with familial expectations.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I wanted to ensure the setting reflected the arc of the novel where Salem, MA was one thing originally (known historically for intolerance) to becoming a place that is home to people who live their authentic lives.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Absolutely. Though I would try to give her a lot of advice and push her to do more.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Restless. Conflicted. Unfulfilled
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I did a lot of research on Ayurveda and how this ancient science has been co-opted to fit within a western framing.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I need to write the novel first before revising.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Panna Cotta with fruit
9--Describe your writing space/office!
It’s a small desk with a laptop and a notebook. My creativity thrives in minimalist settings.
10--Who is an author you admire?
This is tough because it’s very situational for me in terms of genre, historical context, etc. I will say I love authors who excel at writing lived experiences and character driven stories agnostic of cultural/gendered perceptions. Three that come to mind are Zadie Smith, Kevin Kwan, and Kiran Desai.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
Different books in different ways. Arranged Marriages by Chitra Divakaruni showed me that I could become a writer. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen showed me how to write about society at large. Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn began my love for epistolary novels. Financial Lives of Poets by Jess Walter gave me an appreciation for dark humor. The Martian by Andy Weir is a masterclass in tension and release.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
Well, it was around 5pm on a random weekday when my agent called and for a few minutes I jumped up and down. Then I sat on my couch in silence not knowing how to process achieving a goal that I had been pursuing for two decades. I think I’m still processing that I get to do this.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Non-fiction. (I know, I know, I know) but I love it so.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Speed with Keanu Reeves
15--What is your favorite season?
Autumn
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
With my passport
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
Resident Alien on Netflix. It is incredible in the themes it explores and is brilliantly written and performed.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Indian (specifically South Indian and Gujarati)
19--What do you do when you have free time?
Watch re-runs or read for fun.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
More character driven books that explore how we live.
A woman’s ambitions clash with familial expectations in a captivating novel about generational secrets and self-discovery by the bestselling author of The Candid Life of Meena Dave.
Raised by her mother and grandmother and tutored in the healing wonders of spices, Tulsi Gupta is expected to carry on the ancestral tradition from her family’s Salem spice shop. Restless and reluctant, Tulsi yearns to follow her own path—destiny has other plans.
When Tulsi finds a letter written by her grandmother, addressed and never sent, that speaks of a long-ago betrayal, she decides to unravel the mystery as a distraction. But Tulsi stumbles into much more than she bargained for. With each new discovery, she learns there’s much more to her mother and grandmother than their expertise in the remedial aromas of coriander and cloves. When an attractive neighbor begins renovating the shuttered deli next door, Tulsi finds the courage to break her routine and chase the unexpected.
As Tulsi digs into the past and secrets come to light, she’s determined to heal old family wounds and find her true purpose—and maybe even love—every step of the way.
Women's Fiction Friendship | Women's Fiction Family Life [Amazon Publishing, On Sale: June 1, 2024, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781662515071 / ]
Namrata Patel is an Indian American writer who resides in Boston. Her writing examines diaspora and dual-cultural identity among Indian Americans and explores this dynamic while also touching on the families we’re born with and those we choose. Namrata has lived in India, New Jersey, Spokane, London, and New York City and has been writing most of her adult life.
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