What is the title of your latest release?
RANI DESHPANDE TAKES THE WHEEL
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
After a challenging freshman year of college, Rani is determined to get her life back on track - but her packed summer checklist is disrupted by a detour right into love.
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
Honest answer, I’d been watching way too much Grey’s Anatomy and Gilmore Girls. I felt called to write about a cozy Seattle suburb called Gilmore as a result.
Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
Absolutely! Rani and Simran’s sleepovers are my dream hang out.
What are three words that describe your hero?
Patient, attentive, discerning.
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Rani’s journey makes clear that it’s always better to have the conversation, and avoiding conflict only causes hurt feelings to fester.
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
Try as I might to resist the urge, I always end up editing a bit as I draft.
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Like Rani, I can’t resist a sweet treat. Brownies and cheesecake always scratch the itch.
Describe your writing space/office!
Depending on my mood, one of two extremes: a noisy cafe with my headphones in and a lovely view. Or else, snug on the couch with a candle going.
Who is an author you admire?
Too many to pick from! I’ll go with my sister, Aashna Avachat, whose romances and mysteries alike are always impeccable.
Is there a book that changed your life?
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. A childhood favorite, something I return to each winter, and so warm and full of wonder that it made me want to be a storyteller myself.
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.
It was my 20th birthday, and I had COVID. I’d felt so sad about spending the start of my twenties in isolation, and then I got the best news of my life, which more than made up for it. Cosmic balance!
What’s your favorite genre to read?
Definitely romance. I cherish our genre’s guarantee of a happy ending.
What’s your favorite movie?
A tie between Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham and Pride and Prejudice (2005).
What is your favorite season?
Autumn!
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
A delicious meal with my loved ones, and if I’m in California, a beach sunset.
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I absolutely loved Riz Ahmed’s latest television show, Bait, on Amazon Prime! Utterly original, warm, and hilarious. Binged it in two days.
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Mediterranean. I love kebabs.
What do you do when you have free time?
Picnic with friends on a sunny patch of grass.
What can readers expect from you next?
I’m working on my first adult novel at the moment. Still a romance, but a bit more of a lit-fic bent to it. I can’t wait to share more soon!
A Novel
Save the Date meets Never Have I Ever in this sparkling debut rom-com about a high school senior whose life suddenly gets a Bollywood spin when her sister gets engaged.
Shaadi preparations are in full swing, which means lehenga shopping, taste testing, dance rehearsals, and best of all, Arya’s sister Alina is home. The Khannas are together again, finally, and Arya wants to enjoy it. So she stifles her lingering resentment towards Alina, plays mediator during her sister’s fights with their mother, and welcomes her future brother-in-law with open arms. (Okay, maybe enjoy isn't exactly right.)
Meanwhile at school, Arya’s senior year dreams are unraveling. In between class and her part-time gig as a bookshop assistant, Arya struggles to navigate the aftermath of a bad breakup between her two best friends and a tense student council partnership with her rival, the frustratingly attractive Dean Merriweather.
Arya is determined to keep the peace at home and at school, but this shaadi season teaches Arya new realities: Alina won’t always be in the bedroom down the hall, Mamma’s sadness isn’t mendable, friendships must evolve, and life doesn’t always work out like her beloved Bollywood movies. But sometimes, the person you least expect will give you a glimpse of your dream sequence just when you need it most.
Structured like a Bollywood film (entertaining intermission included!) Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment will make you swoon, laugh, cry, think, nod your head in agreement, and quite possibly make you get up and dance.
Romance Comedy | Young Adult Romance [ Wednesday Books, On Sale: May 19, 2026, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781250895905 / eISBN: 9781250895929 ]
ARUSHI AVACHAT is a writer from the Bay Area, California. She currently studies English and Political Science at UCLA, where she can be found sipping caramel lattes and pretending to be productive at Kerckhoff Coffee House. She is a contributor to the Young Adult anthology Study Break. Arushi loves dark chocolate, Bollywood dramas, and Jane Austen novels.
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