I moved to Bangalore. Then I met a cute boy. Whose parents were on the hunt for his wife. But we fell in love.

Which sparked a modicum of intensity with his family for a time…

But we all got our happily ever after. Eventually.

That was the inspiration for my debut novel, The Marriage Code. While no live humans were harmed in the making of this novel, and the traces of my husband and I are really only in the spaces between the sentences, the heart of my experience is all there. The family and places and friends are all inspired by my experience and the multitude of amazing food, drinks, people, and the landscape that is south India. *Note there is probably way too much eating amazing food and drinking South Indian coffee in this book.

When I wrote this story, I wanted to share some of the challenges and truths that we all face, regardless of culture or birthplace—these matters of the heart. Our hopes and dreams and visions for the future and how love can either hinder those for some, or create a version of a future we never imagined.

And while the family in this book doesn’t represent my in-laws, I’ve tried to capture a similar experience. My mother-in-law is an amazing cook who invokes wizardry over the stove for hours a day to cook the most excellent vegetarian food you’ve ever had. She is also so sweet and has embraced me like a daughter, even though initially the idea of me was likely a disappointment to her. And she can bargain like a badass. She could teach a course on how to get 2 kilos of okra for the equivalent of 25 cents. Their house is on the outskirts of a small town where peacocks can be found barking around, and millipedes and scorpions can appear without warning after the rains, and parrots flit from tree to tree. It’s a little bit magical.

My only hope is I was able to transfer some of that magic on the page for my readers.

Check out The Marriage Code!