Tag: Author Talk

Few Treats for Your TBR

December is always a generous month in the book world, and this year my books are part of several wonderful group promotions run by fellow authors. If you’re looking to stock up your winter reading pile—especially if you have Kindle Unlimited—this is a great time to do it.

If romance is your comfort read, King in Hiding and other romance novels are part of a KU Romance Sprint running through January 9, 2026. These are perfect “just one more chapter” reads for cozy evenings, and an excellent excuse to make the most of your KU subscription.

Fantasy readers, I haven’t forgotten you. Child of the River is included in Fantasy Adventures on Kindle Unlimited, which runs through January 8, 2026. If you love immersive worlds, magic, and long journeys, this is a treasure trove of KU reads waiting to be discovered.

And if the word free makes your reader heart beat faster: Prince in Shadow is part of Fantastic FREE Fantasy – December, available through December 31, 2025. Consider this my small holiday gift to you. 

While you’re browsing, I also want to highlight a KU fantasy:
Shattered Kingdom: Episode One of the Nobledark Fantasy Serial by Jon Cronshaw.

Three sisters. One murdered king. A kingdom on the brink.

With savage wyverns, decaying magic, and a conspiracy centuries in the making, this nobledark fantasy is rich with betrayal, sisterhood, and sacrifice. 

If you love Robin Hobb, Katherine Addison, or Samantha Shannon, this is one to add to your list before the kingdom burns.

December is the season of stories—old favorites, new discoveries, and worlds waiting to be explored. I hope you find something here that keeps you warm through the longest nights of the year. 📖✨

Looking Ahead: My Writing Goals for 2026

As I look toward 2026, my writing path feels both clear and a little daunting—in the best possible way. My primary goal is to publish Curse of the River, Book Two of the Prophesied Prince trilogy, and then keep my momentum going straight into writing Book Three, the conclusion of Sugandha and Atul’s journey.

This trilogy has always been a coming-of-age story at its heart—about power that is inherited, power that is chosen, and the cost of both. I’ve been planting seeds for the ending since Book One, even when I didn’t fully understand what they would grow into. Now, as I write deeper into Book Two, I can see the shape of the finale forming on the horizon.

I know this much: the ending will be bittersweet. How much bitter and how much sweet? Even I don’t know yet. My characters certainly don’t. They’re still making choices, still stumbling, still hoping. And I’m following them, page by page, trusting that the story will reveal exactly the ending it demands—whether it breaks my heart a little in the process or not.

What I do know is that I want to give this world, these characters, and you—the readers who’ve walked this road with me—the most honest ending I can write. One that lingers. One that feels earned.

Here’s to a year of rivers that refuse to stay calm, prophecies that don’t behave, and stories that insist on being told.

A Title Revealed

As I close out 2025, it feels right to finally share something I’ve been carrying quietly with me for months—the title of Book Two in the Prophesied Prince trilogy.

Curse of the River.

If Child of the River was about beginnings—a prophecy awakening, a girl fleeing grief, a prince crossing the sea—then Curse of the River is about aftermath. About what lingers once the river has spoken, once the curse has been cast, and once running is no longer enough.

Rivers, in this story, are never just water. They remember. They witness. They bless—and they punish. In Book Two, the river that shaped Sugandha’s fate refuses to loosen its grip. The magic deepens, the truths grow sharper, and the cost of survival becomes harder to ignore. Sugandha is no longer only a girl on the run; she is a young woman beginning to understand that power, once awakened, demands to be reckoned with. And Atul—still haunted by who he is and who he is not—must decide what loyalty, leadership, and sacrifice truly mean when curses do not stay neatly in the past.

I chose this title because it reflects what this book has become for me while writing it: darker, more intimate, and more unforgiving. The river does not simply carry them forward—it tests them. And sometimes, it turns against those who think they understand it.

Revealing this title feels like a promise. To higher stakes. To deeper bonds. To consequences that ripple far beyond a single choice or a single shore.

Welcome to Curse of the River.

🌊 Character Spotlight: Sugandha

Sugandha is the quiet heartbeat of the Prophesied Prince trilogy. I’m deep in Book Two right now, so I’m living in her world every day—and she’s definitely taken up long-term residence in my head.

When we first meet her in Child of the River, she’s grieving the loss of the only family she’s ever known: her grandfather.

“Sorrow and grief filled my heart when I realized I would receive no more guidance from my grandfather. I had never known my parents, and my grandfather had raised me from birth.

Usually, I would stir into wakefulness at this time of day. From my cot, I would hear my grandfather in the kitchen, pulling down pots, grinding an array of herbs, and brewing them.

Those small sounds would bring me peace, and I would snuggle into my sheets and close my eyes… He would grin at me as if I brightened his day just by existing, his wrinkled face glowing.”

One of my favorite chapters featuring her is Chapter 31 (Summer, Year 1). There’s a certain innocence to Sugandha there—one that still survives even as she’s fighting for her life. She stumbles through chaos guided only by instinct and heart, doing what she believes is right, even when she has no idea what’s really happening around her. That combination of bravery and bewilderment is exactly what makes her so compelling to write.

Book Two lets me deepen her dynamic with Atul. These two couldn’t be more different—each carrying their own scars, their own expectations, their own definitions of who they should be. Watching them learn to trust each other, challenge each other, and sometimes collide spectacularly has been one of the joys of drafting this book. This moment between them is from earlier in book two:

“Look at me,” I said, and her eyes fluttered open.

“Imagine what it would mean to master that power,” I said, my voice low. I let the oars still in my hands.

She clenched her jaw, then closed her eyes again. Her breath evened out, arms stretching forward as if reaching for something unseen. I waited. But the river stayed calm.

Then she gasped—clutching her throat like something had seized it—and coughed, harsh and broken.

“Nanda—”

“No.” Her voice came between sobs, ragged and raw. “Stop. You think you understand what it’s like—to carry this wild, flickering thing inside me—but you don’t. You can’t.”

This trilogy is, at its core, a coming-of-age story. Through Sugandha, I wanted to portray a deeply human young woman—strong yet unsure, resilient yet overwhelmed, someone whose magic feels as dangerous as it is wondrous. Her journey isn’t neat or easy, and it mirrors the hardships a girl on the run would face in a world shaped by myth, patriarchy, and the weight of expectations. These are truths often left unexplored in traditional Indian mythology, and Sugandha gives me the space to write into those gaps.

She grows slowly. She stumbles often. But she keeps trying.
And that, to me, is what makes her unforgettable.

Character Spotlight: Prince Atul

Meet Atul — the Heir to Malla… just not by blood.

I feared that the men who revered me as the Heir to Malla would abandon me if they knew the truth about my birth. That was the reason I had urged my uncle, King Jay of Malla, to send me on this mission. Uncle Jay wanted me to wait until our soldiers had secured Kashgar, but I itched to prove myself.

Atul’s journey in Child of the River is a tangle of identity, duty, and the quiet ache of wanting to be enough. When his ships crossed the Nira Sea, he didn’t just bring soldiers—he carried the weight of his own questions about who he is… and who he desperately hopes to become.

One of my favorite moments to write is his exchange with the fake prince in Chapter 26 (Spring, Year 2). Those scenes crack Atul open a bit. The fake prince’s doubts mirror Atul’s own, and you see him slide into that big-brother role so naturally—steady, protective, and sometimes wiser than he realizes. And then, just as quickly, he’s unmistakably a teenager again: impulsive, earnest, and brave in ways that don’t always make sense but feel undeniably true.

Being Meera’s son (yes, that Meera from the Land of Magadha trilogy) gives me a chance to explore the complicated corners of his heart—respect tangled with resentment, admiration overshadowed by old hurt. His mother’s secrets shaped him, and in many ways, he’s still deciding what parts of that legacy he wants to claim.

Through Atul, I get to return to one of my favorite questions: What truly makes a good ruler? Birthright? Choice? Sacrifice? Something quieter and harder to name?

Atul doesn’t have the answers yet—but he’s determined to earn them.

Back to Kashgar: Legacy, Magic, and New Dangers

Book Two of the Prophesied Prince series is inching toward 50,000 words! In the latest chapters, we encounter descendants of characters from my Land of Magadha trilogy—members of the Malla army who came to Kashgar with Atul. Writing those scenes felt like coming home. After ten years in the world of Magadha, revisiting its legacy through new generations has been deeply satisfying.

Meanwhile, Sugandha is beginning to uncover the truth about her family and her powers. Something tells me she won’t be happy with what she learns.

Magical creatures continue to hunt our protagonists—but as always, the real danger lies in human heart.

Here is a snippet from Chapter two written in Atul’s POV:

“The rumor of your death has reached our ranks. The commander… he neither confirmed nor denied it. Instead, he told us—your five guards—to find you.”

I nodded. “Clever of him. That gives you a reason to follow me north.” I kept my voice steady, calm, though the thought of the others—young men who had followed me across the sea—believing I had fallen before even drawing my sword unsettled me. Still, I had to trust the commander. Trust that he’d keep them loyal without revealing the truth. That I was alive. For now.

If you haven’t yet read Child of the River (Book One), now’s the perfect time. The audiobook, narrated by two incredible voice actors, brings Kashgar vividly to life. Book Two is slated for release in 2026.

What have I been up to?

I’ve just crossed 40,000 words on Book Two of the Prophesied Prince series (title still a mystery for now!). For the first time in years, I actually let myself take a break from writing while on vacation—wandering through a few national parks at the end of August was exactly what my creative well needed. Now I’m back in Kashgar, walking beside Sugandha on her journey, and the words are flowing again.

Here’s a little snippet from Chapter One, in her point of view:

“Nanda, tell me what you know about Purohit Parivan,” he asked again, and I blinked, as if surfacing from a dream.

Purohit Parivan. The name pulled me straight to my grandfather. I used to think his death was the hardest part. I hadn’t realized living without him would be worse.

“In his final moments, my grandfather told me to find Purohit Parivan. But the priest… he perished in a fire just ahead of my arrival.”

The priest appeared to me in a vision shortly before his death, but I kept that detail to myself. I didn’t know this prince well enough. Not yet.

This is just a glimpse of what’s to come, but I’m so excited about where Sugandha’s path is leading her—and the secrets waiting to be uncovered.

📖 If you haven’t yet read Book One, Child of the River, now’s the perfect time to dive into the series and meet these characters from the beginning. That way, when Book Two arrives in 2026, you’ll be ready to journey alongside Sugandha as the stakes rise even higher.

A Day to Remember

On August 23, a warm Saturday, I had the joy of participating in the inaugural KPBS San Diego Book Festival, presented at the University of San Diego. From the moment I walked in with my festival badge proudly stamped Author (a word that still makes me blink in disbelief, even after all these years), I knew it was going to be a special day.

Meeting Readers—and My Best Marketer Yet

The best part of any festival is meeting readers, old and new, and sharing my books with them. But this time, I had an extra-special helper—my daughter. She has read all my books (a feat in itself!) and turned out to be the most enthusiastic and persuasive bookseller at the table. Watching her share my stories with visitors, speaking with such conviction, was both humbling and heartwarming.

Connecting with Authors Old and New

One of the joys of festivals is reconnecting with fellow authors.

I caught up with Jolie Tunnell, who writes delightful mystery novels. Jolie and I have shared a tent before at the Encinitas Street Fair, and it was such a treat to snap a photo together again, swapping stories about books and events.

I was delighted to see Dennis K. Crosby and Sarah Faxon, two writers I’ve shared a table with in the past. Both were there representing the Horror Writers Association, San Diego chapter, and it was inspiring—as always—to see their passion for storytelling and community.

This year, I had the pleasure of sharing my festival tent with Veranice Berry, who writes YA novels inspired by Egyptian mythology. Our daughters came to help out, another thing we had in common. Veranice and I exchanged books, and I can’t wait to dive into hers. That’s the beauty of these festivals—the chance to connect not only with readers but also with fellow authors who inspire you.

A Festival to Remember

Between the conversations, the laughter, and the joy of seeing so many people come together to celebrate books, this festival was everything I hoped for and more. Huge thanks to KPBS and the University of San Diego for creating such a vibrant, welcoming event for authors and readers alike.

I came away with new memories, new books to read, and a deep sense of gratitude—for stories, for community, and for the chance to share my work in such a wonderful space.

Here’s to many more festivals like this one.

📚✨ Hitting the Road (and the Bookshelves!) for the Inaugural KPBS San Diego Book Festival

Mark your calendars—Saturday, August 23, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. I’ll be at the inaugural KPBS San Diego Book Festival, presented by the University of San Diego. I’m beyond thrilled to be part of this brand-new celebration of stories, readers, and authors.

Of course, before a book festival comes the ritual prep—packing up my books, ordering bookmarks, and, yes, clearing space on my own shelves. This week, I’ve been hauling bags of gently used books to my local library. My logic? If I make room for new stories at home, then I must bring home a few treasures from the festival. (It’s not hoarding if it’s “curated collecting,” right?)

📖 What I’m Bringing to the Festival

I’ll be signing and chatting about all my books—and for the first time at a local event, Prince in Exile will be available! You’ll find:

Land of the Magadha Trilogy

This series tells the tale of Rish Vindhya, a noble warrior.

  • Heir to Malla – Meera rejects his love, yet Rish will do everything in his power to make sure Meera is protected. Even if it breaks his heart to stand guard and watch the woman he loves shed tears.
  • War of the Three Kings – Meera is the queen, and Rish knows she cannot cross some lines. Still, his heart burns until he realizes he is a threat to her safety. Does he stay or flee?
  • Burden of the Crown – Meera broke his heart. Yet, Rish has not abandoned hope. Because each time she looks at him like he matters, she rekindles his yearning.

Swayamvara Romances

  • Broken King – Princess Neela should be happy—her father is arranging a swayamvara, a grand ceremony where she can choose her own husband. But her choice is an illusion, and her father expects her to select the man he has already decided upon. Unless she defies him. Unless she chooses the one man no one expects—the king drowning in sorrow and toddy, a ruler broken by grief and guilt. Marrying him might be her only escape. But will choosing the broken king shatter her in the process?
  • King in Hiding – When Princess Lalitha is injured while searching for her father, a lowly metalsmith comes to her rescue. As they journey together, Lalitha finds herself unable to resist the undeniable pull she feels toward him. But what happens when she learns the truth—that the man who’s captured her heart is King Dushyant, the very ruler who has imprisoned her father?
  • Prince in Exile – She is a mute princess writing poetry to be heard. He is an exiled prince masquerading as a playwright. He stumbles upon her poems and weaves a play around them. She longs to write more poems to see them come alive through his eyes. But she cannot reveal she is the poet. Nor can he reveal he is a prince. Will falling in love with their alter egos doom their romance?

Child of the River

He hears a voice urging him to protect a girl he has never met. Will finding her doom his mission of restoring the throne?

Whether you’re a longtime reader or just discovering my books, I’d love to see you at the festival. Stop by, say hello, and let’s talk romance, adventure, and all things storytelling.

And remember—bring a tote bag. You’re going to need it. 😉

A Sneak Peek at Book Two

I’m deep in the world of Book Two of my Prophesied Prince fantasy trilogy, and I’ve officially crossed the 24,000-word mark! Every day, I sink deeper into this story where secrets run as deep as the rivers, and ancient magic stirs just beneath the surface.

This book picks up in the aftermath of Child of the River. The world has shifted—alliances have fractured, old prophecies are awakening, and danger looms on every path. At its heart is a girl grappling with powers she never wanted and a prince still haunted by choices he cannot undo. Together, they must navigate a land teetering on the edge of war, where every truth hides a shadow, and nothing is quite what it seems.

One of the wild joys (and occasional headaches) of writing fantasy is juggling a sprawling cast of characters, their tangled motivations, and all the rules of magic—so yes, I find myself flipping back through Child of the River constantly to make sure I’m not accidentally breaking the universe I created!

Here’s a glimpse at the current draft—the opening lines of the book (subject to revision, of course—I’m still on the fence about including “sweat glazed his muscles” so early on).

For most of that first day on the river, Prince Atul rowed like a man expecting trouble. His gaze swept the banks, searching for signs of pursuit. Whenever he spotted someone—fishermen, travelers, too far to tell—he quieted his strokes and steered us farther from shore.

Sweat glazed his muscles, as he rowed with the strength of three men. Then his head snapped toward a thicket of trees by the water’s edge, eyes sharp, jaw set. A hunter watching for movement. I studied him in that moment, still unsure if I’d been brave or foolish to ask him to come.

I’ve loved returning to Kashgar and imagining new regions of this medieval world—wilder lands, colder truths, deeper betrayals. There’s so much I’m excited to share with you in this next installment: forbidden magic, political intrigue, unexpected friendships that will reshape the course of prophecy.

📚 Book Two is coming in 2026—so if you haven’t yet read Child of the River, now is the perfect time to start! Meet the characters, step into their world, and get swept up in the first part of this epic journey.

More updates coming as I write, revise, and (hopefully!) survive drafting this book. I can’t wait for you to journey back into this world of danger, destiny, and hidden truths.