Would you keep writing if your agent told you "not yet" for ten straight years?

In this episode of Books & Beyond, Tara sits down with NYT bestselling author Alka Joshi to discuss her latest novel, Six Days in Bombay.

Alka reveals the incredible decade-long journey behind her debut, The Henna Artist, from a relentless agent who kept saying the book wasn’t ready, through years of tireless revisions, to the "perfect timing" that landed her in Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club.

But for Alka, the story started much earlier. She shares her personal journey of navigating prejudice as an Indian in America; an experience that once forced her to leave her heritage behind, until she finally chose to embrace it all to tell her mother’s story.

She also takes us behind the scenes of her new book; how she purposefully traveled to cities like Prague, Paris, and Florence to "live" the world of her novels before meticulously reconstructing the 1937 world portrayed in Six Days in Bombay.

Tara and Alka also dive into their shared love for historical fiction, their top book recommendations, and the real-life incredible women who inspired her most beloved characters.

Tune in now to hear firsthand about Alka Joshi’s fascinating road to publishing and her life as a storyteller!

Books Mentioned in the Episode:

1. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
2. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
3. Red Azalea by Anchee Min
4. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
5. Stories from Tagore
6. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
7. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
8. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
9. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
10. Railsong by Rahul Bhattacharya
11. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms.